Bring the perfect next holiday affair. Three FOF genius design bloggers tell us their fave pieces to GIVE this holiday season.
Plus! Enter our contest, and you may RECEIVE a delightful, all-natural candle from
Well Dressed Home.
To enter to win a gorgeous candle in the scent of your choice, comment below and answer: Tinsel on the tree--is it tacky or terrific? (One FOF will win).
Soy-wax 14-oz candle by Michel Design Works, $28.95
"Who doesn't love getting a candle for the holidays?" says FOF founder Geri Brin. "These are are all-natural and just beautiful. I buy a few and tuck them away, in case I get any last-minute invites to holiday parties. This way, I never arrive empty handed."
Custom Art by Linda McCoy, $200
"You can send FOF Linda McCoy a picture of anything and she'll create a custom painting... it's truly a one-of-a-kind gift" says Geri Brin. "She painted a portrait of me and one of my dog, Rigby, that I cherish."
Leather Envelope by Graphic Image, $67
"This is a great catch-all for your pictures, receipts and important cards," says FOF founder Geri Brin. "I love giving and receiving functional gifts."
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Geri Brin is the founder of
FabOverFifty.com}
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Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: A General History of Elegant Delights by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins, $20.85
"A great read about beauty of all kinds—from the everyday to the obscure!" says FOF Barbara Mangini of design blog My Dog Eared Pages.
A Passion for Interiors by Carolyne Roehm, $41.58
"Any book by Carolyne Roehm is bursting with yummy photography and stylish décor.
A Passion for Interiors is a private tour of Roehm's Manhattan duplex, her Colonial-era house in Connecticut, and a friend's Aspen residence."
Bremer Collection Raw Linen Table Runner, $24
"I love the idea of one-of-a-kind farmhouse finds. Just add a wooden bowl full of paper whites and a big ribbon!"
Baggu bag, $8
"Baggu makes the best reusable bags from rip-stop nylon. Most people use 300 to 700 plastic bags a year. Instead you can just use one Baggu. They come in bold colors and patterns and are perfect stocking-stuffers for everyone on your list!"
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Barbara Mangini is the FOF blogger behind My Dog Eared Pages, a collection of her marvelous musings and highly-vetted design, fashion and art finds.}
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"Because I am a note writer, I always have a supply of beautiful papers on hand," says Renae Moore of the blog
Renae Moore Designs. "Hannah Nation is the creator of
Gadabout. She has so many beauties it's hard to choose and she will custom monogram any you pick."
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Renae is the interior decorator and blogger behind the oh-so lovely Renae Moore Designs blog. }
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Frances Palmer Pottery, $25-245
"Her pottery is feminine, pure and will be loved by many for generations," says FOF Lisa Porter of the design blog,
The Lisa Porter Collection.
Southern Magnolia Tree, $44
"Seeds of life is a delightful farm that specializes in gift trees. They can be planted in honor of a special friend or family member. Trees symbolize strength and endurance and are the kind of gift that have potential to last centuries."
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Lisa Porter is the FOF behind the delightful design blog, The Lisa Porter Collection. Lisa's gorgeous blog features eye-popping design, inspiring interiors and carefully-vetted businesses.}
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To enter to win a gorgeous candle in the scent of your choice, comment below and answer: Tinsel on the tree--tacky or terrific? (One FOF will win).
Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.
{FOF Homework} Then & Now 
{Giveaway} Another shot at intimacy! 
{Fashion Flash}
yes I like tinsel if it is put on one strand at a time. We always did as kids because the tree was really our gift.
I used to put tinsel on the tree, but not in globs just single strands. However, our cat was so interested in getting it off the tree that she knocked it over and I lost some precious ornaments. That was the last year that tinsel was on the tree.
lovely, lovely, lovely
It all depends where the tree is and how it was decorated I do not like tinsel growing up i was tinseled out! However I have seen some very pretty tress in mom and pop stores which did look pretty …
I’m not a big tinsel person but I don’t think its tacky
Thanks again, so much, for this giveaway!! I can’t wait to receive this wonderful candle!!!
Tinsel, tho I used it for years, is tacky now and very bad for the environment.
I love tinsel on a small table top, real looking tree for the kids rooms. Definitely not on the big tree.
I love tinsel though it does make a mess… No matter, its worth if to see the lights twinkling on it on the tree. Brings back memories…
I like all that I see my Mom I need hlep with I
do not now what to get her.
Tinsel, Since my parents passed, tinsel has always been on our tree, my sister and I would stand behind the tree and throw it on, my Dad put tinsel on one piece at a time. I try to carry on traditions, yes tinsel being one, now when the tree is put up to decorate, I decided to be the tinsel queen, I put only a few well placed tinsel on my tree now, it does not feel like Christmas if the tree was bare of tinsel. I choose a couple different colors of tinsel and make my way around the tree. Tinsel is in the eye of the beholder, alittle goes a long way. Merry Christmas.
I guess I am tooo sentimental….I think tinsel on the tree is a must!
No Tinsel on a traditional tree. You can get away with it on a ecleticly done tree.
If it’s put on patiently one piece at a time it looks beautiful, but not globbed on! It is messy when you take the tree down
Tinsel, yes on a real tree is tasteful used sparingly for a little extra sparkle and reflection of holiday candles or firelight. In other words, I DON’T let my husband put it on!
I think that tinsel on the tree is terrific; gold tinsel reflects and magnifies the beautiful coloured lights.
