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- table decorations photo James Baigrie/Getty Images
- marcy blum photo Courtesy of Marcy Blum
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The best party planners always have a way of making every detail looking oh-so polished yet entirely effortless. And the best eco-friendly doyennes do it with natural flair. So just how do they pull off holiday d‚cor that looks like it was plucked from the backyard, yet refined enough for a royal audience? Celebrity party-planning expert Marcy Blum says it's easier than it looks, and elegant and cost-effective to boot.
"It's easy to use natural materials because there are plenty of items in your house that you can throw together," says Blum, who has primped and prepped parties for the likes of celebs from Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick to Salmon Rushdie. "Not only will these decorations be more cost-efficient, but they can be decorative in an unusual way," she adds.
Here she doles out her six top secrets for holiday decorating au natural, even with no time to spare. Elegant and eco-friendly ornamentation that works from Thanksgiving to New Year's? Sounds like a prescription for a happy holiday to us.
- Think outside the table. Incorporating decorations typically used other places on the table is refreshing and cool. Pick up leaves off the ground outside and place them on your table to bring a fall-feeling into your home. Filling clear bowls with cranberries, sticks, or even Christmas lights (LEDs recommended!) can make for a bold centerpiece.
- Use traditional things in a non-traditional way. Use gourds, pumpkins, or tree ornaments as name cards by writing the name with a sharpie and setting it down on top of each person's plate. (Check out Marcy's how-to video.)
- Ditch your matchy-matchy obsession. Things don't have to match, even if you think they do. Mix up plates or dining ware that you have in your house in a color theme of the holiday—browns, reds, oranges, yellows, or ivory work well for a Thanksgiving of autumn setting, for example. You don't have buy new stuff or have complete sets to have a beautiful table.
- Use food as part of your d‚cor. Huge bowls of apples, lemons, or pomegranates are beautiful, edible, and compostable.
- Use common scents. Don't underestimate the old trick of making your house smell good with everyday-ingredients potpourri. A pot of cinnamon sticks on the stove or chestnuts in the oven can go a long way. You can create seasonal ambience without artificial fragrance or expensive candles; it's better for your health and your pocketbook, too.
- Behold the power of the potted plant. Plants can be much lovelier than dried or cut flowers, are typically grown locally, and don't have to be flown-in or disposed of after your event, like cut flowers do. Mums, for example, are inexpensive yet festive, and will last for months to come or can even be planted in the ground. Talk about reuse!
More Green Holiday Ideas:
TreeHugger Holiday Tips
TreeHugger Holiday Gift Guide
Buy Green: Turkeys
How To Go Green: ThanksgivingM
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