I know it’s almost 4 months after Christmas 2010 ended, but I can’t seem to put away some of my Christmas Decorations?

Haha, you lazy sap..

Designer, Kristine McKay shares five ideas for creating handmade ornaments that will personalize your Christmas tree.

Duration : 0:8:53

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Malcesine is a beautiful town, situated in the Province of Verona in the region named Veneto. Malcesine is one of the most visited resort towns in Italy, evoking an old world charm and being an ideal place for water and wind sports. Here, tourists will be delighted by the coexistence of the alpine and Mediterranean flora, witnessing unique scenery. This landscape will impress even the most demanding persons, making you want to return to this magic place every year.

Christmas in Malcesine is one of the most beautiful sights that you will ever see, delighting your senses with an exquisite beauty. There are always plenty of things to do in Malcesine, but one of the most visited sights, even during Christmas, is Castello Scaligero. This is a medieval castle which dominates Malcesine, being a pleasant walk from the harbor and dating back to pre-roman times.

During Christmas in Malcesine, the mountain is covered with snow, usually until the end of March, hosting a crowded and lively skiing season. Snow is one of the greatest joys of Christmas both for adults and children and Malcesine’s landscapes and activities will offer you memorable views and a desire to return here every Christmas.

Just like most European towns, Malcesine hosts annually a Christmas market where you can always enjoy the Christmas atmosphere. Christmas in Malcesine is celebrated not only by the locals who are proud of their traditions and culture but also of the visitors who can’t get enough of this unique atmosphere. Here, Christmas is definitely unforgettable due to its friendly inhabitants and to its numerous fascinating traditions.

Christmas in Malcesine is a time for giving, for showing how kind and generous we are, nourishing our relationships with our dear ones and building a better human spirit. In this time of celebration, Malcesine is the ideal place to deepen our relationships, to express our feelings, to create lasting memories and to experience the magic of Christmas. Here, you will be able to renew yourself emotionally and physically, learning to enjoy life’s simple joys and to celebrate God’s most important miracles: life.

Christmas in Malcesine is also ideal for renewing your relationships or reinforcing them, since nothing compares to spending a couple of days in this magnificent atmosphere. Christmas is the best period to escape the daily routine and scenery and travel to a new, exciting location, where you will do nothing but relax and spend some quality time with your friends and family.

Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the world, the modern Christmas the way we know it being a product of secular and religious traditions. However, Christmas always succeeds in bringing out the best of us and in reuniting most families during this special holiday. Nowadays Christmas is celebrated by everyone, even by non-religious persons who enjoy this joyous tradition. Although these days Christmas has become quite commercial since many enterprises enjoy profits resulting from the sale of decorations and gifts, we take pride in celebrating Christmas not only as a joyful holiday but also as one with an important religious significance.

Alice Campbell

Every year it’s the same old decorations that come out of the box. We take them out the box of Christmas Decorations, clean them up and place them out for display. At the end of season, back they go. Some may be looking a little tired. Decide on a change this year. Retire or restore some of these oldies (but goodies) and opt for some of these enchanting Christmas picture frame ideas. Okay, so some of us are emotionally attached to our decorations just the way they are and parting with them would bring undue stress. That’s fine. But, what’s terrific about these ideas is that some of them use your old decorations! Be proud of yourself because now you’re stepping into the “vintage” arena of design. Now that’s a step, isn’t it?

Does your manger display need a paint job? Preserve the life of your favorite scene by placing these figurines in a partitioned shadow box picture frame. Perform some quick touch ups with paint from a local craft store and let dry. Glue or tape your figurines so they don’t move when you move the box.

Preserve your smaller Christmas wreath by setting it in a picture frame. Whether you’re using natural or artificial materials, the beauty of your wreath can be viewed for many years to come. You might consider using a clear lacquer spray to encourage the pine needles to stay put.

Create a poinsettia print display using a picture frame. The pressed and dried leaves and colorful bracts of the poinsettia are lovely when accented with gold and silver colors. Consider using ribbons, braided cords or even paper and then, for a sparkling effect, try applying a glitter glue spray to the dried leaves.

