Five Festive Christmas Activities

Posted on by

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. There are so many ways to cherish this time with our friends and family. In fact, we encourage you to make time this holiday season to appreciate the wonders of Christmas. You can make the most out of this holiday season by participating in all the fun Christmas festivities this season has to offer. To help give you some festive ideas, here are five great activities to consider:

Christmas Caroling

Bring the Christmas joy to your neighborhood by caroling with your loved ones. You can find a group of friends or family and carol around your neighborhood. Just be sure to select some songs that the group can be familiar with and practice before your performance.

Baking Cookies or Building a Gingerbread Home

Nothing says Christmas like delicious cookies and treats. Get creative this holiday and bake some seasonal cookies. You can decorate your cookie-cutter snowmen or gingerbread men with frosting and candy. You can also let your creativity shine by making gingerbread homes. Plus, it can be fun for the whole family to participate in this activity.

Driving to See Christmas Lights

Christmas lights illuminate the night sky throughout the holiday season. Plus, it can always be fun to explore and look for entertaining light shows in your surrounding area. You can go to neighborhoods with a lot of Christmas lights or find areas advertised in your newspapers. Some light shows even have radio stations coordinated with them for the full package of entertainment.

White Elephant Gift Exchange

This classic Christmas gift exchange is excellent for seasonal parties. You will first want to set a budget. Next, everyone will go and buy a gift within this budget. The gifts can range from very useful to just plain silly. Everyone will draw numbers to determine the order of the exchange. Sit in a circle with all the wrapped gifts in the middle. As the game begins, each player can select a gift from the circle or steal another player’s gift. Since the rules are a bit detailed, we recommend reading the instructions before playing, especially if it is your first time.

Christmas Movie Marathon

There are so many great Christmas holiday movies. You can enjoy them by getting your friends and family together for a movie night. Select a couple of Christmas movies to watch throughout the day. It is always a good time to get to sit back with some popcorn and snacks and watch some of the classic holiday flicks.

What are some of your favorite holiday activities? We would love to hear from you in the comment section.

Preparing for the Holidays

Posted on by

‘Tis the season to get ahead on your holiday decorating.  December is officially tomorrow and if you haven’t already started the home decorating process, here are just a few quick tips that may help you this year!

Make lists: Figure out what tasks you need to complete.  Ask the kids what they want to do and make a to-do list for them. This will help you spread the joy and have everyone do a little something for the house.

Set Deadlines: Make each task in your list have a deadline.  It’ll make the holiday decorating process a little less daunting, and it always feels good to complete something!

Plan ahead: Remember when you’re taking out all of the decorations for this holiday season, that you’ll need to put them back.  Make it easy on yourself and make a note of where the decorations all go.  After the season, remember what a pain it was taking everything out of their boxes and take the time to package them up the way you want.

Organize Decorations: Put them into piles according to which room they will go in and get the kids to help put them up! It’s great for you and makes it a family affair, which can eventually become a fun family tradition.

It’s a great time of the year so have fun with your decorating this year!

Thanksgiving Favorite: Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe!

Posted on by

Thankgiving is tomorrow! If you’re still looking for the perfect side dish, we thought we’d share one of our favorite with you for to help you be a holiday hero! Happy holidays from our family to yours.

Let’s get cooking!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 large egg
  • 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh black pepper

Topping:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it’s free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

The Simple Guest Bedroom Approach

Posted on by

If you have a spare room in your home, consider this a pivotal opportunity to incorporate a guest bedroom. A guest bedroom is your opportunity to impress your friends or family who stay overnight and give them a comfortable, homey experience. There are many ways to design a guest room. You can maximize the space, theme it, add charisma, amplify lighting and so much more. With so many design themes popular in this day and era, it can be overwhelming to choose one that will accompany all guests of all ages. One timeless treasure though that is neutrally appealing to all is a minimalist approach. This concept is an open layout focusing on enhancing the space through a neutral color palette and simplicity. Here are several tools to help you achieve the perfect, minimalist guest bedroom in a simple, fun, and easy approach: 

Welcoming to All

With guest being of all ages of life, you will need to have a guest room that can be tailored for all types of people. Minimalist design is perfect because it is a beautiful open design that can appeal to all age groups. Having the room being so universal is the key to creating a successful guest bedroom.

