With only 2 weeks until Christmas, I felt a festive but frugal need for a cheerful addition to my outdoor holiday decor. I have been remodeling for the last 9 weeks and it was starting to feel a bit bah hum bug at my house.
My merry-making began with a candy land theme, made with:
- Paper plates
- Duct tape
- Foam pipe covers (used to keep pipes from freezing)
- Plumbing supplies (3 2-in x 10-ft 450 Schedule 40 PVC Pipe) (12 90 degree elbow fittings to fit atop each 2 inch pipe)
- Foam insulation (1 in. x 6 ft. foam pipe insulation) or empty holiday wrap tubes
- Holiday gift wrap and irridecent cellophane
- Holiday ribbon
- Green, red and white craft paint
- Pipe cleaners
- Hot glue
- Glitter
- Jig Saw or small hand saw
- Scissors
Candy Canes brightened the curb appeal with holiday cheer and were made by cutting the 10 foot PVC pipe in half to give me a total of 6 candy canes. I attached 2 – 90 degree elbows together and attached to each of the 6 pipes. I then wrapped each pipe, with attached elbows with red duct tape and attached a holiday ribbon. Cost approximately $10 each.
Peppermint hard candies were assembled from two dinner size paperplates. I turned each paper plate up-side down and from the center of each paperplate painted an s-shaped swirl to the rim of each plate. Once dry, I fit the two plates together with the painted side out and hot glued together for quick work of the project (craft glue works but is a slower to dry). I wrapped each of the sweet candies with irridescent cellophane and tied off each end with pipe cleaner.
Old fashioned hard candy sticks/barber pole also known as penny candy have been in production since before the Civil War. I used 1 in. x 6 ft. foam pipe insulation and cut in assorted lengths. Each was wrapped with striped or whirled/angled striped holiday wrapping paper (in red and white, green and white and or red, white and green colors to copy the look of a barbers pole. Each candy stick was then wrapped in celophane and tied off on each end with pipe cleaner. Foam pipe insulation cost $2.23. Clear iridescent wrap covered 25 sq. ft. and cost $3.99.
Gingerbread men are a holiday classic dated back to the 15th century. The gingerbread shape was templated and traced on a Styromfoam 2-in.x 2-ft. x 8 foot unfaced polystyrene foam board piece of insulation. Each design was cut with a jig saw (a small hand saw would work too) and then painted with brown spray paint and then dressed up with glue, glitters and trim. Cost of styrofoam board $24.98. I was able to cut 7 gingerbread men from the board at $3.56 each.
Decorating for the holidays for some may seem a bit commercial, the tradition dates back to 16th century Germany when evergreen trees were decorated to represent the forbidden fruit in the Bible. Every December my Polish holiday tradition is to decorate and turn my home into a festive and bright place to celebrate the special meaning of the season with friends, family, neighbors and now you. Merry decorating to you and yours and may your own home be filled with good cheer.
