{"id":15236,"date":"2022-12-07T08:18:22","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T15:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/in-house\/?p=15236"},"modified":"2022-12-07T10:13:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T17:13:59","slug":"12-days-of-christmas-decorating-tips-inspiration-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/in-house\/decor-and-accessories\/12-days-of-christmas-decorating-tips-inspiration-part-1","title":{"rendered":"12 Days of Christmas: Decorating Tips & Inspiration Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Guest post by Lynda Redding <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lynda Redding, Licensed Real Estate Agent, Designer and Professional Home Stager<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When decorating for Christmas, I love to mix in homemade items and antique ornaments that have been collected over time to our Christmas decor. This can be a fun and inexpensive way to add sentiment and traditions to the season. Plus, it’s fun to get the kids involved too. So to get ready for this Christmas season, and hopefully inspire you to start some fun projects for your family, I’m going to share some tips and ideas of things we have made or done to make our Family Christmas Celebrations memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t forget to stay tuned for part two of the 12 Days of Christmas with even more fun decorating tips for the holiday season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Countdown to Christmas with Brown Paper Bag Ornaments<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A fun way for the kids to countdown the days until Christmas is to make your own Advent. You can add scripture passages tucked inside of each ornament to be read as a family as you begin the countdown. This year I made 25 paper mittens with a slip of paper inside of each mitten with that day’s scripture passage. To made the mittens I used 25 brown paper (lunch) bags and stamped the numbers 1-25 near the bottom of each bag. Then, I traced the shape of a mitten onto each bag, sewing a single stitch around the traced line, and then cutting them out trimming close to the stitched line. To hang them I added ribbon and a small clothespin which was also stamped with a number. We hung ours on our tree, but they could be hung on a string with the clothespins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Sweater Mitten Ornaments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Here I took an old sweater of my husband’s and cut out mitten shapes, placing them along the waistband and sleeve bands to incorporate the band at the base of each mitten, cutting out a front and back, then placing right sides together sewed a single stitch around the edges, leaving the bottom\/banded edge open for turning right side out. Lastly, add a loop and a bow out ribbon bow for hanging. We made these sweater mittens about 20 years ago, and they’re still a family favorite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Salt Dough Gingerbread Ornaments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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This is something you can do with your children or grandchildren. I followed a Cinnamon Salt Dough recipe that I found on line, and then rolled it out like cookie dough with my grandson. We used cookie cutters for the snowflakes, and then cut out the various house shapes by tracing house shapes and cutting around them with a knife. Then we placed them on a cookie sheet and baked them on low for 2-3 hours. After they cooled we decorated them with white slick paint to look like snow\/frosting on gingerbread cookies. They’re not perfect, but the imperfections only add to the homemade look, which we love. We made these ornaments 4 years ago and they have lasted beautifully by storing them in a few ziplock bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n