'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!

Traditional Valentine's Day Gifts Done Right

Valentine's Day is soon around the corner.  Is it ok to go with the traditional gifts, box of chocolates, dinner, getaway?  Yes and No.  Here are few things that women do not want to get as gifts for Valentine's Day and if you do get any one of these items, make sure you do it right!

1. Teddy Bear - That beloved creepy little Teddy Bear that is holding a heart with a special saying.  Unless you are in high school or are under six years old, this is not the way to go.

2. Small jewelry box, no diamond- If you plan to give your Valentine jewelry, make sure the box has the right bling! Girl sees box and automatically thinks, "yes!" only to discover it's a charm.

3. Freecourt Flowers- Don't make that mad dash into Sam's Club to buy that bouquet of flowers!  Instead, do it right. Order a delivery of special flowers from sites such as FTD or 1800Flowers to her workplace.  Nothing puts a smile on your Valentine's face than a beautiful arrangement of her favorite flowers.

4. Cheap Chocolate- The corner drugstore is a convenient place to get a box of chocolates, but not for Valentine's Day!  Instead, go to Godiva or Charonnel Chocolates purchase a special box of Marc de champagne truffles or chocolate covered strawberries, a sure favorite!

5. Sexy Lingerie- There is nothing romantic about sexy lingerie.  If you want to purchase something sexy, the lingerie should be red but from  La Perla, Damaris or the like.

6. Charmless Bracelet- You have decided to splurge and buy your Valentine a Pandora bracelet.  Make sure that you purchase a meaningful charm, believe it or not, you can forget to buy the charm.

Whatever you decide to buy your Valentine, make sure you do it right to make a special and memorable day for both of you!