My daughter and I put the Christmas decorations away this weekend. Funny how
it takes three hours to put all that stuff up and about 20 minutes to
rip it down! Anyway, the house looks
much cleaner without all that
cutesie-Christmas stuff cluttering up the place, but Diva and I are
feeling a little sad. The tree was just so darned bright and pretty! We've, therefore, decided to put up some very minimalistic Winter decorations befitting this lazy
mom. There are only a few of them because 1) I don't need extra stuff to dust 2) my daughter
and her friends like to touch
everything 3) if I put up more than a
few decorations, I'll forget to put them away and I detest finding Winter stuff
out during the summer 4) I don't need reminders that there's 2 feet
of snow outside with a wind chill of -23 degrees.
These decorations have a relatively long duration since they'll stay out until just before Easter. I don't adorn the house for Valentine's Day (am I the only one who
equates red Valentine's lights in the window with the Police song “Roxanne” and, thus,
prostitution?) or St. Paddy's Day. In addition, my Winter things
will look nice with the few Chinese New Year pieces Diva and I will be
making to display in a few weeks. (Stay tuned to this blog for
instructions and/or links on making Chinese New Year decorations.)
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| Igor, The Clearance Snowman |
The first item we dug out of the attic was Igor, a stuffed snowman I purchased
on clearance from Michael's a few years ago. As much as Diva wanted
this guy out during Christmas, I felt that that would lessen this guy's novelty value as
a Winter decoration.
Tip: this week and the next few will yield
mega discounts on what retailers deem as “Christmas” decor.
Think outside the box. Snow people and snowflakes are more Winter
than Christmas.
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| My pride and joy, Helga |
The next decoration we take out is Helga, a snow lady I made a
few years ago when I was snowed in with the kids during one of the
Northeast's many blizzards or “Nor'Easters” as the media now call
them. I had had NO alone time and needed a craft that would keep
them both busy, so I went to the recycling bin and grabbed a
dishwasher detergent bottle, some newspaper, and a bunch of gauze
leftover from a Halloween costume that never was (the concept of
Mommy as a mummy was great, but scared Diva when I started to wrap
myself). We made a gooey, oooey, delightful paste out of flour and
as we wrapped the bottle, with the head made out of a ball of paper,
realized that this creation could only be a snow person. Diva's
desire to make a snow lady won out over Junior's desire for a traditional, male snowman.
A few days later, when the model was dry, I grabbed a few buttons,
skewers from the kitchen, and voila! Helga was born! She summers in
the hot attic and because of that, the glue holding her arms on tends
to melt, so every year or two I wind up re-gluing her arms on,
otherwise, she's proven quite sturdy. Sometimes we'll even hang a
decoration or two from her arm. For more paper mache crafts, visit dltk-kids.com (
http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/papermache.htm).
Paper snowflakes are a staple in my house, especially since Diva
learned how to make them. Her preschool teacher meticulously cut
lovely, intricate ones but since I am spastic, I could never figure
out how to do it until we watched this YouTube video a few times:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTnxZSL5IJw.
We've now made snowflakes out of basic computer paper as well as
paper towels, coffee filters, and rice paper, which works the best.
The lacy creations adorn our window and are so low-budget that if the
cat decimates them, as she's methodically doing, I don't care.
Filling a vase with greenery from outside is also nice. Sometimes
Diva and I will gather a few sprigs of pine and place them in a
vase. If the vase is clear and we can find pine cones, we'll add those to the arrangement as well, Spraying the branches with a little diluted lemon juice compromises the
pine smell, but keeps the cat away.
Another tip: greenery or even bare
sticks from outside add a “natural” touch to the house, plus
they're cheap and easy to use. If you can't find pine cones outside,
head over to your local craft store where you should be able to find
them.
Leaving up Winter-themed Christmas cards is the ultimate in
low-budget decorating. I purged our Christmas cards, throwing away pictures of Santa and the Nativity, and we now have a line of doves and snow scenes running along a doorway. You could even slip a few in some cheap
frames for easy-peasy wall or table art.
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| Another clearance find |
Lastly, since we were missing the light of the Christmas tree,
I
made this sweet little snowman out of a candy container I bought on sale a few years ago. I simply cut holes in the back for the
plug of the, again, clearance lights I bought.
Okay, so I'm no Martha Stewart; still, I do want my house to look nice
in the Winter. Just a few, simple pieces achieves that without any great expenditure of cash. For more great, frugal, seasonal decorating ideas,
visit:
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Please check back in with me in a day or two for a a few recipes for
do-it-yourself ice melt and some tips on how to make surviving the
Winter easier.
Out into the -25 temps I go to pick up Diva! Ta-ta!
