Boston Herald

Holiday prep

Tips for bringing festive decor to your home

- Gretta MONAHAN

The holidays are looming large, but before we start making lists and buying gifts and baking gingerbrea­d men, let’s lay some groundwork for the season. That’s right: It’s time to prep for your holiday home decorating.

If you’re hosting for Thanksgivi­ng, Hanukkah, Christmas or New Year’s Eve, now’s the time to take a look around and figure out what you’re missing in terms of furnishing­s. Is your dining table big enough? Do you have a pull-out sofa for your cousin to crash on? Interior Define, one of my favorite style-consciousb­ut-affordable spots, has just opened at 77 Newbury St.

(The opening party was a blast). The incredibly cool store (they call their retail locations “Guideshops,” as they offer shoppers the ability to test-drive their customized pieces without pressure to buy anything on-site) is a terrific place to find walletfrie­ndly and gorgeous furniture.

Once you have a place for your guests to sit, eat and sleep, it’s time to think festive decor. We all have those relatives whose holiday style we don’t want to emulate. Aunt Irma may love decorating her house with her epic collection of animatroni­c singing Santas, but most of us like a little more subtlety — even at the holidays.

Another area to avoid: scented candle saturation. This time of year, we’re often inundated with overly sweet wax things that smell like a candy cane bomb went off. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Opt instead for something like Williams-Sonoma’s Winter Forest Candle ($15.96 at williams-sonoma.com). Its frosted dark green glass holder looks great in any room, and its scent is festive but not overpoweri­ng.

Pillows are an easy and inexpensiv­e addition to any holiday setting — a la the Preppy Plaid Decorative Pillow at Frontgate ($83.30 at frontgate. com). The classic tartan adds a pop of hunting lodge chic to any seat. But solid colors (think deep ruby reds and fir greens) work in pretty much any environmen­t.

One thing that doesn’t look great in any room — messy tree needles all over the floor. And faux trees have come a long way since the days of cheap-looking specimens that smelled like plastic. So plan ahead and order a pretty tree and some garlands that you can reuse for several years. I like the Long Needle Cordless Garland ($59 at grandinroa­d.com) because it comes pre-dressed with lights. It’s just the right length (6 feet) for mantles, or pair them up and wind them around staircase bannisters. They add instant festivity, and make the house as easy to clean up as it was to dress up.

 ??  ?? GRANDIN ROAD’S LONG NEEDLE CORDLESS GARLAND
GRANDIN ROAD’S LONG NEEDLE CORDLESS GARLAND
 ??  ?? WILLIAMS-SONOMA’S WINTER FOREST CANDLE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA’S WINTER FOREST CANDLE
 ??  ?? INTERIOR DEFINE STORE
INTERIOR DEFINE STORE
 ??  ?? FRONTGATE’S PREPPY PLAID PILLOW
FRONTGATE’S PREPPY PLAID PILLOW
 ??  ??

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