'Tis the Season for Stylish Entertaining

Invitations

It's that time of year! The holiday season. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or your own special celebration, you might be asking yourself, "what can I do differently this year?" Answer: throw a themed holiday party!

It is only natural to think of themed parties for occasions such as birthdays or Halloween, and not for Christmas. True this is "out of the box" thinking for such an event, but why not? Instead of your traditional Christmas cookie party, elephant gift exchange or ugly sweater party, throw a party with a specific theme for the holiday, only with a twist, it's stylish!

So what kind of stylish themed holiday party can you throw? Here a few ideas:

White Christmas Table Setting

1. White Christmas: everything from your invitations to the food you serve is white themed and/or has a white component to it. Send invitations that are white which can include the accent color of your choosing. Shutterfly and Snapfish are a couple of places you can go to make your invites. Make sure that you indicate on your invites that it is a white Christmas theme and that guests need to wear white. Obviously, all the decorations for the event are white as is the table setting and tableware. Crate & Barrel, Pier 1, Macy's and Home Goods are excellent places to help with the decorating and putting it all together.

Homemade Paper Angel Doilies

Nutcracker available at Macy's

2. Nutcracker: almost everyone has a nutcracker as Christmas decoration in their house, so why not throw a nutcracker-themed party!? This ballet classic will sure to amaze and intrigue your guests once they get their invitations! Set the stage with angels made of glitter paper, doilies, and pipe cleaners for your centerpieces, mantle decor, or cake toppers.  What's a Nutcracker party without a ballerina? Bake cupcakes and top them with these ballerina toppers available on Amazon. Just like the ballerina, the Nutcracker is a must. Macy's sells beautiful nutcracker figurines that you can display throughout your home or you can use as the statements pieces for your table(s). 

The Grinch Theme Table 

3. It's the Grinch: what's Christmas without the Grinch! Set the stage with green, red and white as your main color theme and then accent with themes from the movie. Welcome your guests to your "Whoville" with creative yard decorations that can be purchased on Etsy.com. Once they are inside your home, they think they've entered Whoville. Do this by decorating your home with red, green and white colors along with scenes/decor from The Grinch movie. Set the tone by playing the Grinch music in the background and providing all the touches what makes the Grinch a special story. 

The Grinch Party Invitations

These are just a few ideas to help you begin your holiday planning. Whichever theme you chose, White Christmas, Nutcracker, The Grinch or you were inspired by these, the details and fine touches you put into putting it all together is what will make your party not only fun and memorable but stylish! Happy entertaining, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah and Kwanza and make it fun and stylish!

Stylish Thanksgiving Dinner

For the past 30 years, I have hosted Thanksgiving dinner and I love doing so. Every year my family looks forward to getting stuffed on brined turkey, homemade stuffing, gravy, and mashed potatoes. It has become a tradition to serve the entree and sides and I wouldn't change a thing. But why I enjoy hosting this special holiday aside from the family is putting a table together fit for royalty, and you can do the same!

Place Cards and Place Card Holders

Sure my family knows each other, but I step it up a notch with place cards. To avoid guests from trying to figure out where they should sit and by whom, put Thanksgiving-themed place cards on the table. This will allow for guests to be seated quickly and avoid the confusion of where to sit. You can find pretty place cards at your local craft store, or you can download a template from the internet.

Now that you have printed out those pretty place cards, you need to put them in something. Some suggestions are turkeys, acorns, pumpkins or fall cornucopia. Pier 1 has stylish holders for any dinner style. Another fantastic place is Crate and Barrel.

The Centerpiece

Autumn Centerpiece

Although the turkey is the main centerpiece of dinner, don't forget a beautiful centerpiece to accent your table. In the past, I have had a cornucopia, fall flower arrangement, and candles. Anyone of these adds elegance and sophistication to the table. You don't have to spend much either! Your local grocery store like Kroger have beautiful arrangements that you can purchase around $30. 

The Table

Tablecloth from Macy's

As I mentioned, I love setting the table for Thanksgiving dinner. I put a lot of thought into making everything look perfect, and each year I make sure to add something different (this is very subtle) to see if anyone notices! In previous posts on the blog, I discussed plate chargers and their purpose. I never host a dinner without a plate charger because I think that it brings a certain charm or "fanciness" to the table, and maybe guests aren't used to being so catered too! Your guests are special, so why not make them feel that way!

Elegant Thanksgiving place setting.

