Scissors Step-by-Step Directions
Follow these simple how-to instructions to assemble your Christmas swag wreath. You should be able to complete the project in under an hour, not including drying time. Step 1: Assemble the Swag Wreath
One of the best parts about making a swag is that you don’t need to use any kind of wreath form, like you would with a traditional holiday wreath. To make the swag wreath all you’ll do is wire together loose greenery branches. Choose faux pine boughs ($12, Amazon) or faux evergreen branches ($13, Amazon), then gather your branches together and wire the stems together with green florists wire ($9, Amazon). Keep adding and wiring branches (stems at the top, greenery pointed down) until you’ve reached the size you like. Form a hanging loop with florists wire and attach it to the back.
Whether you’re having a casual movie night in or popping champagne and confetti, no New Year’s Eve celebration is complete without watching the ball drop over Times Square at midnight. It’s been part of the festivities for as long as I can remember, but I’ve always wondered what the significance is of a giant ball dropping from the sky. As I plan this year’s at-home New Year’s Eve celebration, I decided to dig into the tradition. new years eve ball drop
Image zoom What Is the Significance of the Ball Dropping?
The tradition of using balls to tell time has been around for centuries, dating back to the early 1800s. The first documented time ball was on top of England s Royal Observatory at Greenwich, where it would drop at 1:00 p.m. each afternoon as a way to let nearby ships and boats know what time it was. This was before watches or cell phones, so the ball dropping was the primary way to tell time.
For the last 113 years, excited crowds have gathered in Times Square on New Year’s Eve to watch the ball drop at midnight, signaling the start of a new year. But for the first time in over a century, the New Year’s Eve event will be totally virtual this year due to COVID-19 safety precautions. But while there won’t be a crowd gathered in New York City this year, there
will still be a ball drop and you can tune in to watch it from anywhere in the world.
This year’s New Year’s Eve program begins at 6 p.m. EST on December 31 and will run through the ball drop at midnight. Hosted by Jonathan Bennett, the live (and commercial-free!) broadcast will include live musical performances by Gloria Gaynor and other not-yet-announced artists. According to the official Times Square Twitter account, the theme of this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration is Heroes of 2020. The program will honor first responders, frontline workers, essential workers, and their families.
5. Holiday Peeps
While Peeps are most popular around Easter time, there usually is no shortage of overly-food-dyed Christmas trees, reindeer, gingerbread, and snowmen at the holidays. According to the survey results, it’s not the colors or the shapes consumers dislike; it’s the unnatural holiday flavors. Peppermint bark and cinnamon roll-flavored peeps were not a hit with this crowd. However, consumers need not worry this year, because holiday Peeps won t be available in 2020. Red and green Christmas candy corn
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4. Reindeer Corn
The debate about candy corn is always heated around Halloween, but we never knew people felt so strongly about the red and green version. Reindeer corn is essentially the classic candy corn recipe with different food dye added, so we’re not too surprised this sugary treat landed the title of fourth-most-hated Christmas candy in America.
As we prepare to spend this holiday season at home, I’ve been planning all the tasty treats I’ll be whipping up in the kitchen. Forget Christmas dinner my favorite thing to make for the holidays is dessert. Whether it’s decorated Christmas cookies or festive holiday desserts, I look forward to making (and eating) these seasonal sweets all year.
But with
so many delicious options, I’ve been having trouble narrowing down what I want to make. After learning that there were so many regional differences in Thanksgiving side dish preferences, I wanted to know what the most popular Christmas treat in my area is. Luckily, the career and research site Zippia conducted a cross-country survey of the most-Googled treats and recipes in each state and put together an interactive map of their findings and some of the results are surprising.