When all Else Fails, Take a Walk

I am sitting in my mother's kitchen.  The children run around like crazy, playing with their toys, while the older folk sit around the table, groaning about early starts on weight-loss New Year's Resolutions gone awry. In times like these, I find that the best thing to do is to take a walk, go see the remaining Christmas lights and get a little bit of peace and quiet before it all starts up again on New Year's Eve.

Before going on vacation, I took a few shots of the lights around Fourth street, an outdoor shopping area in the west end of Berkeley.  The lights are more than plentiful and they have the gorgeous neon colors.  I've put a few up for sale on my Redbubble.com shop.

I shared a few with my nephews and my niece, and got them super excited to go to our local Christmas lights lane.  Here are a few tips I've come up with from doing this activity with my family throughout the years.

Tips for that Christmas Lights Walk

1. Wear winter gear.  This is where those knit scarves and mittens come in handy. 
2. Bring a few thermos and cups with hot chocolate, and maybe even tea or coffee for the adults.  
3. Go to the best lights first!  Chances are that kids fall asleep fairly early. 
4. Bring a stroller with a hood and a few blankets, for when the kids do fall asleep.  
5. Take a picture of the group early in the night, while there is still some light.  Don't get back lit trying to capture your group in front of a light display!

Christmas Lights Walk Ettiquette

Some things are usually clear.  Be polite, keep the little ones off the grass, and do not touch the decorations.  Other rules might change where you live:

1. Sometimes homeowners venture out to their driveways for a cup of coffee or even a barbecue that has gone into the night. Be friendly and exchange greetings, but never interrupt their socializing.  
2. Bring along leftover cookies to share with the homeowners.  This is best when you know some of the neighbors.  
3. You could also bring donations in the form of money or a gift card.  Electricity costs do rack up!
4. Keep the noise level low.  This won't be hard to be as the "ooooh's" and "ahhhh's" are usually not that loud on a cold winter night.  
5. Observe polite hours.  Past 9 pm is usually a no-no. 

Best of all, are the stories you'll get to share with folks when you get back home.  I especially love the glee on the face of every adult when they share that they finally got some exercise!

Bored with Christmas Cards? Try Something Else This Year....

We've all been there.. come December 15th, the office party planner drops a holiday card on your desk.  Your heart melts (because someone was thinking of you) and your stomach drops (because you procrastinated too long to reciprocate).  But it's all for naught because as soon as you look up from your desk, you see the flying figure move on to drop off a similarly- sized envelope at the next desk.  Which has been empty.  For 3 months.

Nothing is worst than realizing that you're not special, after all---except the feeling you get when you open the card and all you see inside is a doodle of a signature which you know is not how your co-worker signs her name.

Cynicism and rantings aside, my point is this:  I love holiday cards.  I love what they stand for, what they mean to someone when they receive them, and the fact that, at least once a year, we are all expected to like each other enough to put pen to paper how we feel about each other.  With that in mind this is what I decided for myself:

If you are set on keeping alive the tradition of Sending Holiday Cards, Do it Right!

Here are a few tips I've used throghout the years that I am sure will work for you.    

These are some of my own designs.

Worried about using too much paper? Try Jumbo Gift Tags

• This reduces the amount of paper you use, but still gives you some space for a nice short message. 
• You can find some really intricate handmade designs on online retailers like etsy.com, artfire.com, and storenvy.com.  Go ahead and click, these go to search results for "gift tags" on each site.
• You can try gift tags that also serve as ornaments. 
• Example: Dcycledthings on Etsy made some cute bear hang tags that are each different and would look great on a country-themed Christmas tree. These are awesome for kids who don't quite like reading anyway.  

Buy Handmade Cards for a Selected Few and send E-greetings to the Rest

• Most sites allow you choose when the card gets emailed out, which allows you to pick the card way before you get too busy with other holiday priorities. 
• Most sites also allow you to pick from your existing list of contacts from your Yahoo! Mail or Gmail. 
• Try a less popular site so that you're more likely to find something unique. I like bluemountain.com.  Been with them for years.  

Made by RocketInk on Etsy.

For the Frugal Folk, Substitute Cards for Gifts or Turn Gifts into Cards

Make sure that the card is special, unique, and does double duty. A few examples:Buy an artistic card that is so beautiful that it can be framed and placed on the mantle year-round. 

• To make the gift complete, add frame to go with the card.  
• A good size is a 5x7 card that fits into an 8x10 frame with matting.  
• It will take a while to find a card that is versatile enough to say "holiday" and "year-round," but remember, this is basically your entire holiday shopping for that person, so take the time to find something special for that person. 
• Example:  Check out this card by RocketInk on Etsy. It's a beautiful design of a town-scape, with a holiday message, but the design overpowers the message and would look great on anyone's wall, year-round. 
• Example: Pardon the plug, but this is usually what I keep in mind when designing my own holiday cards.  This card would look great in a room with a Paris theme, for example.
• Buy a journal, and decorate a page with a few holiday stickers and your own sentiment.  
• You could also add a bookplate to the journal, instead of using a page.  
• A set of 3 journals is optimal, but only add a message to the first.  
• Buy a calendar, and find a meaningful date onto which to write a message.  
• It could be a message of thanks for something that occured the year prior on that same date.
• Or, it could be the date when you first met, and your sentiments about your friendship.  
• It could also be a key date in your future, like when you'll go on a trip together.
• Don't be afraid to use post-its, just color match them to your gift wrapping.  You could also use holiday-themed post-its.  

