For Immediate Release
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�Florida Holidays, 2003: Tired of the same old traditional Christmas decorations?� Is your animated Santa saying "Humbug!" instead of "Ho, Ho, Ho"?�� Perhaps you have a second tree you want to decorate with a little more unusual holiday flair. Maybe you live in a multi-cultural family or are planning a company holiday party and are trying to balance several religious beliefs. Whatever your reason for making a change, Phyllis Cambria and Patty Sachs, celebration experts, owners of PartyPlansPlus.com and authors of The Complete Idiot�s Guide to Throwing a Great Party (Alpha Books/Macmillan) and soon-to-be-released, The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Choosing a Caterer (Penguin Books) offer some innovative ways to give your holiday d�cor and traditions a tantalizing twist.
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�Suspend silver sheriff's badges on your tree or over your dining or buffet table instead of traditional stars. |
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Use red bandanas tied to tree branches, tacked across your mantel, as napkins or laid out as place mats. |
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Drape thick rope on your tree's branches or mantel instead of the usual garland. |
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Attach toy or infant-sized cowboy boots to your tree and intersperse with plain, red ball-shaped ornaments. Add mini-cowboy hats with red and green ribbon bands for a toe-to-head western wear d�cor theme. |
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Fasten a variety of jingle bells with gingham ribbon to act as spurs to the back of a cowboy boot and use as a vase for dried flowers. Alternatively, line the boot with a plastic bag and use with fresh flowers for a holiday hoedown centerpiece. |
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Hot glue strips of gingham or denim ribbon around plain ornaments for a country-western Christmas. |
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Trim handles of camping cookware with ribbons, mistletoe or holly for your holiday home. |
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Wrap presents in gingham, burlap or denim fabric and tie with raffia straw bows.� Tie up gifts in red bandanas to make your cowpokes smile. |
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Call guests to dinner with a ribbon-tied cowbell. � |
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Decorate a palm tree instead of a typical evergreen. |
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Trim your tree with exotic blossoms (paper, silk or real) and fake tropical birds. |
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Loop leis together for a colorful garland. |
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Core a real or plastic pineapple and use as your tree topper. |
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Wrap gifts in tropical print papers, fabric or large banana leaves. |
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�Use giant banana leaves as place mats. |
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Create a centerpiece with amaryllis blossoms and sugar cane. |
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Substitute leis for ribbons on gift boxes. |
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Instead of Christmas-designed luminarias, use colorful paper lanterns instead. |
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Spread out a grass skirt as your tree skirt. |
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Use floating floral candles in stemware on dining tables. |
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Use pineapple-flavored candy canes as stirrers in your Pina Colada or Mai Tai. |
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Line your walkway with tiki torches wrapped with ribbon to resemble candy canes. |
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Place votive candles in large flower-shaped plastic trays and, weather-permitting, float in your pool. |
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As a lawn decoration, dress your Santa in a bathing suit and sunglasses.� Have the reindeer pull him on a gift-laden surfboard or wave-runner instead of sleigh. |
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Trim your (palm or evergreen) tree with seashells, seagulls and tropical fish. |
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Create a giant "sandman" with large foam balls. Spray with adhesive and cover in sand. Add sunglasses, a beachcomber's hat and other summer attire instead of a winter wardrobe. |
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Use long strands of pearls for your garland on your tree or mantle. |
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Cover a cone-shaped topiary with seashells as a mini tree and use it as a centerpiece or mantel decoration. |
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Top your tree with a starfish. |
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Use colorful fishnet on top of plain, brown wrapping paper for table covers or large item gift wrap. |
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Decorate your tree with colorful mini beach balls. |
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Use strings of tropical fish lights entwined with fish net as a mantle swag. |
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Paint guests' names on seashells as place cards. |
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Suspend fake angelfish on monofilament over your dining or buffet tables.� |
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Multi-colored lights with large bulbs (as opposed to small twinkle lights popular today), along with plain red and green or blown glass ornaments were standard '50s tree trim. |
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After decorated with lights and bulbs, trees were then trimmed with carefully-placed silver tinsel and/or angel hair. |
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Tree toppers were traditionally angels, but for a little fun, you can top yours with a battery-operated disco ball instead. |
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Make a pink felt tree skirt�don�t forget the poodles. |
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Scour thrift shops, garage sales or on-line auctions for 1950s Coca-Cola trays or other items bearing Santa's image.� Replica merchandise is also available in many department, specialty and discount stores or catalogs. |
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Stand red and white-striped taper candles in old-fashioned ice cream soda glasses filled with pink carnations sans stems for table d�cor. |
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Tie long strands of red ribbons with a collection of jingle bells to the backs of each guest's chair. |
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Cover a plain water glass with an ankle-high tube sock, roll down the cuff. �Trim the sock with ribbons and jingle bells to serve as a coaster and d�cor.� For extra personalization, with embroidery thread or fabric paint, add the name of each guest onto the sock to serve as a place card and party favor.� (Be sure to give guests their matching sock.) |
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Trim your tree with a collection of colorful paper flowers. (Instructions on this link. http://www.partyplansplus.com/partyideas/flowers.htm ) |
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�Remember, red, green and white � traditional Christmas colors � are also the colors of the Mexican flag. |
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Cover your buffet with a serape. |
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�Loop a holiday wreath around the neck of a donkey pi�ata to serve as your centerpiece. |
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Use Mexican metal lanterns as luminarias on your lawn.� You can create your own with large metal cans with holes punched in a Christmas tree pattern to let your candle glow through. |
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No Latin Christmas d�cor would be complete without a complete nativity set.� A live re-enactment of the nativity scene would be even more traditional. |
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Replace a typical tree skirt with a colorful, ruffled Mexican skirt. |
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Fill your home with colorful poinsettia plants. |
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Create wreaths of bright flowers, place around the crown of a sombrero and hang on the wall or use as table decoration. |
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Consider postponing (or holding a second) celebration on January 6 � the Feast of the Epiphany also known as Three Kings Day or Little Christmas. On this day, the three wise men brought gifts to the Christ child.� On the eve of January 6, Mexican children leave their shoes outside their door to awaken the next morning to find them filled with candy and trinkets. |
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For dozens of links to more holiday party plans, tips and resources or to sign up for their free Party Planning Newsletter, �visit Sachs and Cambria�s website http://www.partyplansplus.com/holidays03.htm �
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Editors and Producers:� Both Ms. Sachs and Cambria are available for expert interview, content contribution and spokesperson duties.�
Patty Sachs: 904-272-0959, [email protected]
Phyllis Cambria: 954-974-7907, [email protected]
Their bios are at: http://www.partyplansplus.com/bios.htm
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