Five holiday decorations you can try this year

SAN ANTONIO – The holidays are approaching fast, and decorating can become overwhelming no matter what you celebrate.

To make things a bit easier, here are a few ideas inspired by social media influencers to make the holiday season fun and easy:

Thanksgiving Centerpiece Hack:

For this you’ll need:

• One standard-size pool noodle
• Four zip-ties
• Fall decorations of your choice
• Glue (as needed)
• Three wine glasses
• Water
• Floating Candles

Instructions:

1. Bend the pool noodle in half and slide the first glass in until it reaches the end of the pool noodle.
2. Insert the zip tie on the side of the glass closest to the open end of the pool noodle. Repeat this process with the other glasses and zip-ties at even intervals. Add an extra zip-tie to the other side of the second glass.
3. If your decorations are fake flowers, pluck them off the stems and insert them into the pool noodle as you see fit. If there are other decorations, glue them to the pool noodle. When finished, no part of the pool noodle should be visible.
4. Fill the glasses with water and gently drop the candles into the water. Carefully light them to complete your Thanksgiving centerpiece.

This hack was inspired by influencers Janelle and Kate. You can watch the original video on their Facebook.

Christmas Ornaments Hack:

For this you’ll need:

• Old ornaments
• Balloons (color is your choice)
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Cut off the tip of the balloon.
2. Take the cap off the ornament.
3. Stretch the open end of the balloon around the ornament until it’s snug.
4. Re-insert the cap onto the ornament.

An influencer named Tanya Home Inspo inspired this hack. You can watch her original video here.

Hanukkah Garland Hack:

For this you’ll need:

• Rattan balls
• 80 medium beads, preferably white or blue
• 40 small beads, preferably white or blue
• Spray paint, as needed
• String, as needed
• String LED lights
• Batteries

Instructions:

1. If some beads are a different color than white or blue, string them up and spray paint to the preferred color. Hang them to dry. If they’re already white or blue, skip this step.
2. Begin stringing the beads onto the LED lights in a preferred pattern of medium and small beads. When you reach a light, string a rattan ball to cover it.
3. When you reach the end of the string, thread the end into whatever the last item you strung and then twist to hold it firm.
4. Insert batteries and turn the lights on. Hang or decorate in place of choice.

This hack was found on a YouTube channel called “Frum it up”. You can watch the video here.

Kwanzaa Wreath Hack:

For this you’ll need:

• Standard wreath wire frame
• Big sheet of paper
• A bag of black, red and green gift self-adhesive bows
• Acrylic paint - black and gold
• Thin paintbrush
• Hot glue gun
• Glue stick
• Tape, as needed
• Two wooden blocks - thin 12″ x 5.25″ should work
• Sharpie (color is your choice)
• Wood letters

Instructions:

1. Paint letters of your choice gold. For example, you can write out a common Kwanzaa greeting: “Habari gani?”, which means “What is the news?” in Swahili.
2. Paint the wooden blocks black.
3. Cover the wreath frame in paper and use either glue or tape to keep it down.
4. On the front of the wreath, begin covering it in red, green and black bows using the adhesive backing until the wreath is evenly covered.
5. Using the hot glue gun, glue the letters to one block. On the other block, write whatever you’d like. Example: a Kwanzaa principle, such as Unity.
6. Use either tape or a hot glue gun to stick the blocks to the top and bottom parts of the wreath, respectively.

YouTuber “Black Girl with Tools” inspired this hack. You can see the video here.

Winter Windows Hack:

For this you’ll need:

• Fake pine tree limbs
• Snow spray for decorating
• Paper snowflakes of your design
• Tape, as needed
• Windows

Directions:

1. Take the tree limb and put the part with the branches on the corner of your window.
2. Spray the limbs and the area around the limbs until it’s evenly covered. Take away the tree limb.
3. Repeat the process with a paper snowflake. You can tape them to the window as well to make it easier to cover.
4. Keep going with other tree limbs and snowflakes until the window is properly “covered.” Then, move on to the next window.

This tip was inspired by Instagrammer “@el_rincon_de_mariajes.” You can see the original video here.