Tips x Innovative Ideas (NAPSA)—Decorating your home for the holidays can be a creative activity for the whole family and more fun than ever with help from these expert suggestions. 1) Doors, Tables and Mantels: * For doors, use lush wreaths in fragrant evergreens with matching garlands around the door frame. Or try unique-shaped wreaths, like squares and diamonds, tied with mixed ribbons like metallics, chiffons and satins, for added texture and a moreinteresting look. * For tables, make sure your centerpiece is appropriate for the occasion. If it’s a sit-down dinner, select something that lets your guests view one another from across the table. A low centerpiece with candles, such as Teleflora’s Ruby Glass Bouquet, is a lovely solution. * On the mantel, line up a collection of glass vases, filled with antique ornaments, pinecones, fruit and other decorative items. Lay down a lavish garland of fresh evergreens to accent stockings hung abovethefireplace. 2) Buy a lasting tree that you can use year after year, like Teleflora’s Spode Christmas Tree. Besides avoiding the mess of pine needles, the beautiful ready-decorated tree is a welcome convenience during the already hectic holiday season. Plus, the practical size allows you to place it anywhere in the home. 3) Use floral arrangements in creative spaces—few things impress your holiday guests more than fresh flowers in the powder room, kitchen,etc... 4) Holiday plants are more than just poinsettias; there are many other plants that can be just as festive—red or white amaryllis, paper-white narcissus, Christmas cactus, kalanchoe and chrysanthemumsare excellent ways to decorate early and can be enjoyed throughout the season. 5) Use fruit and nuts in your dcor. “Della Robbia,” a floral term coined after the Italian sculptor, is a decorative floral look that incorporates fruits, nuts and hearty evergreens for old-world charm. Use pomegranates, apples, lemons, walnuts, chestnuts and the like. You can also make a fragrant pomander by pushing whole cloves into a small orange and placing it ina bow!of bright red pomegranates. 6) Floral arrangements make a wonderful hostess gift. Flowers are a gift that lasts long after the event, unlike a bottle of wine or fruitcake. Teleflora’s Skater’s Pond Bouquet, inspired by the famous painting by Thomas Kinkade, includes a lighted keepsake cottage, allowing your hosts to remember your thoughtfulness for years to come. For more floral inspirations, visit teleflora.com.
