Easy Entertaining Tips for the Christmas Season...

Christmas time is fast approaching, which means so are Christmas parties. Hosting a Christmas party can be overwhelming and exhausting. Here are a few tips I find helpful when planning to host a Christmas party.

1. Choose a Theme!

I suggest choosing a theme specific to the holiday, and also using a "color palette" that compliments that theme. For instance, if you are hosting a Christmas party and your home is decorated with blue and silver decorations, I would suggest using blue and silver dish and glassware to create a unified look. 

2. Plan Ahead

You should give your guests at least three weeks notice when planning a Christmas party. Its a busy time of the year and you want to make sure you give people enough time to plan ahead. 

3. Create Stations

When hosting a party it's a good idea to have different stations set up around the house. For example, you can have a "Champagne Station" or a "Fondue Station". This creates a few different gathering spots throughout the house, rather then having one large, overcrowded area. 

Try a Milk and Cookie Station!

4. Simple is better

When it comes to food, simple is better. Choose finger foods and appetizers that are easy to make and don't create a huge mess. You don't want to spend a bunch of your time in the kitchen making food or cleaning up messes during the party. After all, it is a party and YOU should enjoy it too!

5. Give yourself some "YOU" time

Plan to have everything ready at least 15 minutes before guests arrive. It's very important for the hostess to have some time to just sit back and relax. You will enjoy hosting much more, and when you are having fun, the guests will be too!

HAVE FUN!  :)

Christmas Tree Decorations

Fruit Inspired Christmas Tree

One of my favorite blogs, "Young House of Love", had a great idea for Christmas tree decorations (see link below). They used dried fruit as a feature ornament on their already bright and cheerful Christmas tree. I fell in love with this idea and wanted to give it a try.

Here is my experience creating my Fruit Inspired Christmas Tree.

http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/12/tis-the-season-part-two/

The first thing I did was slice lemons, limes, and oranges into 1/4" slices.

Then I preheated my oven to 250 F. I placed the sliced fruit on a cookie sheet and baked for 2-2.5 hours. Make sure to check on the fruit regularly because it can burn quickly.

"Young House of Love" mentioned that the lemons and limes are very difficult to dry properly. I found this to be the case as well, and burnt mine... :(

Once the fruit is dried, store in a air tight container and let it cool for a couple hours. Then insert metal ornament hooks through the dried fruit.

Now the fun part - decorate and enjoy your fruit inspired Christmas tree!

If you havent done it already, you should check out the Young House of Love website. They have great ideas and awesome DIY projects.