Christmas is a time for personal celebrations and traditions shared with family and friends. Flowers and plants have long played a special role in Christmas festivities and are as personal and individual as the people doing the celebrating.
Trends for Celebrating the Holidays in Style with Flowers
The winter holiday season is the No. 1 floral-buying time of year. With that in mind, the Society of American Florists (SAF) has teamed with the host of Discovery Channel's Surprise by Design Rebecca Cole to showcase the floral trends that will give homes a festive feeling this holiday season.
Great holiday arrangements begin with greenery. In ancient cultures, people believed that bringing foliage into the home during the season was lucky and guaranteed the return of vegetation in the spring. Even today, green remains a staple in holiday décor.
Tips for Sprucing Up Your Home
From wreaths to centerpieces, bulb plants and topiaries, Cole shares her best bets for holiday winners.
Christmas Decorating and Entertaining Ideas with Flowers
Ready Your Home For Holiday Guests
The holiday season brings with it great meals, presents, beautiful decorations and guests… lots and lots of guests coming and going.
Holiday guests -- be they family members or friends -- often show up early, stay late or even pop by unexpectedly. And with them can come hectic, harried moments as you rush to get your house company-ready.
While your family room probably is your home’s superhighway, a few tweaks can eliminate those piles of roadway rubbish, such as toys and magazines. And quick fixes that yield permanent results can help ensure your entryway (the natural “drop zone” for your family’s coats, shoes, and keys) doesn’t become an unruly hazard.
Entryway
In addition to the holiday colors of red and green, below are other festive and beautiful Christmas color combinations.
Trends for Celebrating the Holidays in Style with Flowers
The winter holiday season is the No. 1 floral-buying time of year. With that in mind, the Society of American Florists (SAF) has teamed with the host of Discovery Channel's Surprise by Design Rebecca Cole to showcase the floral trends that will give homes a festive feeling this holiday season.
Great holiday arrangements begin with greenery. In ancient cultures, people believed that bringing foliage into the home during the season was lucky and guaranteed the return of vegetation in the spring. Even today, green remains a staple in holiday décor.
Tips for Sprucing Up Your Home
- Incorporate a scented pine or other greens into a centerpiece or table arrangement. Accent the greens with flowers that complement the home's décor.
- Ask your florist for a bunch of evergreen, cypress or mistletoe to place throughout your home – over the threshold, in the foyer or on the mantel. Line a mantel or dining table with small evergreen topiaries or “baby” Christmas trees decorated with bows or flowers.
- Florists carry a wide selection of poinsettias in pink, peach, white, plum and speckled or marbled varieties, in addition to the traditional red.
From wreaths to centerpieces, bulb plants and topiaries, Cole shares her best bets for holiday winners.
- Amaryllis and Paper White Narcissus are examples of bulb plants that if given after Thanksgiving or in early December, will bloom just in time for Christmas. Cyclamen, kalanchoe and Christmas cactus are other great flowering plant options.
- Ask your florist to design an arrangement incorporating fruits and vegetables to create a winter harvest feeling.
- Candles added to a centerpiece create a sense of warmth and glow to the holiday table. Shiny decorative balls incorporated into a centerpiece will reflect the light for an even more festive feel.
- Florists are now creating beautiful flower arrangements using colorful poinsettias and amaryllis – now available as cut flowers – for a stylish centerpiece.
- Decorate a brunch table with splashes of morning hues, including oranges, yellows and reds in decorative containers, or even champagne flutes.
- Fill a round Christmas ornament or other small holiday container with small bunches of flowers to use as place card holders for guests.
- A palette of white and silver adds elegance to a holiday table and is expected to be a popular color scheme for the upcoming holiday season.
- Arrangements and centerpieces in robust hues of purple and burgundy will create a sensuous, lush setting for dinners, both intimate and large.
- If you are attending a holiday gathering, ask your florist to deliver a cheerful arrangement or holiday plant before you arrive. When you show up, you'll be the talk of the evening.
Christmas Decorating and Entertaining Ideas with Flowers
- For a festive and unique centerpiece, create a table-scape with 4-inch plants in matching pots with ribbon, ornaments and/or candles as accent pieces. When guests leave your holiday party, give each a plant as a memento. Or create a table-scape with fresh flowers in coordinated vases.
