How to Decorate for the Holidays Southwestern Style

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By Ryn Gargulinski
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Top your southwest Christmas tree with a gorgeous sun, rather than the traditional angel.

Anyone who has lived in the Southwest, even for a short time, knows the region has a distinctive flair. Now you can keep that flair going through the holidays, doing away with the rest of the nation's poinsettia plants and pine cone wreaths and embracing all the area has to offer. It's both fun and easy to decorate for the holidays southwestern style, here's how.

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Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Tumbleweed
Skulls
Little Santa hats
Ornaments and lights

Step 1

Make a tumbleweed Christmas tree. Find a good-sized tumbleweed on the side of the road or perhaps lodged in fence somewhere, prop it in a planter, throw on some ornaments and voila! You've got yourself a southwestern Christmas tree.
Step 2

Dress up deer, goat and steer skulls with little Santa hats or red noses. If the skulls are small enough, you can even use them as décor for your tumbleweed Christmas tree.
Step 3

String lights on your outdoor cactus and buy some small indoor cactus to adorn with red and green bows, placing them strategically throughout the home. Unlike poinsettias that often end up the same way, cacti are not poisonous if your cat decides to eat them.
Step 4

Pick appropriate colors. You can still use the infamous red and green, but pick a dark, forest green and a red that borders on burgundy. Both hues will scream southwest, while a lime green and bright red will deter from the region's flavor.

Tips & Warnings

Use a cowboy hat adorned with red and green bandannas if you feel the need for holiday headgear.
If you don't have any skulls hanging around the house ready to be decorated, you can probably find some out in the desert, provided you have the time to go look for them. Boil in bleach mixture to clean before decorating.
If you're feeling really creative, feel free the spray paint your tumbleweed green, white, gold or red before you turn it into a Christmas tree.
Instead of stockings hung round the chimney with care, prop up some decorated cowboy boots.
You may want to wear gardening gloves when playing with your tumbleweed tree or stringing lights on your cactus.
Don't worry about getting carried away. That's what the holidays are for.