Tinsel is so classic……fresh pine smell in the air. Tinsel on the tree with a great big star or Angel tree-topper…..classic Christmas!~
Picture Bing Crosby’s White Christmas playing in the background and yummy sugar cookies baking in the oven….I’m all for vintage-style, so I say bring back the look of the 50′s …more tinsel please!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Tinsel is a tradition of the past, of a simple time when people didn’t have a lot of money to spend on ornaments but trees were real, If people choose to have artificial trees, they have lost the tradition of the tree no matter tinsel or not
I used to like tinsel, but now that I’m older I really do think it looks a little tacky. I agree with Robyn, you can never get all of it out of your carpet and seem to find it all year long. If you have a pet it is very dangerous.
I think tinsel has seen better days! It’s a thing of the past – a tradition that we can remember. I don’t think tinsel is the “in thing” to use on the tree any more. Same with popcorn!
I like a *little* bit of tinsel on a Christmas tree. It reflects the lights on the tree and makes it sparkle, makes a few lights look like more. But too much tinsel is like too much makeup – ticky-tacky.
Tinsel on the tree is what we did growing up and in honor of my mother I still do it. My house, my tree, tacky or not….
as fun and child-like as tinsel can be, it has crossed into no-no territory because it must all be removed to recycle the tree. so the answer would be tacky, because it is SO tacky not to recycle!
We always used tinsel on the tree (fresh) when I was growing up so I have warm memories of that look. However, since they stopped making the heavy tinsel and switched to the light fly away type I don’t care for it. It doesn’t hang the same and give the same old fashioned charm to the tree. So… terrific or tacky… now.. tacky.
Tinsel is tacky now – but when I was a child, I thought is beautiful!
There are so many really lovely things to decorate trees, tinsel is not one of my favorites! And the danger to pets or small children issue is a real concern.
Thumbs down to tinsel. It’s horrible to clean up and I’m still in therapy over witnessing our cat “expel” some after it ate it off our tree as a child.
As a child I loved tinsel on the tree. As an adult, not so much. Now I can’t stand the stuff! It gets everywhere and you still find it in the strangest places the following September! Now way, keep it out of my home.
Tacky! I used to find it (with the plastic Easter grass) in the couch cushions all year long!
TACKY!!! But it does remind me of when I was a kid…. I haven’t tinseled in years!! Do they even still sell that stuff??
I do love just a few strands of subtle tinsel on a tree. The secret is the very thin silver tinsel, placed one strand at a time on a tree with white lights. You want just a glimmer. We have a beautiful tree at work that we always get compliments on. However, I have cats so would never put it on my home tree.
Tinsel on the tree? Go for it – whatever makes you happy. Who am I to judge? I don’t do a tree, etc., so personally I’m relieved of all these holiday decisions.
No, tinsel on the tree is not tacky. It’s light and airy and is reminiscent of an era gone by with big christmas tree bulbs and tinsel.
I remember laying under our tree looking up the tree from the bottom and how pretty the colors were reflecting off the the tinsel. Putting tinsel on one strand at a time is the secret to a gorgeous tree.
For those who hate it, they probably never really used it right. It’s not to throw a handful at the tree and let it hang there, one at a time—one at a time. And for those who say its a mess to clean up…so are the needles from the tree….it’s all messy. Look beyond that and enjoy the celebration…live in the moment…not in the complaint!!!
Well, you definitely are either a tinsel fan or not. When my sons were little, they loved to help decorate their grandmother’s tree, BECAUSE she let them put icicles on HER tree. I have tinsel on my tree, but it comes on sticks now, and it is prettier…beads and orbs…not icicles that stick to everything and hang like wet noodles on the tree…
Tacky, soooo passé!
why is everyone talking about tinsel? I don’t see how it relates anywhere unless an article was removed or I missed something….
Tinsel on a tree My grandmother used to put it on her tree. That was the way they did it in the sixty and before that. I love a tree that has colorful lights garland and many homemade crafts ornaments from an ornament exchange party and a few differnt kind of ornaments that what really make a Tree beautiful and Different.
There’s something quite nostalgic about tinsel. As kids we’d ALWAYS over-do the tinsel. Since my parents got tired of cleaning up the remain of tinsel, they resolved this by getting a “silver” tree. We had one of those light that would turn and reflect red, green and blue on the tree. Ahhh, truly a tinsel tree!
Tinsel on the tree can be terrific. I place mine one strand at a time, it is not the focus of the decorations, it enhances the ornaments
I am so delighted to be included in FOF’s Gift Guide. Wow… I love Lisa’s Southern Magnolia pick! Hmmm… tinsel, not so crazy about but there are a lot of MOD artificial trees out there! My niece {who attends Parson’s} told me that she saw a really cool black tree with midnight blue lights. Sounds a little Punk-ish! And, a little tinsel-y!
The worst gift I ever received was a forest green knit coat with faux green fur. The gesture was nice but the coat was really ugly.
I think it looks tacky, its a mess to clean up, not to mention the damage it can do to pets. I would never use it (even if I liked it) for that reason. My dogs love to eat (anything:)
I luv Tinsel!!! We always put it on the tree growing up and I still follow the tradition today!!
Sometimes a little tinsel on the tree adds an old-fashioned look, but only on real trees. It definitely looks tacky on artificial ones.
OMG I cannot stand tinsel. I think it is the worse thing that they could have possibly made. It does nothing short of making a mess out of the house. Then if you seem to not be able to get it up after Christmas has gone ~ 6 months down the road you find a piece !
I hate it, I think it’s the ugliest thing ever !!!