Simple and Elegant

Minimalist design is great for creating a calm, welcoming environment. It provides the perfect remedy with its clean-cut nature that helps the room feel ever-so-elegant with less is more being at the core values. Keep the space from having an excessive amount of furniture and color will help keep the room feeling “move-in-ready for everyone. Make sure you still get enough key components that the room feels complete but never overdone.

Timeless

Another great feature of the minimalist design is how timeless the style has been. It can be low maintenance and easy to keep cleaning being limited on furniture. Sometimes harsh colors can be trendy, but with a monochromatic palette, you have no potential of the room going out of style. You can still add splashes of color but be cognitive of keeping the room from feeling too trendy. Keep the room feeling robust and ambitious but never overpowering and leading towards too harsh of a style. This allows the room to be easily adaptable to anyone. The key to this design is quality over quantity and to make an enlivening room that all are welcome.

We hope you enjoyed these tips and tricks! Be sure to check back for more expert design tips. 

Halloween Party Games For Kids Ages 10 and Under: Spider Web Indoor Maze

Posted on by

Looking for some Halloween entertainment? While this game takes some time to set up it is always a huge hit with the kids. It also keeps them busy for a while, which is of course, a big hit with the parents. You’ll want to stick around to watch while they’re having fun. Watching this game go from serious to silly is super funny!

Spider Web Indoor Maze

  1. You are going to create an indoor spider web that fills an entire room. Decide which room you are going to use so that you can estimate how much yarn to buy. This will not be a perfect science.
  2. Purchase a package of yarn for each participant. Select a different color for each child and opt for colors appropriate to the holiday.
  3. Begin building the web at any random point in the room. You are going to create a pattern for each child by stringing one color of yarn back and forth across the room. Move up and down in a zigzag pattern around the room. At each touch point, lightly wrap the string to change direction. 
  4. When all of the colors have been strung, you should now be seeing a massive spider web.
  5. Show each child the end of his or her part of the web. Instruct the child on how to find the other end of their yarn by navigating the entire web.
  6. Emphasize that they can’t just pull hard on the yarn or they’ll pull the whole web down. They have to go to each touch point and unwrap the string and then proceed.
  7. Whoever finds the end of their yarn first wins a prize. Or, you can have first, second and third place prizes if it’s a large group.

Enjoy watching the shenanigans unfold. Watching the children try to untangle the yarn while running into each other is priceless! Check out our Halloween Pinterest board for more fun ideas!

Hosting a Successful Thanksgiving!

Posted on by

Thanksgiving is the time of year that friends and family all gather together and celebrate the good things in life. This festive time can be a blast, but it can also become quite stressful when you are hosting it yourself. Hosting any major event comes with its set of challenges. From planning the event, meal prepping, ensuring a good time, and much more, this task can feel overwhelming. In order to have a successful Thanksgiving, you need to plan ahead of time. Here are some things you need to consider to make your Thanksgiving flow as smoothly as possible.

Prep the Night Before the Event

Any big event takes time. Try to prepare your Thanksgiving dinner as much as possible the night before the event. Set your table for all your guests and have all the groceries bought. Consider baking anything you can one day prior. The more you can accomplish before the day of the event, the better.

Consider Help

Do not pass up on the opportunity for help. You may have a couple of friends or family members willing to help cook or bring side dishes! Hosting does not mean you need to do everything yourself. Allow others to help. With everyone having different assigned tasks, you will be able to focus more time on the event itself and the people you’ve invited to sit around your table.

Relax

Stress can easily make some individuals get agitated when things are not going accordingly. Make sure you do not become a “negative Nancy” when hosting the event. The host energy can contribute to the energy of the entire event. If you are becoming stressed, your guests will be able to see this easily. Relax and have a game plan. From cooking and meal preparation to dessert and after dinner activities, all these should be thought out ahead of time. Just be sure to be adaptable as the day unfolds and make sure to relax.