Changing out your regular ones for glass picture frames will help to create your winter wonderland effect. Etched glass and frosted glass picture frames work well with almost anything. They will soften any effects that darker and bolder colored picture frames may have. This will help to create a wispy, whimsical effect of a snowy Christmas and may also contribute some sparkle when they catch the light.

Are you a Christmas card saver? A montage of Christmas cards set in a picture frame will add a distinctive and intimate touch to your home décor. Cut and paste your favorite parts of the card onto the backboard of a picture frame. If you’re not ready to put a scissors to your card just yet, consider placing the cards within a photo album.

Make use of your mistletoe all year long. Preserve your mistletoe with glycerin and set it in a gold colored or other colorfully designed picture frame. Learn how to preserve foliage with glycerin before attempting this. Another important factor to note is to be ready for kisses all year long!

Take a family photo every Christmas and display proudly on your wall during the holiday season. Consider using the glass frames mentioned above, but for an added effect, consider using glass picture frames that are decorated with metal artwork. The metal artwork adds a more dramatic effect to your family photos that will surely draw attention at family gatherings.

What makes these ideas great is that your memorabilia are preserved. The picture frames can be easily stored and retrieved. They can also remain as a part of your home décor well past the holiday season. Have fun making your enchanting home décor!

Kathy Page

The holiday season can create a lot of unnecessary clutter in your house. Many decorations are displayed during the Christmas season and proper care must be taken to prevent your house from becoming too cluttered. Tactics should be considered for proper organization and there are many products available to help simplify this process. These tips offer some solutions for reducing clutter in your home during the Christmas season.

Begin cleaning one room per week and be patient with the process. Empty your closets, bureaus and other major storage spaces and begin the sorting process. As you work through this, you may realize two things: first, that there is not enough space for all of your belongings, and second, that you are not looking to throw anything away. To solve this problem, you may want to consider some creative storage options that are available.

Large plastic containers are an excellent product to consider. Cardboard boxes work well but the main problem with these is that they do not last very long. Cardboard boxes can deteriorate after a few years of use. It is best to avoid cardboard boxes. Sturdy plastic containers can last for decades while providing the storage solution that you need. Be sure to label these containers, even if they are clear. Resist the temptation to write directly on the container. Instead, use a piece of masking tape on the top and at least two sides of the container for labeling. The best containers to consider are those that are stackable and sturdy. Avoid open tops even if they do stack. These may be more accessible for you, but they also attract dust and dirt. A few sturdy containers can work wonders for clutter removal.

A second prime tool for removing clutter is shelving. Closets become full very quickly and you end up running out of space fast. A few well-placed shelves can provide storage options that can solve all of your storage problems. Furthermore, shelves are perfect for items that you use often as they allow easy access to whatever is on them. Wire shelving is often the most reliable option as it allows for easy installation and it can be taken down easily. It is also the most economical.

So you have managed to solve some of your pre-holiday clutter problems, but cleaning up after the celebrations is still a daunting task. You have to remove every single ornament from the tree and then figure out the proper storage/disposal methods for the evergreen. Throwing it away is usually simple, but storing an imitation tree can be a challenge. There are two prime solutions to storing your holiday decorations. The first is simply to save the box and original packaging from the device. After you are finished with your decorations, attempt to place them into their original packaging. This should allow them to store perfectly for the offseason. If you have gotten rid of these materials (Do not feel bad, we all do it) then you can purchase a bag specifically designed to be durable and spacious enough for your needs. Many hardware stores carry these bags, and they can make your storage much simpler.

After putting your tree away, it is time to take care of the ornaments. You could get a few boxes, then wrap every single ornament in a layer of newspaper and pack it away. Or you could go with the original packaging scheme again. If stored carefully, most ornaments should be safe when stored in the original boxes. If not, you are in luck. Many stores carry boxes designed for ornaments. Using cushioned cardboard and appropriate design tweaks, these boxes can hold your fragile ornaments without risking any breaks.

