Although it seems Christmas trees start twinkling earlier every year, this is the weekend that families get serious about decking their halls.
The Thanksgiving turkey will barely be cleared from the table when out come wreaths, trees and garlands to put up while all the family is together to join in the merry-making.
This season's top trend is as clearcut as black and white: chalkboards. You'll see them in a variety of shapes and sizes. Larger wooden plaques may be suspended within or attached to wreaths. Wooden gift tags and ornaments are personalized with the use of a white Chalk Ink Pen.
Check out what's ho-ho-hot and what's not, as chosen by area designers and florists.
1Chalkboards: "It's the most distinct trend this season," says Kevin Roberts, a designer at Trees N Trends in Cleveland, Tenn. "Chalkboards are something we've been seeing in home decor for everyday use, so it's only natural we would see it work its way to Christmas ornaments."
Gil Cartwright, co-owner of Flowers by Gil & Curt with Curt Hodge, chalks up the interest in decorative blackboards to Pinterest.
Chalkboard art lends itself to a variety of home crafts as well. Roberts suggests taking a long length of black ribbon, give each child a pen with white ink and let them write their Christmas wish list to Santa down the length of the ribbon. Not only is it a cute garland for the tree, it's a keepsake long after the holidays.
For a dinner party favor that does double-duty as a place setting, get some 2-by-3-inch photo frames. Remove the glass and paint the interior black. Once dried, personalize them with the names of your guests, replace the glass, and place them at their respective seats at the table. Once they get the frames home and insert a favorite photo, your guests' gifts become happy reminders of their time with you.
2Color returns to tradition: After several seasons of nontraditional color schemes such as teal, purple, pastels, animal prints and even black trees, red and green regain popularity in Christmas home decor. A red-and-white, peppermint look is another twist on this traditional spin.
"We're going back to traditional red and green, more than I can remember seeing in years," says Cartwright.
"There is a lot of red and green coming back," agrees Kimmie Holmes, customer service manager at Hobby Lobby in Dalton, Ga. '"Also a lot of gold used on its own."
If you try the red-and-white look, Roberts advises that the trick to being successful is in the color ratio: 60 to 70 percent white (tree, lights, ornaments, glittered picks, snowflakes, etc.) with the remainder in red.
"Just pops of red is what you're going for," he explains.
3Heavy metal: That upswing in gold mentioned by Holmes also plays into a third trend in trees: mixed metallics. Green artificial trees are so heavily layered in mixtures of copper, bronze, platinum, gold and silver decorations, the tree is barely visible beneath. White lights make this tree's decor work.
"The mix of metals is holiday glamour," says Roberts. "And the key is lights, lights and more lights."
4Glitz in glitter: Cartwright picks the heavy use of glitter as a trend this season.
"It's on everything from traditional to modern. Then there is micro-mini glitter, which is finer than salt."
While DIYers may be tempted to try their hands at mini glitter, Cartwright advises to proceed with caution.
"It sticks like glue and there's no glue in it. It sticks to your hands and clothes. It gets down in the carpet and is hard to get out. It's so fine, it's hard to work with."
5Trimmer trees: Shoppers will notice an increase in the number of slim trees on store floors, not to be confused with old-fashioned pencil trees. These slender trees are artificial trees that average 28 to 30 inches in diameter and stand 5 to 7 feet in height.
Two types of consumers account for the increase in sales of these trees. First are baby boomers who have downsized and their large family-size trees no longer fit in their new smaller homes; second are young professionals living in urban lofts and apartments.
"There's more demand for them where you've got a 700-square-foot apartment and you need room to move," says Cartwright.
6Outside inside: "The largest trend we see at The Barn is folks really embracing the nature look," says Cindy Webster, "whether it's berries, (tree) picks or a white owl. And layering your look. If you enjoy the natural look, repeat three looks (motifs) everywhere on your tree, mantel or staircase."
7Burlap burnout: After several years of decorating domination, burlap is noticeably on the decrease.
"It's still strong, but not as hot as it once was," explains Cartwright. "Barn weddings have a lot to do with that. People have seen so much burlap at those weddings, that they associate it with that now and are moving away from it."
Roberts agrees that market saturation is causing the fad's demise.
"It's like a pair of khaki pants," he compares. "Once you've sold everyone the basics, they all have that foundation, then it becomes what can be put on top of that."
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.