Have these cash-strapped times left you worried about sprucing up your house for the year-end celebrations? Fret not. Some simple tricks can brighten up your house without much expense. But, be prepared for some hard work. Does the prospect appear frightening? Just involve your kids in the tasks. They love handling paper, glue and colours anyway!
Changing the upholstery of your sofas could be a daunting task right now. So, if you have stacked away any new, colourful blankets/bedspreads in silk, velvet and satin, drape them over the back and the seat areas and let them hang down to the floor. Sew the blouse pieces from shiny sarees that you’d cut off but simply hadn’t the time to get them stitched onto to the surfaces of cushions. A different piece on each side is fine too.
Window curtains too could be jazzed up with minimal expense. Twist shiny paper and suspend them at regular intervals along the curtains. Cut rectangular pieces out from old, glossy magazine or newspaper advertisements and roll and glue them into cylindrical beads. Now, string these paper cylinders interspersed with the old beads and pearls and create long chains to hang at the sides of doorways.
Cut outlines of butterflies, fishes, flowers, circles, stars and hearts from handmade chart paper sheets in green, red, snuff and yellow colours. Stud them with shapes cut from the lighter variety of chart paper of different colours. Take care to create the studs in colours highly contrasting with the outline colour. Use the shiny paper encircling toffees, sequins, or old, artificial ear-studs too.
Now, string these with colourful plastic chords and hang them along the walls. Remember, they need to be decorated on one side only. For decorative strings to be hung across the room, make little lanterns. Tulips, lotuses, flower bunches, grape-clusters, strawberries, apples and so on that are coloured on both sides can be strung randomly with these. With some imagination, these can be made three-dimensional.
Tie ribbons that gel with your overall decorating scheme to chair-backs, candlesticks, stair-railings and door-knobs. Take care to place lighted candles out of children’s reach. These mustn’t hinder movement either. So also, place glass bowls with fresh flowers and floating candles on tables. If you’ve a container garden, arrange some pots inside in safe corners for the night. If you’ve flowering plants in your garden, place freshly-cut flowers in vases out of reach of children or as centrepieces on the dining table.
As for other ideas for the centrepiece, clustering white and coloured candles of different heights with smart ribbons tied around them and fir leaves/flowers strewn around attractive candelabra, petals/flowers in water in brass basins with floating candles or a clear-glass bowl with pebbles at the bottom and red/white flower petals on the water’s surface make for simple table decoration.
Edible centrepieces look great too. A clear glass bowl filled with colourfully-wrapped toffees, gift-wrapped cake-loaves/fruits in a basket, nuts on a glass platter, fresh red cherries on a white tray interspersed with little candles or a pyramid of cookies/chocolates on a silver platter make for charming pieces.
Spruce it up
Wrap satin ribbons around fake flower creepers. Use beads and pearls strung together. String up velvety motifs, figures cut out from old cards/magazines, little dolls, spray-painted, dried leaves, flowers, seed-pods, cookies or angels and snowmen. Glue artificial jewels, gems, crystals onto satin ribbons. The possibilities are infinite. Use balloons, satin ribbons, streamers, greeting cards, posters, paintings and silver foil decorations (for example, a globe) to decorate the party hall.
Display a grandiose “Happy New Year” banner. Fill up balloons with confetti and fortune cards (write lucky messages on them), hang them up and let guests pop them and be showered with colour. Don’t bust all the balloons. Let the kids take some home. Make your own confetti with a pair of scissors and old magazines, some shredded gold/silver paper and glitter. Create shiny stars and bells out of chart paper and gold/silver paper and hang them up in corners.
For the party room meant for kids accompanying their parents, cut outlines of animals like elephants, rabbits, foxes, deer, cows, cats, dogs, lions and tigers with a cartoon-like looks. Ask your kids to colour the printouts and paste them onto chart paper. Cut with the corresponding outline traced on it. They’ll love colourful jokers, kites, flowers, fruits, teddy bears and popular cartoon characters. Huddle up teddy bears dressed in bows, scarves and mittens in a corner. Slip real cookies into transparent packets and hang them high up, out of children’s reach or tiny gift-boxes wrapped with glittering paper. Use them as gifts for your kiddie-guests later.
Have a Happy New Year!