- For a fun theme, ask your florist to create "snowballs" and "snowmen" using white carnations.
- Ask your florist to fill the pots from your container gardens with poinsettias, cyclamen, amaryllis and ivy.
- If you are invited to a dinner party or open-house, send a floral arrangement or centerpiece to the host or hostess ahead of time or as a thank-you gift after the party. It will make them feel special and appreciated.
- Greet guests at the door with a wreath holding a personal tree ornament for each of them to take home.
- Use fresh flowers on your Christmas tree in water vials. Florists can recommend long-lasting varieties and tell you how to add water to vials. Dried or treated flowers are also a beautiful choice.
- Use wrapped boxes, festive bows and flowers as table decorations. Give wrapped "packages" to your florist in advance and he or she can create floral designs for them. Place your "packages" with flowers under the tree or on the mantle.
- Wrap the pots of poinsettias or other holiday plants in festive paper and ribbons.
- Line a walkway with votive candles in luminaries leading up to a door.
- Place garland on the mantle with fresh flowers and candles to beautifully grace your room and make the most of light by enhancing the fire.
- Float candles and flowers in treasured crystal or silver bowls to create a fabulous effect.
- Place scented candles with fresh blossoms in each powder room.
Ready Your Home For Holiday Guests
The holiday season brings with it great meals, presents, beautiful decorations and guests… lots and lots of guests coming and going.
Holiday guests -- be they family members or friends -- often show up early, stay late or even pop by unexpectedly. And with them can come hectic, harried moments as you rush to get your house company-ready.
While your family room probably is your home’s superhighway, a few tweaks can eliminate those piles of roadway rubbish, such as toys and magazines. And quick fixes that yield permanent results can help ensure your entryway (the natural “drop zone” for your family’s coats, shoes, and keys) doesn’t become an unruly hazard.
Entryway
- Because the entryway is the easiest place to drop things, and is the first space guests see, your focus in this area should be clutter control. Determine what types of items are left here and then implement a clutter capture system.
- Look around. Do you see a handful of coats or an entire closet full? Do you spy a few shoes or a shoe mountain?
- Select and install the right storage solutions, whether they are hooks, bins, shelving, benches or other furnishings. Think about your aesthetic preferences. If you prefer not to see clutter, consider a narrow armoire to neatly store your belongings.
- Then personalize your entryway. Welcome your guests with an inviting display of family photos, a favorite collection, or fresh flowers to suit the season. Having these items on tables actually will prevent future clutter from collecting. Also, a strategically placed floor plantcan divert attention from less appealing areas.
- As for the family room or living room, Norris recommends determining the room’s direction, de-littering and finding homes for such nomadic items as backpacks, toys, magazines and everything in between.
- First decide upon the room’s direction. For example, should it be an off-ramp of the kitchen or an entertainment hub where you will gather to watch TV and play games? Set up a “go-elsewhere” basket, so at the end of each day you can relocate items that don’t belong here back to their proper places.
- Create a plan of attack for accumulating papers and other misplaced possessions, including a reference binder to create a permanent home for take-out menus, gift certificates, coupons and commonly reached-for phone numbers such as the dry cleaner, your florist, hair stylist and movie theater.
In addition to the holiday colors of red and green, below are other festive and beautiful Christmas color combinations.
- Chartreuse greens with reds in deep shades.
- Natural greens in different textures, such as: Ming fern, cedar, long needled pine and arborvitae are beautiful with twigs and deep red berries. This combination is comforting and welcoming for the holiday.
- Think pink. Not traditional pink, but deep shades. For impact, combine pinks with red-orange. Shades of violet, sage and deep pink also work well together.
- Red and burgundy create a warm, sophisticated look.
- White, winter wonderland. Accent with burnished gold, not shiny gold.
- A combination of white and silver looks elegant and makes your home sparkle.
- Any shade of red — separate or together — accented with gold or bronze.
- Ivory, mellow gold and cream. Pearl garlands and jewels give these colors a romantic flair.
- Blue accents add flair.
- Make a bold statement: Bright citrus colors of orange and lime green paired with hot pinks and teal shades.