Christina Strutt’s best tips for the holidays

AB HOME Interiors Holiday Photo shoot 2010

The holidays are meant to bring family and friends together. It is a time to share warm meals and good conversation, cozy blankets, soft flannels, and warm fires to snuggle up to. Bitter cold days filled with snow, and naked trees are an unmistakable sign to head indoors and secure your spot on the couch with a yummy cup of hot cocoa. Preparing for the holidays can be a hectic task but it doesn’t need to be a chore. Back in October I offered up the Holiday survival guide with my best tips and tricks to get in gear, and recently had the chance to talk with Christina Strutt, of Cabbages and Roses, to find out her best tips on holiday decorating and making your festivities homey.

Organics and the important role they play:

Personally I think there is nothing better than natural greenery from the woods and the garden. The most useful is ivy, which needs to be carefully removed from the ground or from growing trees, its long tendril-ey stem makes it very adaptable – best used in quantity! The other favourite is christmas tree branches, from all spruce type trees, a variety makes the decorations more interesting – also yew branches, and of course holly. Along with copious quantities of real greenery, I use seasonal clementines and pomegranites for colour, piled in dishes intersperced with ivy leaves.

Front doors and why she loves them:

Decorating the outside of the front door makes for a wonderful holiday welcome, expecially if you are lucky enough to have snow, which sticks to the leaves and branches so beautifully. Large savoy cabbages used in outside decoration (wired through their thick stem and bound to the christmas branches) are a dramatic addition, they are also a wonderful table decoration intersperced with small clementines.

Adding a little holiday cheer:

Simple things at the holidays make the biggest difference. Our Tartan 22″ Christmas pillow is the perfect accent to a family room and adds the comforts of home and tradition with ease.