Are you creatively impaired? Were you the one in your high school art class who was happily creating bowls while your classmates were molding gargoyles? Do you face each Christmas season with a sense of foreboding, knowing that once again your best efforts aren't going to measure up to the Johnsons down the street and their electronic flying reindeer and you are doomed to be the butt of many neighborhood jokes until the New Year?



Here's some good news for you; you don't have to try to measure up to the Johnsons. There are some people for whom decorating for Christmas comes easily, and these people are always going to hold the corner market on the splashiest house come Christmas Day. Attempting to mimic them is only going to result in failure.

This isn't intended to be a doomsday news release. The previous paragraph was intended to help you to move beyond all of your preconceived notions about decorating for the Christmas season. You don't have to compete with anyone. If your home is festive and comfortable no one is going to care that you don't have live reindeer eating off of your roof. As a matter of fact, with the employment of the proper decorating techniques you could soon find your house becoming the talk of the neighborhood.

The best place to start decorating for the holidays is the Christmas tree. Indubitably, the process of purchasing (and cleaning up after!) a live tree is a hassle; however, to create a subtle hint of the holiday spirit there is no better way to go than with a live pine. Choose one that will take up space in your main room but that leaves at least a six inch space between the top of the tree and the ceiling. Be careful not to choose a Charlie Brown Christmas tree; you want your Christmas tree to be full and thick (exercise a bit of moderation here, however; you still need to be able to put the ornaments on!).

When you have purchased your tree and brought it home it is time to decorate. Contrary to popular belief it is not necessary to have a tree laden with ornaments; apply them sparingly. Skip over the tinsel and garland; in order to create a tree that serves as a true centerpiece you want to keep its appearance as classic as possible. Shop for handcrafted ornaments, preferably either ceramic or glass, and choose a central theme; as appealing as buying a wide variety of ornaments may be, putting them all on your tree is only going to make it appear gaudy.

Choose a top piece that matches the theme of your Christmas tree; or, you can choose not to have a top to your Christmas tree at all. Once your tree is decorated, allow that to be the theme that carries throughout the rest of your house. Decorate sparingly, but decorate in each room. For example, hang a wreath in the kitchen, place a centerpiece on the table, put a few pieces from a manger scene in the bathroom, etc.

By decorating a little bit in each room you will create a festive home that will make your visitors feel comfortable and you confident in your ability to create a reputation for yourself as a decorator without having to rely on your ability to outdo the Johnsons. Who knows; you may find yourself being the one asked to host the holiday party this year!