Image via Complex Original
The season of carols and calories are upon us. And sure, adding a little joy to the air never hurt anyone. But succumbing to the stress that comes along with the shopping, the tree trimming, and all the cooking is for amateurs. Instead, control the chaos like a yuletide pro with some of these awesome low-effort, high-impact tricks. You know what they say: When you upgrade your home, there’s more room for holiday spirit. Okay, maybe they don’t say that, but with all these quick fixes, we won’t blame you if you start hibernating early this year.
Disclaimer: Always take proper precautions when taking on any project. If there is any question or doubt in regards to any element of a project, please consult with a licensed professional.
Try Chestnuts
Forget an open fire. You can cook chestnuts in your miniature oven and still impress the hell out of anyone within sniffing distance. And if you’ve never actually tried the holiday staple yourself, you may be surprised. Chestnuts are full of flavor, and have a meatier, savorier taste than you might think. Pair them with melted cinnamon butter and a glass of brandy and your next holiday party may take an unexpected turn towards classy.
How To: Before you cook them, make an “X” incision with a sharp knife through the rounded side of each chestnut. Cut just into the shell and try not to slice too deep into the flesh of each nut. (Yeah, gross, we know.) After making the slits, put the nuts X side up on a roasting pan and cook at 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Take them out and set them aside to cool down. When they are the right temperature to handle, peel the shells and the papery skin off each nut with your fingers or a small knife. Serve warm and keep the gloating to a minimum.
Step up the Tree
If you can find, choose, and chop your own tree, congratulations. If you don’t have access to winter wonderlands full of firs, don’t get down on yourself—use what you have. You don’t have to purchase a plastic mess of fake needles and wire to still feel the presence of a tree. A rustic A-frame ladder does the trick.
How To: Open and lock the spreader bars, drape the frame with lights or garland, and hang ornaments (or anything shiny) with fishing line from the top. You could even line the rungs with candles if you have a fire extinguisher handy. It looks cooler than you might think. Bonus points if you can prop a star on the top.
Light the Night
Don’t settle for the light fixtures that came with your house or apartment. Installing a pendant lamp or a hanging fixture isn’t rocket science. And nothing on this list provides more punch than swapping out your light source. Plus, you can find some stellar hanging lamps for under id="mce_marker"5 if you’re any good at Googling.
How To: First, always turn off the power at breaker. Then unscrew your current light fixture, remove the bulb, remove the fixture from the ceiling and undo the wire connectors. Measure how long you’ll want the new fixture to hang and cut your cord, stripping about an inch of the rubber casing off each wire at the top. Attach the fixture into the existing ceiling attachment, twist the wires together by color (white with white, black with black) and top them off with red wire connectors. Slide the cap or the canopy to the top of the chain, concealing the wires, and tighten the collar to hold it in place. Put the bulbs in and return the power to the source. See? Easier than you thought.
Conceal Your Cables
Lose the tangled mess of cords on the floor. It’s unsightly and—to be honest—probably a fire hazard. With a sharp knife, a few supplies, and an empty drawer, you can hide away your plugs and organize your gadgets at the same time.
How To: Clean out an old drawer in a cabinet or sideboard. Using a sharp knife cut a hole in the back of the drawer and feed through the cord from a power strip to an outlet. Cut small holes at the top of a few utensil dividers to keep plugs in place, and use each section to hold a different piece of your tech. Charging drawer. Voila.
Kill the Chill
Drafts killing your vibe? Save money on heating bills and fortify your fortress by protecting against air leaks with a few quick applications of expanding foam or caulk. We could make a dirty joke here, but we’ll leave that in your hands.
How To: Check for air leakage by lighting a candle and watching for air movement around windows and existing cracks that disrupts the smoke. Insulate any cracks or holes with expanding foam or caulk made for the materials you need. Just shoot it in, let it dry, cut away the excess, paint, and then stop wearing so many socks around the house.
Adorn the Door
So what if your front porch is actually an interior dead bolted door in a fifth-floor walkup? You can still get on board with the stoop decorating. But forget the wreath. Those suckers are bulky and heavy to hang. Plus, unless you somehow bike lock it to your hinges, you run the risk of losing it to a greedy neighbor the next time you’re out. A safer, cooler, more modern option? Deck the door with a vinyl decal. You can cover the entire surface with a funky pattern, stick on your favorite song lyric, or even apply a 2D wreath, for nostalgia’s sake. They’re available online everywhere you look, and they can be removed in minutes. So your landlord can’t complain. Plus, what’s harder to steal than a sticker?
