Janet Butler
Whether you say “God Jul” to your Danish grandmother or “Merry Christmas” to your brunch guests, your kitchen can be a welcoming Yuletide place this year with these nifty ideas for decking kitchen “halls.” Pure white kitchens are great backdrops for red striped towels, ropes of evergreen garland above the sink or pantry doorway, and snowman-themed teapots and mugs that you can appropriate for cocoa. Put miniature trees anywhere: blue and green sequined ones in an ultra-modern kitchen or tiny evergreens in country baskets for a more traditional look. Tuck reindeer cutouts, small red and gold ornaments, or strings of beads, cranberries or other trims on those little trees for cheer all day long. Not a lot of counter space? Don’t worry: that’s where window décor and other creative treatments come in!
Trim your window with bright red “stars” or snowflake shapes, hang ribbons of ornaments over the sink, or fashion a lush, thick evergreen wreath around your kitchen light fixture trimmed with red, gold, or shiny green ornament balls. Haul out the “Christmas Tree” china, the red-and-green candy dishes, the ceramic Santa Claus cookie jar, and the special red spiral candles. A bronze Nativity works beautifully on a sideboard, flanked with ivory candles; a kitchen already bright with winter light looks like a child’s dream come true decorated with fat jars of hard candy, red-and-white lollipops, candy canes, and tiny stockings hung under the cabinets. Whether you love your trees flocked white or natural evergreen — whether your kitchen is huge or minuscule — there’s a decorating idea here that’ll fit just fine.
