Tis The Season To Be....Crafty!

Thanksgiving is over. The turkey has been consumed, the subsequent naps taken and, for your sake, we hope the dishes are done. All of which just serves to mark the fact that we can finally allow ourselves to slip into the very thing we have been fighting for weeks: the holiday spirit. Yes, we have already had "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" pelting down at us for quite some time. Yes, we may have even snuck in a sugar-coated snowman cookie or two. There may have even been some peppermint hot chocolate once or twice. But now, with the passing of Thanksgiving, we can let ourselves, without shame, fully embrace the snow-covered, icicle dripping, warm delight of the holidays.

So now, whip out the tinsel and clear some floor space, we have some decorating to do! Whether you are a starving college student in a cramped little dorm room, an off-campus adventurer or a real person with a real house, your life can always use a little more spirit! There are many ways to DIY some Christmas Cheer, Hanukkah Happiness and Kwanzaa...Kung Pow.

Not Recommended. 

1. Holiday Card Tree

Remember the scene in Harry Potter where owls keep sending him acceptance letters to Hogwarts? No matter what Harry's Uncle can do to prevent it, letter after letter keeps flying in to the house until the living room is merely a torrential flood of fluttering parchment. Well, Christmas is like that. It seems like everyone you have ever met (and perhaps a few you haven't) are just itching to send you their yearly updates about young Lily's burgeoning ballet mastery and Aunt Prudence's arthritis pain. Card with a cartoon reindeer. Card with glitter. Card with menorah. Card. Card. Card. 

Basic societal etiquette says that you have to keep these, at least until the season is over, but what if you could do more than just dutifully plaster them to your refrigerator or coffee table? What if you could re-purpose them and make them into festive holiday art?

Well, you totally can.

2. Garlands

String + Popcorn + Dried Fruit = Whimsical holiday fun! Make a popcorn garland by alternating popcorn and dried fruit, like cranberries and cherries, along a string and then hang it. Food and festivities? Sounds like the perfect craft to me. If you want to add some Hanukkah or Kwanzaa flair, you can add in some simple craft beads in the color of your chosen winter celebration. 

                                    

3. Hanging Ornaments 

This holiday, think a little unconventional. Who says ornaments have to hang on the tree? Just because some of us don't have the space, money or need for a tree doesn't mean we too can not join in on the semi-reflective wonder of the bulb. All you need is some ornaments, some leftover garland string, some tape and a ceiling to dazzle up your space. 

                                    

Ornaments can be found in red and green for Christmas

blue for Hanukkah and black for Kwanzaa. 

4. Snow Flakes

No matter which of the December festivities you choose to partake it, nobody can deny the effortless magic of a winter snowfall. We may hate shoveling it, detest freezing in it and loath having it soak through our shoes, but there are few things as majestic and calming as a watching a gentle snowfall from in-front of a warm fireplace. Channel the merriment with the old holiday standby: the paper snow flake. For those who missed out on this childhood staple, Martha Stewart does a mean tutorial.

                                             

Happy decorating and, even more important, Happy Holidays!