Rains - Country living Christmas at home: holiday decorating, crafts, recipes

Because theres always room for more holiday magic, weve mined the magazines archives to bring you some of our favorite country-Christmas decorating ideas, handmade gift inspiration, and recipes for unbeatable entrees, elevated side dishes, and holiday desserts so pretty they belong on a pedestal. As for the silly rituals and family in-jokeswell, those are still all up to you. PART 1 decorate IDEAS FOR EVERY ROOM Decorating your home for the holidays is like unwrapping a gift in reverse: Instead of peeling back the layers of patterned paper, gleefully ripping off ribbons and bows (or gingerly removing them to store in a box for later use), youre adding on layers, bundling your homeand by extension, all those who enter itin your most appealing, and personal, array of seasonal accoutrements. From the day you haul home that prized specimen from the tree farm (or unearth your beloved artificial number from the storage shed) to the moment the last heirloom linens have been laid out on the dining room table, prepping your home for another year of Christmas festivities is an act of celebration in and of itself. The holidays are all about anticipation, and nothing sets the stage for the good times to come like a joyfully adorned front door.

The most memorable setups are anything but cookie-cutterthey dont even have to be red and green! All they have to be is yours. White walls and furniture provide a pristine backdrop for cheery pops of color and unexpected holiday accentsice skateinspired stockings, a cardboard taxidermy deer sporting a Rudolph-red clown noseto really shine. Textured throw pillows and papier-mch ornaments in red and blue keep things cozy, warming up the otherwise icy palette. Its an airy-meets-merry winter wonderland. Festive First Impressions Let the neighbors duke it out over whos got the most elaborate light display. What better way to say joy to the worldokay, neighborhoodthan a house embellished with barn red and evergreen? This outbuildings classic L-arm exterior light fixtures add a touch of the latter hue year-round, while shedding light on a festive-meets-functional arrangement of everyday planters, pots, and pails piled high with birch logs, plus a pair of tiny trees bedecked with pinecones. What better way to say joy to the worldokay, neighborhoodthan a house embellished with barn red and evergreen? This outbuildings classic L-arm exterior light fixtures add a touch of the latter hue year-round, while shedding light on a festive-meets-functional arrangement of everyday planters, pots, and pails piled high with birch logs, plus a pair of tiny trees bedecked with pinecones.

But the greenery doesnt stop there: An all-weather wreath of Scotch pine and fir upgraded with LED lights and hardy ornaments complements a similarly adorned drape of greenery above. Whether your guests have come from over the river and through the woods or just from the other side of the cul-de-sac, a rustic wreath (assembled from a twist of moss- and lichen-covered twigs), a stack of cozy plaid flannel blankets, and a vintage Danish muller filled with warm spiced wine will knock the chill right off.