The 25 Days of Christmas Day 1: Christmas Tree Selection Complimented by Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Merry Christmas Friends,

Christmas is the perfect time to share with family and friends. Interior Design is happy to bring to you, our good friends, The 25 Days of Christmas. December 1st through December 25th you can visit our blog for helpful, money-saving ideas to decorate your space for the holidays. It is just a little something to show our appreciation for your continued support of Interior Design eBlog.

Black Friday has been the traditional day for Christmas tree shopping but it's also the most expensive day to purchase your tree. Waiting just a week will save you some money and still give you an early start on the holiday decorating celebrations. This year wait until the 4th to visit your favorite or local Christmas tree lot or farm and take advantage of Christmas-tree expert Denise Pagura tips on choosing a live tree.

Denise Pagura from Northern Lights Tree Farms talks about various types of real trees that are available during the holidays and also offers tips on choosing a tree and how to tell if a tree is fresh.

Christmas Tree Factoids

1. Snap the needles to judge the freshness of a tree. If a tree is fresh, the needles will have a fairly crisp snap. Think about carrots. A fresh carrot will snap, but an old carrot will bend.

2. Before bringing a cut tree into the house, place it in a five-gallon bucket of water and leave it to rehydrate for a day. Make sure the tree always has plenty of water in the stand.

3. Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource. One acre of Christmas trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people for a year.

4. Make sure to recycle a live tree instead of burning it or disposing of it in a landfill. Find out the recycling options that are available in your community.

Enjoy and share this Green Bean Casserole recipe courtesy of Paula Deen.

Ingredients:
Pinch Paula Deen House Seasoning
1 2.8-ounce can French-fried onion rings
1 10 3/4-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups sliced green beans
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup diced onions
1/3 stick butter
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter. Boil green beans in chicken broth for 10 minutes and drain. Add the green beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, and House Seasoning to taste. Stir well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the Cheddar and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot and cheese is melted.

Servings: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Difficulty: Easy

Check back for more ideas and enjoy your Christmas tree shopping.

Wishing you all the timeless treasures of the season; the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends.

Your kind contribution will allow us to continue sharing great, no cost and cost saving ideas for your space. Click the "Donate" button below to make a contribution. Thank you!

Live well,
Yvonne

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Friends,

At this time of Thanksgiving, I always give thanks for all you! It's been a pleasure posting decorating ideas and ways to save money and be stylish. Without your continued support we would not be in a position to share on a subject that I love and enjoy.

May you and yours have a beautiful Thanksgiving.

From our family to yours,
Interior Design

Your kind contribution will allow us to continue sharing great, no cost and cost saving ideas for your space. Click the "Donate" button below to make a contribution. Thank you!

Live well,
Yvonne

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Photo courtesy of Meggie Velasco

Happy Thanksgiving Friends,

Materials and Tools:
footed cake stand
floral foam
floral/anchor tape
sheet moss
antique hydrangeas
rose hips
bittersweet
persimmons
red peonies
cherry brandy roses (yellow roses with orange tips)
oak leaves
terra-cotta roses
burgundy kangaroo paw
black magic roses (burgundy roses)

Note: The amount of materials needed depends on the size of the container and desired fullness of the arrangement

Steps:

1. Lay cake stand upside down on dry floral foam and cut around edges of cake stand. Cut floral foam so it is three to four inches tall. Place cut foam in a sink filled with water and allow it to soak up moisture until fully saturated. Tip: Don't try to speed up the process by pushing the foam into the water, this will create dry spots in the foam.

2. Place the now-saturated floral foam on top of the cake stand. Secure it with floral tape placed in criss-cross fashion across the foam, the ends of the tape wrapping approximately one-half inch under the top of the cake stand. Cover foam with sheet moss.

3. Cut wooden skewers to the desired length. This will probably be between two to three inches depending on the placement of the persimmons. Slide skewers one-half to three-quarters inch into persimmons and add persimmons to arrangement.

4. Creatively place roses, peonies and hydrangeas. Fill in any gaps with pieces of sheet moss and oak leaves.

5. Finally, add sprigs of kangaroo paw, bittersweet and rose hips to the centerpiece for texture.

Special thanks to Leah McCall and check back for more ideas. Enjoy your Thanksgiving centerpiece.

Wishing you all the timeless treasures of the season; the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Your kind contribution will allow us to continue sharing great, no cost and cost saving ideas for your space. Click the "Donate" button below to make a contribution. Thank you!

Live well,
Yvonne

Printable Thanksgiving Invitation

Happy Thanksgiving Friends,

Click on the PDF below to download the Thanksgiving invitation; print it out then fill in the details to invite family and friends to your home for Thanksgiving festivities.

