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Libby’s Holiday Décor Ideas


Twig Ornament Trees- This is a great way to add some holiday cheer quickly and inexpensively. Trim some thin branches and twigs off shrubs in your yard, about 3’-4’ high and set them in a vase or pitcher and hang tiny ornaments on the twigs. If they are heavy fill your vase with rocks or sand to anchor it. Tie bark or greenery around the vase and secure it with a ribbon. An easy way to decorate the twigs it to use different earrings as your ornaments. You can also do a quick and easy version with store bought small red glass ornaments; it looks fantastic on an entryway table!


Fireplace Mantle “Holiday-Scape” – This mantle décor works well with whatever natural elements you have access to and is also a great way to add some holiday style by incorporating ornaments you already have. You can use clusters of magnolia leaves and pinecones, some of which she recommends you spray paint gold, and set them on the fireplace mantle. You can then add in some mirrored candle holders and some low glass votive candle holders. Then place in some what ever ornaments you have that you think will enhance the look. Libby recommends using items such as red cardinal bird ornaments and gold balls, sprigs of evergreens and fake fruit, or big clusters of holly and berries. You can use ornaments you already have or you can just use candles and ribbon. Use what you have, be creative and have some fun!


Quick Candle-Scape: Just set some green pillar candles in varying heights on a cake plate, insert some sprigs of greenery and berries on the plate at the base of the candles and light them for an instant holiday glow. This also works with red candles just make sure to pick candles that are all the same color.


Winter White Twigs: Spray tall twigs from your yard with white spray paint and then while the paint is still dry sprinkle silver glitter all over the twigs – after they’ve dried shake them to remove the excess glitter. Set them in a silver ice bucket and place them on your mantle/fireplace hearth or entry table for a dramatic holiday look. If you don’t have a silver ice bucket you can line a tall glass cylinder vase with green moss which looks great by bringing in some green as well as covers the bases of the stems. If you want to bring in some more color, add some tall sprigs of red berries, if you use silk ones they will last all holiday season!


o Cool Candy Cane Vase: For a festive twist on a vase, completely wrap a clear cylinder vase (or a coffee can) with lots of candy cane sticks and secure them with a ribbon (if you use green candy canes use a red ribbon and red candy canes use a green ribbon) , group them together for a luxurious look. You can then fill the vases with a variety of items, anything from flower arrangements, to pinecones, to tall twigs or fresh apples…use your imagination and you can transform the contents of your candy canes vases throughout the holiday season!



Easy Elegant Entry Décor: Create a simple dramatic holiday arrangement by using tall twigs and red silk orchid stems (you can find them at any local craft store in the floral dept.) in a simple clear vase (or silver ice bucket) and wrap a wide hunter green satin ribbon around the vase. Perfect on a mantle or an entry table because they are too tall for guests to talk over at dinner, they are also wonderful on either side of your front door if you are hosting a party.


Merry Moss Bowl: Line the inside of a clear glass bowl with moss and then fill it with anything red, like pomegranates, red Christmas ornaments , big clusters of red berries, or silk amaryllis blooms. You can also use silk leaves, like magnolia or lemon leaves to line the bowl, it’s a quick and easy table décor idea but it works well on a dinner table because guests can see over them…you can also add a special touch by mixing ion some votive candles in clear glass holders.


Cool Colossal Wreath: Find the largest wreath possible and hang white sparkly ornaments on it and a large white satin bow, then hang it on a wall instead of on the door…treat it as a piece of art. It also looks great over a fireplace with lots of silver and glass candlesticks mixed together on either end of your mantle. (don’t be afraid to take down the art over your fireplace for the holidays and replace it with a wreath) and adds a great hit of green color! If you travel over the holidays and don’t want to take the time to put up (and then take down) a Christmas tree this is a great lower commitment option to a traditional tree!


Quick Exterior Entry Décor: Spray clumps of magnolia branches and the underside of the leaves gold (or silver) and spray some thin tall tree twigs gold (or silver) as well…place the magnolia branches in two outdoor planters or urns on either side of you front door, then mix in the sprayed twigs with the magnolia branches in the urns. Make sure the twigs and branches are tall (3’-4’) and finish it off by wrapping the urn with a wide (gold or silver) ribbon.
Ornament “Garden”: Take lots of different sizes of clear glass vases, pitchers and hurricanes and fill them with different round ornaments, display them all together down the center of your dining table, in a windowsill or on a buffet table. It’s a great way to showcase special ornaments if you’re not doing a tree and it can also be a more contemporary way to decorate for the traditional Holidays.