Put Your Radiator to Work
Make your eyesore an asset by using your came-with-the-space heater for more than just keeping the flurries out. Two quick ideas: Buy (or negotiate for) a small leftover Christmas tree stump from a street vendor and simply place it on the radiator. If you snagged a fragrant chunk, the heat will help disperse an ever-so-slight wintery tree scent throughout your entire house. Secondly, you can employ the same technique to create a makeshift humidifier. Just place a sturdy Pyrex bowl with water on top of the radiator while you sleep. It’ll feel strange at first to wake up without a dry throat, but you’ll get used to it.
Trick the Twinkle
Fact: Christmas lights look better in bunches. But you’d rather sit through a marathon of bad holiday rom coms on Lifetime before you brave the holiday shoppers to buy a new set of over-priced lights. So don’t. You can still hang your remaining half-lit strand of lights as long as you choose your location carefully. An easy trick? Drape whatever lights you have left around a medium-sized mirror. The placement will look intentional, and the reflections off the glass will double the effect.
Craft a New Place for Coffee
Building a bigger coffee table is a win for a multitude of reasons. The obvious perk is you’ll have more room for eggnog (and cookies, and beer pong, and extra-large holiday pizzas). Secondly, you’ll draw any visiting guests away from the already-crowded kitchen. Thirdly, you can show off a piece of furniture you actually built yourself (out of reclaimed wood, mind you!). New to building? Trust us, you can still make this. And it’ll cost you around $30.
How To: Simply source a used wood pallet or two and purchase a set of caster wheels. You can find wood pallets at local independent or locally owned garden or hardware stores. Some smaller shops simply toss their pallets in the trash when they run out of room. Just ask if they have extras and offer to haul them away for free. Once in your possession, you can screw in the wheels and set about coffee tabling. But if you want to take it up a notch, you can add some height by nailing in a second pallet on top of the base. You could also stain or paint your creation to give it a polished edge. Either way—boom—bespoke furniture in less than an hour.
Plant With a Purpose
Mildew shouldn’t be the only other living thing in your house. You may not have a backyard garden to tend or public roof access to display your potted projects, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fake a green thumb to your guests. Don’t let your friends fool you. Having a plant is not like having a pet. Plants don’t smell quite as bad, and overall they’re much less judgmental. One of the easiest plants to grow indoors is the trusty aloe vera. And why not take care of a plant that takes care of you back? This bold, fierce-looking succulent looks and feels kind of like a cactus and it needs very little watering or fertilizing. In the wintertime, it requires even less care, as long as it stays in a warm and sunny spot on your sill. Besides improving air quality in your house, aloe is most famous for healing cuts, burns, and bug bites. Just break open a shoot, spread the gel on your skin, and watch Mother Nature come to your rescue.
Clip a Card
No moolah left over for real holiday decorations? Give your family’s cheesy greeting cards a purpose other than mailbox clutter. Lining up cards on a mantle is for noobs. Instead, create a gallery wall by hanging a set of matching clipboards in a row. Then clip up and swap out cards as you get them in the mail. Keep the cool ones. Toss the ugly ones. Then use your clipboards to hang non-holiday postcards, artwork, and unreachable resolutions when the new year starts.
Speed-Bake a Bird
Dammit. You OD-ed on cider too early and forgot to put your turkey in the oven. Don’t call for General Tso just yet. You can quickly cook a 14-pound turkey in an hour. Have that much time? Stop drinking and do this.
How To: For thawed birds, completely cut out and remove the backbone and push the bird flat to a roasting pan. Pat it dry and cover with a heavy shake of salt and pepper. Apply a hefty layer of softened butter to the outside and shove some chopped herbs under the skin of the breasts if you have time (and herbs). Situate the bird breasts-down in the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and cook at 400 degrees. Make sure to baste the turkey every 15 minutes with more butter and turkey drippings to keep it moist. Measure the temperature after 40 minutes and take it out once the meatiest parts have reached 165 degrees. Let her sit for 15 minutes before you carve her. Then toss the evidence and never tell anyone you didn’t slave all day.
Host with the Most
Damn them for their thoughtfulness! Don’t get caught empty handed in a polite gift exchange ever again. Use a super clean (or brand new) printed dish towel to wrap a bottle of wine or booze. Unfold the towel, place the bottle in the middle, bring the long sides together at the top, twist around the bottle to get rid of excess fabric, and secure around the neck with a colorful cord or ribbon. If you can squeeze a wine topper or corkscrew into the tie, the whole gift makes perfect sense. If you have a gift but no paper, look to the kitchen. Wax paper works as cool, modern gift wrap in a pinch.