The greatest challenge when decorating for Christmas is the lights. This tangled mass of bulbs and circuitry can cause hours of stress and aggravation every year. However, like the tree bag and ornament box, there are special boxes for storing these lights. These boxes allow the wires to coil properly and remain untangled all year. If you can only splurge on one storage related item this holiday season, this one has to be it. Save yourself time and energy and store your Christmas Lights properly.

Removing the clutter in your house is really a matter of patience and preparation. Holidays such as Christmas have many decorations to store away such as lights and tree ornaments. These are easy to put away if the proper products are used. The best choices are plastic storage containers because they last a long time when compared to cardboard boxes. Proper storage is well worth it because each holiday season you should know exactly where your decorations are stored and be sure to remember to label each container. Proper labeling provides the benefit of helping speed up the process of finding the right decorations when the holiday season arrives.

Sandy Darson

One of my favourite Christmas songs is the one with the line that describes Christmas as being ‘the most wonderful time of the year’. While everyone looks forward to the giving and receiving of Christmas gifts there are many more activities that make Christmas wonderful and memorable. In this article I’ll share some of my favourite Christmas activities; maybe you can adopt some of them for your own family.

Choosing a Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree is a focal point in our home at Christmas and is the most visible display during the festive season. For many families the search for a Christmas Tree begins with a family trip to a tree farm on the day after Thanksgiving. In our house the memories start with us hauling the huge box containing our artificial tree out of the attic and trying to remember how it all fits together!

Once the tree is assembled the real fun starts; decorating it with gorgeous Christmas ornaments. Our entire family takes part in decorating the tree; put some Christmas tunes on the stereo and have a sing-a-long while you decorate. Of course many of our ornaments are bought from the store but we also love to make our own homemade Christmas decorations. A lot of love goes into each ornament and as we unpack them each year they bring back a lot of happy memories about Christmases past. While decorations may change from year to year the homemade ones always have a special place on our tree.

Baking cookies and other goodies

Another one of our memorable activities is cookie baking. We make gingerbread cookies and use Christmas-shaped cookie cutters to give them a festive feel. Baking cookies is an activity the whole family can enjoy. Older children can help with the baking while the younger ones can have fun sprinkling sugar on the finished cookies, or decorating them with icing. Just be sure to have the camera ready for some great fun-filled Christmas shots.

Making goodie baskets

If you set aside a whole day for baking you’ll be surprised at the amount of Christmas cookies and other baked goods you can turn out. These make great gifts for friends and family; even the kid’s teachers. Simply add the cookies and some fruit and other treat to a small basket and finish it off with a bow. Goodie baskets make wonderful gifts as they are home-made and this makes them more treasured than a Christmas gift bought at the store.

Send a Christmas card or letter to loved ones

We must not forget that Christmas is the season of goodwill and good cheer and it is very important to reach out to friends and family during the holiday season. While you may be too busy to stay in touch during the year Christmas is a great time to catch up and share your family news. We spend time making our own greetings cards for close friends and family. For out-of-town relatives we write up a Christmas letter, packed full of news from the year gone by. The little ones can help by decorating the letters, perhaps including drawings and photos. These letters are a great way to share the important things that have happened in your life.

Finding our what Santa brought

Of course the activity that everyone looks forward to most is the presents on Christmas morning. The little ones sneak down on Christmas morning to see what Santa left for them during the night. Magically hiding the gifts the night before is as much a memorable activities for the adults as seeing their little one’s faces light up as they tear open the gifts on Christmas morning.

Clare Swindlehurst

To view the previous video in this series click: http://www.monkeysee.com/play/12209

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Technorati Tags: christmas, gift, ornaments, santa, tree, xmas

Christmas shopping – or lack of – sneaks up on me every year, no matter how good my intentions.

I am traditionally the original Scrooge at Christmas, the stress and pressure to try to make everything nice and find the perfect gift idea gets to me before the first ornament is out of the box, just the thought of it usually makes me grumble.