“Resting” Wreath Centerpiece: For a last minute centerpiece, buy a wreath (or temporarily take the one off your door) and lay it down on your table, throw a fat pillar candle in the middle of the wreath and you are done! The wreath can be real or fake and it can be made of greenery, silk flowers or glistening berries. Fill the rest of the table up with small votive candles; let your wreath be the star of the evening.


A Candy Cane Classic: Buy a bunch of big old fashioned candy canes and put them in a clear glass vase, glass bowl or a silver bowl, put some sprigs of greenery in the bottom of the bowl and let it fall out over the lip. It takes no time but definitely adds a punch of holiday pizzazz to any room.


Roses raring to go: Buy some red roses and set them stacked together closely inside a glass cylinder vase and don’t completely fill up the vase with water. You want the roses touching each other and touching the inside of the cylinder. Tie some wide ribbon around the outside of the cylinder and in no time flat you have a modern holiday arrangement that looks like it came from a fabulous florist.


Ornaments in Windows: Use pretty ribbon and hang ornaments in your windows, it’s so simple you can do it as you’re waiting for your guests to arrive.


Tall Vase of Greens: So maybe you missed out on getting a Christmas tree this year but there’s no reason to not deck your halls! Cut some 4’-5’ tall branches of greenery (evergreens, Holly), mix them in a tall, sturdy vase or galvanized bucket with tall brown twigs. Set some pinecones in the bottom of the vase to secure the tall branched from falling over, tie a bright red ribbon around the vase and voila! This is great idea for an entryway or next to a fireplace.


Votives:


Sheer Ribbon Votives – Just wrap a sheer wide ribbon around a votive holder or even a rocks glass, secure it with a little bit of hot glue. The sheerness of the ribbon still allows the candlelight to shine through but it adds a little sparkle, Libby likes sheer sage green ribbon with glitter accents.


Holly Votives –Simply tie a small red ribbon around a votive and nestle in a piece of holly or greenery in the knot… so easy but it just adds that special touch!


Pillar Candles:


Candy Cane Pillars – Tie some candy canes around a pillar candle with some satin or velvet ribbon, you can use either the hook candy canes or the straight stick candy canes. Be gentle with the candy canes, they break kind of easily and it’s best to secure each one to the candle with a small dab of hot glue.


Cinnamon Pillars – Tie cinnamon sticks around a pillar candle with a red ribbon and nestle in a sprig of greenery, it adds a nice holiday aroma as well as ambience.


Ribbon/Star Pillars – Wrap a pillar candle in wide ribbon and secure it with a narrow ribbon over the wide ribbon, stick on a few gold stick on stars to add a little extra sparkle!


Place Cards:


These are fun for kids the whole holiday season, don’t just wait for the one big dinner you host, they get so excited seeing their names at their place at the table, every night becomes a special occasion!


30 second Place card –Tie a red ribbon around the napkin and set a sprig of greenery in the tie


Pinecone place card –Fold the napkin and set it on the table, then rest a small pinecone on the napkin and insert your place card


Ornament Place card –Place an ornament on the napkin and simply insert the place card in the round ring at the top of the ornament or punch a hole in the place card and tie it to the ring at the top of the ornament…all the ornaments can be different!


Gold Leaf Place card – This works with leaves, holly, or even evergreens. Spray paint them gold and tie a ribbon with the name on it on the stem and place it on the plate!


Libby’s Holiday Party Ideas:


With any holiday party make sure you have the winning combination of great music, fun drinks and lots of candles. Fresh flowers are a special touch and so are pine scented candles.


A “Wrapping Presents” Party: Host a wrapping party by inviting friends over and telling them to bring gifts they need to wrap, as well as some rolls of wrapping paper, tape and scissors. You supply ribbon, cocktails and light appetizers. It’s a great chance for friends to relax and catch up, as well as get some holiday duties accomplished! (If friends are wrapping gifts for other friends who’ll be attending just tell them to have the items already in boxes ready to be wrapped) I promise, wrapping presents has never been such fun and your friends will beg for it to become a tradition!


