'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!

St. Patrick's Day: Match Your Beer and Food

St. Patrick's Day preparations are here and it's time to plan on pairing your favorite Irish beer with traditional Irish meals.  Irish reds to rich, dark stouts here are some suggestions to complement your Irish meal and make your party a success!

Stout

Irish stouts like Guinness and Murphy's are dark, rich in flavor. Many do not know that they are surprisingly light and do not have as much calories as people think.  Their flavor is predominantly coffee like, making them a perfect pair with chocolate desserts.  You can also use the beer as an ingredient in your Guinness chocolate cake.  No only do these stouts taste great with dessert, but they also go well with oysters and fish 'n chips.

Red Ale

Irish reds like Smithwick's and Killian's Red Irish are medium-bodied beers.  These beers have a distinct caramel flavor and get their color from the roasted barley that is added at the end of the brewing process.  Their balance of sweetness and bitterness are a perfect paring with corned beef and cabbage and Shepherd's Pie. The saltiness in this St. Patrick's Day staple is counterbalanced by the sweet, caramel flavor of these red ales.  

Lager

Lagers are light and refreshing beer and Harp's and Rogue Irish Lager have the perfect touch of carbonation. Served cold, but not too cold to lose its flavor, lagers should be dry, a little bitter, flowery and bready in flavor. This unique mix of flavors make lagers an ideal ingredient for Irish soda bread.  

Serve all three types of beer at your party and complement them with the appropriate food pairing and you are sure to bring out the flavors of the beer and the meal.  Taking that extra step to perfectly match your meal and drinks, will make your St. Patrick's Day stylish!  Erin go braugh!

Party? Appetizers? Ways To Avoid Double Dipping

Holiday festivities are around the corner:   Parties, family reunions, work soirees and casual entertainment.  And what's a party without appetizers, delicious finger food!  But these delectable little concoctions bring out the worst in everyone; double dipping.  How do we avoid this unsanitary act? How do you swallow that last piece of vegetable without more ranch dressing?  Do you look around make sure no one is looking and dive in for that tasty last bite?

NO!

Carefully planning appetizers and snack platters for guests is the key ingredient in avoiding double dipping.  Appetizers can range from cheese and cracker trays to an array of dips.  Traditionally appetizers were served on one dish and guests helped themselves to whatever amount they wanted.  Dips are notorious for double dipping, and cheese and cracker trays are prone to all kinds of hands touching the food, if no serving utensil is available.  All this amounts to unhealthy risk of germs to every guest at the party.

As a host, how do you make sure double dipping doesn't happen?  Make your appetizers single serve portions.  Sure, this may take a little extra time and may cost a little more money for all the individual "plating."  In the long run, it's worth going that extra step for yourself and for your guests. Not only will your guests appreciate the easy to carry and eat food, they will enjoy the sanitary factor.

Here are few popular appetizers served at parties that can be "replated" to avoid double dipping.  A picture depicts "how to" serve the appetizer and a link to the recipe follows (if you have your own favorite recipe, use it!) :

•  Seven Layer Taco Dip:  An all time favorite, this mini appetizer is easy to serve in small individual cups for your guests.      http://allrecipes.com/recipe/seven-layer-taco-dip/ 

• Shrimp Cocktail:  Plating this delicious appetizer individually takes into account those guests that might have an allergy to shell fish and by serving them separately helps with cross contamination. 

• Veggies:  A favorite for whatever occasion you are having a get together for, veggies and veggie dip go hand in hand with the word "party."  Notorious as a magnet for double dipping you can avoid this by fixing individual cups for everyone; just like in the picture. 

One thing to remember is to make your presentation of these appetizers stylish.  Be creative with items that you have around the house.  Use small champagne glasses for your shrimp cocktail; or shot glasses for your veggie dips.  For other appetizers you can use small disposable plastic cups.  Don't limit your imagination; be creative!  Stores such as www.disposableminiplates.com and Pier 1 have a wide variety of dishes and unique plating ideas.  

St. Patrick's Day Party Planning Ideas

Labeled as one of the biggest party events of the year, St. Patrick's Day is a holiday everyone seems to enjoy being a part of, Irish or not. Here's some helpful tips and ideas to make this year's celebration not only fun and festive, but stylish as well.