When setting the table, think about everything; from the tablecloth to the place card holders. For my dinner table, I always use my Thanksgiving/fall themed table linen. It is just perfect because I can bring out any color I want to match in my table setting. The tablecloth also has matching napkins, and I always use them instead of paper napkins, which are a no-no for dinners like this. One thing I would like to point out is to avoid your very ornate tablecloths that have the bright orange and decorative fall themes. These do not set the elegance and stylish tone of your dinner. Instead, a subtle color Thanksgiving themed tablecloth is the way to go.

Since this is a formal dinner, I bring out all the good china, silverware and stemware and make sure that everything is set properly. My blog on the proper place setting comes in handy for events like this. Properly tablescaping your table will awe your guests, I know it does mine! 

The Details

Like with any party you host, the details are important. A few things that I have mentioned so far in regards to details are the tablecloth, name cards, centerpiece, china, silverware, and stemware. All of these together set the tone and ambiance for dinner, especially the napkin ring that you chose to place the matching napkins in. There are so many choices available and each sets a different tone to your tablescaping. Since we want to have an elegant and stylish one, make sure that you chose a napkin ring that reflects it. Stores like Pier 1 and Bed, Bath & Beyond have simple, holiday-themed rings to make your table extra special.

These are just a few tips you can do to make your Thanksgiving dinner table a stylish one. Whatever you chose to do, remember not to overlook the final touches and details; this is what makes it stylish! Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Stylish Entertaining!

Boo! It's a Halloween Extravaganza!

Planning on having a Halloween party? Tired of the same old decorations and colors for Halloween? Why not throw a Halloween party turned up a notch! Here are some creative, extravagant and fun ideas to help make your Halloween party stylish and not scary.

Ditch the Orange and Black Color Theme

This Celestial Accent Garland is available at Pier One.

Whether you go to Joann Fabrics or Party City, it's the same color theme for Halloween, orange, and black. If you end up going to more than one party during Halloween season, chances are they will become a blur of the same generic decor, colors, and themes. Instead, make your party one to remember! Pick an accent color of the season like deep purple, blood red, lime green or rusty brown as the palette for your decor. Use these colors as the backdrop to your neutral colors and create a one of a kind Halloween color theme. 

It's All About the Accents

Instead of your typical Halloween decorations, set the scene with elegant Halloween floral arrangements throughout your home. Find a great statement piece for your party table at places like Pier One or Michael's. Follow that theme in from your front door to the powder room. It is these little things that make a difference for your guests. Don't stop there! Accent your table linens, silverware, and glassware with the same color palette. Remember, this is your accent color so use it subtly with your neutral hues to set a more sophisticated, stylish but fun Halloween feeling.

Have a Party Theme

Roaring '20's costume.

What's a Halloween party without costumes?! Make yours different by setting a more adult costume themed party. Some great adult theme parties may include Great Gatsby, royalty, Harry Potter, the Roaring '20's or Disco 70's. Your invitations should set the theme and tone for your party. 

Set the Ambiance

Sure, it's easy to set the ambiance for a regular Halloween party, but for your stylish soiree, setting the right ambiance is important. A few ways to do this is by:

• Candles everywhere! Set the mood with low lighting with either real candles or battery operated like these in the picture from Shop Three Brothers website. 
• LED lighting: you can find any kind of LED string lighting at almost any store in whatever color you can imagine. For your Halloween party set the ambiance by using LED lighting in your hurricanes, accenting your table, shelving, decorations, just about anymore. Depending on the color you have chosen to accent your Halloween decorations, use it sparingly and elegantly throughout your home so that guests can just see each other, but it's dark enough for such an event. The LED lights on the left can be purchased at Pier One, and they have a selection of many different colors on their website.

Don't Forget the Food

You might think that it's difficult to set a food table that's sophisticated, yet like Halloween. Luckily, this is not so! You can turn your food table into an elegant, stylish spread. Here are some pictures to give you some idea on how that can be done:

Chocolate dip strawberries dipped in accent Halloween colors.

Serve macaroons in orange, purple, green or whatever Halloween color you like.

 Drizzle your cupcakes in royal icing to get this look.

Sophisticated yet spooky Brie cheese and crackers.

Easy to decorate spiderweb cheesecake.

You can use these tips for any type of party you would like to throw. Set a neutral color as the foundation and then chose a color as the theme for your decorations. As you plan your party, think creatively and pay attention to those details. It's the little things that make a party a big success! 

Happy planning and Happy Halloween! Make it a stylish one!