While you’ll likely be doing a lot of shopping during the holidays, you can balance out all that spending with some homemade crafts that the whole family can make together. Here are four great ideas for your next holiday-themed craft night.

No-Sew Holiday Aprons [marthastewart.com]
Create pretty and protective aprons just in time to decorate cookies with this fun DIY project. New sewing is required to make these cute aprons, which makes this project ideal for tiny hands and delicate fingers. You can even make them in larger sizes to give to Grandma as a gift!

String Tree [bhg.com]
Display all of those holiday cards in style with this modern craft idea. Simply stretch multicolored string in the shape of a Christmas tree across a sturdy cork board, then tuck the cards under the string as they start rolling in.

Thanksgiving Menu [realsimple.com]
Get your crafting started early with this cute DIY Thanksgiving menu in the shape of a pumpkin pie. All it takes is some standard construction paper and seasonal decorations like wheat or berries to go around the edges. Have the little ones write the names of each dish on the center and this craft will even play double duty as a writing assignment.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr Owen H R

There’s nothing more fun during the holidays than decorating the tree with the whole family, but you may want to make this year’s tree a bit more stylish. Instead of haphazardly placing ornaments all over its branches, check out these tips for decorating a truly chic and elegant holiday tree.

1. Real or artificial? First, you must decide if you want to invest in a real tree or stick with an artificial option. While a real tree is a bit more rustic and will make your house smell divine, an artificial tree is much easier to manage.
2. Choose a color scheme. One of the easiest ways to make your tree look more professional is by setting a color scheme. Reds and greens are always a great choice, but all-over gold or sparkling silver are also beautiful when accented by the twinkling lights.
3. Hang small lights first. To create a base for your tree’s decorations, first hang small, white lights evenly all over.
4. Add solid colored ball ornaments. Next, invest in multipacks of ball ornaments in your chosen color. Hang them all over the tree, leaving even amounts of space in between each one.
5. Add personal ornaments last. To display more personal or keepsake ornaments without them looking too cluttered, add them in the empty spaces once all of the other ornaments are already in place. Voila—the perfect holiday tree.

How to Decorate a Christmas Tree Elegantly [WikiHow]
15 Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas [HGTV]
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree [Better Homes & Gardens]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr frankieleon

Though Waku Chicken does have a few non-chicken items on the menu, you should probably stick with the chicken dishes for the full Waku experience. The Peruvian-inspired menu offers a full range of chicken dishes, including quarter, half, and whole chickens, the latter option being a great option if you have a family to feed. Popular menu items include the chicken souvlaki platter, the pan con pescado, and the half-chicken with chaufa rice and plantains, while the fried yucca, the fried plantains, and the chaufa rice represent Waku's most popular sides.

Delivery is available for orders that cost more than $20. Speak to management about getting Waku Chicken to cater your next meeting or event. The employees are enthusiastic about their work, and it shows in the quality of the food, regulars say.

Waku Chicken
458 Elden Street
Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 870-7448
www.wakuchicken.com
www.yelp.com/biz/waku-chicken-herndon

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/spine