Planning ahead of time is vital. Remember, your guests will most likely be drinking. It is essential to remember your guests’ safety. Have a plan in place if guests cannot return home or need a place to stay. Enjoy the opportunity to spend time with everyone, and remember to relax.

Mixing Metals in Your Interior Design

Posted on by
Timber Cove Model

When it comes to interior design, traditionally, metals were never supposed to be mixed throughout the design. However, interior design is always changing. New generations want to change the traditional styling of their parents and put their own flair on the design industry. While tradition is great, the new trends can bring forth many significant styling advantages as well.

Does your home have a common metal theme throughout it? Perhaps, you have all stainless-steel appliances in your kitchen. Well, if you are looking to change with the times, consider mixing metals in your home’s design. Here is everything you need to understand about metals in order to properly mix them in your home design:

No More Than Three Metals

When it comes to mixing metals, it is very similar to painting a room. The most effective approach is no more than two or three metal variations. You can have one primary metal and choose an accent metal, or you can choose to have two secondary metals and an accent.

The easier approach is two, but mixing three can be aesthetically pleasing as well. Try to use your primary metal in a variety of areas throughout your home. Perhaps, your kitchen has stainless steel appliances. This may be your microwave, sink, range, refrigerator, and dishwasher. Now, consider adding your secondary metal to other areas of the room. Maybe a different metal on the handles on your cabinets and doors while including a coordinating metal chandelier and faucet to the design.

Mixing Different Metals

Different metals can influence the tone of a room. Just like colors, there are cool, warm, and neutral metals. Warm metals consist of brass, copper, and gold. Cold metals are aluminum, stainless steel, and silver. Whereas neutral metals can be black metals or cast iron. When adding your accent to a room, select a different value metal to give it more of a pop to your design. For example, if your room is full of gold (warm-tone) picture frames, light fixtures, and bar stools, try adding some silver (cool-tone) accents to the room.

Metal Finishes

Metal finishes can work great in different design styles. There are several different finishes to choose from when selecting metals in your home. Weathered metals can be used to enrich an atmosphere. Hammered metals are great for adding some texture to Rustic or Farmhouse designs. You can even try applying brusheed metals to Eclectic homes. Polished metals are used in many Modern-styled designs and can help enhance yours as well. Yet, a satin finish may be more Traditional. Knowing the different metal finishes and how they affect your home may help you select the right finish to tailor to your design theme.

Mixing metals is becoming more common. Adding a variety of metals to your design can help really add character to your design. There are so many ways to incorporate these tricks into your home, even from decor to furniture. How will you end up mixing metals in your design? Let us know below in the comment section. Thanks for reading!

Using Outdoor Rugs Inside Your Home

Posted on by

Rugs have been a conventional floor covering for over an estimated 4,000 years. Over time, different styles have been invented to handle different applications best. For instance, wool is a great natural solution that is eco-friendly and an excellent insulator. Nylon and polyester are both synthetic fibers that can have great resilience or “bounce back” after they have been crushed while being durable, and versatile. However, some synthetic fibers were designed to withstand rainy environments, humidity, and resistance to sun fading. These polypropylene rugs are great solutions for outdoor environments, but can they be used inside your home? Of course! They actually have many benefits that may be right for your own home. Here are three benefits of why outdoor rugs may be best for inside your home:

Extremely Durable to High Traffic

Polypropylene rugs are made of incredibly durable fibers. They work great inside your home and will not show any traffic patterns. This feature is great for families with children or pets always running around inside the house. They can also handle well against spills or accidents and clean very easily. You can take them outside and hose them off, allow them to air dry, and bring them back inside your home!

Resistant to Mold and Mildew

This factor brings up the next valuable advantage of polypropylene rugs that they have above their competition! Water is typically carpets worst nightmare! However, these outdoor rugs can withstand water daily and are resistant to mold and mildew. This feature makes them very advantageous for rooms with water exposure like kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms.

