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of Living® Holidays Multifunctional Holiday Decor! For the last couple of months, I have been providing an overview of ideas for home entertaining, rather like Entertaining 101. I had initially planned to write more about entertaining this month, when an idea occurred to me: How can we start the new year with less stress and more décor in our lives? My answer? Don’t take down your holiday decorations (at least not ALL of them)! Now, before you get all huffy, keep in mind that I am working from an assumption of a true Senses of Living® holiday season, rather than a stereotypical décor scheme as promoted by various mainstream magazines and television shows. If you check my columns throughout the year (visit the archive/site map at http://www.god-dess.com/sitemap.html ), you will see that I encourage using glass Christmas tree balls in plain colors to add color to dining tables and other areas of the home throughout the year. If one avoids season-specific decorations, one can make those décor items multi-task, so that you don’t have to! I don’t use a traditional Yule tree in my home. Instead, I string lights on my chi-wara-kunh, a huge wooden headdress from Mali. I also string lights on some of my larger plants. If one uses the strands of pure white lights, rather than multi-colored lights, one can have a festive atmosphere year-round. For that matter, you can even use multi-colored lights. You can use anything you want to use! You can even purchase potted evergreen trees to use indoors, then plant them outdoors, or try to maintain them as houseplants, or use a REAL houseplant, the Norfolk Island Pine, as a surrogate Yule tree. And, if you DO use a traditional cut tree in your home, think about a mindful way to dispose of it; some of the following options will work for you, and some won’t:
Wreathes! Yule wreathes tend to be very specific, and very identifiable. What if you used something a bit more generic to which you could add some seasonal cheer throughout the year? I described a variety of wreathes in a previous column, but there are so many options. In fact, you can use wreathes as a door decoration all year long! I must admit that I do not use a wreath at Yule; years ago, my dear friend Carol gave me a beautiful Jülbocke (Christmas goat) with wheat sheaves, and I adorn my door with this arrangement annually. But, not everyone has a Yule goat, so you don’t have the same excuse I have to not use a wreath! Then, there are candles. Candles are ubiquitous, these days. There always seem to be “special” candles for specific holidays, and those would not be appropriate to use throughout the year. But … what if you used solid color candles in simple geometric shapes, and just changed the décor of their bases? Different seasons can involve winter’s evergreen fronds, or spring’s buds and shoots, or summer flowers, or autumn’s colored foliage. Same candles, different accessories: it’s all so simple! Visit my previous décor columns for guidance on candle placement and safety. In case you weren’t sure, there are two themes running through this column. The first is: Let your home décor be multifunctional. Multifunctionality will be a theme in this column throughout 2004, as it is part of the core of Senses of Living® decorating. Sure, you can add some holiday-specific décor, if you wish to, but don’t feel that you HAVE to. Reindeer, santas, red/green everything (or blue/white everything for our Jewish friends, or black/red/green for our brothers and sisters celebrating Kwanzaa) are all wonderful, but require additional work, and thus contribute to some feelings of stress and being overwhelmed at the holiday season (though do you see how easily Christmas décor might segue into Kwanzaa décor?). Return to this column throughout 2004 for lots more discussions about incorporating multifunctionality into your home decor! The second theme is: Treat EVERY day as if it were a holiday. When I wrote the first Senses of Living® holiday column, this was my central theme, and it has continued monthly. That was my reason for providing the plethora of unusual holidays each month, to provide an external nudge to everyone to celebrate more! I don’t understand why people are hesitant to have frequent or impromptu celebrations, but I want to encourage all of you to have more parties (even if you are the only attendee! A “party of one” is a great way to spend an evening). So, Happy New Year! May 2004 bring you all of the health and happiness possible! And if you need help with multifunctional décor, you know you can contact me at any time! Now, start celebrating the following January Monthly Observances
(and, in keeping with the notion of simplification, and to avoid
repeating what I’ve said in previous columns, I shall skip
almost all of my usual pithy editorial comments this month …
though I’m biting my tongue and typing up my typing fingers
to keep from doing so): First Week of January: As we begin a new year, with much of the world in conflict, let
us take a moment to reflect on the reasons for national respect
and patriotism around the world: January 1 (Independence Day, Cameroon;
National Liberation, Cuba; Independence Day, Haiti; Independence
Day, Sudan; Independence Day, Western Samoa), January 2 (Independence
Day, Macedonia), January 4 (Independence Day, Myanmar [Burma]),
January 6 (Pathet Lao Day, Laos), January 8 (Commonwealth Day, Northern
Marianas), January 11 (Republic Day, Albania; National Unity Day,
Nepal; Flag Proclamation Day, Norfolk Island, Australia), January
12 (Zanzibar Revolution Day, Tanzania), January 13 (Liberation Day,
Togo), January 15 (Martin Luther King Day, USA [observance varies]),
January 17 January 1: New Year's Day (US Federal Holiday)
Now we come to the end of Senses of Living® Holidays. One year ago, I started writing this column in February, and with the past columns archived, there is no need to repeat these dates (despite the fact that they may change periodically). So, celebrate daily, and utilize multifunctionality! Let me know if I can help you (bret@god-dess.com or 773.508.9208).
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