Cheaper, Better, Faster (18 page)

Christmas tree—
decorating, ornaments made of cookies

Any recipe for crisp rolled cookies can be used to create cute and edible tree decorations. Simply roll and cut the cookie dough as usual, but before baking, use a drinking straw to make a hole near the top of each cookie. Repeat if hole closes during baking. When cookies have cooled, thread ribbon through the holes.

Christmas tree—decorating, ornaments made of glue

Draw free-form stars and snowflakes in varying sizes on waxed paper with white glue that dries hard (like Elmer's White Glue). Sprinkle with glitter, covering the glue completely. Allow to dry for 2 days. Then, starting at the points and working in, carefully peel away the wax paper. Hook the stars and snowflakes over the branches of the tree.

Christmas tree—decorating, ornaments made of paper

Cut out pictures from magazines, greeting cards, or wrapping paper and glue them to circles of construction paper or cardboard. Attach loops of ribbon to ornament backs, and hang them on the tree.

Christmas tree—decorating, ornaments made of pipe cleaners

Help very young children make Christmas ornaments out of red and green pipe cleaners. Twist them into the shapes of candy canes, stars, and trees, and hang them on the tree or decorate packages.

Christmas tree—decorating, ornaments made of tin

Hang “tin” ornaments cut from foil pie plates on a tree or bush near the house, and watch them sparkle.

Christmas
tree—decorating, popcorn garlands

String popcorn garlands with stale popcorn—it's easier to handle.

Christmas tree—decorating, process

Attach strings of lights from the bottom up. Concentrate them on the bottom two-thirds of the tree, and then gradually thin them out toward the top. Attach lights first, garlands next, then ornaments.

Christmas tree—decorating, process for hanging ornaments

Work from the inside out when hanging ornaments. Put some large, shiny ones on the innermost branches of your tree to reflect light and eliminate dark spots. Hang your most attractive ornaments at eye level on the outermost branches.

Christmas
tree—decorating, snowflakes made of paper

Let kids make paper snowflakes out of white or silver paper doilies. Fold each into eights and cut designs into all three sides of the wedge. Each one will turn out differently. Attach a ribbon loop to the back or just tuck the snowflakes into the tree branches.

Christmas tree—decorating, stickers

Place star, tree, or other holiday stickers back-to-back along a wire or ribbon. Wind these with the garland through the branches of the tree.

Christmas tree—decorating, trunk brightener

To brighten the center of the tree, wrap the trunk with foil or garlands of gold tinsel.

Christmas tree—is it
fresh?

Test a tree for freshness by running your hand gently over a branch. Needles should bend, but stay on. Pick up the tree and thump the trunk. A few brown needles may fall off, but the green ones should stay on.

Christmas tree—nontraditional

Instead of a traditional evergreen tree, bring a potted tree in from the garden or terrace for the holidays or decorate any indoor plant or tree with small ornaments. Small red ribbons on a Norfolk pine, masses of white lights on a ficus, or colorful popcorn and cranberry garlands covering any plant can be very festive.

Easter baskets

Tackle boxes, backpacks, bicycle baskets, school utility boxes, and even a bike helmet can all be used as Easter “baskets.” It's a fun way to give an otherwise dull gift.

Formal wear—rent or borrow it

Rent, don't buy, formal wear. Bridal gowns, evening gowns, and other formal wear are usually high-priced—and worn once. So rent or, better yet, borrow. For men, tuxedo rental prices vary tremendously, so check around.

Harvest—jack-o'-
lanterns, cutting

When cutting a jack-o'-lantern, don't cut the top of the pumpkin for a lid but instead cut an opening around the bottom. No more reaching down inside! Simply lift the pumpkin by its stem, and light the candle.

Harvest—jack-o'-lanterns, with flashlight

Using a flashlight in the bottom of a jack-o'-lantern is safer than using a candle. Or line the bottom of the pumpkin with aluminum foil, and put a string of tiny exterior Christmas-tree lights inside. Run the cord from a hole in the back of the pumpkin.

Harvest—
personalized pumpkins

During pumpkin-growing season next summer, use a pen or other pointed tool to scratch kids' names into your pumpkins when they're about softball size or slightly larger. The name will heal over but leave scars as the pumpkins grow. Because pumpkins grow
so fast, kids can watch almost daily to see their names appear in the skin.

New Year's Day—make a family movie

Preserve holiday memories digitally every year on New Year's Day. Do impromptu interviews with family members about the past year and special events, with the primary goal of capturing how your kids have grown and matured in the past year. Close each movie with a shot of the entire family, taken in the same spot year after year.

New Year's Eve—forget the past

While sitting around the fire (great reason to turn off the television), take turns writing down past events you'd like to forget and toss them into the fireplace.

New Year's
Eve—give thanks

On New Year's Eve, ask each family member to light a candle and think about the events of the past year for which they are most thankful.

Parties—beverages
, iced in child's pool

Fill an inflatable child's pool with ice to hold canned drinks for a big group of guests. Place balloons or flowers in the pool to decorate.

Parties—beverages, iced in fish tank

An impeccably clean, large fish tank filled with lots of shaved ice makes a fun cooler for fruit juice bottles, cans of soda, or pitchers of punch.

Parties—beverages, punch bowl fun

Add these big, hilarious ice cubes to your party punch: Fill a new pair of surgical gloves (nonpowdered) with water, and tie each one closed with rubber bands. Place them in the freezer. When they are frozen, peel back the gloves and add the frozen “hands” to the punch bowl.

