|  The
holidays are upon us, and what do we find ourselves doing: pulling
out all those holiday linens that smell musty and those special
dishes lightly sprinkled with dust, tucking the last of the
summer things away, decorating the house, making out guest lists,
cooking and baking…It’s no small job to get ready
for the holidays.
Here are some tips (some you’ve
heard of, some you haven’t) to help make things a little
easier.
1.  Sometimes
table linens don’t have to be washed to be freshened up.
Mist linens with a Fabric refreshener. Use a spray wrinkle reducer
for quick tablecloth touch-ups.
To make your own spray refreshener; mix 1 capful fabric softner
with 1 cup water.
2. Save some money by reusing candles
from last year – you know, the ones you used for just
a few minutes or for only an hour? Gently scrape off waxy drips;
using a knife, shave around the wick, run the top of the candle
under hot water and gently pat and smooth the wax down for a
clean looking top and wick. Let the wick dry completely before
use.
3. Wash plastic candle rings
like the faux holly and ivy ones  on
the top rack of the dishwasher using the crystal setting. Air
dry them upside down on a clean kitchen towel. If necessary,
repair them with a hot glue gun.
4. You know this one: how to clean
silk flowers: Sprinkle half a cup of salt into a large
plastic or brown paper bag, turn the blooms upside down into
the bag and “swish” them around in the salt; shake
off the excess salt and they are ready to be displayed again.
5. If you’re tired of those old
flowers, don’t throw them all out. Remove three
and replace them with three new blossoms in an accenting color.
6. Here are two uses for last year’s
Christmas cards:
a. Separate the greeting half of the card from
the front picture of the card; set aside the greeting, and use
the picture as a place card at the dinner table.
b. Cut around the greeting and use it as a
gift tag. Write the person’s name on the white space near
the greeting, and tape it to the gift.
7. You can always reuse gift wrap,
but try using plain brown packing paper from a moving company.
(Really inexpensive) Lay a Christmas cookie cutter onto the
paper and trace around it. Write the person’s name in
the center of the tracing. Then run a light line of Elmer’s
glue around the tracing and sprinkle the glue with glitter.
Blow off the excess. Get creative with that glue and glitter!
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8. When people gather
at your house this season, make the trip well worth their trouble:
 after
all, gas prices are way too high, and turkey tends to make everyone
sleepy enough to spend the night.
a. Create areas in your open spaces: dining
room, living room, kitchen, and family room for activities.
i. Have lots of board games and cards visible;
set up a game or two on end tables or card tables ready to be
played when guests are looking for something else to do.
ii. Have places for your guests to stretch out:
clear the couches of all those toss pillows (throw them on the
floor), and spread zipped up sleeping bags on the floor to be
used as napping mats. If you have room, set up those plastic
summertime banana loungers in your family room. Move the TV
to another room.
b. Conversations never fail when you talk about
the other person’s children or pets.
Here are some other great entertaining
tips:
1.  Listen
and make eye contact; even if you never get a word
in edgewise, your guest will remember, with fondness, the conversation
he had with you.
2. Have a few interesting,
little bits of information ready to start a conversation, keep
it light and positive.
3. Set out bowls
of sweet pickles, black olives, and that little baby corn for
folks to munch on. There are never
enough of these at a holiday dinner!
4. Be sure to
wrap up hot pots of tea in cozies for long-lasting
warmth throughout the afternoon and evening.
5. Make sure there are plenty of cool
drinks available: line your laundry basket with a big
garbage bag and fill it with lots of crushed ice. Shove bottles
of water, soda, iced tea, and coffee drinks into the ice and
leave it in a low traffic area so it’s easy to get to.
Be sure to tell your guests where it is!
6. Set out extra
trash cans. They don’t have to big ones, small
ones with plastic linings available in every open space will
keep people from clogging up your kitchen trying to get to your
only garbage can, usually under the sink.
7. Pre-make goody bags for each of
your guests to take home. Use plain brown lunch sacks
and plastic sandwich bags to send guests home with a piece or
two of whatever you served at the main meal: cookies, pumpkin
bread, fudge, whatever…Include a “Thanks for coming
and making our holiday so very special” note. Fold down
the top of the sack, punch two holes in it, thread a piece of
Christmas ribbon through it and tie a bow.
8. Relax
and have a great time and your house will be filled with joy.
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