Candy colored Christmas.

Truth be told, I am feeling fairly Scrooge-ian about the holidays this year. Mainly I just want them to be over. I am, however, enticed by the photos in the magazines. Like the Country Living spread, with plenty of red.

The cover features a tree and presents in tropical fruit colors. A kind of Fruit Loops palette. It works. Maybe not in my home, but it wins props for daring.



Look at this beautiful bunch! Tulips are my favorite flower, and this rich red is a simple, surprising stunner. Who'd have guessed?

I don't generally go in big for fancy-dance table settings, but the combination of lollipop red, berry shades and chiffon pink here is very winning. I especially dig the pink glasses. Perfect for pink champagne (though my body considers champagne the enemy). I suppose I can substitute sparkling grape juice. Nearly as nice!

What is a festive occasion without a cupcake? The little deer on the top is fantastic. Some have reindeer on their lawns, others make them mini-kings on the tundra of frosting, up to their hooves in flaky coconut "snow". Works for me! And am I wrong, or was it a conscious set stylist's decision to use a backdrop of barn red planks? So appealing, without being overtly Christmas-y.