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Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s Home for the Holidays show and chat.  We will be doing a show every Thursday at 10:00 EST and hopefully live chats as well, as it gives me an opportunity to answer some of your decorating questions and maybe pass on a suggestion or two.

There were several similar questions that came in, so let me answer a few of them for you here and we will continue to listen intently to your requests in the coming weeks.

Let me start with wreaths and garlands.  Simply put the greatest invention in my mind for decorating.  Especially the battery operated one with lights on them.  They answer a myriad of decorating issues with the simplest of efforts and can make the biggest impact as well. I don't have what you would call a decorating "theme" in my head when I begin the season but I do like clean lines and simple elegance.

Many of you asked how do I decorate a fireplace without a mantle?  Kelly and I are blessed to live in a very old home (1790) and that's how they heated them back then, so we have four to decorate each year.  Two of them are without mantle pieces.  I have found a simple battery operated wreath hung on the fireplace wall does the job. Simple, understated but still give the feeling of warmth that Christmas lights add to a room.  I don't hesitate to put a nail or a masonry screw in the wall because a picture of other seasonal wreath can be put up after the holidays are over.

This time of year I hit flea markets and garage sales looking for things like old sleds (remember the ones with runners you could actually steer) or milk cans.  Even small wooden crates that you sit on the floor near the fireplace with a string of battery operated lights in it with some pine cones looks festive.  If your eyes see things at floor level and also above you don't need a mantle to decorate.  The visual space will be filled but not overdone.

Here are two of our fireplaces before the holidays, later this year I will post the holiday versions.

Here is a trick to decorate kitchen counters without taking up much space and it is again easy and simple to do. Simply take a strand of garland and lay it out flat on the floor.  All garlands are made around a center piece of sturdy wire.  Splay the greenery to equal sided of the wire to fold it flat.  Then simply place it up against the back splash of the counter with that center core wire at the point where the counter top and the back splash meet.  This will shape your garland like the letter "L" and will fit the space nicely.

The just do a little "fluffing”  by taking some greenery from the top and pulling it down and some from the bottom and lifting it.  This fills in the space nicely and takes up virtually no room at all. I then just put whatever was on the counter beforehand back into place (appliances etc.).    The greenery adds a festive touch but doesn't use up valuable real estate and only takes a few moments to accomplish.

OK last but not least.

We had a lot of questions last week from people who live in high wind areas or places with harsh winter weather.  How to attach wreaths and garlands when wind is a concern?  Any floral shop or craft store has the greatest stuff called "Floral Wire".  It is thin, strong and already painted green.  I have used it for years in many different applications.  Again I don't hesitate to put a small nail or screw above and below each window because I know I will use it again next year.  (A little dap of silicone will prevent any moisture from getting into the hole and creating any issues for years). 

I will cut pieces of floral wire and attach them to the top of a wreath and also to the bottom, be generous you want more wire than you will actually need.  Starting from the top nail I drape the wire over it and raise or lower the wreath till it is centered in the window.  The just wrap the wire around the nail and the wreath will stay in place at that height.  Then take the bottom wire and wrap it around the nail to secure the wreath so winds won’t effect it.  It takes all the guesswork out of getting your wreaths to hang just where you want them, and they go up fast.  The floral wire is so thin it seems to disappear and at night is invisible.  I again recommend the battery operated wreaths to add lights to a window without the hassle of electrical outlets or fat cords. 

Quick tip: If you use battery operated wreaths on timers and have multiple windows to do.  Put all your batteries in and then turn them all on before hanging them.  I will have a stack of them in the living room a couple nights before I will actually hang them on windows.  My timers are all 6 hours on 18 off.  So I wait till an evening at 6:00 PM, turn them all on and then even if I don't get to hanging them for a day or two they will all come on roughly at the same time when they are hung up.

Thanks for watching the show, we will do it again this Thursday morning at 10:00 AM EST and I will do my best to answer more of your questions. Enjoy the holidays!

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