to add warmth and charm to one's home. Cookie displays and Christmas wreaths do just that.

Homemade cookie houses are great for eating, but are also excellent decorations and can provide an excellent opportunity to create something with the kids.

For professional-looking results, simply follow these step-by step instructions: Take a Polaroid or photo of your home (or any house that you would like to recreate), and enlarge it on a photocopier to the desired cookie, then trace its outline onto parchment or translucent paper. Use this as your pattern to cut the shape out of cookie dough.

Use paste food colouring to tint Royal Icing (see recipe below); mix in sparingly with a toothpick. Fill one disposable pastry bag (or a zip lock bag with a corner cut off) with each colour icing that you will be using. Prop the bag in a glass to make it easier to fill. Don't overfill the bag (about halfway is enough), or it will be harder to control.

Draw the outlines of your design on the cookie, using a pencil if you won't be eating it, thinned food colouring if you will. Thin Royal Icing with water and place in small bowls to use for painting the base colours on the cookie. Apply with a small artist's brush; let dry until hard, about an hour. Alternatively, you can pipe on outlines first, then fill in or `flood' with thinned icing.

Pipe on details using the pastry bags. Holding a bag properly is the key to success: Twist the top and grasp with your thumb, holding the rest of the bag in your palm. Guide the tip using one or two of the fingers on your other hand.

Add candies such as holly leaves or thin licorice using offset tweezers for careful placement. Lines of icing can be straightened out or repositioned using toothpicks or thin wooden skewers.

Sturdy Sugar Cookie Dough: 1 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 1 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt In large bowl using electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using mixer at low speed, beat flour mixture gradually into butter mixture and blend well. Refrigerate, covered, until firm, 1 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Work with one fourth dough at a time, keeping remainder refrigerated. Roll out to 1 thickness and cut into desired shapes. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet about 1-inch apart; bake until firm to touch and edges are lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Basic Gingerbread Cookie Dough: 1 cup (1 stick) margarine or butter, softened 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 cup maple or maple-flavour syrup 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon salt 1 large egg 3 cups all-purpose flour In large bowl, using mixer at low speed, beat all ingredients except one cup flour until well blended, scraping bowl occasionally with rubber spatula.

Using spoon, stir in remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Divide dough in half; shape each half into a ball. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to handle, about four hours. (Or place dough in freezer about one hour.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out dough and cut into desired shapes. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until edges are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

Cool on wire racks.

Royal Icing: In a large bowl, mix three egg whites and one pound confectioners' sugar. Beat 0at high speed for five minutes. Place on moist paper towel inside airtight container until ready to use. Thin icing as necessary to "paint'' base colours on cookies. As an alternative to raw eggs, you can substitute meringue powder. In large bowl, using mixer at low speed, beat one pound confectioners' sugar, three tablespoons meringue powder, and 1 cup warm water.

For many, Christmas wreaths add so much to the spirit of the season.

Whether on the front door, the window, or a gatepost, wreaths greet guests and are symbols of warmth and friendliness. Although they may be purchased, they are incredibly simple to construct, and depending on one's choice of foliage, can emit a beautiful fragrance.

The first step involves the base. To do this, it is best to use flexible branches such as willow, red-oiser dogwood, birch or grapevine. Use fresh branches either from your own backyard or from a garden centre. Bend the branch into a circle to the approximate diametre of the wreath you want to create, then weave the branch around itself so it won't unravel. Repeat this procedure three or four times with new branches until you have created a solid frame with plenty of small spaces in which to tuck your greenery.

When creating a wreath, always remember that the finished product will only be as good or as interesting as the plants that go into it. Cut snippets of berried branches and greenery and clean any shoots or leaves from the bottom inch or two of each stem for easy insertion into the wreath.

Attach evergreen sprigs to the wreath first, then accent the greenery with berried juniper tips or snippets of winterberry.

For security, attach florist's wire to the wreath base and wrap the wire around the greens as you add them. Keep rotating the wreath, adding materials to make the wreath plump and full. To avoid a flat, pinwheel effect, insert materials in all directions, including point It's easy! ing straight out and facing toward the back. For a more casual look, leave the edges of the wreath ragged; trim the edges for a more formal appearance. For the final touch, add a colourful bow that complements the flowers or greenery you've selected.

A completed cookie house for eating, or decorating This wreath shows cedar and hemlock branches loaded with tiny cones