Consumers are cutting back and doing without. Lately, so much seems so frivolous and unnecessary. Holiday gifts are less extravagant but more carefully considered. Many are foregoing any visual signs of joy. But Christmas is about feelings and memories, many of which are sparked by simple adornments: lights, greenery, and images. The Los Angeles Times recently sent designer Phillippe Starck to a discount store for a how-to in IDing simple, appealing designs. "The trick." he says, "is to buy all the same color. It's not an urgent purchase, but even if we are in an economic crisis, we must not be sad."
Photo Courtesy of Bronner's Christmas WonderlandA confession: as I took these flat, clear-plastic panels out of the flat box in which they arrived, I was skeptical. Following the instructions, I dutifully inserted tabs into slots. After the tabs quickly freed themselves from their slots, I donned my thinking cap and grabbed some tape to secure each tab once it was tackled. A half-hour later, I had three colorful cellophane-like boxes. Oops...I forgot to insert the lights. So, I untaped, put the lights in their appropriate boxes, retaped, connected everything, twirled around three times, clicked my heels, and plugged it in.
The result: a twinkling, mirror-like, holographic vision to behold! Seriously. Moral of the story: Don't judge a box by its broken-down self; it may have star power!
Photo Courtesy of Pottery BarnI was at an outdoor holiday party last week, and among the decorations were colorful luminarias. These were paper bags with tealights. No sand was in the bags to weigh them down, and kids and dogs in costumes were dancing around. It could have been a recipe for disaster. I love the warm glow along a pathway or at an entryway just like the next guy, but feel a sturdy iron lantern like the Capri from Pottery Barn is a safer and stylish choice. The Capri is modeled after the functional and festive lanterns used in old New England. The frame -- red or bronze -- is made of sturdy iron and has a red-lacquer or antique bronze-metal finish. It also has a round handle, glass sides and hinged door. Better yet, you can use it on the patio year 'round.
What I like about these pathway markers is their resemblance to those old big-bulbed Christmas lights from my childhood. Only bigger. And more high-tech. You see, they have that newfangled LED technology that makes them change colors -- it's kind of mesmerizing. The set, from Brite Star and sold through Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, MI, comes with three 7.6-inch tall bulbs on 10-inch tall stakes spaced 13 inches apart -- got that?
What makes these so versatile is that they are battery-operated, so you can put them wherever you desire, like by your driveway, along a pathway, on the lawn or patio, or even stuck in a windowbox. No need to worry about turning them off: a self-timer has them on for six hours and off for 18.
Photo Courtesy of Bronner's Christmas WonderlandYou know how it's been the cool thing in recent years to come up with something
different for your outdoor holiday display? One such trend and great idea is to hang large lighted ornaments from bare tree branches, above decks and patios, or from wood beams -- basically, any place outdoors you can hang something from.
If it's a large ornament made of glass, though, you have to worry about it breaking. Not so with Bronner's Green Finial Lighted Hanging Ornament, which is a long 15 inches and made of shatterproof non-plastic-looking plastic and glittering bands of green that light up when the 10 clear internal mini lights are plugged in.
It's made for indoor use also, but why would you want to when you finally have a superb outdoor ornament?
