By Chris Young
MethuenLife Writer

Is your holiday decorating budget a little tight this year?
Do you have more critical uses for your entertaining budget than expensive, pre-made arrangements?
Want to wake up your adventurous and creative spirit?
Then, fall in New England is the perfect time to do it.
There is no more satisfying way to decorate your house for the holidays than to “go natural,” that is, to gather what you need from nature. There are endless opportunities in the natural world to enhance a festive arrangement for your dining room table, mantle or kitchen counter.
"Go out gathering pine cones, oak leaves, seed pods, branches from evergreens, holly, variegated euonymous or juniper," said Michelle Mercier-Garon, a Methuen mother of three children at Tenney Grammar School, who is a floraculture major from Essex Agricultural School. Michelle teaches workshops (see Nevins Library event below) helping others to create arrangements for their holiday tables.
Despite a demanding schedule of mothering, working full-time and lots of volunteering, Michelle rarely misses an opportunity to involve her kids in holiday decorating.
With children ages 7, 9 and 11, she keeps it simple. Together, they will make a cornucopia for the Thanksgiving table, adding a few fresh flowers and fruits to the natural materials they've collected. One simple way begins with fresh apples accented by nuts and pine cones. Or, you can start with fresh flowers, adding collected materials as needed.
A mixed floral bunch from the supermarket can be the basis of any centerpiece. To make it your own, add the natural treasures you collect.
Before you start, Michelle has some sensible advice for you: “Even if this arrangement is your first time, just try it. If you don't like what you make, try it over again. If you want more inspiration, go to the library or the discount store and pick up a few floral arrangement books.”
The best free picking can be from your own backyard, or that of a relative or friendly neighbor.
Start with trees and shrubs.
Here is what to look for:
• Foliage: “Fall is a perfect time to do some pruning,” Michelle said, allowing you to kill two birds with one stone. “Depending on what you are looking for, there are many types of foliage you could use to add to your arrangements. Leaves that have recently changed offer a burst of seasonal color. Twigs and branches add height and interest. If you have shrubs in your yard, such as holly or euonymus, you’re in luck with texture and variegation.”
• Spent flowers: “Perennial gardens are bountiful with free decorating materials. Seed pods and spent flowers can be recycled into elegant accents and focal points of an arrangement. With a little spray paint and imagination, you’ll get more out of your resting garden than you ever thought possible.” Look for hydrangea, black-eyed Susans, liatris, coneflowers, ornamental grass plumes, lavender, astilble, yarrow, golden rod, lady’s mantle and rose hips.
• Perennial herbs: “If you still have perennial herbs, such as lavender, rosemary or sage, harvest some for an “everlasting herb wreath,” accented by rose hips or winterberry which you can find in the woods. Everlastings are a group of flowers, herbs and ornamental grains which retain their color and beauty when air dried. To air-dry plants, bunch the grains and herbs together, hang them upside down in a dry and well-ventilated place, such as an unused attic, for a day or two.
• Seed pods and pine cones: These can be preserved and saved from year to year. Remember, pine cones can be sappy. The Internet offers some ideas for drying the pine cones, including baking them at a very low heat. But the web page WikiHow.com suggests you remove the pitch/sap with rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip, followed by a 20-minute soak in vinegar or ammonia in warm water to kill bugs. Allow the cones to air-dry on paper towels for at least a day.
For a truly natural, eye-catching seasonal centerpiece, Michelle suggests using a fresh or ceramic pumpkin as a vase.
If you seek one-on-one instruction, Michelle will bring her Holiday Home Workshops to you. Gather a group friends and family members, and spend a night getting creative. Michelle offers workshop on Kissing Balls, Evergreen Centerpieces, Boxwood Trees and Cranberry Wreaths. Price per project (including materials) ranges from $25 to $35 per person. Keep the creation for your home or give it as a gift made with love! For info, call (978) 682-7697.