Decoration

There are many ways to celebrate this patron saint of Ireland, but one of the most popular ways is by throwing an Irish-themed party complete with all the green decorations you can find. Finding decorations that are St. Patrick's Day themed is not only easy, but you can purchase them cheaply or as expensive as you like. Online stores such as Oriental Trading offer a great selection from "Kiss Me I'm Irish" pins to a Leprechaun outfit.

Begin with green streamers and balloons to set the mood if you're on a budget. Decorate tables with green table cloths or green plastic covers that can be purchased at places such as Party City.

If you have more green to spend, go all out with green light bulbs in your lamps, shamrock-shaped party lights and green carnations for a more stylish feeling. Hanging shamrock spirals or garland also adds a festive feel to the party.

Find a black pot to represent "the pot of gold" and purchase some gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins that can be used not only as a party decoration but as a sweet treat for the guests.

Don't forget the Blarney Stone! Find a big rock (or make one out of Styrofoam or papier-mâché) to be your Blarney Stone. Place it near the door so people can kiss it when they enter. It's legend is infamous and having it as a party prop it can also be a great conversation piece.

Plates and cups do not have to be St. Patrick's Day insignia, instead purchase ordinary green plates and cups.

Dress

Obviously, green is the color theme! Lads and lassies can go all out on dressing up for a St. Patrick's Day party. Others can get into the spirit of St. Patrick's by breaking out all the green clothing they can, pinning on a "Kiss Me, I’m Irish" button and topping it all off with a green leprechaun's hat.

Activities

Whether you are throwing a party for your the over-21 crowd or younger crowd, there are plenty of activities to cater to everyone. For the over-21 crowd, the popular way to pass this celebration is by drinking. Pub crawls to local Irish businesses give you a drinking break and some fresh air between drinks. Also, these pub crawls allow you to meet other festive celebrants and engage in the hoopla of the day.

For those of you having an at home party, put on a CD of traditional Irish songs. If you have a karaoke machine, hook up the big screen TV and let your friends have at it singing classics like "Danny Boy."

Since St. Patrick's Day is synonymous with the pot of gold, send your guests on a treasure hunt. Purchase some gold foiled wrapped chocolate coins and have your guests search for them around the house. The one with the most coins, wins a prize!

Food

Get the green dye out! Mashed potatoes, beer, cupcakes, cookies, anything edible make it green! Keep your menu simple and traditional.

What is a St. Patrick's Day party without corned beef and cabbage and green beer? Try serving the following recipe of individual mini Reuben sandwiches from Allrecipe. They are sure to be a hit!

• 1 (1 pound) loaf cocktail rye bread
• 1 cup thousand island dressing
• 1 1/2 pounds deli sliced corned beef
• 1 (16 ounce) jar sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
• 1 pound sliced Swiss cheese
• 
  
• Preheat the oven's broiler.
• 
  
• Arrange cocktail rye slices on a baking sheet. Top each one with about 2 teaspoons of thousand island salad dressing, then fold about 1/2 slice of corned beef to fit the bread, and lay over the dressing. Place a small amount of sauerkraut over the meat, then top with 1/4 slice of the Swiss cheese, or a slice about as big as the bread.
• 
  
• Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Desserts

Your sweet table can be a plethora of green and shamrock shaped cookies. You can make it as simple as a bowl of green M & Ms or jelly beans or it can be as extravagant as shamrock shaped cookies or green cupcakes decorated to the nines.

Beverages

Green beer, Guinness and Irish Coffee are your St. Patrick's Day staples, but why not serve something different. Try the following recipe at your party, not only is it unique but it will give you that stylish flare.

• 2 Ounces Ketel One Citroen
• Dash of lemon juice
• 6 Ounces Prosecco
• 1.5 teaspoon Edible Gold Dust
• Martini glass rimmed with edible gold

1. To make gold glass rim, mix one glass edible gold dust with few drops of vodka to form a thick liquid. you can find edible gold dust at Joann Fabrics.
2. Dredge the rim of the martini glass in the liquid to coat edge making sure the gold liquid is thick enough so that it doesn't drip.
3. To thicken add more gold dust and to dilute add more vodka.
4. Pour the Ketle one Citroen and lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of edible gold dust in to a cocktail shaker with ice glass and shake until well chilled.

Enjoy the party and Erin go Braugh!