With a spark of imagination, holiday decorating can be inspired yet inexpensive

By Trish Sinclair, Style at Home Magazine

Whether you’re planning the Christmas party of the century, or burning the Yule log on your own, holiday decorating does not have to break the bank-or your festive spirit.
Your creativity can take you far. Try these tips and projects to make your home a holiday haven, while only spending a Dickens’ halfpenny.

1 Christmas close-outs

Check local newspapers often for special ‘close-out’ sales. Often lasting only two or three days, close-out sales are gold mines for everything from kitschy candles to bushels of tree lights, at prices lower than wholesale.

2 Festive foraging

Gather nature’s ornaments, such as pinecones, acorns and balsam fir tips from the backyard or local park. Add a touch of silver or gold spray paint to your gatherings and arrange in a glass bowl surrounded by votive candles.

3 Christmas aromatherapy

Delight houseguests with the warm scent of a mulling spice bag. Combine whole cloves, allspice, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg with dried orange and lemon peel in a small piece of cheesecloth secured with elastic. Simmer the spice bag in a pot filled with 3-4 cups of water, and enjoy the aroma.

4 Merry memories

Gather a collection of favourite family and childhood Christmas amaryllis plant is a holiday favourite, and should be potted six weeks before Christmas to yield large, stunning blooms. Pot two or three of the festive ‘Peppermint Stick’ variety, which are white, swirled with red.

6 Christmas by candlelight

Nothing creates a festive ambiance like the glow of candles. For a dining or coffee table centrepiece, group three pillar candles of various heights in holiday colours on a ceramic or other non-flammable dish. Scatter several tea lights in small glass holders along a mantel, bookshelf or buffet table.

7 Charlie Brown-style

At half the price of big trees, one to three-foot high mini evergreen trees make adorable desktop or table decorations. Perfect for apartments and other small spaces, ‘Charlie Brown’ mini trees are available at many garden centres and Christmas tree lots.

8 How fairy festive!

Add a twinkly, romantic effect with white fairy lights. String lights along the length of a window curtain rod to brighten a room. Arrange a strand of lights along a mantelpiece, weaving lights among Christmas cards and ornaments.

9 Deck the halls and doors …

Fallen evergreen boughs and small pieces of greenery can be collected outdoors or purchased cheaply in surplus from Christmas tree lots. Natural boughs add a traditional Christmas look and scent and they can adorn banisters, doors and mantels.

10 Fragrant fireplace

Dress up a bare hearth by decorating a small wood log with flammable, decorative, scented accents, including sheet moss, pinecones, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves. When burned, this Yule log will make a glowing fire with a festive fragrance. (Use non-toxic white glue to decorate log rather than hot glue.) See below for instructions.

Scented Yule log With this decorative, burnable Yule log, the open hearth or top of a woodstove will always look and smell festive:

Supplies: • 1 sheet moss (from florist or craft store) • small wood log • white craft glue • pine cones • cinnamon sticks • whole cloves • pot pourri (Christmas blend) • essential oils (pine, cinnamon, balsam frankincense)

Instructions: Glue the moss to the top of the log. Glue potpourri pine cones, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks onto the moss. Sprinkle a few drops of essential oils to the moss and spices. Add a festive bow to the top of the log (to be removed before burning).

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The Waterloo Region can expect “slow but steady” growth into 2013

Wreck-It Ralph!

Come celebrate Christmas featuring a private screening of Wreck-It Ralph with a special visit from Santa Claus, face painters and goody bags. Admission is a non-perishable food item or cash donations. All proceeds go to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region in time for the Holiday Season. Come support a great cause. Tickets are limited. RSVP is required and tickets are going fast!

Be sure you fully understand the details before closing a real estate deal

By Mark Weisleder | moneyville.ca article

By Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® (KWAR) admin • November 5th, 2012

KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON (October 5, 2012) –– Area home sales rebounded in October, with 500 homes trading through the Multiple Listing System (MLS®) of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® (KWAR). Residential sales in October are up 11.6 percent compared to last month’s results, and increased 4.6 percent from October 2011.

October’s residential sales included 322 detached homes (up 1.6 percent), 48 semi-detached (up 54.8), 33 townhouses (up 32 percent), and 92 condominium units (down 7.1 percent).

The average sales price of all residential sales in October was $302,656 a 1.5 percent decrease from the average sale price recorded in October 2011. Single detached properties sold for an average price of $339,592, a 3.8 percent decrease relative to one year ago.

Average prices for townhouses and condominium property types both increased last month, with townhouses gaining 10.7 percent to $287,133, and condominium units increasing 7 percent to $215,831 compared to the same month last year.

“The overall average residential price decreased slightly last month, which is not a surprise,” says Sara Hill, President of the KWAR, “In the past two months the average sale price was showing fairly strong gains even as sales were slowing, so I see this as a slight correction.”

On a year-to-date basis, residential home sales are practically on par with 2011 – with a total of 5,443 sales recorded. The average price of all residential properties sold year-to date is $310,739, an increase of 3.2 percent over 2011.

“The Kitchener-Waterloo housing market continues to show both long-term strength and stability” says Hill. “Shifts in average prices are normal, and home buyers and sellers should work with their REALTOR® to understand the market and set their expectations accordingly.”

Hill reminds consumers to use caution when looking at averages. The average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all residential properties sold. Average sale price information can be useful in establishing long term trends, but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value.

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