Classic Christmas - Celebrate with Retro Style

I remember it well - the years that oil prices started climbing and gasoline shortages forced us to wait in line for hours or go without fuel. We groaned as the price neared $.75 per gallon, and heating fuel and propane gas prices rose as essential winter supplies dwindled.

The US was reeling from layoffs and a skyrocketing inflation rate by the mid 1970s; oil shortages created by OPEC cartels created havoc for homeowners, businesses and drivers, and mortgage credit rates hovered around 18%.

A green lifestyle wasn't as common as it is today, but every family was looking for ways to save money and conserve energy. We turned to our past for some of the answers, and found ways to make a frugal holiday festive and unforgettably fun. "Don't be fuelish" was a popular slogan. Year round Daylight Savings Time was imposed for several years.

That year as Christmas season approached, many families and communities decided not to decorate with holiday lights. Others looked for ways to save money on gifts, greeting cards and holiday foods. (Learn more at 1970s Energy Crisis - wikipedia)

No lighted displays in neighborhood yards, no lights in the downtown square, and no lights on the Christmas tree. No Christmas cards, no big family dinners, no lavish goodies for the holiday. It seemed a bit sad at first, but many alternative decorations and ideas for gift-giving and celebration came out of the problem.

The economic situation energized many of us to create our own holiday decorations or to borrow ideas from the past and make them new again. Our community placed dozens of small evergreen trees on the town square. All the children in the elementary grades made ornaments from recycled materials to decorate the trees. That event became an annual tradition that's still going on today.

Our family took it one step further. We decided not to use lights, plastic decorations or tinsel on our Christmas tree. We lived in New Hampshire, so fresh trees were readily available from local farms where you could cut your own and have it hauled out of the grove by a horse team.

We decorated our balsam fir tree without lights that year; we made new ornaments from painted wood, stuffed fabric, cookies, and recycled aluminum pie tins, seashells and even a birds nest. We popped corn and strung it with cranberries to make garlands. We made paper chains and snowflakes to decorate the windows and doorways along with fresh greenery and berry sprigs cut from our shrubs and the nearby woods.

After the holidays we propped up our Christmas tree in the yard and used it as a bird feeder, and then in the spring we recycled the dried out trunk, needles and branches into firewood and garden mulch.

We made all the gifts for our family that year - sisters, brothers, parents and each other. And we found ways to be creative with food gifts that became so popular they were requested year after year - Teddy Bear bread, giant gingerbread cookies, cream puffs, walnut fudge and carrot cake loaves.

We spent less money and more time on the holiday season than we had in previous years. Our biggest financial expense was for gasoline to drive from New Hampshire "over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house" in Pennsylvania.

That holiday season 30 years ago formed new traditions for our family and put the focus back on the traditions and meaning of the season.

I resumed my holiday lights tradition after that year. In fact, I think I missed my little lights so much that it's the reason I fell in love with funky light strings. This year, I'll decorate with tiny lights on the Christmas tree and around the outside of the house AND I'll be making outdoor tree decorations for the birds - edible, of course.

You can make these natural crafts gifts from pine cones you gather in your yard or neighborhood or from a bag of cones purchased at a craft store.

Holiday Hearth Fire Starters

* 12 Medium to Large Very Dry Pine Cones
* Wax (You can use newly purchased candle wax, odd candles and candle stubs, or commercial paraffin for jelly making)
* Colored candles or old crayon bits (optional)
* Essential oils (optional)
* 1 Large Metal Coffee Can
* 1 Large Pot
* Wax Paper
* Butchers String

You need enough melted wax to completely cover your largest pine cone. To figure out how much wax you actually need, wind a 12 inch length of butcher's string around the layers of the pine cone to create a hanger/handle for dipping. Suspend the largest pine cone into the can and make a mark on the can just above the top of the cone. This is how much melted wax you'll need.

Place the can in a pot of water on the stove and turn on low to medium low heat. Add small pieces of wax to the can and continue until the melted wax level reaches the cone height mark.

Remove the wax can from heat and stir in coloring agents or essential oils.

Holding a pine cone by the string handle, dip slowly into the wax until the cone is just barely covered.

Gently remove and let the excess wax drip back into the can.

Place the dipped pine cone on wax paper and allow to harden completely. Repeat with remaining pine cones.

How to Use Your Pine Cone Fire Starters
Build your fire using kindling pieces above and below1 firestarter pine cone. Light the string handle (now a wick) or a wax cone edge.

Gift Tags Cut used cards into unique shapes, punch a hole and thread a short length of embroidery floss through the hole to make gift tags. If you are more adventurous and comfortable with a craft knife, you can make your own mini gift boxes.

Gift Jewelry Cut individual motifs from cards into small rectangles, circles or squares (about 2-3 inches maximum in size). Glue the shapes onto bristol board, trim the edges, add a pin back and you have a lovely seasonal brooch.

Magnets and Fridgies Cut out small motifs or scenes and glue these shapes onto magnetic material to create unique art quality magnets for gift giving or craft sales!

Artwork Cut out shapes and assemble them on foam core artboard to create wonderful collages and personalized posters.

Garland Banners Trace around holiday cookie cutters onto the most colorful part of last year's holiday cards. Cut out the shapes and string on a brightly colored ribbon.

More ways to recycle holiday cards.

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