Merry and Bright Holiday Home Tour, Part Three

As part of the final week of the Merry and Bright Holiday Home Tour, the nine participating bloggers are to share misc. holiday cheer around their homes. For me, you can’t beat fresh flowers and plants. They brighten any room and are the perfect addition to my holiday decor. Come on in and see what’s blooming in my home.

If you arrived here from the blog Positively Southern, a special welcome.

Blooming Plants for Holiday Cheer

I’m a huge fan of having blooming plants in my home. They last longer than fresh-cut flowers and are inexpensive. One of my favorite blooming plants this time of year are cyclamens. They come in beautiful colors and Christmas red was perfect for my kitchen table.

The key to making the most of blooming plants is removing them from their foil or paper wrapping and creating a beautiful arrangement in one of your pots or bowls.

These three plants were $3.99 each and had lots of buds waiting to bloom. This simple and easy $12 centerpiece has added holiday cheer to my kitchen throughout the holiday season. It was so easy to pull together.

First, I lined a metal bowl with a heavy-duty plastic bag. A jumbo Ziploc bag worked well; I just had to cut the zipper part off and it fit the bowl nicely. I didn’t want any water leaking as it would damage the bowl.

I removed the paper wrappers but left the plants in their plastic pots.

I like to add moss to the top of the planter to hide the rim of the plastic bag. It adds a nice finishing touch.

I love having fresh blooms in my kitchen. They can brighten up the dreariest of days. I enjoy setting a nice table, even if it’s just lunch for the two of us. The table would look naked without a centerpiece.

Casual Dinners in the Dining Room

Normally when we are just entertaining another couple, we would eat in our kitchen. Our table seats four and is much more intimate. Since we decided to display our Christmas tree in the dining room this year, I am enjoying every minute of it by hosting even our casual, smaller gatherings in the dining room.

This week we had our dear friends visiting from South Carolina. The four of us sat at the center of the table and removed the extra side chairs. With the tree lit and the candles glowing, it was a wonderfully intimate setting.

While doing my grocery shopping, I was thrilled that Kroger had upped their game by having some unique flowers in their floral department. I reused the vase and green berries from our holiday brunch and bought three different types of flowers. This arrangement just took minutes to put together.

Red Berry Branches

I always like to have something fresh by my kitchen sink. These red berry branches felt like I brought the outside in. It’s light and airy and doesn’t interfere with my view.

Make Your Flower Bouquets Last Longer

At our holiday brunch earlier this month one of our guests brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I have changed the water daily and have trimmed back the dead flowers. I have been able to enjoy this bouquet for ten days already it’s still going strong.

Forcing Bulbs for Christmas

In my previous post, Forcing Bulbs for Christmas, I shared fabulous photos of blooming Paper Whites, Amaryllis and Hyacinths. I planted Paper Whites but they are a few weeks away from blooming. It’s odd how some have shot right up and other bulbs are barely getting started.

What’s blooming in your home this holiday season?