Mexico Missouri message., 1909-11-18
THECHRISTMAS TREE
HoW TO TRIM 1T MOST EFFEC.
lively AND EASILY.
II Is Usually the Last, But by No
Means the Least important of
the Holiday Preparations.

When all the other Christmas work
Is done, there remains the important
task of trimming the Christmas tree.
Color and effect are the most impor
tant requirements, the materials en-
ployed being secondary. The souvenirs
or gifts form part of the decoration of
the tree. These may be wrapped in
tissue paper of bright bues, and tied
with narrow ribbons. If the gifts are
small, pretty idea is to imbed them
in artificial oranges. Make these of
orange-yellow crepe paper, wrapping
the gift in soft paper, and fill the
orange out with tissue paper. Hang
by two-inch lengths of ribbon or strips
of braided crepe paper. These look
very pretty among the dark green
boughs.
Buy the loose tinsel and cobweb the
tree with it and with strings of pop
corn. String the corn on coarse threads
about fifty inches long; make tassels
of the corn on each end, then tie
knot in the long strand, little below
the center, after doubling the tassel
ends even. This forms a unique neck
lace.
Little stars, hearts and other figures,
cut from heavy paper, given a coat of
glue, then dipped in mica or metallic
flock, make rich decorations, also
chains made of paper and treated in
the same manner. These chains, looped
from bough to bough, are quite daZ-
cling, holly berries, threaded to each
link, make them more effective.
Plenty of red and green apples
small ones, of course-help the dec.
orative scheme; and tiny potatoes,
stuck full of wee flags, look well. Make
the banners of various colOrs, using
crepe paper with long sticks.
String all the fallen holly berries,
and garland the boughs with these, or
spear each berry with pin and stick
the pins into corks or pieces Of potato.
The best method of gliding the nuts
| is to buy the loose smalts from some
dealer in paints and oil (house paints).
| One can obtain the smalts in gold,
silver and brilliant metallic colors.
Obtain also one-eighth of a pound of
glue. Place it in a bowl, add a pint
of water, and set the bowl in another
vessel of hot water. Let boil until the
glue is thoroughly dissolved, Before
gliding the nuts, hammer a tack into
the end to suspend by. Take hold of
the tack, dip the nut in the glue, then
roll in the flock and lay aside to dry.
Little pine cones can be gilded in a
like manner.
Little bonbon baskets are quickly
made by forming a strip of cardboard
five inches long and two inches wide
into a circle. Fit in a disk of card
board for the bottom, then line inside
and out with paper, gluing it in place
Make a handle from strip OF braided
Grape paper and sew securely in place,
fastening 1t on the outside, as this is
TO be recovered; to do this, take piece
of Grape paper four inches wide and
five inches long. Fit this around the
little box, slashing top and bottom to
form q fringe. Others can be covered
with rows of braided Grape paper; 9TH
ers, again, may be dipped in the liquid
glue, then busted with sago and sill
yered or gilded,
Again, one can take two squares or
rounds OF Grape paper of contrasting
shades and about ave inches in diam