Deck The Halls

Hello Everyone! How are you doing? Is everyone dashing through the snow to get ready for Christmas? We've been dashing through some rain drops, then digging out our flip flops, then looking for our scarves. You've got to love Christmas in North Carolina. It has finally gotten chilly around here which definitely puts me in the mood to deck the halls. (Okay, so I wrote this a couple of days ago and yes it was chilly...tomorrow is going to be in the 70's. Here we go again.)


Anyhoo, I love lots of greenery to decorate for Christmas. I have noticed that over the years, I have decreased my doo dads and increased the greenery. It just makes everything seem cozy and doesn't make me in a hurry to take down the decorations after Christmas.

I have a quick and cheap decoration to share with all of you using greenery. I found some little galvanized pails at a thrift store. This is what sparked the idea. I've also seen them at hardware stores and craft stores.

I bought some oasis foam from The Dollar Tree. They come two to a pack. Make sure you get the ones for fresh floral arrangements not artificial arrangements. It will say it on the packaging. The one for fresh flowers will absorb water and the other will not which is important since you will need to soak them for a few minutes in a bowl of water. This will keep your greenery from drying out. Once you soak the foam, fit it inside of the little pails. They're super easy to cut so cutting edges off to make it fit is a snap. I usually use a steak knife. It's very pliable so smashing it in there works too.

I gather greenery from our yard. We have an assortment of evergreens that I like to use but any greenery would work. (Cypress, Box woods, Arborvitaes)

Clip the branches to the height you would like them and strip a few of the lower leaves (smaller branches) away leaving a little stem at the bottom where you cut it. Push the stem into the center of the foam so it stands straight up in the bucket looking like a little tree.

I used fresh cranberries left over from Thanksgiving to put around the base of the evergreen. This covers up the foam in the bucket. You could also use small rocks, moss, dried beans, buttons, etc... Be creative!

 I put some extra water in the pail to keep the evergreen from drying out and add more water as needed throughout the season.

That's all there is to it! Miniature Christmas trees! I think they would look lovely on a kitchen table or a mantel or a bathroom sink or anywhere you need a little dash of Christmas. They would also make a great place card holder for a dinner party and a take home gift as well! The possibilities are endless.

What is your favorite way to decorate for Christmas? Lots of greenery? Lots of lights? Total Griswold? Please share. We love new ideas!

Merry Christmas!
Diane