Ideas For A Festive Table Setting It’s Cold & Flu Season

It’s Cold & Flu Season

Ideas for a Festive Holiday Table Setting

S

etting the scene for your holiday event doesn’t have to take a lot of money or effort. All you really need is a little imagination and a few items you already have at home.

Start by picking a theme. Make a list of items that will fit with the theme. For example, for a winter theme, acorns, pine cones, holly branches, berries, and other nature finds make perfect decorations. Use a tablecloth or placemats in a color that complements your theme.

For an eye-catching centerpiece, use a glass cylinder and fill them with items that go with your theme. Twigs and berries may work for a nature theme; candy canes and peppermints for a candy theme. A candy cane bouquet makes a whimsical centerpiece. Add glitter to make everything sparkle.

Don’t worry about everything being perfectly matched. It can be contemporary or eclectic to use table settings that don’t match. The trick is use complementary colors and to make your setting look intentional. What to Know to Feel Better, Faster For a sore throat, gargle with salt water. Stir a teaspoon of salt into a cup of warm water, then gargle with the solution to reduce swelling. Repeat every few hours. Warm, herbal tea can also reduce pain and soothe a raw throat. Adding honey, which has a antiviral effect, will also help with the pain.

For sinus pain, use a saline spray or rinse to clear out mucus and bacteria. This will help to reduce the pressure.

For a fever, drink plenty of liquids. A fever can cause you to sweat, even when you feel cold. If you don’t replenish those fluids, you may become dehydrated.

10 Tips and Tricks for Building a Gingerbread House

1. Create cardboard templates for the sides and roof to check for fitting. 2. Roll out the gingerbread pieces on parchment paper, then move the entire piece to the baking pan. 3. Before baking, cut out windows. Place hard candy in the hole.

While the gingerbread is baking, the candy will melt and fill in the space. 4. Gingerbread should be rolled out to 1/4 inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter to cut. 5. Decorate the pieces of the house before assembling. 6. Create “snow” with powdered sugar or shredded coconut. 7. Green-tinted rice krispies can become bushes and trees. 8. Sticks of gum, cereal,

Lifesavers, or M&M’s can look like shingles. 9. Marshmallows make great snowmen. 10. Hold candies in place with a small amount of icing.

The Musings of Mistletoe

Mistletoe dates back to the ancient Druids who considered the plant to be a sign of peace and goodwill. Warring parties would temporarily cease battle upon seeing mistletoe. In spite of its toxicity, Germans called this plant, Gut Hyl or all-heal. It was used in various potions as a remedy and fertility drug. It was thought to give strength to the athlete, hunter, and swordsman.

Mistletoe is best known for romance. In some European cultures, a kiss under mistletoe is a proposal of marriage. However in the United States, it is simply a sign of love and friendship—not a serious commitment. Both men and women are encouraged to stand under the mistletoe when hoping to receive a kiss.

Celebrate the Winter Solstice on December 21

Winter is a time to be quiet and introspective. Longer periods of darkness give us more time to rest and be reflective. When we stop to celebrate the winter solstice, we remember that our lives are always changing—just like the seasons.

To celebrate this day, watch the sunset or sunrise, go on a hike or walk a Labyrinth, make an evergreen wreath for your front door, sit by a bonfire or light a candle. Whichever ritual or activity you choose, use this time to offer gratitude for the darkness that is here, and the light that is coming.