Diverse and Unique Style Options

These “indoor/outdoor” rugs offer a little bit different styling than your traditional rugs. They can give you a large selection of options to browse the right fit for your home design. With a wide variety of colors, patterns, textures, and sizes, you can find a rug for any room in your home.

Expand your vision of rugs and consider using indoor/outdoor carpet more frequently inside your home. These advantages are significant for homes with children or pets!

Three Pieces of Home Decor That You Need

Posted on by

Home décor is the best way to make your house feel like home. What you add to your space is a simple way to tailor your taste in the atmosphere and express yourself. For instance, every time you add a picture, a vase, or a piece of furniture to your home, it gives off energy to help design your space. So when creating your home’s theme, there are three key components you must consider. Here are our top picks to add to your space to help create the atmosphere:

Pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words. Every photo that you add to your home can help become a focal point in your design. For instance, imagine a room with floral pictures on the walls. These pictures can help revitalize the room and add life to the atmosphere. Now, take the same room and add contemporary art. This artwork can make a room feel more modern and edgy. Pictures are great focal points to reflect on when creating your design. One photograph as a focal point can give you colors, expressions, and meaning to create in the design of your room.

Color

Color is also an incredibly influential factor in an environment. The colors you choose to put in your space can completely transpire different meanings. For instance, adding purple throw pillows and violet curtains can feel completely different than a room with a red couch and warm-hued rug. Colors can impact moods and how we psychologically interpret a space. So make sure you understand how and why you chose each color that you use in your home to see how it can change your space.

Lighting

Lighting is great for bringing life and energy to a space. Plus, there are several types of lights that you can consider adding to each room. It would help if you started with your general or ambient lighting. This lighting should be used to cast or blanket the entirety of the space and provide a function to the atmosphere. Next, consider your accent lighting. This lighting can be used to create more ambiance or mood in the room than your general lighting. You should also consider using task lighting to help provide light more focused in areas you will be performing tasks. For instance, if you need a reading lamp, a light in the kitchen for cutting, or even light provide for sewing – this is considered a task lighting. Task lighting can come in many forms. Make sure to balance your atmosphere by adding all three of these lighting options where needed.

With these three key components, you can master tailoring your space to your design needs. They are all great ways to customize your home and make it feel more expressive of your style. What are some of your favorite ways to customize your own home?

Smart Ways to Get Rid of Clothes After You Do a Closet Purge

Posted on by

Sure, we’ve all donated clothes at some point, or had a garage sale and parted ways with old garments for a few bucks. If you’ve recently cleaned out your closet you might have discovered that many of the items you no longer want still have a lot of life left in them. Perhaps you even paid a lot of money for them and you can’t stand the thought of them ending up in a garage sale box. If so, consider these great suggestions.

Donate

“Old-reliables” such as Goodwill and Salvation Army* are always a great place to start. But there are some more specific organizations out there that would find women’s clothing especially beneficial. Look for career development organizations that empower underprivileged women to find stable, well-paying jobs. They need career wear to help these women look their best on interviews and at work.

If you have beautiful gowns or dresses hanging around, look for organizations that serve underprivileged teens who have hopes of attending formal dances in high schools. Even if the dress isn’t the exact style they have in mind, it might be a great starting piece that can be reinvented at the hand of a crafty seamstress who donates her time.

Also, consider women’s shelters in general. They often provide a haven for women and children who had to flee without the opportunity to bring along personal belongings. If you’re not sure where to find these organizations try online resources such as Charity Watch or Charity Navigator. Not only will you feel great about taking the time to find someone truly deserving, but you can also keep a record and report them as a write-off at tax time!

Host a fabulous swap party at your home or a local restaurant

The only imperative part of this is that you give everyone plenty of notice. Think about how much work it is to clean out your closet! Your guest will need enough time to get their closet purge project done before attending your party. Other than that, this is a super easy and fun way to de-clutter your closet. Simply invite everyone and serve a few goodies and beverages. Devise a basic system for the trade process and let the fun begin!

*Fulton Homes is not affiliated with or suggesting any particular organization. These are ideas to inspire you to do the most good.