Decorate several small trees with candy canes and popcorn strings, and scatter them around the house.
Step2
For a centerpiece, decorate a small tree with individually wrapped candy and party favors.
Step3
Use strings of lights, your fireplace and scented candles as your only lighting to create a more intimate and festive mood.
Step4
Print short Christmas carols, poems and stories on thick, good-quality parchment paper in a calligraphy font. Place four carols or poems on each page. Fold the pages and tear them apart to give them a rough look, and then decorate the edges with glitter.
Step5
Scatter these around on tabletops and hang them from doorknobs with ribbon. Guests can take them home as favors.
Step6
Hang stockings already filled with presents from the mantle to give the illusion that Santa just left.
Step7
Fill green and red coffee mugs with bunches of different colored candy canes, and scatter them around your home. Or fill the mugs with red and green M&Ms.
You can light small trees and centerpieces with small, battery-operated sets of lights to avoid unsightly cords. This also eliminates the danger of tripping over cords.
Ask someone to keep an eye on the fire in the fireplace for you and tell you when a new log needs to be added.
Make sure that all candles are out of harm's (and elbows') way. If there are going to be small children at the party, place candles out of their reach.
on 12/19/2005
Take down all your paintings and pictures and wrap them like presents with wide ribbon and giant bows. Hang them back on the wall. Very festive!
on 11/22/2005
If you're going to be having coffee, several days before the party you can dip gold colored plastic spoons into flavored melted chocolate (mint, hazelnut, vanilla, mocha - they have all flavors at candy shops now). Refrigerate them until they're needed, then tie the spoons with colorful ribbons and stand them, coated side up, in a pretty jar for guests to use to stir their coffee.
If you're going to be having tea, candied crystallized ginger, curls of sugared orange or lemon rinds, cinnamon sticks or even thinly sliced spiced apples all make nice additions to spread out before some steaming cups of tea.
You can dip the rim of cordial glasses into melted chocolate (warmed and smooth but not hot enough to crack the glass). Refrigerate them until they're firm. Serve cordial filled glasses on a silver or gold tray peppered with confectioner's sugar and red berries.
on 11/22/2005
I always have some sort of spare material lying around. I just cut it into squares/rectangles large and small and put it all over. I used red and green on my mantle by using 3 squares about 1' x 1' and placed them diagnally so a corner pointed down. For my table cloth I used a nice off white rayon left over from a dress as a runner and then place more squares of red and green on the diagnal for a punch of color.
on 8/12/2006
I have a bathroom on my first floor with a shower that is never used. So I decorate it like a Macy's window. Sometimes I have a Mr. and Mrs. Claus with presents or a partridge in a pear tree. I have had an angel whose wings moved up and down. I stencil on the mirror something appropriate to go with what is in the shower (angel- peace on earth Santa- have you been naughty or nice). Every year people can't wait to see the shower. I also decorate it for other parties (beach party- a mermaid, 60's party, Jimi Hendrix.) It is a cool way to use a shower that never gets used.
on 12/28/2005
Wrap pictures you have hanging on your walls with festive wrapping paper. Finish off with a pretty ribbon. You can even wrap the ugly, wall air conditioning unit. This trick will cut down on drafts also.
Comments
Anonymous said
on 12/19/2005 Take down all your paintings and pictures and wrap them like presents with wide ribbon and giant bows. Hang them back on the wall. Very festive!
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 If you're going to be having coffee, several days before the party you can dip gold colored plastic spoons into flavored melted chocolate (mint, hazelnut, vanilla, mocha - they have all flavors at candy shops now). Refrigerate them until they're needed, then tie the spoons with colorful ribbons and stand them, coated side up, in a pretty jar for guests to use to stir their coffee.
If you're going to be having tea, candied crystallized ginger, curls of sugared orange or lemon rinds, cinnamon sticks or even thinly sliced spiced apples all make nice additions to spread out before some steaming cups of tea.
You can dip the rim of cordial glasses into melted chocolate (warmed and smooth but not hot enough to crack the glass). Refrigerate them until they're firm. Serve cordial filled glasses on a silver or gold tray peppered with confectioner's sugar and red berries.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 I always have some sort of spare material lying around. I just cut it into squares/rectangles large and small and put it all over. I used red and green on my mantle by using 3 squares about 1' x 1' and placed them diagnally so a corner pointed down. For my table cloth I used a nice off white rayon left over from a dress as a runner and then place more squares of red and green on the diagnal for a punch of color.
Anonymous said
on 8/12/2006 I have a bathroom on my first floor with a shower that is never used. So I decorate it like a Macy's window. Sometimes I have a Mr. and Mrs. Claus with presents or a partridge in a pear tree. I have had an angel whose wings moved up and down. I stencil on the mirror something appropriate to go with what is in the shower (angel- peace on earth Santa- have you been naughty or nice). Every year people can't wait to see the shower. I also decorate it for other parties (beach party- a mermaid, 60's party, Jimi Hendrix.) It is a cool way to use a shower that never gets used.
Anonymous said
on 12/28/2005 Wrap pictures you have hanging on your walls with festive wrapping paper. Finish off with a pretty ribbon. You can even wrap the ugly, wall air conditioning unit. This trick will cut down on drafts also.