Sound familiar?

But this year I am kind of looking forward to it. Why?

Because I’m doing Christmas gift giving a little differently this year.

1. Instead of trying to do too much, I am cutting back and am determined to enjoy the experience (dammit :0)).

2. We picked names this year for the adults in the family rather than each of us buying for all of us. I can’t tell you how much my stress level has already gone down, and I especially like it because now I have time to do something really unique for my father in law (he was my pick).

3. Getting the jump on things in plenty of time. Gift planning and some shopping was done in October by being on the look out when I was out shopping – I bought a few really cute things here and there. This way instead of buying “en masse”, I am picking something fitting for each recipient.

4. Putting a limit on spending. As my sister said “I’m sick of the commercial crap of Christmas”, and aren’t we all. It isn’t in how much we spend, a small, well thought out gift is better received than a large one that was obviously tossed in the cart with no forethought.

5. Decluttering – I’ve been working on decluttering so that the decorations will look nice. If you can get going now, it will make Christmas even nicer when the time comes. The Christmas Spirit – Peace – Goodwill towards All – Love – They’re all buzzwords and shiny decorations that we hang on the wall at Christmas time – lets take the time to focus on what they mean – and then do it.

6. How about making this the season to “Pay It Forward”. These stories have made me cry sappy tears more than once but I’ve never done it. Why not give it a try? They have a fantastic website, if you follow the links you can get some great ideas http://www.payitforwardmovement.org/groups.html

I signed up for the “Be Nice or Else” newsletter – they have a book that is great for gift giving, what a great coffee table that would make – or a great book to donate to a hospital for the waiting room.

NOTE: This page lists some great Christmas gift ideas, one of them being – clean someone’s house. I will have more on that later, but meantime, why not think about it and brainstorm how you could make it happen.

http://www.giveitforwardtoday.org/index.php?page=ideas

I could think of no better gift! And it’s cheap!

7. Make an effort to throw a little something in the Food Bank Bin when you are out grocery shopping for your family, or buy a little extra for the donation box at the department store when you are out shopping for gifts.

8. Or buy some toys to donate to the local women’s shelter, some of the people there don’t have a penny to their names and it’s a sad and stressful time for the kids. Games and things to keep them busy are great, it can be a boring stay.

A FEW GENERAL IDEAS

1. Mystery Gift – My sister’s family does a nice twist on picking names. They all buy something wrap it and then they each exchange a gift, no one knows ahead of time who will be receiving. They set a comfortable price limit.

2. Make a tradition of tree ornament crafts. You can give these for gifts, they are always well received and can be cheap to make, but very nice. Put your name and date on it and give one every year – a great present for the kids to give. Or take a short cut and buy them at a craft sale and personalize them with fabric paint or markers.

3. Give pictures in a unique way. Most relatives and friends will enjoy pictures. Do something creative – make a tree ornament from a picture and a juice lid, they are great. Or make a twig frame – cost is nothing but a few twigs and some yarn plus the picture. If you get school pictures, you’ll have plenty. With digital cameras and software available now, you can do some really nifty stuff for plenty cheapola.

4. Baking/Cooking etc. If you are wanting to do something nice for someone, why not cook them a meal and take it to them? New mother’s are especially fond of this. When I first had my daughters, it was the best present that I received. Seniors will LOVE it if you eat with them.

5. A service. In our hussle and bussle world, don’t be surprised if someone really appreciates an hour of your time – run some errands, give rides (parents can really enjoy this if they have older kids – most of them spend their spare time in their car!), help clean up, declutter, clean something – use your imagination. Another great gift that the kids can give as well.

Make an effort to be creative this year. It’s more fun to give, and more fun to receive – and it can be easier on your pocket book too.

If you haven’t yet, get out your planner or notebook, make a page for Christmas gift ideas and start brainstorming.

Then make a date with yourself to clear some time blocks to get it done.

And enjoy Christmas.