Thanksgiving Dinner Invitation PDF

Check back for more holiday ideas and enjoy the season with family and friends.

Wishing you all the timeless treasures of the season; the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Your kind contribution will allow us to continue sharing great, no cost and cost saving ideas for your space. Click the "Donate" button below to make a contribution. Thank you!

Live well,
Yvonne

Thanksgiving Harvest Table with A Touch of Glitz

Photo courtesy of Bobbi Fabian

Happy Thanksgiving Friends,

Thanksgiving is a great time to decorate a table with elements from the garden. Balance the sparkle of metallic with natural elements, like fall branches or fresh fruit, for a sophisticated look. Your Thanksgiving table can incorporates natural elements with the gleam of copper, gold and silver.

The holidays are time to be with family and friends. Hosts a big dinner, with all the table decorations from your garden. The first step is searching for leaves. Kids like to help with this part. The trick is finding leaves with the best color and shape. To preserve the leaves, layer them between newspaper with a paperweight on top. You can also use a telephone book. Press them for about two weeks.

Placemats: Use round pieces of cardboard, which you can get from a pizza shop. Make sure they're clean and unused. Spray-paint the cardboard gold. (You may want to go outside for better ventilation.) Brush the lower half of a leaf with white glue diluted with water, and gently place the leaf on the outer edge of the mat. Go around the mat overlapping with each leaf. Come back with the glue and secure the leaves that are overlapping.

Place Cards: Pick up some small paper mache boxes from the craft store. Spray-paint the outsides gold. Put glue all over one side of a leaf and glue it to the bottom of the box. Use the same procedure to add a leaf to the top of the box. Let it dry thoroughly. Use a calligraphy pen to write the name of the guest on the top of the box. Then fill the box with nuts, mints or candy.

Votive Candle: You'll need some plain glass votives and rice paper (available at art supply stores), glue wash and a leaf. Coat the entire outer edge of the votive with glue using a brush. Press the leaf gently at an angle on the votive. Cut a piece of rice paper wider than the votive and wrap it around the votive. Glue wash the rice paper down.

Napkins: Roll up a napkin, and tie raffia around it. Leave a generous length of raffia and attach leaves at the base of it. When set on the table, it looks like leaves blowing in the wind.

Centerpiece: Take a pie-size pumpkin and spray-paint it gold (again, outside for ventilation). Slice a piece out of the side and stuff it with berries and grapevines.

Great ideas for not only Thanksgiving but the entire Fall season.

Check back for more ideas and enjoy your Thanksgiving harvest table with family and friends.

Wishing you all the timeless treasures of the season; the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Your kind contribution will allow us to continue sharing great, no cost and cost saving ideas for your space. Click the "Donate" button below to make a contribution. Thank you!

Live well,
Yvonne

Printable Thanksgiving Place Cards

Happy Thanksgiving Friends,

Put the finishing touch on your Thanksgiving table with one of four printable place card designs. Click on the PDF below to download the designs, fill in your guests' names and place a card at each place setting. For a festive touch, surround each card with colorful wrapped chocolates, nuts or fall leaves. Compliments of HGTV.

Thanksgiving Place Cards PDF

Check back for more ideas and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends.

Wishing you all the timeless treasures of the season; the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends.

Your kind contribution will allow us to continue sharing great, no cost and cost saving ideas for your space. Click the "Donate" button below to make a contribution. Thank you!

Live well,
Yvonne

Tips for Setting a Formal or Informal Thanksgiving Table

Happy Thanksgiving Friends,

Setting a formal table is easier than you may think. Start by adding a tablecloth and runner, making sure that the tablecloth has at least a six-inch drop on all sides and that the runner is either the same length or shorter than the tablecloth. Then, it's time for the place settings. Forks go to the left of the plate, and the knife (with the blade turned toward the plate) and spoon go to the right. Another tip is to place cutlery in the order that it will be used, with the first utensil, like a salad fork, furthest from the plate. To keep the table from becoming too crowded, simply bring dessert utensils out with that course. Bread plates go to the left of the place setting, glassware to the right. If there is more than one wineglass, arrange them in the order they will be used, outermost first. And finally, napkins can be placed either on top of the dinner plate or to the side of the plate. Great tips from Designer Erinn Valencich.

Check back for more ideas and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner in style.

Wishing you all the timeless treasures of the season; the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Your kind contribution will allow us to continue sharing great, no cost and cost saving ideas for your space. Click the "Donate" button below to make a contribution. Thank you!

Live well,
Yvonne