Nature reveals holiday spirit

During the holiday season, you need time to relax, time to shop, time to wrap gifts, time to spend with family, time to put into practice the festive traditions that make a holiday memorable. But with the many demands of life, time is the one thing you never have enough of. Often, you end up frayed at the edges and in danger of coming unglued. Secretly, you can’t wait until the holiday is over.

Would it still be the holiday season if, instead of spending one more day shopping, you stayed home? What if you allowed yourself to be guided by the innate creative energy common to humans? What if you looked to the natural gifts Mother Earth bestows and let it prompt you into holiday-keeping action? Would you slow down long enough to see what is already here?

Sometimes less is more.

A walk outdoors a few days before Christmas may reset your inner compass and yield a few things to make the holiday bright. Under your very feet and at your fingertips are materials that can be turned into holiday trimmings. Using natural materials to make the season merry allows you to bypass the traffic jams, the incessant, jangling store music and the mind-numbing pressure to choose from too much stuff that is manufactured anywhere but here.

A simple walk on a Sunday afternoon is a gift to give yourself. It lets you slow down, relax and simply “be.” It allows time to sniff the air, to notice the subtle colors of the landscape and to savor the beauty around you. Perhaps you will smell snow coming. Maybe you will catch the blue and white flash of a jay. You might notice patches of sage green, pale yellow and russet in the frost-darkened weeds.

Take with you a basket or tote bag – and other members of your family and friends, if possible. It’s nice to have a dog along, too. Wear festive mittens, hats and scarves to make a giddy splash of color against the faded tones of impending winter. Gather twigs and dried leaves. Clip bits of evergreen from the trees in the yard. Stroll through flower beds to find dried seedpods and plant stalks. Look for acorns, beechnuts and chestnuts along the street or in the park nearby. Look for viney plants such as bittersweet and wild grape.

Back inside, spread newspapers on the kitchen table and assemble the “found” materials. Add some ribbon, yarn, raffia or whatever else pleases you. Let imagination be the guide.

Hot-glue twigs into star shapes that aren’t necessarily perfect. Add red yarn or ribbon ties and hang them from the highest bough. Or make twigs into simple squares and triangles festooned with gold or silver thread loops for hanging. Fashion twigs into stick-figure animals and place them in the branches of the Christmas tree.

If you find a bird’s nest in your outdoor rambles, bring that home and place it on a mantel or shelf. Fill it with white oval-shaped stones, acorns or silvery-blue glass balls.

Push sprigs of evergreen into a square of florist’s foam placed in a low red bowl. Add glass Christmas balls to the bowl. Tuck in a bit of red ribbon and use the arrangement to highlight the holiday table.

Simple sprays of pine tied with red velvet bows make a jaunty accent when decking the halls inside or out.

Fashion a wreath from the viney stuff and embellish it with the beach glass and seashells you found and saved when you were on vacation in July. Make a star from bits of driftwood and add that to the wreath.

When you have finished making holiday decorations from nature’s bounty, brew a cup of tea, sit down with your best beloved, count your blessings and be thankful that you have all you need.

Merry Christmas.

Snippet

The Brewer Stitchers, a neighborhood group of the American Sewing Guild, has published a cookbook, “Sew You Can Cook,” which combines sewing tips and recipes. The combination of information can be used by the novice, the seasoned cook, the new, or the practiced seamstress. The cost is $10, which includes tax. A small charge is added if the cookbook is to be mailed. To order, call Betty Arnold, 848-5181, or Sherrill Libby, 884-7239.

Ardeana Hamlin may be reached at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.