Christmas is one of my favorite excuses to be creative. While I love the holiday decorating, I tend to be rather skimpish when it comes to paying money for what I consider ‘disposable’ accents, and so I work to craft my own using what I own and the nature in my yard.

Last year for my birthday (it was a big one, saying goodbye to 5 decades, looking forward to more to come), my hubby showered me with flowers. They were breathtakingly beautiful, unique, and artistic, done by a local florist he knew he could trust to create arrangements outside the boundaries of 1800-florist. When their beauty had well past waned and out with the trash they went, I was left with unique and beautiful containers picked for specific areas, one of which being my parsons table. My parsons table sits behind my couch in-between the great room and the kitchen. It’s a big space and the vase is the perfect height , not too high, so I can see from the kitchen in to the family room, not too low as to be missed.

For the fall/Thanksgiving, I filled it with lemons and mini-pomegrantes. For christmas, I pulled out my vintage Christmas tree balls and headed out to my arbor vitae to clip some greens. A bit of decorative garnish and VOILA!

I am pleased with the result: simple, colorful and not too flashy. A bit of greenery in the house to contrast with the stark barren brown leafless trees, and wintery white snow outside, brings inside a cozy holiday feeling.

There is an abundance of nature out there, and any vase or cool container can be used to create a bit of festive holiday sparkle in any area of your own home. Just think out of the box and get snipping!