Holidays | Red Lotus Home

I just love the American flag. Besides being a symbol of our country, I think the flag is beautiful. It’s beautiful in a look-at-me kind of way. The red and white stripes set against a block of blue with white stars makes for a symbol that’s hard not to notice. That’s why I like to dress up my surroundings for Fourth of July and put red, white, and blue all over the house – because it grabs your attention and celebrates our national birthday. And, if the party’s at your house this year, putting out Independence Day decorations will put everyone in a festive mood for the Fourth.

Start up front

When you make an entrance inviting, it’s hard not to get more enthusiastic about what awaits your Fourth of July picnic or party. Put some bunting or pleated fans around the door and don’t forget to put your flag out, too. You can usually purchase bunting from hardware stores and home centers. Look for it in the gardening and outdoors sections. Add some stick flags to planters or beds on either side of the door. Use an odd number, such as three, or whatever you have on hand. It just adds another layer of decoration that looks terrific.

Make a Pull Down

Pull downs are long, narrow representations of flags. I like to add pull downs on either side of the door because of their unique appearance. Pull downs can be used to flank doorways or hung from trees to wave in the wind or from a porch. These can be ordered over the Internet or you can do like I did and make your own.

Start with a square of blue fabric and add a single white star or purchase blue fabric with white stars on it. Cut it into a rectangle measuring 16 by 19 inches long and hem the sides with one inch hems. Cut two long lengths of red and white fabric about 73 inches long by nine inches wide. Join the red and white fabric together. Hem and then finish by sewing a four inch pocket hem at the bottom. Add a three inch pocket hem at the top of the blue fabric to insert a pole for hanging. Then join the red, white, and blue fabrics together, making certain that the pieces will all fit and be the correct finished widths.

Decorate the house

Add flags in all plant pots around the house, hang flags from doors and windows, put flags in vases on the mantle, or make a flag display on an island in the kitchen. Decorate the island with inexpensive small flag bunting to serve your Fourth of July feast. For the table, create table runners of varying patterns, such as a red and white stripe. Top this with a blue with white star fabric placemat or napkin. Echo the flag by mixing stars, stripes, and solids. Your fabric store has patriotic themed yardage for all these projects.

Or, go no-sew and make your own patriotic tablecloth by purchasing a solid, dark blue bed sheet. Buy a large rubber star stamp and stamp the star along the outer edge of the bed sheet in white fabric paint. Then, you can either leave it that way or fill in with a small star rubber stamp creating any pattern you like. You could also do this with a white sheet and rubber-stamped blue stars. The possibilities are endless.

This Fourth of July make your living space a patriotic space with some fun and festive patriotic decorating around the house.

Fourth of July Decorating Resources

Oriental Trading Company has reasonably-priced decorating and party supplies for almost every occasion. Buy decorating and party supplies for the Fourth by visiting tinyurl.com/zjhwr

There are many sources for flags, bunting, and pull downs on the Internet. Go to united-states-flag.com or aboutflags.com.

To make your own bunting, go to DIY Network for their bunting project at tinyurl.com/gm5oe or Better Homes and Gardens at tinyurl.com/pxf36.

For fun crafts, recipes, and decorating ideas, check out Martha Stewart’s Fourth of July web page at tinyurl.com/gkw85 or FamilyFun.com’s fun crafts and decorations for kids page at tinyurl.com/evgol.

Filed Under: Holidays

Get Your House Ready for the New Year

Display bowls of oranges, considered to be a symbol of gold and prosperity, around your home for the New Year. Rolling oranges into the front door is a tradition in China to welcome prosperity. It’s also a fun thing to do for New Year’s with the kids.

Bringing in the New Year

One of the things I like best about the holidays is the symbolism. From the star on the top of the Christmas tree to the menorah of Hanukkah, it’s the symbols that remind us that there are things in this world larger than ourselves. One of those symbols is our home. Our home is the place where we gather with our families, share our burdens, our successes, and it’s the stage where our lives play out. I guess that’s why home has always been so important to me, and why I think of our spaces as living spaces.

Because of this, the New Year is an important symbolic time in our family. I make a special effort to bring the house back to its original state, taking down decorations before ringing in the New Year. In fact, I have quite a list of preparations that I go through each New Year because these activities remind me that we’re at the dawn of another opportunity to begin anew, and I like to bring my house into the New Year with a fresh start, too.

Here is my personal list of New Year’s household preparations that I hope you enjoy.

Out with the old

1. De-clutter as much as possible.

Clean out old magazines, food, clothing, and anything that hasn’t been used or is broken.

2. Clean the floors.

Get the old energy out by vacuuming and mopping the floors on New Year’s Eve.

3. Do the laundry. You don’t want to go into the New Year with dirty clothes hanging around. Be sure to fold and put the clean clothes away.

4. Clean the bathroom.

It only takes a few minutes and you won’t have a nasty mess to greet the next year of your life.

5. Empty all trashcans.

Get everyone to pitch in so last year’s trash isn’t hanging around.

6. Clean out the refrigerator.

You don’t want old food or a moldy science project lurking in the fridge.

7. Clear out visual clutter.

Clear off the counters in the bathrooms and kitchen. Clear off your desk and dust it. Pitch the sticky notes and papers and things taped everywhere. Don’t forget the refrigerator. Make it a blank slate.

8. Clean up the yard.

Make sure the yard is picked up and the front doorstep is swept and clear.

9. Change the sheets and towels.

Put clean sheets on all the beds on New Year’s Eve and clean towels in the bathroom and kitchen.

10. Take down the Christmas decorations.

This is the tough one. Most of us dread the New Year because we have to take all the decorations down. Make it a point to take them down two days before New Year’s Day. Then, you can go into the New Year without that mistletoe hanging over your head.

For everyone who thinks you can’t do it, just think how great you’ll feel when you wake up New Year’s Day and you don’t have all those decorations to put away. You could actually watch the Rose Parade. Trust me, you’ll never know how great New Year’s Day can be if you don’t have to haul the tree to the curb.

In with the New

To mark the new beginning, I make sure that the refrigerator and the pantry is stocked and that I have plenty of sweets and citrus around the house. The Chinese believe that oranges symbolize gold and good news and often roll them into the house at the lunar New Year. I buy a big bag of oranges and do this with my own kids. I also buy flowers or a new plant to greet the New Year to symbolize a healthy, lush start. Think about what you can do to symbolize a new prosperous beginning at your home.