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Toni M: We put up our Christmas tree, and it looks so pretty lit up. Sadly, when we put the lights on in the room, it loses the effect. What can I do to make the room look special in the evenings? Also, I want to get some Christmas Gifts that are not the “same old, same old.” Any suggestions?

RDP: After all the work and the excitement of putting up the Christmas decorations, it’s a bit of a letdown once you turn those overhead lights on! The idea is to have soft, ambient lighting and let the Christmas tree (and Christmas lights) be the focal point of the room. In order to do that, we suggest adding floor lamps and table lamps, with shades that have muted reds, ambers, and ochre yellows in them. These create soft pools of light and complement the tree’s lights rather than taking over the room lighting. Additionally, get gourmet scented candles with texture and color; these add to the soft lighting scheme. Place the candles on candle holders like “seeders” and “chaklota” bases or wrought iron candelabras to turn the room into a magical place!

As for “outside the box” (no pun intended!) gifts, here are some ideas:

Textured pottery to go on table top or in a corner (in place of a lamp), old hand carved stampers on stands, reverse hand painting on glass coasters, and serving trays also with reverse hand painting on glass will be appreciated all year long, but even more so during this Holiday season. Also consider jeweled frames that have been crafted from semi precious stones, hand-poured gourmet candles with scented oils (not chemicals), lighted flowers for creating some Holiday cheer, old bed-post candle holders, soft hand-beaded Christmas ornaments, feather ball Christmas ornaments, whimsical wood and metal cats and frogs, to name just a few choices!

The above items can be used in your own home to spruce up your decor as well. Many are conversation pieces that add in a pop of exotic flavor, and really make a statement! Since so much of Holiday socializing goes hand in hand with entertaining, consider choosing a bar or bar cabinet to serve as a place where everyone can hang out all season long. Not to mention, the perfect bar piece gives you a great location to mix up specialty cocktails, mulled wines, warm apple cider, and spiked eggnog…. Looking at that list, what’s not to love about the holidays!?