The beauty of having a Christmas tree is in the time spent with the family to set it up. It need not be expensive or grand to create an impression. Think outside the box, express your individuality through your Christmas tree and bond with your family during this special season.

Aren’t you bored of the traditional round ornaments, tinsel stars and  angel toppers? It’s time to get rid of the old ornaments recycled year after year. Let’s spice up this year’s Christmas tree with a unique theme.

To get started, here are a few things you might want to consider in your quest for a brand new look!

stripes & polka dot ornaments from Tang's

Why do we give in to the traditional style when our personal space spells funky chic or uber-modern?

While it is not necessary to decorate your Christmas tree to match the interior of your house, you may want your tree to look like it belongs in your home and not an object that looks entirely out of place. So, if you are an out-going fun-loving party girl, bring it on with a tree that’s ‘loud’ and stylish.

Once you have defined the look and style you want for your tree, it’s time to decide on a theme. Do you have a special interest you are very passionate about? Or a hobby you enjoy doing with your loved ones? Choices are abundant at shops and departmental stores but if you can’t find what you are looking for, there is always the alternative DIY.

Westin Hotel's Wild Wild West Xmas Tree Using Cutleries & Cowboy Hats

Idea 1: Kitchen Goddess

Are you a Kitchen Goddess? Do you love spending time baking or cooking, and coming up with creative dishes for your friends and family? Then, let’s take your interest one step further and put your cooking flair (and ingredients) onto the tree.

Instead of the living room, you can place a mini tree on your kitchen counter top and organise a pre-Christmas baking party with friends of similar interest.

Decorate the tree with:

• Colourful Recipe Cards
• Mini wreaths made from crushed cinnamon sticks glazed with stardust glue
• Cookie Cutters in various shapes and sizes
• Anise dipped in stardust and tied with velvet ribbons
• Sugar dough in pretty colours and shapes
• Starbuck’s cute little coffee cup ornaments

Idea 2: Model Collectors

This is the easiest yet! No worries about spending that extra Ringgit on those silly ornaments. Just tie your collectibles with ribbons or fish rods and hang them onto your trees. Finish off with fairy lights.

Idea 3: Child-Friendly

If you have young children, the decorations have to be non-choking hazards. Do away with tiny ornaments and decorate the tree with soft toys and polaroid pictures of your children. If they are old enough to write, get them to write for mommy and daddy little Christmas love notes with crayons and colour pencils, then hang them onto the tree.

Idea 4: Fashionistas

Play with soft fabrics and blings. Decorate the trees with:

• Polka dot ribbons or lace
• Baroque-themed fabrics
• Miniature shoes
• Gold, silver beaded strings
• Mini mirror balls
• DIY embellishments

Pretty ornaments from Parkson

Sometimes, colour scheme comes before deciding on the theme. Sometimes, it’s the other way around depending on the options there are in the market,  since most shops often carry common colours that are popular and in-demand such as white, gold, bronze, silver and red. It is also important to co-ordinate the colour scheme of your tree to either complement your space or stand out from a monotoned room.

Candy-colour-themed tree ornaments available at Tang's, KL Pavillion

Finally, it’s time to take to the streets for your Christmas tree shopping. Be wary of your total budget and keep in mind that larger trees will require larger ornaments and more decorations. The size of your tree should also complement the size of the space where you want to place your tree. A small tree will look oddly ‘retarded’ in a large living room with high ceilings.

Before purchasing a tree, it is also best to plan your storage space and decide on where you will keep your tree and the decorations after Christmas. The best storage space is one that will not interfere with your daily house chores because the tree and the boxes of ornaments will take up one full year until the next Christmas.

For the best place and value for last minute artificial Christmas tree shopping, head over to Petaling Street.

The beauty of having a Christmas tree is in the time spent with the family to set it up. It need not be expensive or grand to create an impression.  More importantly, let us not forget the true spirit of Christmas.

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Rich vibrant hues of green, yellow, pink and orange come together with meadow prints and checkered patterns to create a playful atmosphere that is perfect for a birthday soiree or dinner parties with friends.

Get these simple decorating ideas that won’t break the bank but still leave your guests marveled and awed by your creative flair.

• Pair bright yellow napkins with hand-made coloured beads that double as napkin rings and novelty for the evening.
• Tuck decorative butterflies into the top of these candle-rolled napkins.
• Hang ivory balls of fresh roses and eustomas on tall brass stands to give height to the table setting.
• Alternate the tables centrepieces with bouquets of hydrangeas and roses.
• Finish off with a personalised place card for every guest.

Suggested Party Favours:

{1} Pretty little cupcakes from Truly Scrumptious

{2} Fashionable frosted cookies from Pretty Frosting

{3} Cookie mirrors from Peak Xperience

Today is the 3rd of June. I’m fashionably late. I wanna talk about my days in May. My favourite days coz it’s my birthday month!

This is me, at 27.

With visibly tiny freckles around my cheek, droopy eyebags, coffee stains on my teeth, broader cheeks and wrinkles around my eyes.

Surprisingly they don’t bother me as much anymore. They say that as you grow older, you feel less insecure and more confident about your sexuality, personal style and appearance. I think that statement is partially true. I am also sure that after one has experienced sudden tragedy in life, one tends not to ’sweat’ the small matters as trivial as visible wrinkles because you’re glad that you can still walk, talk, jump, skip, hop, see, hear and smell. Because a wrinkle makes me more of a woman than I was 5 years ago. Because these cheeks represent good fengshui. Because despite my eyebags, I still have good eyesights and I don’t need to wear glasses. Because I’m just ecstatic and thankful that I’m in good health to celebrate another year in my life. It’s like a new found perspective. Ironically the negative tragedy has made me a more positive person. I think Anthony Robbins has a word for it, and I think it’s called REFRAMING.

As with every other girl, I still enjoy getting presents and blowing out the birthday cake and getting free meals. Year on year, I wake up on my birthday with no plans; just another average day. Well technically in reality, it IS just another average day in an average life. But this time around, I was so excited I ensured that I reminded everyone *blush* that it is MYYY BIRTHDAY! I made a full day plan but only one quarter of it materialised. I even planned to celebrate it at a cell group and have a good buffet at Al-Nafourah, Le Meridien Hotel but in a series of unfortunate events, I ended up dipping ‘lok lok’ by the roadside in Puchong.

A far cry from my plan, especially for a person who works with schedules and diary planners and hates it when things don’t go as planned. But I was still a very happy girl at the end of the night.

Healthy desserts for not so healthy lifestyle.

A beautiful shot for the memory.

The newly weds

I rewarded myself with a new purse. I’ve been using the same purse for 5 years. It was given to me by a special friend on my 22nd birthday. It had a sentimental value because it housed my first hard-earned salary as an auditor and the purse has been with me over good times and broke times. lol. It’s time to change, throw away the old and get a new one for myself.

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.” -Isak Denison-