One dish, four ways!

Well, it's a Christmas- box wonderland around here. I have boxes piled everywhere. Some are opened, some are half unpacked, and some are still closed up. And they are all full of Christmas decorations, candles, wrapping paper, gifts, and Christmas craft supplies. Just when we had all  most of the moving boxes unpacked, I am bringing out more boxes! I'll probably do a whirlwind decorating session today so that I can get the empty boxes put away again and we can feel moved in, settled, and ready for Christmas.

As I am unpacking all of these goodies, I am reminded of the versatility of so many decorations.  I will be sharing a few of my fun and simple ideas over the next several days and weeks. 95% of my decorations I have bought on clearance after Christmas, bought at thrift stores, or made myself. (Now is the time to be hunting down treasures at thrift stores and second-hand stores!)

My decoration idea for the day... one glass dish, a trifle bowl, can take on several different looks with just a few changes using items that you probably have packed in your own Christmas boxes!  You don't have to use a trifle bowl. Look around for any other glass containers that you would like to use: a vase, serving bowl ... I go in and out of my trifle-making phases, and this Christmas I probably won't be making trifle, so I will be using this dish in another way! Each of the following ideas uses a candle. As always, be careful using candles, and watch out about having flammable items in your dish.

The Candy Cane

Easy, easy, easy! Just hang wrapped candy canes from the edge of your dish! I put a red jar candle inside. (You could fill the inside with peppermint candies or any other Christmas candy instead of using a candle.)



The Garland

This one again uses a jar candle in the center, and just has a string of Christmas bead garland coiled inside the dish.


The Christmas Balls

This one is so festive! I love it. I have all sorts of ways to use Christmas balls (stay tuned!). They are so versatile and I have so many (too many??)  that I have collected over the years. I love to get these at thrift stores because I can often find the vintage ones which are still made of delicate glass (not plastic) and come in so many sizes and colors. You can use any Christmas balls you have around, but the smaller ones will be easier to use for this. The larger ones don't fit between the candle and the side of the bowl as well.


The Natural

This one is for a more natural, out-doorsy look. It can be tricky unless you have medium and small pine cones(a mixture including tiny ones would be great) . Again, this is so simple.. put pine cones around your candle. Or you could even pile the pine cones in the dish without a candle. ( Do be careful as pine cones can catch on fire if the flame touches them. )


Are your creative juices flowing? Start your hunt! Get out your Christmas boxes; look around your kitchen; find things that you can use creatively to make your house ready for the holidays. Have fun!