Parties—beverages, punch bowl ice ring

Make an ice ring for your punch bowl with fruit juice or sherbet instead of water. It looks pretty and it won't water down the punch as it melts.

Parties—beverages, punch that
's not red!

Never serve red punch. It stains carpeting.

Parties—cheering crowd recording

Make a recording of the cheering crowd when you attend a sporting event. Then next time a family member who's done something terrific walks through the door or the guest of honor arrives at a party, play the recording to help offer congratulations.

Parties—coffee
and dessert, not dinner

Instead of a full-fledged dinner party, host an adults-only coffee party, with each couple contributing a dessert. This way everyone brings something really special, and the emphasis is on being together.

Parties—decorating, centerpiece
with frosted fruit

Frosted fruits are a delicious-looking centerpiece and are simple to make. Simmer apple jelly with a little water, let cool, then brush over fruit. Roll the fruit in granulated sugar to coat.

Parties—decorating, centerpiece
with winter candles

Set white votive candles in a clear, glass bowl filled with coarse salt to make an inexpensive “candles in the snow” centerpiece.

Parties—decorating, votive candles and
mirrors

Increase the effectiveness of votive candles by placing them on squares of mirrored glass.

Parties—face paint base

Zinc oxide ointment (available at drugstores) is a perfect
makeup base for face painting at parties because it is pure white and creates a kind of “canvas” once applied and allowed to dry.

Parties—face paint recipe

Mix cold cream with cornstarch and water until you form a paste. Add food coloring for the color you want. No cold cream handy? Substitute with a white flour and vegetable shortening or corn syrup mix. Just eyeball it, then adjust until you have the consistency of paint.

Parties—food, buffets for large groups

If you are having a large group in for a meal, consider a buffet. Just be sure to choose dishes that can be served at room temperature and will still look good after sitting out for an hour or so.

Parties—food, cake decorator

A clean, squeezable mustard bottle is great for decorating cakes. Just fill the bottle with the color icing you want, screw on the top with the pointed tip, and get to work on that cake.

Parties—
food, cupcake freezer trick

Bake and freeze cupcakes ahead of time, making plenty if you need them for several occasions in the near future. On the day you need to take them to your event, frost the cupcakes while they're still frozen and then pack them for the trip. They will defrost just in time for the party and will have that just-baked taste.

Parties—food, customize plain
cake

To get the benefits of a custom-decorated cake at a highly reduced price, ask the bakery to layer, fill, and frost the otherwise plain cake of your choice. You'll end up with a “blank canvas” cake you can bring home, decorate, and customize to your heart's content.

Parties—food, ice cream ready to go

Before a child's party, scoop ice cream into paper cupcake liners and store the treats in the freezer. Now you can serve the ice cream in its little cupcake paper liner on the plate with a piece of cake, or roll the ice cream ball out onto the plate and discard the paper. Serving will be quick and easy because the hard work is done.

Parties—food, ready-made appetizers

Don't be afraid to use prepared foods. Put a store-bought appetizer on your finest china, garnish it with herbs, and no one will know the difference.

Parties—food, realistic
recipes

Be realistic about the menu. Don't choose recipes that are too elaborate or require last-minute preparation. If you have time to cook only one really blowout course, make it dessert because that's the last impression everyone will take home.

Parties—food, spread out the goodies

When you're hosting a party, arrange the appetizers, snacks, and beverages on several tables. This keeps everybody circulating instead of gathered around the food. You could also ask guests who seem a little shy to pass appetizers; doing so helps to break the ice.

Parties—games, family crossword puzzle

You'll have a fun game to play at your next family party when you create a crossword puzzle using unique family information. For a child's party, use information about friends and classmates, and keep it appropriate for the age group.

Parties—invitations

Make original party invitations instead of buying cards at the store. Making them as a craft project involves your child in planning his or her party. And it can be as much fun to make invitations by hand as to receive them. You
might be able to get scraps of heavy colored paper stock from a local printer. Call ahead and ask them to save usable scraps for you.

Parties—outdoor lighting with portable candles

Fill a kid's wagon with sand and place candles in it for movable light at an evening outdoor party.

Parties—remember
the absent

When someone can't be with you to celebrate a special occasion, have everyone at the event hold up a poster that reads “We miss you!” Take a picture and mail or email it to the absentee.

Parties—
table, easy dessert display

Cakes, cookies, and other baked goods look elegant when served on a pedestal plate. If you don't have one, create your own by putting a dinner or cake plate on top of a short, wide drinking glass or sturdy vase.

Parties—table, for unmatched dishes

If you don't have adequate matching flatware and dishes for a large group—and most people don't—just mix and match. Tie everything together with matching napkins.

Parties—
table, place card names

When preparing place cards for your next dinner party, write the guests' names on both sides of the cards so that those across the table can read them too.

Parties—table, place cards with photos

Put a small, framed photograph of each person at his or her place instead of traditional place cards.

Parties—table, plate
decorating

To celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or other big event, use a tube of cake-decorating gel or your own icing in a clean, squeezable mustard bottle to
write your message, such as “Congratulations” or “Happy Birthday” around the edge of the dessert plates. This works especially well when you don't have an entire cake to decorate, you are serving pie or ice cream, or you want to make a low-cal dessert look more festive.

Parties—table, serving
dishes

Use unusual serving dishes. Put crudités in brightly colored mugs or bread in a shiny metal colander.

Parties—table,
set the day before

Set the table the day before with everything, including platters to make sure it all fits and looks attractive. Cover with a clean sheet to keep dust-free.