Oh stellar topper A wrappingpaper star is this tree’s crowning touch. CHRISTMAS Tree! Spruce it up! Create a personalized tree with handcrafted decorations, mix vintage ornaments with newer pieces, or make it pretty with ribbons and bows. Here’s inspiration. Homemade Charm 1 With a bright blue button and a few fast folds, fabric ribbons turn into colorful Christmas rosettes. DIY red-and-white ornaments are set off by turquoise and teal balls. 2 The eye-catching curlicued crimps of ribbon candy don’t require any extra enhancement—simply attaching a shiny ribbon transforms them into instant edible ornaments. 1 3 2 4 4 Call it a sugar rush: All you need for this festive, no-fuss candy garland are cellophane-wrapped peppermints and clear tape. Attach candies end-toend and drape from branch to branch— assembly is so effortless even your littlest elves can get in on the action. CRAFT HOW-TOS: For detailed instructions, go to goodhousekeeping.com/redandwhite. 6 Holiday From Good Housekeeping 3 Dressed up in a dainty dot print, favorite holiday cookie cutters can double as decor. Trace the cutter onto patterned wrapping paper, snip out the shape, and attach to the back of the cutter with clear tape. Holiday 00 trees Letter Perfect details, details Light jackets, silver starbursts, and a tinsel garland give this tree a 1950s feel. Spell it out. A tree trimmed in traditional red and green emphatically says “Christmas” with top-to-bottom vintage letters culled from old signs, printers’ type, and alphabet teaching aids arranged to spell out words and phrases like “Ho Ho Ho” and “holly.” TOOLS FOR TRIMMING Keep these and all your other treetrimming essentials in a small toolbox to make sure the decorating process goes off without a hitch. wire cutter glue From Country Living scissors 00 Holiday nylon fishing line paper clips thin ribbon invisible tape Holiday 00 SnowmanUp! trees Opposite page: From Good Housekeeping. This page, from top: From Good Housekeeping; from Country Living. Vintage-inspired snowmen mingle with old-fashioned ornaments, tinsel, and red-bead garlands. 00 Holiday Think Pink (and Green) What’s good for Lilly Pulitzer is even better for a tree. Tie grosgrain ribbons into bows or loop them into a chain—or both. Add ornaments in white and shades of pink, and top it all off with a pink star. Your holiday prep is finished! HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? Follow these guidelines to strike a balance between bare branches and ornament overload. As a rule, use one set of 50 lights per foot of tree. TREE HEIGHTNUMBER OF BULBSNUMBER OF DECORATIONS 2 feet 100–150 25–35 3 feet 150–250 35–50 4 feet 200–350 50–75 6 feet 300–450 100–150 7 feet 350–550 150–200 Holiday 11
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