Christmas is that time of the year when even grown-ups let their guards down and believe in magic once more. The build-up to the actual day, the infectious fervour in children, the meticulous gift-shopping and party-planning connects people across cultural and regional backgrounds.
For us in the UAE, the relaxed evenings, in-house parties with loved ones and carol singing replace the humdrum of daily living and bring in a cherished bit from back home.
Whatever your association with the wintery festive season, a beautifully adorned Christmas tree in a home decorated to welcome Santa brings joy, warmth and a feeling of togetherness.
This year, we’ve lined up some of the best in the business to help you create your Christmas wonderland.
Decor
Make it snow
White Christmas, which is a huge favourite among designers, decorators and homemakers, is all about textures, materials and finishes. Think glass globes against sparking stars in silver or even a snow-dusted holly spring make your Christmas decoration look richer.
If you go for this theme, make sure to add warmth with golden fairy lights and accents of the traditional colours of Christmas in the form of bows or even the gifts around the tree.
Tip: Make sure your key tree decor — the star and prized accent pieces — follows the white-on-silver palette. Further the trend with silver and white ceramic dinnerware, steel candelabras and fully faux fur throws and rugs, such as those at Irony Home’s boutique in Dubai Mall.
Go Rustic
This is not your grandmother’s rustic Christmas. Reinvented for 2013, a rustic theme is all about natural, subtle earthy tones with an emphasis on handmade decorative items — even for the tree.
Use pine cones and holly berry twigs as the key element. Bows made of raffia or simple buntings that your child helped make are perfect. This trend is ideal for those with a creative bent and who want quirky yet traditional decor. Add hand-decorated miniature stuffed toys for a final flourish.
Tip: This trend is the perfect excuse to raid your mother’s treasure trove for period decor pieces with personality. Crate & Barrel and Zara Home boutiques have an array of arrangements to help you to bring the rustic flair home this festive season.
A silver platter full of pine cones, cinnamon sticks, dried barks and oranges will add a nostalgic, warm fragrance to your space. Ornaments and tabletop decor in the nautical theme add a youthful twist.
Red is always in
You can’t go wrong with red. The colour brings instant warmth, luxury and depth. This festive season, red finds its perfect partner in gold — time to stay away from green.
You can use simple red ornaments in varied sizes but same shape — stars or baubles — as filler and use feature pieces in gold. Or play up the drama by using both red and gold large size ornaments, letting that peek of green add relief.
Tip: Nothing can bring out the red theme like a bunch of Poinsettias can. Add some roses to them for a luxe feel. Bring out a playful edge to this traditional theme with decor pieces such as the puppet bandmaster. Make sure gift boxes, cushions and glasses compliment.
Irony Home’s regional ornaments, such as the Burj Khalifa and Burk-Al-Arab in gold will make the theme look very fresh.
Tree
We bring you top Christmas tree decor tips right from Dubai’s Queen of Christmas decor. Rima Dardenne, the talent behind Irony Home.
Let there be light
Lights are the first things you decorate your Christmas tree with. For maximum illumination, choose faceted glass bulbs. If you are using small twinkle or coloured lights, layer the stands for the extra brightness. Don’t skimp on lights. For every vertical foot of tree, use a strand of 100 lights. You can also string lights around the trunk and the branches.
Gather the garland
Garlands are available in many styles. The aim is a tree that’s lush with decoration but is not overdone. Mix a plain garland with a fancy one to enhance the personality of the tree. Start from the top, string few garlands there and you work your way down, increase the number of garlands.
Break out the ornaments
Whether you’re using ornaments made by a child or delicate glass ornaments, adding these final flourishes is the fun part of decorating a Christmas tree. Use different shapes, from the basic rounds balls to icicles and teardrops.
Plan about 40 ornaments for every vertical foot of tree. If possible, group the ornaments by colour so that you have an idea about what’s on hand and you can easily grab from different piles to avoid clumping same colour ornaments together.
Start with the ornaments you want to be the “stars” of your tree. Place important ones at the centre.
Do it yourself
“It’s all about adding that personal touch no one else will be able to replicate,” says Dubai-based Karen Joyce, whose flair for DIY has won her fans and friends. She shares her ideas for a truly, unique Christmas.
Gifting
Get creative with what you can put in an old-style glass bottle. Encourage the young ones to take a slice off Christmas tree decorations, bottle it for their parents who will always have the Christmas spirit on their work desk.
For Nigella Lawson fans, gift a bottle full of dry cake ingredients — to exact measure — with the recipe card. It’s really as simple as mixing dry and wet ingredients. You could always fill a bottle to the brim with fairy lights to gift a stunning, year-long lighting piece for your friends with an eye for design.
Tree
Nothing succeeds like excess during the Christmas season but even the biggest Dubai homes can feel a bit overwhelmed. Arrange a bouquet of dried branches in a vase to create a contemporary, pared down mantle piece. Arrange your decor and trinkets on the branches without cluttering it and add a final flourish of festive lights.
Dinner table
By suspending a bunch of dried branches along the length of the dinner table, you can create a showstopper to compliment the decked out table. This is the perfect alternative to the traditional chandeliers.
Use aluminium cord to bind the branches into an organic shape then nail the cord ends to the ceiling above the table. Now, decorate it with delicate crystals, mistletoes — even tea lights. It can be a permanent feature of your home because you change its decor according to the seasons.
Tips from the kitchen
Pâtissier to the Hollywood A-list, Eric Lanlard gives his tips on how to reinvent everyday kitchen ingredients into Christmas decorations.
The easiest way of welcoming the seasonal spirit home is by evoking the fragrances such as thyme and rosemary to give a beautiful aroma to your dining room and kitchen.
Pile up clementines with natural nuts (in their shells — such as walnuts, chestnuts) along with sticks of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in clear glass bowls and vases. You could also use fresh holly and winter berries as garnish to give a festive finish to desserts and puddings.
There is no such thing as over the top at this time of year — add a bit of gold or silver edible glitter and sprinkle to make things look truly fabulous.
Download Eric’s CakeBoy App for your iPad or Android phone and let him guide you, step-by-step, in making his signature Christmas pudding.
Flowers fit for Santa
Few know flowers better than London-based McQueen’s Florists. They bring their A-list expertise to Christmas decorations exclusively for The weekend tabloid! readers.
Colour
The trend of the season is to veer away from the traditional palette of reds and green. A softer palette of whites will make things look fresh and equally dramatic.
Design
For a contemporary approach, try grouping small vases together and using single stem of one type of flower to create a tablescape like a runner. Alternate vases with candles for a magical feel.
Experiment
Keep the choice of material very simple. Stick to only one or two types of filler and switch things a little while avoiding traditional flowers. A vase filled with a mass of red holly berry stems can make a simple yet an attractive floral decoration.
Scent
Scents and candles can add an additional dimension to floral decoration. Pine, cinnamon sticks and sweet-scented roses will make an intimate gathering much more special. Addition of freshly cut herbs to the arrangement is also a great way of introduce some scent to your living room.
— Pratyush Sarup is a Dubai-based freelance writer
