When the holiday season rolls around we all want our homes to look festive, warm, and inviting. And whether you live full-time in the Poconos or use your home there as a holiday retreat, you want your mountain home to have that same welcoming allure.
So how can you create a festive holiday atmosphere without going overboard and draping the whole house in tinsel? In the spirit of keeping the holidays simple and (at least a little more) stress free, let’s look at two simple tips for brightening things up: Greens and lights.
Greens: In a season when the outside weather often turns cold and gray, it’s nice to freshen things up with greenery. Bringing a little bit of the winter wonderland indoors (while leaving the cold out) is a nice touch. A few well-placed evergreen trimmings on a mantel or a bookshelf can bring the holiday spirit to life in your home. And there’s something soothing and pleasing about the smell of freshly cut pine that perks up a room. You don’t have to overdo it—use these cuttings as an accent rather than the main focus of your room. Think of it as a natural air freshener that also freshens things for your eyes!
Lights: ‘Tis the season to light lights! What would the holidays be without those little gems of light driving out the winter darkness? Legend has it that candles were first put on Christmas trees (some credit to Martin Luther) with the intent to replicate starlight shining through the trees in the forest. Our friends at the fire department frown on the practice of putting lighted candles in highly flammable tree branches, but fortunately, we have alternatives.
What’s great, is that newer LED holiday lights (available almost everywhere) have a much more neutral color than the old bulbs we used to use. They are cooler, and they use less electricity. Some utility companies even offer special deals for you to trade in your old lights for a new string of safe, energy-efficient LED lights.
What’s really nice is to be able to light up dark corners of your home in the winter months. So placing your lights strategically is important. That used to be a bit of a challenge, because some of us hate to see cords hanging everywhere. And those dark corners are sometimes hard to light up without having the cords hang out. Not anymore!
Glimmer Strings® (which you can find at Pier 1 Imports or on Amazon) are a great solution. They are battery-powered LED lights that allow you to arrange beautiful small lights anywhere you want! You can wrap them around evergreen boughs or holly. You can even use them as a decoration on your dining room table—and there are no cords to mess with (or trip over).
So this year let the green and the light into your home for a brighter, more festive holiday season!
