Tired of the same old traditional Christmas decorations? Is your animated Santa saying "Humbug!" instead of "Ho, Ho, Ho"? Perhaps you have a second tree you want to decorate with a little more unusual holiday flair. Maybe you live in a multi-cultural family or are planning a company holiday party and are trying to balance several religious beliefs. Here are some ideas that will help you take traditions and turn them with a twist into something new and memorable.
"Holiday Ho Ho Hoedown"
* Suspend silver sheriff's badges on your tree or over your dining or buffet table instead of traditional stars.
*Tie red bandannas to tree branches, pin across your mantel, use as napkins or lay out as place mats.
*Drape thick rope on your tree's branches or mantel instead of the usual garland.
*Attach toy or infant-sized cowboy boots to your tree and intersperse with plain, red ball-shaped ornaments. Add mini-cowboy hats with red and green ribbon bands for a toe-to-head western wear décor theme.
*Fasten a variety of jingle bells with gingham ribbon to act as spurs to the back of a cowboy boot and use as a vase for dried flowers. Or line the boot with a plastic bag and use with fresh flowers for a holiday hoedown centerpiece.
*Hot glue strips of gingham or denim ribbon around plain ornaments for a country-western Christmas.
*Trim handles of camping cookware with ribbons, mistletoe or holly for your holiday home.
*Wrap presents in gingham, burlap or denim fabric and tie with raffia straw bows. Or, tie up gifts in red bandanas to make your cowpokes smile.
*Call guests to dinner with a ribbon-tied cowbell.
*Dress your Santa in a western costume.
*Use an LED lighted cowboy hat as your tree topper.
"Hawaiian Hula Holiday"
*Decorate a palm tree instead of a typical evergreen.
*Trim your tree with exotic blossoms (paper, silk or real) and fake tropical birds.
*Loop leis together for a colorful garland.
*Core a real, plastic or paper pineapple and use as your tree topper.
*Wrap gifts in tropical print papers, fabric or large banana leaves.
*Use giant banana or palm leaves as place mats.
*Create a centerpiece with amaryllis blossoms and sugar cane.
*Substitute leis for ribbons on gift boxes.
*Instead of Christmas-designed luminarias, use colorful paper lanterns instead.
*Spread out a grass skirt as your tree skirt.
*Use floating floral candles in stemware on dining tables.
*Use pineapple-flavored candy canes as stirrers in your Pina Colada or Mai Tai glasses.
*Line your walkway with tiki torches wrapped with ribbon to resemble candy canes.
*Place votive candles in large pineapple-shaped plastic trays and, weather-permitting, float in your pool.
*Dress your Santa in Hawaiian attire.
"Santa's Seaside Soiree"
*As a lawn decoration, dress your Santa in a bathing suit and sunglasses. Have the reindeer pull him on a gift-laden surfboard or wave-runner instead of sleigh.
*Trim your (palm or evergreen) tree with seashells, seagulls, mini beachballs and tropical fish.
*Create a giant "sandman" with large foam balls. Spray with adhesive and cover in sand. Add sunglasses, a beachcomber's hat and other summer attire instead of a winter wardrobe.
*Use long strands of pearls for your garland on your tree or mantle.
*Cover a cone-shaped topiary with seashells as a mini tree and use it as a centerpiece or mantel decoration.
*Top your tree with a starfish.
*Use colorful fishnet on top of plain, brown wrapping paper to decorate your gifts.
*Decorate your tree with colorful mini beach balls or seashells.
*Hang strings of tropical lights entwined with fish net on your mantle.
*Paint guests' names on seashells as place cards.
*Use tropical light sets on your house and your tree.
*Suspend tropical fish on monofilament over your dining or buffet tables.
*Use a fishnet as your table's overlay.
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
*Multi-colored lights with large bulbs (as opposed to small twinkle lights popular today), along with plain red and green or blown glass ornaments were standard '50s tree trim.
*After decorated with lights and bulbs, trees were then trimmed with carefully-placed silver tinsel and/or angel hair. If you can't find silver tinsel, use your paper shredder to cut up long strands of aluminum foil.
*Tree toppers were traditionally angels, but for a little fun, you can top yours with a battery-operated disco ball instead.
*Make a felt tree skirt—don’t forget the poodles.
*Scour thrift shops, garage sales or on-line auctions for 1950s Coca-Cola trays or other items bearing Santa's image. Replica merchandise is also available in many department, specialty and discount stores or catalogs.
*Use old or fake .45 records as your ornaments.
*Stand red and white-striped taper candles in old fashioned ice cream soda glasses filled with pink carnations sans stems for table décor.
*Tie long strands of red ribbons with a collection of jingle bells to the backs of each guest's chair.
*Cover a plain water glass with an ankle-high tube sock, roll down the cuff. Trim the sock with ribbons and jingle bells to serve as a coaster and décor. For extra personalization, with embroidery thread or fabric paint, add the name of each guest onto the sock to serve as a place card and party favor. (Be sure to give each guest their matching sock.)
"Feliz Navidad Fiesta"
*Trim your tree with a collection of colorful paper flowers.
*Remember, red, green and white – traditional Christmas colors – are also the colors of the Mexican flag.
*Cover your buffet with a serape or poncho.
*Loop a holiday wreath around fake cactus to serve as your centerpiece.
*Use Mexican metal lanterns as luminarias on your lawn. Or create your own with large metal cans and a hole punch dotted in a Christmas tree pattern to let your candle glow through.
*No Latin Christmas décor would be complete without a complete nativity set. A live re-enactment of the nativity scene would be even more traditional.
*Replace a typical tree skirt with a colorful, ruffled Mexican skirt.
*Fill your home with colorful poinsettia plants.
*Create wreaths of bright flowers, place around the crown of a sombrero and hang on the wall or use as table decoration.
*Trim your tree with a margarita glass light set.
*Consider postponing (or holding a second) celebration on January 6th – the Feast of the Epiphany - also known as Three Kings Day or Little Christmas. This is the day the three Wise Men brought gifts to the Christ child. On the eve of January 6th, Mexican children leave their shoes outside their door to awaken the next morning to find them filled with candy and trinkets.
Use these themed ideas for a different ho-ho-holiday!
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