Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to deck unexpected halts. A little holiday
Speaker 1: cheer in unexpected places can make the season feel more festive.
Speaker 1: If you celebrate Christmas in either sacred or secular fashion,
Speaker 1: you no doubt put up the expected stuff. A tree
Speaker 1: in your living room, a wreath on the door, a
Speaker 1: few lights on trees. That's all great, but why stop
Speaker 1: there some whimsical touches in other places at an element
Speaker 1: of surprise, and there are a great many options. For instance,
Speaker 1: if one tree is good, more trees are better. In
Speaker 1: addition to your focal one where you stuffed the presents,
Speaker 1: consider putting small ones, maybe in your kid's room. Each
Speaker 1: kid can decorate the tree exactly as he or she wishes.
Speaker 1: And if you would like to avoid having spruce needles
Speaker 1: all over the floor, we'll go for artificial trees just
Speaker 1: as much fun, much less maintenance required. Any bathroom is
Speaker 1: ripe for the holiday treatment. Grocery stores sell holiday themed
Speaker 1: soft soap. We've got gingerbread and cranberry scents going on
Speaker 1: right now, and a bright red hand towel or a
Speaker 1: glittery one makes hand washing fun. Definitely break out the
Speaker 1: Christmas themed mugs for your morning coffee, and how about
Speaker 1: holiday place mats or napkins. Kids might like holiday ziploc
Speaker 1: bags in their lunches. Put a garland behind you if
Speaker 1: you're working from home, and the greenery can be seen
Speaker 1: in zoom calls. And yes, you could get a Rudolph
Speaker 1: nows and antlers for your car. It's silly, but well
Speaker 1: it can be fun. Little whimsical decorations don't have to
Speaker 1: stop with Christmas. Any holiday can be an occasion for
Speaker 1: spreading a bit of cheer. Maybe it's pink and red
Speaker 1: candles around the house for Valentine's Day or an extra
Speaker 1: pink and red throw pillow here and there. Tiny pumpkins
Speaker 1: can add a fall vibe in all kinds of places, bathrooms,
Speaker 1: window sills, desk tops. Kids stuffed bunnies can become the
Speaker 1: basis for an Easter display. Now you may be thinking
Speaker 1: that this sounds like a lot of time, money, and clutter.
Speaker 1: You may also recall that I have advocated looking for
Speaker 1: evergreen stuff when possible, but since holidays come around annually,
Speaker 1: as long as you don't stick a date on anything.
Speaker 1: You can reuse it for a long time. You probably
Speaker 1: have all the Christmas or winter decorps you want, but
Speaker 1: for the other holidays, just pick up a new item
Speaker 1: or two each year. Your collection will grow over time.
Speaker 1: Store all the decorations for a given holiday in a
Speaker 1: clearly labeled bin. Then when the holiday is around the corner,
Speaker 1: take out the bin and decorate. After it passes, put
Speaker 1: the items back in the bin, and store the bin
Speaker 1: in your closet or attic or basement or wherever you
Speaker 1: put it. You can also put holiday themed consumables like
Speaker 1: cocktail napkins, ribbons, and wrapping paper in the holiday bin too,
Speaker 1: since you won't need them again until the same time
Speaker 1: that you need the decor. Decking unexpected halls doesn't have
Speaker 1: to take a lot of time or effort or expense,
Speaker 1: but it can add a lot of fun to the year,
Speaker 1: and that strikes me as a good return on investment.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me.
Speaker 1: On Twitter, face Book, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: At iHeart media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from i heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.