Comments on: How to Decorate Your House for a Christmas Party

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 12/19/2005 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 12/19/2005 Try hanging two or three different kinds of beautiful ornaments, like gold stars and gold bulbs, from your chandelier. It is very classy and brings some holiday decoration and interest to parts of your house that are already focal points.

on 12/20/2005 Where there's snow, place a boot on the floor and sprinkle baking soda over it. Remove the boot. This looks cute near the tree or near the stockings.

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.

on 12/9/2005 To add a little sparkle to your mantle piece, buy a gold or silver basket. This year I chose a gold star with a glittery Christmas tree and filled it with red, green and gold ornaments. Try to get ones with different textures or patterns. Many craft stores have inexpensive ornaments of the same color but different textures. It looks beautiful sitting on a mantle or as a centerpiece.

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 11/22/2005 I got this idea from Charlie Gibson of ABC's GMA fame. I have Christmas trees in every public (bathrooms included) room. There is a large 71/2 ft. tree in the livingroom. Since I live in a rancher style home, I put a 4 ft. tree at the other end of the house (in a spare bedroom) to balance the look. My main theme for most of the trees is French horns. That covers the livingroom, dining room and spare bedroom. In the kitchen I was fortunate to find garland in the shape of rolls and loaves of bread. Glue ribbons to the rolls and hang on the tree. The one bathroom has an underwater seascape; so that tree is decorated with starfish and the like. I'm up to seven trees throughout my home and one on the outside at my entrance way. They make docorating easy because I just put them in plastic bags after the holidays and store them away for next year.

on 11/22/2005 Not only can wreaths hang on walls! I use different styles, colours, and heights of candles on tables within wreaths as centerpieces, or on tables.

on 11/22/2005 Instead of using disposable plates or trying to stretch your china collection for large gatherings, check out your local "$ Mart" for holiday dishes. I found sets of 16 place settings for $10 each. At that price, two or three sets are very affordable!

on 11/22/2005 Two years in a row, I had a wreath in every room of my home. It was beautiful. Each room had a different theme according to personalities of family members. For example, musicans, angels, etc.

on 11/22/2005 Don't use scented candles at the table during a dinner party. It interferes with the flavors of the food.