A hum of anticipation filled the theatre at Carrefour de l’Isle-Saint-Jean in Charlottetown a crowd of people started to arrive 45 minutes early for a Christmas decorating workshop.
“Tonight, I’m hoping to get some new ideas. I’m a fan of Christmas. I love decorating. And I’m looking to tonight to see what’s new, how to do something different, what the new colours are this, all that kind of stuff,” said Noella Arsenault from Wellington.
Damien Packwood of Damien Morris Designs hosted the sold-out workshop with the goal of giving people some fresh decorating ideas for the upcoming holiday season.
“It usually sells out every year. One year we actually did two shows,” Packwood said.
When the red velvet curtains opened, the crowd of 200 roared.
Stretched out on a sofa was Packwood wearing a glittery red sports coat and sparkling red shoes.
After pouring a glass of wine, he started decorating a living room on the stage. He created a country Christmas living room with plaid pillows and a tartan blanket.
“Everyone kind of wants a more relaxed Christmas,” he said. “Going back to those old school fabrics that we remember from growing up as kids at our grandmother’s’ house.”
The first thing Packwood recommends when Christmas decorating is to put other accessories away. It just becomes a “cluster of chaos” otherwise.
“Take everything away and start with a clean slate,” he said.
Throughout the evening, Packwood decorated a couple of non-traditional trees. One with peacock feathers and topped with a peacock, the other a white tree with purple decorations.
Tips for decorating a tree
- Fluff the branches.
- Put the lights on. Use 100 lights for every foot.
- Fill in the tree with a variety of fake fir and pine sprays.
- Work from the top down.
- Use wired ribbon cut in manageable lengths to decorate the length of the tree, spiralling down from the top.
- Fish tale the ends of the ribbon for a finished look in case they show.
- Put ornaments inside the tree, not just on the outside.
- Use different sizes.
Packwood also created snow globes with glass domes on a wood base. He placed miniature houses and trees on the base and sprinkled them with some fake snow. Then he put the glass dome on top. Perfect for a centerpiece, he said.
And what is Christmas without candy? As a simple decoration, Packwood filled glass jars of various sizes with wrapped chocolates, candy canes and other treats.
Each display was adorned with sprays of fir, pine and pinecones.
“I think everyone is going back to more of a natural theme this year,” he said. “Natural birch, the natural fir and pine and those kind of sprays that they use in trees. Everyone wants a more relaxed Christmas.”
Damien’s helpful hints for decorating your house
- Start with a clean slate. Put all your regular decorations away before decorating for Christmas.
- Use a mix of fake greens to fill in garlands.
- Make your house smell like Christmas with fir scented candles and put scent sticks in the tree and garland.
- To turn indoor Christmas lights on and off use a remote-controlled plug.
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