~0700_-8 vent oe 7240__-..@8 _ 3=33=-“*—8 eor eae e-._@e ose se73 3-2 x —o~ fe (0e r a Kp Your Home Blooming With Holiday Chr (NAPSA)—It was a cold and starry night...Santa adjusted his sack and slid down the chimney. Pes | Once down, he reached for a cookie from the plate near the hearth. Then, a broad smile lit up his face like a Christmas candle. There, next to his favorite swts, was a mug overflowing with fresh flowers. Yes, Virginia...Santa loves flowers. Recent research confirms that Santa is not alone; fresh flowers are a universallift to the spirit. A scarecrow on the mantle waves a sunny yellow flower in his hand...pumpkins along a windowsill flower with blue and red posies. Even the simplest gestures can prompt a smile. “Flowers bring about positive emotional flings in those who enter a room,” says Jeannette Haviland-Jones, a behavioral sci- entist at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. “They make the space more welcoming and create a sharing atmosphere.” From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, fresh flowers can kp your home blooming with holiday chr. Freshen up traditional decorations with seasonal color. Tuck yellow and burgundy flowers in with the fruits and vegetables of the Thanksgiving cornucopia. Encircle the candles of advent with a fresh flower wreath. Despite harsh weather in some parts of the country, there are always plenty of flowers available in all the colors of the season. Orange, violet and bronze evoke the warm glow of autumn. As Christmas approaches, our visions turn to red. Fresh flowers present an eye-boggling assortmentof reds: berry red, burgundyred, cerise, they all spell “Happy Holidays!” Match flowers with unconventional containers to delight family and friends. A Christmas stocking blossoming with flowers...a Santa Claus teapot stping with flowers and holiday grns. Look for ornaments that can do double duty as With all the colors of the season, fresh flowers are a delightful way to dress up the home. little containers, holding water and a fresh stem or two. Hang them on the tr or suspend them in a window. Even decorative boxes and bags can dress up a mantle, an end table or a desk. Line the would-be containers with plastic, or stick flower stems in water tubes from the local craft store. If necessary, hold the tubes in place by pushing them into dry floral foam. Fresh flowers are so versatile, they can carry out a themeor personalize a special event with your individual style. For a glittering Christmas, decorate your tr with ornaments of shimmering gold and copper. Then, on Christmas Eve, lace the tr with nosegays of ivory or golden yellow. Set an elegant holiday table with crimson blooms in tiny etched glass tumblers. Intermingle the tumblers with votive candles. Include a few stems of seasonal grns for a fragrant and color-full holiday. With so manypossibilities, why wait until Christmas? Let the natural beauty of fresh flowers flood your home with warmth and joy throughout the fall and winter seasons. For suggestions and tips on using fresh flowers in home decorating, visit the Web site at www.flowerpossibilities.com. For a fr brochure write: FPO, P.O. Box 16, Ovid, MI 48866.
