TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE, ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES & ROYAL ICING!

TEN MORE EASY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORE

I posted ten easy ideas Sunday, and will be posting more easy ideas for Christmas Decor. Be sure to keep checking for them!

1 Sew scraps of Christmas print fabric into a patchwork tablecloth. Simply cut your fabric into square pieces and stitch together. Hem the entire cloth. Sew ribbon the edges, if you like. Make smaller cloths to cover end tables, night tables, TV trays, shelving, etc.

2 Cover an end table or a shelf with white paper. Arrange cut evergreen boughs on to cover the table top. Place tall tapered candles in glass candleholders here and there on the table top. Before lighting candles, be sure that the greenery is not close enough to catch fire.

3 Use pliers to bend coat hangers into a simple wire-frame tree shape. Wrap a string of outdoor Christmas light around the frame, attaching with electrical tape or duct tape. Stick the decoration in a flower bed or on your front lawn.

4 Hang mistletoe everywhere. Use false or fresh mistletoe. This is classic Christmas decorations.

5. Wrap your doors in Christmas wrapping paper and attach large bows make from fabric or purchased at your local craft store.

6 String a ribbon from one end of a wall to another. Attach the ribbon to the wall (at each corner) with thumbtacks. Clip Christmas cards to the ribbon with clothes pins. If the ribbon is too long, the weight of the cards will pull it off the wall, so tack it here and there with more thumbtacks.

7 Make basic sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies. Before baking, make a hole toward the top of each cookie using a straw. Bake and cool. String a ribbon through each cookie and hang them on your Christmas tree.

8 Purchase a large glass plate. Paint the underside of the plate with gold craft paint. Dry. Place the plate on a table and fill with several white or off-white pillar candles of varying sizes.

9 String popcorn, cranberries, cereal, beads, etc. and hang the garlands everywhere.

10 Make some old-fashioned tree decorations. Wrap nuts with aluminum foil; use a needle and thread to stitch a thread through the foil for hanging. Glue ribbon to pine cones for hanging. String popcorn streamers. Make paper chains. Cut snowflakes from white paper.

ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES

Whenever you make these cookies for someone, be sure to bring along several copies of the recipe! You will be asked for it, I promise. These are the cookies used in the cookie wreath that I posted on Sunday.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely. Frost with Royal Icing.

ROYAL ICING

INGREDIENTS:

3 ounces pasteurized egg whites
4 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS:

In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy duty storage bag and pipe as desired. If using storage bag, clip corner. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days