Homemade Christmas Decorations: A Family Affair

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A collection of mismatched candlesticks becomes a stunning centerpiece when you spray paint them in a rich pewter color and group them on a side table or buffet.

— Gina Samarotto, Samarotto Design Group

Budget-Friendly Creations

The perfect decorating design can work off elements already in your home. Ward, founder of Use What You Have Interiors of New York City, suggests you form a cohesive look around a single color theme. Augment that look with supplies you have on hand. For example, use wire ribbon and tie a big bow that streams down the back of each of your dining room chairs. You can even add an evergreen sprig or a bell in the center that jingles whenever the chair moves.

“Use solid Christmas accent colors – metallic, gold or silver – to tie your holiday scheme together even more,” she said.

Festive napkin rings from green raffia or natural twine can add a warm look to a table. Add a special holiday greeting, such as “Ho, Ho, Ho” or personalized name tags to the table items. Ward said a gold vase filled with evergreen branches and red berries can serve as an elegant centerpiece on the table or an entrance chest. The coffee table could benefit from one or two big metallic bowls filled with wrapped candy, while a couple of evergreen branches draped across the mantle can give the holiday décor a rustic feel.

Gina Samarotto, owner of Poughkeepsie, New York-based Samarotto Design Group, suggests you get creative with spray paint.

“Reinvent and repurpose the odds and ends you already have,” she said. “A collection of mismatched candlesticks becomes a stunning centerpiece when you spray paint them in a rich pewter color and group them on a side table or buffet.”

Inexpensive pillar candles take on a high-end look with a wide, velvet ribbon band around the center. Samarotto suggests securing the ribbon with pearl-headed pins.

If you still have wrapping paper lying around, Samarotto suggests using the scraps to create decorative gifts and centerpieces. For example, she said, use water-based glue to affix the scraps to simple, inexpensive wooden boxes.

"Finish with a coat of glossy shellac to create a one-of-a-kind memento box,” she said.

Family-Friendly Decorations

Break out the tools and put the kids to work with tree decorations. Personalized ornaments can put the finishing touches on your tree and your home’s holiday décor.

“While certainly the selection of ornaments available commercially through retail stores are lovely, nothing compares to the ornaments — and memories — you create with your family,” Samarotto said.

Scout through craft stores for small, unpainted wooden sleds or small wooden holiday pieces. Let the kids paint and add glitter to their heart’s content. Add a touch of personalization with calligraphy or fabric. Samarotto said ornaments can be personalized with wooden or fabric letters or a felt tip permanent marker. They can be embellished with a sprig of evergreen or a bow.

If you prefer a touch of glitz and glam, opt for glass ornaments and metallic paint. Samarotto suggests drizzling paint into the ornament before swirling it around. Finish with a thin metallic chiffon ribbon for an elegant piece, she said. Use plastic ornaments if you have young children. The children can experiment with different paint on the ornaments without damaging an expensive piece.

Samarotto also likes using metallic paint on pine cones. Paint the cones first, she said, then roll them in gold, silver, copper or pewter leaf.

“The leaf will adhere in tiny glimmery pieces to the paint, giving the pine cones an elegant and textural glow,” she said.

Interior designer Jeanette Chasworth does her own holiday decorating with cookie ornaments, reindeer made out of clothespins, and paper wreaths.

“Homemade items can be fun if you are getting the family involved,” said Chasworth, the owner of Chasworth Place of Arcadia, California. “Use tissue paper and thread it with a string to make wreaths, or decorate the tree or your homemade wreaths with scarves.”

If you have a large framed mirror in your entrance foyer, have the family tuck holiday cards in the frame. That will give the cards a prominent display guests can enjoy as they walk by.

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