Yes, this is the time to “Embellish” our homes inside and out. Who doesn’t like the smell of fresh pine trees indoors, or the lights and decorations throughout our homes? I don’t know about you but for me, this is the most festive time of the year. After all, I got married in New Year’s Eve. How’s that for fun? Smile.
As I did for Thanksgiving, I will develop a series of decorating montage’s for the season, that are “Budget and User Friendly, and homemade by yours truly”. Again, let me remind you; this is not a time to spend a fortune. Instead, use what you have in your homes now and focus your energy and time enjoying the company of family and friends.
So, let’s get started! These are the materials that you will need to do this project.

1. One container of any kind that have been sitting somewhere in your home idle.

As we are about to enjoy a great dinner and quality time with our families and friends, let's also be thankful for the following:

Our health
Our families
Our Country
For being alive
For having a job
For having friends
For having a place to live
For caring for others less fortunate than us
For having enough food at home to feed the children
For having lots of things that we do not need
For having faith and understanding that the earth was not created by a man
For the men and women who are risking their lives every day to protect our freedom
For our men and women Veterans, and also, for those who lost their lives while protecting us.
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Center Piece: In this third montage I am showing you another economic way to decorate for few dollars with help from nature.

First, find a glass container of your choice at home. I used a large dessert glass and a white serving dish.

Second, go to the fridge and get some of your veggies and fruits in orange/green tones. (I used my last harvest and some fake green apples, since I only had red apples at home at the time) Furthermore, I used silk grapevine but you can go your back yard and cut some dry leaves branches or evergreens to decorate the plate. Put all these materials together in both containers. You are done!
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Place Settings: If you do not want to have a casual look, then go ahead and pull out your fine china. These are some ideas to decorate beyond casual but not 100% formal.
This is a time to look around your home and your back yard to create simple vignettes with what you have!

In this second montage, I am showing you another economic way to decorate for few dollars.

First, if you do not have a “festive” set of small plates at home, go to Walmart or the Dollar Store and purchase the season colors for few dollars.

Second, use your casual china, hopefully, neutral color plates. If on the contrary your plates have designs, then purchase plain color small plates to use in the center of your dinner plate, to bring the table setting alive. Finally, don’t forget to dress up your buffet table area.

Now you are set to go with a good looking table for your celebration. 

I will be sharing some of my Center Pieces and Table Setting ideas for Thanksgiving, from now until Wednesday. My style is casual buy I will also share one semi-formal setting.

You will be the ultimate designer and will decide how your dinner table will look. However, since this week is mostly designated for prepping and cooking, my goal in sharing these decorating ideas with you is to present some options to plan ahead now, and decide how the table and dining room will look on Thursday.  

In this first montage I am showing you an economic way to decorate for few dollars with help from nature.
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First, find a container of your choice at home.
Second, go to the dollar store and get some silk flowers in orange tones.
Third, go to your back yard or the nearby woods and cut some dry leaves branches.
Finally, put all these materials together in your container. You can do a stand-alone arrangement and it will look fine, or you can use other items around your home such as pumpkins, apples or oranges to complement the arrangement.
Now go get creative.

Thanksgiving is around the corner. There is no such thing as too early to start planning. Before you know it, time will fly by you and your stress levels will fly away with it. Therefore, Let us jot down few things now in preparation for the big day. The basic planning elements to consider are:
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The site:

• Will it be in your home or a family member home?
• How many family members are coming?
• For large families, is there a need for accommodations? Where?

 
The Menu

• Are we doing the roasted turkey or shall we venture out and try it deep fry?
• Who will do the cooking, you, someone else or a combined schedule of family members?
• What will they cook and when?

 
Shopping for Ingredients

• How many groceries are needed per meal per day?
• Who will do the shopping, one or various family members?
• When?
• Is there enough storage in the fridge/freezer or should the perishables be purchased not all at once?

 
Cooking

• Who will plan the menus for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner?
• Who will be responsible to cook, one person or a combination of various members of the family?
• Are there any allergies to gluten, poultry, and dairy products?
• What alternatives will be available to make sure all the members with allergies enjoy their meals?
• Will some dishes be prepared in advanced of family arrivals?

 
Entertainment
Family Activities for children, adults and perhaps the opportunity to have that family portrait that you’ve been wanting for years.

• Activities for kids (toddlers to teens) must be planned ahead and person responsible for the task identified.
• What about the adults? Are any outings planned? Where? Are they within all family members budget?
• Will the family portrait be shot by a professional photographer or a family member? Who will be responsible to coordinate the logistics of a family portrait photo shoot?

 
Me, Myself and I
 Yes, set aside time for yourself; relax, take a bubble bath, drink a glass of wine, enjoy the family and create memories to enjoy for many years to come. That’s what this holiday is all about.

Yes, I know, not all of us are crafty people but for those who are, this short post will make a lot of sense.
Some folks are born artistic and others, like me, learn through the years. Crafting takes your mind away from the daily stressors of life; a rough day at work, a friendly argument with that fellow that cut in front of your car, a chore that you procrastinated to do at home and is now too late to do. Whatever the issue is, it is resolved in a heartbeat once you enter in the “crafting zone”. However, for that to be a relaxing experience, you must have NO CLUTTER in your craft room.

Start by cataloging your materials if you have more than one craft. For instance, if you saw, get your sewing machine, fabrics, threads, etc. in the same area and better yet, label them to find them quickly. If you only do jewelry, you still want to have your beads classified by colors in trays with lids. If on the contrary you are a painter, keep your canvas, paint and brushes together and ready to create your master piece when you get to your craft room.

Finally, never forget that you go to your craft room to enjoy a relaxing activity that makes you happy and keeps you in “the zone” for few hours, away from daily stress. Therefore, make it your sanctuary and keep it in order and in shape.
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Now, go make something crafty stuff! 

​There are two significant reasons why there should be no clutter in your pantry:

1. If it is organized you will find what you need by a quick glance
 
2. You will know if you are running out of pantry items by looking at the shelves you have designated for such items.
 
I am sure that you have more than one shelf in your pantry. A good idea is to classify items by its use or utilization. For instance, if you love to bake it make sense to have your flour, sugars, chocolate, condensed and evaporated milk, and any other baking ingredients together.  This will help you to find ingredients quickly.
 
Furthermore, when you have these products in the same location together, you will be able to notice when you are low in one or more ingredients and will be able to add them to your groceries list before you run out of them all together. There is nothing worse than to look for an ingredient in the middle of cooking a dish, and find out that you ran out of it. Especially, when you need it the most. 
 
Finally, and this rule applies to all ingredients in your pantry, sweet and savory. Once you designate a spot for these products, all you will need to do is to replenish them when needed. I assure you that you will never experience the frustration of not having an ingredient in your pantry while in the middle of baking or cooking a dish.