The Rural Voice, 2000-12, Page 40Home Decorating
Organize early for stress free holiday
By Patti Robertson
'Tis "The Season" once again! The
time we all don our Martha Stewart
hats and attempt to make this the best
Christmas ever! Unlike Martha we're
not being highly paid to perform
duties and create decorations to
perfection, nor do many of us have
the highly trained and well -
reimbursed elves that Martha has at
her disposal! No, most of us do what
we can and end up appearing like a
Martha Stewart doll that's been
wound way too tightly ... and this
certainly showed up for me this past
Thanksgiving.
As I was vacuuming the house for
the last time, the first company
arrived ... and the vacuum sat on
display until approximately 10:00 p.m.
when I finally thought "what the
heck" and put it away, the job to be
completed after the festivities. Our
pre -dinner drive about the countryside
to take in the fall colours, lasted two
and half hours longer than
anticipated, so not only was dinner
way off schedule but the table was as
yet unset and unadorned. I quickly
brushed off the cloth set the table and
threw together a centrepiece complete
with candles, and 'n record time had
dinner presented
in "the fancy
eating bowls".
Although I was a
little frantic I
kept my attitude
in check and do
you know I
received the best
compliments I'd
been given in
quite a while.
After all was said
and done I
realized that
nobody realized
the house wasn't
to my perfection or that the table had
not been set to my standards. What
was noticed was the cozy, relaxed
atmosphere with plenty of good food
shared with terrific company.
So the lesson I learned and want to
share with you ... and particularly
OSBORNE'S
TV . VCR . DVD . HOME THEATRE AUDIO
SERVICING ALL BRANDS OF TVS, VCRS & STEREOS
32 Bruce Street
Thornbury, Ont.
SATELLITE INSTALLATION
(519) 599-3316 �,
STAR7CH CE
osbornetv@aol.com IT'S YOUR TELEVISION
I
3
NIPMfferaraWWWWWWWWWWWWWWIIIMMII
A Frame In Time
17(erzy CI Is/mas f0 all
J Susan Hill
art supplies
custom framing
limited edition prints
quality Canadian crafts
11 Main St., Markdale
519-986-4114
2 Collingwood St., Flesherton
519-924-0330
36 THE RURAL VOICE
those of you who, in a moment of
insanity, volunteered to host the entire
family for Christmas, or were duly
designated because "you have the
most space or the oldest kids etc." ...
it's not aptitude, it's "Attitude", that's
going to shine the brightest, and be
remembered.
With this bit of wisdom in mind
let's look at the possibilities for
making your festivities merry and
bright, relatively stress free, and
organized ahead of time. First and
foremost create a to-do list and then
delegate, delegate, DELEGATE. If a
family member even hints at helping,
take them up on their offer and give
them a duty, be it taking the
company's coats as they arrive,
washing dishes, serving beverages,
picking up Granny. Whatever!
Well ahead of time, choose a
colour scheme for your table, right
from the linens, to the candles and
centerpiece. There are always the
traditional reds and greens but
perhaps you'd feel more avant garde
using rose, cranberry and sage colours
or the new blush peach, champagne
and metallic gold tones or willow
green and wheat hues, black and tan
with gold, or tone -on -tone neutrals.
The trick is to work with your
present decor and either plan on
subtly blending the colour scheme or
do the opposite and totally accentuate
the colour co-ordination. Do not
fight with your decor. Make the
utmost out of what you have by
working with it.
Put up your tree, hang the stocking
and deck the halls really early — it'll
be too intense near "due date" and
when we start early we can get a great
feel for the little extras we may wish
to add (be they a few new Christmas
baubles or party favours for the table).
Concentrate on the rooms and items
that will be needed for entertaining:
the kitchen, dining room, family
room, den and bathroom (the closets
can wait 'til January). In the high
traffic rooms concentrate on the
decorations and amenities. This is
where your efforts as a hostess will
shine! If all your serving platters and
bowls are cleaned and ready to go
then that's one less hassle at the last