Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-14

| ful when mingled with the delicacy of fern
| sprays. A single pofnsetta laid here ana
| there upon the CLOTH with loose sprays OF
green as background makes brilliant
| table. and the idea might be carried out by
having candle shades of green fonage WITH
| Il single poinsetta on the outer side. Holly
decorations combine very well with these
magnificent flowers. but the blossoms are
| more striking when used with foliage alone.
Chrvsanthemums form an effective dec
| Crative scheme for Christmas adornment,
and when the frost has not yet done It's
| work the small outdoor variety, which
| blooms all winter where snow does not
| fall. makes the most fascinating candle
| shades and garlands for the dinner table,
| il gold in copper red or in many lovely
| shades of pink
Leaves and Sprays.
Many people press bright colored. autumn
leaves and sprays of leaves in preparation
for holiday decorations, and good results
| are secured by pinning leaves over candle
shades and sprinkling them over the ia
| Bile CLOTH Oak and maple leaves are par
ticularly pretty. Quaint little dinner cards
may be enriched with a leaf or two thrust
through one corner and tied with bronze
or red ribbon
pies Christmas dinner illustrates the sem
timent of having all the nations of the
earth Joined in celebrating the great fest-
val day of the Christian Church, by dress
tionality-eyen to having a cunning Fill
pino and a Sandwich Island belle, an Ice
land maiden, a little Laplander, and so on,
gathering all that would be picturesque.
When all the dolls are dressed they are
tied to candlesticks so as to conceal the
standard. and each doll holds in one hand
a strand of evergreen or flowers that is
fastened in turn to a large Christmas bell
of holly, mistletoe or some Christmas fol-
iage. high above the center Of the table.
Or tall Santa Claus doll may hold the
bell, aloft and be hung over with small,
bright cornucopias of candy, sewed to mar
row red ribbons. for each child The cam
die shade above each doll should be dec
Grated with star Of Bethlehem. Chill
dren love Christmas story and sentiment,
and some such table decoration would de-
light them.
If an overhead decoration is undesirable,
looking glass in the middle of the table
| might be so covered with evergreen as to
| form the points of shining star the whole
edged with flowers
For the Homecoming.
| The boy or girl who comes home from
school or college for the holidays is al
ways pleased If some compliment Is paid
the college which they attend dinner
| in which the shades for candles are made
| of panels emblaZoned with college flags and
| pennants Is sure to be a success among
| the young people Small college fans are
| useful In making these shades when one
mas not the time nor patience to paint the
decorations nor sew them on in bits of silk
1t Is pleasant to depart from usual Gus
toms at Christmas time and have dolls and
brownies and odd conceits of any kind to
| supply the place Of stereotyped candlesticks
and candelabras, and to decorate the table,
| instead of merely lighting it, as side lights
| upon the wall often do.
dollhouse flowers are lovely and decora-
| tive at all times, but where it is possible to
get home-like blossoms and foliage 1t Is bet
| ter to do SO. The sentiment of Christmas
| is away from the artificial of any sort and
| toward the sweet simplicity Of nature and
childhood.
Wrapping a Gift
| It Is always easy to select a pretty gift
| but not every one thinks of an attractive
| and decorative manner in which to put it
| up. A bouquet of rare flowers in a jeweled
or golden holder Is a simple way out Of the
! difficulty for the rich, but the great mass
| Of people are not rich, and to these the
| question of how to put UP gift attractive
! ly is an important one
| few bits Of holly tied with a scarlet rib
bon are always pretty and cheap, and
small bunch of flowers with a holder of
| tea mating, bound with a wide band of
| ribbon at the top and bottom. 10 resemble
| a golf case, holding also a diminutive golf
stick or two. is dainty when fastened to a
| gift box with ribbon band and bow.
Red ribbon. Is a most useful article at
| Christmas time. 1t can supply the place of
other colors on the dressing table, the IL
/ brary or den, and wherever a bit of red will
/ give more of holiday appearance to the
| ordinary things of life.
| 1t lends a cheerful look to even the plain
| est Christmas box, and makes a delightful
| glow amid evergreen wreathes.
| A real holiday decoration for doorway
| Is made OF any sort of evergreen frame pro-
| durable, tied to wires or string and tackled
| In place at the corners. II holly or mistle-
| Toe berries are added. the effect is all the
| prettier Across the top Of the doorway
| L. Sc t.,
side and out with green or flowers. and
| having yellow flower or small orange for
| a clapper, forms real Christmas welcome.
while stars of Bethlehem might form a
| pretty decoration for a bank OF evergreen
! or growing plants before fireplace.
Festoons Of Ivy.
Ivy makes a most attractive Christmas
decoration. and Is strong enough to act as
very graceful festoons without any aid of
wire or string. There is too. vine where
leaves grow red and copper colored and re-
main upon the stems up till Christmas
| time. which is most lovely an adornment
| for the home at Christmas tide.
| In the country. the woman who finds her
| self without Christmas plants can seek In
low places and woodlands and ditch banks
and will find under withered grass or snow
| lovely punches of rock fern. apparently
growing fresh and green under winter COW
erings. These may be arranged to have all
| the appearance Of growing plants. when.
as matter of fact, all the bottoms OF the
| stems have been killed by the frost, and
| only the little closed, fuzzy balls that con-
| tain next seasons crop Of leaves are alive.
| These rock ferns-so called because they
| nearly always seek the shelter of a rock or
| stone of some sort-keep tho shape and col
| or of their leaves indefinitely IL set in very
wet sand.
/ Christmas tree is decoration always
| enjoyed by young and old alike. and In
/ civ is easy to adorn with the usual bright
| tinsel finery; but In small towns and coun-
/ try places one has TO manufacture decora-
| tions for the tree that is intended for the
/ holidays ana not for night only.
] D.S.vt,t cc,s,,-od fruit n Dratfv hung yAsd