Made by 625Paper on Storenvy.

Why not send a Postcard?

• Example:  625paper on Storenvy has this beautiful set of postcards that I am sure will inspire you.

Finally, Forego Cards and Send a Letter Instead

• Again, do this for a selected few. 
• It's OK to type out the letter.  
• Think about nice things someone has done for your this year. Go chronologically. This is also the best way to put together a list. If someone does not show up in this trip down memory lane, send them an e-greeting instead. 
• Always use at least one of the following: nice paper, a nice envelope, pre-printed holiday stationery, or a holiday sticker to seal the envelope. 
• Sign the letter by hand!

Whatever you choose to do

Remember that you should do at least one of the following to make your loved ones feel special:

1. Write a long, heartfelt message.
2. Give a unique card / art print / gift tag / postcard.
3. Don't do exactly the same thing for someone else in their circle of friends.  Vary something!

Happy Writing!

Christmas Villages

I first saw one of these at my aunt's beauty salon, inside the display window.  I could not have seen a better display of the warmth and coziness that accompanies cold winter nights.

Christmas villages usually contain a series of houses or buildings that make a village, including the post office, the general market, the church, and so on.  You can buy these sets anywhere, but the best part of making a village is choosing the houses and arranging them together as you see fit. Below, I compiled a few tips for arranging your very own Christmas Village.

Repeat Shapes and Textures

You don't need to purchase a set of houses for your Christmas village.  If you find houses at a flea market, for example, make sure you grab 2 or 3 of each style of house.  If there is only one, then, keep in mind the shape and texture of the house.  I won't go into detail about house building styles (victorian, alpine, etc).  But keep in mind what kind of houses you are collecting. Do they have brick?  Are they tall and stately or short and more of a square?  Do they have chimneys or store signs?

Repeat Colors and their Saturation

Think about what color palette you want to have.  If you pick more neutral colors, or even just a few colors, it makes it more likely that you can reuse your houses throughout the years.  

Vary the Size of Houses

While you want repetition in your collection, a little variation goes a long way in keeping your guests entertained.  If there are smaller houses, you can display them up above a higher surface, or behind the bigger houses, creating the illusion that they are farther away, without taking up much room.

Add People

While finding the right people can be hard, try simply cutting and pasting pictures into the windows of the houses.  This is one time when I would say that going to a hobby store is a good idea.  Hobby stores keep miniature people to add to models and they will very likely have them in the size you need.  Bring along a couple of houses so you know how the people will look standing next to them.  

Display houses at Different Levels

Add a couple of cake stands to elevate few houses here and there.  You may even want to make these houses the more rural of the bunch, since those would have probably not have been so close to the town square anyway.  

Face Houses in One Direction, or Two  

Remember  that this is a display, so although you'll want to make it realistic, it just isn't a good display if you, the viewer has to move around a lot.  Sure, add some houses facing a few degrees off the others, but, in general, try to make them all face within a 120 degree range.

Also, it better when there isn't much room between the houses.  This might make your display smaller if you have a few buildings, but it will make it that much more interesting to look at for longer periods of time.  If you don't think people will have enough room to see, try a linear arrangement to open things up a bit more.  Or, place your village on a round table with plenty of viewing space around it.  

Add plenty of Lights!

The best part of a Christmas village is seeing it lit up at night, dressed in Christmas cheer.  So, go for it!  Add some of the same decorations that you have around your house, including its very own dedicated string of lights and outlet.  

And finally, Personalize your Village

You have no idea how much of a hit it is when people find traces of themselves in your Christmas village.  

1. If you're going to buy little people at a hobby store, why not find little figurines who resembles the people in your life?  
2. Buy mini mail boxes and simply add a mailing label (yes, a simple mailing label) that reads "The Millers," "the Lees," and so on.  
3. Add the initials of each person in your family to miniature ornaments that will go on the village Christmas tree.
4. If you run out of time, or energy, you can always make a simple place card that can be displayed in front of each house or building.
5. Add toy cars that match the colors of family cars.  Sure, this may not fit in with your 1800's village, but who's really keeping track of that anyway?

Doing any of these, no matter how amateur it might look, will tell your guests, your family, that you are thinking of them and that your perfect world could never be perfect without them.

Enjoy putting together you village.  This year, I'll probably go a bit nontraditional.  I found these awesome pictures on Flickr, and I think I might make a few of the house ornaments above.  They will allow me to get the kiddies to help out with stuffing the sewn ornaments and hanging them up on the Christmas tree.  I'll let you know how they turn out!

Want to try a little something different for your Christmas village?  Check out my gallery on Flickr.  I've collected a few houses that might get your mind going.