Make the Holiday Season Shine in Your Home

The holiday season is the time to bring out your best china, polish your decorative knick knacks, and get the whole house sparkling for the coming months of celebrations and parties. You want everything in your home to say "Martha Stewart lives here," but you may find your brass headboard is turning a dull yellow, the stainless steel faucets have years of water spot buildup, and your heirloom copper tea kettle is losing its sheen.

To get metals shimmering, use a polish such as BRASSO Multipurpose Metal Polish, to get your pewter, brass, chrome, copper or stainless steel gleaming in no time. BRASSO is gentle enough to use on antiques and heirloom pieces since it contains a low level of abrasives and will not scratch metals. So after making your home sparkle, turn your attention to making your festivities sparkle as well.

The best way to get your dinner guests in the festive mood is to serve dinner on a gloriously decorated table. To get your table ready, stop waiting for that special occasion to use your grandmother's silverware and bring it out this season. Using your "special occasion" silverware will make your family and guests feel special too! Before setting your table, polish any dust and spots off silverware with a soft cloth and a small amount of SILVO Multipurpose Metal Polish, from the manufacturer of BRASSO. SILVO won't scratch your precious treasures and helps to protect them from damage.

A table that's warm and inviting will make your guests feel at home. Use a centerpiece that's low enough for guests to see each other to converse, yet eye-catching enough to add an interesting topic to your dinner table talk. Setting the table with placemats and napkins that match the colors in your centerpiece will bring harmony to your table.

Here are a few tips to decorate your table from the maker of BRASSO and SILVO:

Cornucopia

Reflect the festive cheer during dinner with a copper vase to match the rustic colors of the season and create a Thanksgiving bouquet for your centerpiece. Dried maple leaves in different colors, orange tiger lilies, yellow sunflowers, golden solidago and burnt orange-colored alstroemeria help to bring the fall season into your home, and develop a decorating theme. You can find most flowers at your local florist and copper vases at any arts and crafts or department store. Add an interesting touch to your centerpiece by including miniature pumpkins or gourds to bring autumn indoors.

If you're leaning away from flowers this Thanksgiving, try a medium-sized pumpkin, hollowed out, and use the same elements as in a cornucopia. Fill the pumpkin with dried corn in several different colors, dried wheat stalks, red apples, dried leaves, acorns, pinecones, dried gourds and miniature pumpkins, and tip it over to allow the contents to spill onto the table.

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

Red, green and white are the colors of Christmas, and it's a snap to bring those colors together in a centerpiece. A large shallow silver bowl filled with water and red, green and white floating candles will provide warmth and flattering candlelight to your guests. Red peppercorns or holly berries and holly leaves floating in the centerpiece will add a festive touch and a bit of color. Make certain to polish your silver bowl with SILVO to enhance the sparkle and reflect light from the floating candles.

Cut tips of poinsettias, where the leaves change color, and place them into pewter bud vases. Cluster five to 10 bud vases to create a centerpiece, or line them along the middle of your table to create a centerpiece "row" of bud vases for all guests to enjoy.

Auld Lang Syne

New Year's festivities require bright, shiny pieces to reflect the excitement of the coming year. Re-use the silver bowl from your Christmas centerpiece and fill with mirrored disco balls of different sizes. You can even include one or two disco balls in another color, such as red, to give your centerpiece a hint of color.

One of the easiest ways to dress up your table only requires a string of white, clear Christmas tree lights, some tree tinsel or glitter (in any color), and glass bowls in large and small sizes. It's best to purchase lights in the smallest bulb counts, like 10, 25 or 50. Unravel the lights into the glass bowls and sprinkle a bit of tinsel or glitter into the bowls. If you have some free time, paint wooden bowls silver or gold to let the lights glow in your centerpiece.

Remember that lights reflect best off surfaces free of dust, fingerprint smudges and discolorations, so polish your vases and bowls with a metal polish like BRASSO or SILVO for maximum shine. And after your home is spotless, don't forget to make yourself shine. Jewelry, belt buckles and even watch crystals can all be polished with BRASSO. And SILVO can be used on any silver jewelry like earrings, rings and bracelets.

For more information on BRASSO or SILVO, call (800) 228-4722.

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com, e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com