Christmas 2008 A Look Back

“Christmas can’t be over…I’m still decorating!” –TheGayGardener

Hi everyone!! So sorry to be absent for so long. Fortunately December is a really busy time for TheGayGardener. I did 2 parties, 3 Christmas trees, 2 Holiday House exteriors (so sick of pointsettias I could scream) all the while fighting record rainfall in L.A. oh! and then I left for a Winter holiday to South America on Christmas Day. I’m pooped! But I bet you are too!

A few things I learned or re-learned this Holiday season:

*Use Mother Nature as often as you can. Spray painted white sticks or branches can make a great tree in a lovely pot or container. (I trimmed one using some vintage chandelier crystals I took off a lamp years ago.) And Pinecones are everywhere & make great accents & they’re free!! I brushed some white paint on the tips for a snowy affect & strung them with colored ribbon & hung them everywhere. You can also place a large or medium sized one in a container and make a little perfect tree.

*A pretty branch painted white & placed in a tall glass vase with white gravel or rock salt looks simple yet dramatic.

*Fill regular Christmas ball ornaments with water & use them as vases! I got this from Better Homes & Gardens. BH&G placed the balls in vases first but I just used some glued on wire on the bottom to steady the balls. Silver balls filled with white roses & placed on a table top mirror is look smashing!

* Please let’s stop pretending that “We have enough lights!” And ignore your husband if he says something similar to that. We never have enough lights. You all know my Tree Rule : A MINIMUM of 100 L.P.F. (lights per foot) but that’s just weak. 200 is more like it. So buy light early & buy them often, you’ll find a use for them. Even if only to replace the 3 sets that you have in the garage that will be burned out before Christmas eve.

* Two words: Spray Snow! I love this stuff!! It costs what, $2 a can? And you can use it give your tree a little snow mist & avoid the dreaded “Flocking” (an ugly word for an ugly effect) You can spray the aforementioned sticks in lieu of white paint. I used it to temporarily whitewash some terra cotta pots and it looked terrific. You can, of course use it on the windows as prescribed.

*Tinsel in the hands of an amateur will prove fatal. Trust me.

* Gift giving is like the Academy Awards. It seems such a big deal at the time & we sweat over each purchase (especially these days!) But nobody will remember next year what they got this year just like no one recalls who won last year’s Oscar! Unless the answer is Marissa Tomei. So unless you’ve made an unbelievably bad gift choice, don’t sweat it. Being together is really all that matters!

* You need a unifier! Ok So I get the nostalgia of using all those macaroni covered ornaments that the kids made in 6th grade every year! So use all that sentimental stuff but try to unify the tree in some way. Use only red balls. Or just "star" ornaments or lengths of garlands or beads in the same color this will make your tree seem more "done"

This Sunday is the feast of The Epiphany or "Little Christmas" This day commemorates the arrival of the Magi to the stable when the Christ Child was born. Hey they were WISE & ARTISTIC men nobody said they were punctual!! YOU try telling time by a damn STAR!!

After Sunday if your tree is still up your just sad. Or more likely lazy!! Merry Little!!