Festive Family Fun at Home
It's almost that time of the year where the holiday fever takes over and shops become a festival of decorations. We are also nearing the end of the school year and you are pushing through the fatigue of a long and sometimes scary 2020 to reach that happy place where you get to spend time with family and loved ones.
Considering how hard this year has been on most of us (and our pockets), you might be thinking of celebrating Christmas at home. So, we thought that for this edition, we'd love to give you some affordable and creative options to decorate your festive table. We can already see the Christmas Tree standing in the corner all lit up and flashing away to your favourite Christmas tunes, the smile on the kids' faces and that pure burst of excitement and impatience for Christmas day.
Let's start off with centrepiece ideas
1.1 Festive balls and sparkle:
Fill a vase or lantern with Christmas balls or fairy lights to bring the cheerful Christmas colours and ambience to the table. Placing them on a mirror will double the jollification!
1.2 Chalking around:
Use Brown or black chalk paper as your table cloth and decorate with chalk pens as you like. You can write your guests names at their place settings and add fresh fruit, leaves and flowers to the middle of the table, or choose to use the paper as a plain table runner and just add a row of red roses in glass jars down the middle. Artsy elegance.
1.3 Row of paper trees:
Turn holiday-themed scrapbooking papers into an inexpensive tabletop display. Cut and fold papers to create simple cone "trees" of different sizes. Secure seams with double-sided tape.
1.4 Candy Cane Vase:
Replace traditional flower vases with a handmade festive red-and-white candy cane vase. Just use double sided tape to stick the candy cane around a suitable vase and round it off with a pretty bow. For the flowers you can use any flower you like in either red or white.
Name Tags for the guests
Personalised name tags at the table will make each guest feel special and valued. Let your creative side come out to play - the kids will love helping to make them!
2.1 Loafing Around:
This simple and beautiful bread place setting idea is easy to do and always a popular choice. Add a piece of string and add your name tags or put them in brown paper bags with your guest's names written on. You could even print or write your menu on the wrapping if you like.
2.2 Let the games begin:
For a fun touch, you can use Scrabble letters and trays to create personal place cards.
2.3 Wine Cork Reindeer Placeholders:
These are our absolute favourite. You can make each reindeer unique by matching them to the person and giving them their very own personality traits. Just glue all the little pieces together and stick the name tag between the antlers of the reindeer.
2.6 DIY Name Pegs:
Plain wooden pegs are great for quick and easy place holders. Write the names in black and peg it onto a glass, or add a bit of fresh festivity by using flowers or some greenery from your garden.
Placemats:
Create a collage of family Christmas photos and put them all together on your computer. Add a few Christmas elements and simply print and laminate them. Now every family has a placement as a little gift to take home with them. Each year you just add the best of the previous year's photos and eventually it becomes a trip down memory lane. Nostalgia guaranteed! If you prefer something more elegant, you can opt for a placemat with printed Christmas décor and your own Christmas message or family name.
Marshmallow Snowman Surprise:
To end off a wonderful time with family and friends, why not treat them with an adorable marshmallow snowman hanging out in a cup of cocoa! We saw this idea on the Pinterest page: Its always autumn. He was so cute, we just wanted to share it with you. Check out the full recipe here.
From all the Reddies at RED Properties, we wish you a magical festive season, with love from our house to yours.
If you or the kids don't feel like making things yourself, you can always visit one of the local festival markets that happen between now and Christmas. You will find great things for the table and affordable gifts to help fill out your gift list. Don't know where the markets are happening? You can find tons of them on facebook but The Jewellery Box posts any markets they attend in South Africa. if you want, you can view a few markets here: https://bit.ly/thejewelleryboxmarkets
