Go festive

Carol O’Callaghan offers decorating suggestions for those who want to give bling the boot this Christmas

WHY is it the holiday season is often anything but a holiday? It seems we run ourselves ragged for weeks in advance of Christmas with shopping lists, cooking plans, cleaning schedules and, above all, stressing and fretting.

Then there’s the decorating, running up precarious step ladders to try to pin swags of tinsel to the ceiling, whose glitter we’re picking off carpets and upholstery for months afterwards. So is it time to consider a new approach? Are you ready to abandon the emphasis on bling-bling and try something that doesn’t turn your house into Santa’s grotto?