A “Create-A-Wreath” Party: Invite pals over to make their own wreaths; you supply the wreath foam forms and natural elements from your yard (pinecones, twigs, greenery, leaves) and they bring items to make their wreath special such as silk flowers, plastic fruit, feathers, shiny berries, leaves, seashells, additional greenery and ribbon. Make some pitchers of margaritas or martinis and set out some light snacks so, as the host, you can make your own wreath instead of being trapped back in the kitchen. The idea is to spend fun time with friends and relax during, what can sometimes be, a very hectic time of the year. Have a Polaroid camera standing by to take a picture of each guest with their completed wreath and tape the picture into a book with blank pages. Have each guest sign the page in the book that his or her photo is on and you’ll have a fun keepsake from the night! The party will most likely become a tradition and every year people will want to pull the book out to see the wreaths and their creators from years past!


A Tree-Trimming Party: This is an obvious choice but it’s a classic that never goes out of style, it’s also one of the easier parties to host. Just set up your tree, set out the ornaments and let your guests have at it! It’s also great to have some cocktails and finger foods standing by for your adult guests or cookies and cocoa for an afternoon affair with kids. Make CD’s of your favorite Christmas music for guests to take home with them.


Post-Holiday Concert Cocktails: Usually there’s a special Holiday concert or show sometime in December so invite your friends to buy their own tickets to the show and then come back to your house after the concert. Serve cocktails and wine, maybe a light pasta; something easy that can be primarily prepared ahead of time and assembled when you get home. This is meant to be a casual, fun evening the more friends helping out in the kitchen the merrier and if you’re not up for serving a meal then just serve dessert and champagne!


Holiday Open House - This is a fun way to catch up with friends for a casual visit and show off your Holiday home décor at the same time! Send invitations and give people the time that the open house begins, tell them just to stop by whenever they can; people appreciate the flexibility of an open house because schedules can get so crazy around the Holidays. Make a pot of soup or chili, bake some cookies, make some mulled hot apple cider and you’re basically set to offer guests a little something no matter what time of the day they decide to pay you a visit! Bake some extra large cookies and wrap them up in clear wrap and tie them with a pretty ribbon, put them in a basket near your front door and invite guests to take one with them when they leave!


About Libby Langdon


Libby Langdon is an interior designer and expert commentator on HGTV’s “Small Space, Big Style.” She appeared in the first two seasons and recently completed taping seasons three, four and five.


In 2003 Libby founded Libby Interiors and has completed numerous commercial and residential design projects all over the east coast. To compliment her interior work Libby has begun designing her own furniture pieces which can be seen in several of her projects.


Libby’s skills were called upon to orchestrate the interior design for New York City's La Masseria, which was recently voted as one of the top ten new restaurants in the United States by Esquire. Working closely with the owners, she was involved from the outset in all design aspects of the restaurant, from working with the architect and builders to designing the logo.


Libby designed the interior décor of the flagship store for famed Italian designer Massimo Bizzocchi in New York’s trendy Meatpacking District.. Massimo was so impressed by her work he recently commissioned her to design the Massimo Bizzocchi showroom on Fifth Ave.


Libby’s designs always express the style of her clients and are frequently covered in national publications. Most recently, Libby has designed private residences in New York’s Sagaponack and Southampton as well as an apartment in New York City. She recently designed the Rhode Island ocean front home of PGA golfer Brad Faxon, a residence in Austin, a loft in Providence and is currently working on a private residence in Dallas, TX. She was also invited last summer to be one of the featured designers of the Hamptons Cottages and Gardens 2006 Idea House in Watermill, NY where she designed a stunning guest suite.


Libby is a regular contributor to the nation’s top daily papers with designing, food and entertaining ideas. She has been featured in numerous national shelter magazines and her interior designs recently appeared on the covers of Hamptons Cottages and Gardens and Decorating Spaces . She is also a regular contributor and a small space expert to Decorating with Style, other Woman’s Day special interest magazines, and she is columnist for VOX Magazine in the Hamptons.


A High Point, North Carolina native, Libby spends her time between New York City and Sag Harbor, New York


Source: Westin Rinehart

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