It was a surprise to learn that some Christmas customs aren't as all-American as we'd imagined them to be. The practice of decorating a tree with twinkling lights, for example, came from Germany. Long before there were electric bulbs (and cautious firemen), the Germans attached candles to their tree boughs.

This shimmery angel provides a safer alternative to that age-old German custom. Designed to set on a tabletop (away from flammable boughs), its wings and skirt cast a warm and flickering glow from your Christmas candle.

DIRECTIONS:

First, cut out a paper angel to use as a pattern. It's easy if you draw a rectangular base, a triangular skirt, heart-shaped wings and a round head topped with a narrow strip for a halo. Fold the pattern in half. Next, cut the bottom from a disposable aluminum roasting pan, fold it lengthwise and sandwich it between the folded paper. Trace around the pattern and then cut along the lines. Punch holes in the aluminum cutout along the fold and the wings. Use a pencil to etch lines in the skirt. Spread open the aluminum angel. Then fold the base to fit under a glass candleholder and fashion the strip above the angel's head into a halo.

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