The hustle and bustle of the season can leave you saying, “No NO NO” instead of HO HO HO!  We found some easy tips and tricks to get you through the season with holiday cheer! 

Rule #1 – Take it easy on yourself, you create perfection in your mind.  Don’t spend endless hours on something someone else will not even notice!  That’s the only rule, easy right?  Now we have some tips, tricks and holiday hacks!

Decor

Decorate with LED battery operated lights.  They will last forever, you don’t have to worry about a plug and they look so cool!  You can group them inside empty wine bottles, canisters, or our favorite idea, drape them around fire wood!  You get the look of the light in a fire without the mess or the hazard!

Turn your patio into a winter wonderland with these easy and cheap little lanterns.  Fill a little mason jar  1/4 way up with Epsom salt or rock salt, and add a little candle or tea light on top.  Light them and glow!

You can do a lot with little clear jars, fill them with rock salt at the bottom, top with cranberries and sprigs from your Christmas tree.  It’s such a cute affordable way to be festive!

Decorate your windows with snowflakes with hot glue!  Take your glue gun directly to the window and with thin lines create your snowflake.  The best part is when it’s ready come down, it peels right off!

Get out your glue gun again…

Take your pool noodle right from the pool to our outdoor fireplace.  Simply shape the pool noodle in the shape of a wreath and connect it with duct tape.  Hot glue glass ornaments to the frontside if the noodle, wrap a pretty bow around the top and hang!

Food

Create Christmas cubes by freezing cranberries in an ice tray!  It will look festive and gorgeous in a glass of bubbles!

Glue mini candy canes together upside down. Place name tags of food inside them so everyone knows what dish they are enjoying.

Check out our featured Recipe of the Month: Holiday Brunch, you’ll find recipe ideas that will have your guest’s belly singing  fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

Organized

Place all your wrapping paper in a garment bag for easy storage and clutter free gift wrapping!

Avoid a tangled mess with the endless strings of lights by simply wrapping them around a plastic hanger.  They will lie flat to be stored instead of a bulky disaster.

Gifts

Use your leftover paint samples from redoing lil’ Johny’s room, to create DIY gift tags!  Cut into little trees, a snowman, wreathes, you name it!

Patio Party

Have a hot cocoa and dessert bar with your neighbors!  Melt the chocolate for your desserts in a mason jar, set in a slow cooker on low.  This will keep everything warm and gooey for your guests all at once!

Who doesn’t love s’mores… Stay roasty, toasty by the fire without all of the mess.  You can still roast the marshmallows in your fire pit, but instead of using hunks of chocolate, simply spread Nutella on the graham cracker as your chocolate.

Happy holiday hacks!