Christmas magic at your fingertips

In this December 1955 article from Family Circle, Dorothy Waugh brings us some unusual decorations you can make with little effort from simple materials. Click the thumbnails for Dorothy Waugh's article.

Behold the Snowflake Tree, a paste-paper-and-scissors holiday mobile. Cost? Why, just pennies! Next, shock the eye with Family Circle's own Holiday Mantle, a three-part decoration: wall covering featuring family photos, sign-wielding paper doll cut-outs representing the whole family, and 'stockings' filled with tiny boxes of candy and cones of popcorn. Add the very upperclass Gold-Leaf Wreath to your front door (secret: it's spray painted crumpled newspaper!), and your house will be the most festive on the block!


Santa's Sweets - This St. Nick requires little more than a no. 2 1/2-size can! And a pile of candy!


Red and green Christmas decor has become a tired holiday cliche. Assert both your femininity and your love of Christmas with these girly decorations. They'll all be clamouring to stand 'neath the tree-shaped marabou feather hanging.. and they'll never guess it's actually tissue paper! Dorothy Waugh describes her side table set-up, a Rosy Goblet Tree, as Christmas-in-fairyland, and you can even get a head-start on Valentine's Day at the dinner table! Don't forget to break out the Wedgwood! It will be the loveliest Christmas ever!


Some decorative odds and ends: Bird-of-paradise Buffet decoration and Ice-and-snow Wreath, an ingenious ring mold made of paraffin, pecan meats, and popcorn! I'm not sure if the latter is edible and, if so, by whom, but it's certainly striking! And, yes, that is bird pudding on the wreath on the bottom left! It's typically made from a mixture of winter birds, but you can make it during the summer and freeze the 'rosettes' until you're ready to use them.