Janice Ferrante
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/simple-christmas-gift-ideas-82363.html

Learn how to attach backing to Christmas tree angels in this free homemade ornament video from a Christmas crafts expert.

Expert: Katalin Toth
Bio: Katalin Toth earned a degree in English from Etvs Lornd University in Budapest, Hungary as well as a degree in psychodrama. She has been living in Hungary and working with children of different ages.
Filmmaker: Paul (Leopold) Volniansky

Duration : 0:1:39

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Technorati Tags: angel, christmas, decoration, decorations, holiday, of, ornament, season, top, tree

Christmas Nutcracker Decorations.

Nutcrackers come in many sizes starting as small as a few inches tall all the way to Life Size Nutcrackers. There are Nutcracker Soldiers, nutcracker royalty and nutcrackers in the image of cartoon characters or just about any other popular person. There are Nutcracker Ornaments, Nutcracker Christmas Tree Skirts, Nutcracker Christmas Stocking Holders and Nutcracker Christmas Stockings. The Nutcracker Suite Characters, that are so popular, come as regular stand up nutcrackers and as Christmas Ornament Sets. This makes decorating with a Nutcracker theme very easy.

Large Nutcrackers.

There are very large nutcrackers made from fiberglass to with stand being used outdoors. These are usually 6 feet tall and come as Life Size Nutcrackers, Life Size Toy Soldiers or Life Size Toy Soldier Drummers. They are perfect for including in yard displays or standing guard at your front door.

There are other Large Nutcrackers that range in size from 24 inches tall to 36 inches tall. They include styles like Elegant Royal Guardsmen, Majestic Kings, Santa Claus Nutcrackers and Tall, Slim Nutcrackers. These are perfect for creating a nutcracker guard post in your foyer. You can stand them on toy drums or brightly wrapped boxes, to vary their sizes. Adding Small Artificial Christmas Trees will just add to the ambience. You don’t even need to light or decorate the trees, just leave them like a German Forest.

Christmas Nutcracker Village People.

Nutcracker Villagers come in many sizes and the types of characters are endless. To name just a few, there are, Brave Firefighters, Fishermen Nutcrackers, Nutcracker Coach, Steer Roping Cowboy Nutcrackers and Golfing Nutcrackers. These are perfect for decorating side tables or even using as Centerpieces whether or not your theme is Nutcrackers, they still make the perfect Decoration. Use a Fishing Nutcracker as your Centerpiece and add Fishing Bear Ornaments, Old Fishermen Ornaments and many other whimsical Fishing ornaments to your tree or even use them as party favors. There are also Novelty Wooden Fish Garlands that can be hung around your tree or strung onto green garlands that will hang on your Fireplace Mantle or run down the center of a table.

Nutcracker Stockings.

There are Nutcracker Stockings, Nutcracker Soldier Stocking Hangers and Nutcracker Tree Skirts. If Nutcrackers are your theme then you are set with beautiful velvet tree skirts and Christmas Stockings decorated with Nutcracker Soldiers and a wide assortment of Nutcracker Stocking Holder styles to choose from. Stocking Holders also make very attractive Fireplace Mantle displays with styles from Nutcracker Soldier Stocking Hangers, Elegant Prince Stocking Holders and even Antique Gold Leaf Stocking Holders.

Nutcracker Suite Characters.

If The Nutcracker Suite is your chosen theme there are an array of ornaments in sizes varying from The Nutcracker Suite Ornaments which are 7-8 inches tall, Nutcracker Ballet Ornaments that are 4½-5 inches tall and the Nutcracker Suite Miniature Ornament Sets which are 2½ inches tall. These ornaments make perfect decorations for all sizes of Christmas Trees. Wooden Nutcrackers can be used to create beautiful Table Decorations and Centerpieces. Combine a Musical Clara Nutcracker with Dignified Nutcracker Prince. You can even use the Nutcracker Suite Ornaments or Miniature Nutcracker Soldiers as party favors.

Debby Brown