As
you tie up your holiday cheer with ribbons and bows, here are some concepts to
add some extra twinkle to your Kris Kringle this week.
Again
taking a page out of some great commercials’ playbooks this season, there are
some cute ideas literally floating out there that would leave memorable marks
on your Christmas morning. I love the
concept of tying smaller, lightweight and unwrapped presents to the strings of
helium balloons and allowing them to float to the ceiling. You’d have the kids truly jumping up and down
over their loot. Another alterative gift
presentation idea is to wrap up one gift to completely look like another. They may think they know what they’re in for
by the wrapping’s shapely appearance, but tearing into it comes up with
something unexpected. Fun shapes, crafty
use of wrapping paper, and some imagination is all you’ll need to pull off this
undercover project.
Make
Christmas morning magical with sweet and special plans for breakfast. Use cookie cutters as pancake batter molds
for anything-but-standard shapes, like a pancake snowman with chocolate chip features
and a piece of bacon for a scarf. Shape
your cinnamon rolls into a pull-apart Christmas tree on a sheet pan, or layer
waffle quarters to make one Christmas tree per plate.
As
you enjoy some time at home, you can fuel the sugar rush likely going on by
turning snack time into party time. Set
up a sundae bar, a hot chocolate station, or a s’mores station to get the kids
involved and excited about a special treat.
Make the everyday snacks more enticing by cubing fruit and turning them
into kabobs or building fun designs out of crackers, pretzels, sandwich cutouts,
and vegetables for dipping. Make a meal
of bite-sized appetizers instead of going the full plate route one night.
Pile
on the couch and have a Christmas movie marathon of your favorites, whether
older traditional movies or more cult classics top your holiday list. Don’t forget the popcorn dressed up with
chocolate and peanuts or grated parmesan and dried minced garlic. You can make up your own trivia games, taking
turns offering a snippet of a Christmas song, leaving a blank for others to shout
out and fill in. The one with the first
correct answer gets to offer the next song selection. Or you could base trivia questions on family
history, using past holiday experiences, stories, funny memories, previous
gifts, or other applicable remember-when memory joggers.
It
doesn’t take a guest list or even a houseful to create a fun and memorable
atmosphere to share with your family this week.
After all, this is an incredibly joyous time as we celebrate the birth
of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and that, the ultimate gift, is more worthy of
celebration and merriment than anything else this time of year. So I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and may
the greatest gift we give to others be, above all, filled with love.
DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star December 22nd.
