KICK OFF THE HOLIDAY SEASON--PART 2 OF 2

You have scheduled a date, time, and venue for your event. Your theme is coming together and you're sticking to your budget! Great...the invitations are in the mail! By now, your menu should be set and you should know the style of dining and style of service you will use.

Whether you're serving Breakfast in Bed, hosting a small Birthday Celebration, or a Formal Dinner...remember that presentation is everything!

Breakfast in Bed...Light, healthy, and cheery!

Small Birthday Celebration...Polka dot china, by Rosanna, festive and fun with the polka dot cakes and the coordinating little party hats! Formal dinner with all the accoutrements...charger plate, formal china, crystal, silver flatware, place card, napkin--folded properly, nut dish, formal linen cloth, roses in a silver compote, and candlelight.
If you are hosting a casual event, china may be used or you may use plastic/paper dinnerware. Obviously, you should use formal dinnerware, flatware, and glassware for a formal event. For informal occasions, placemats and runners may be used instead of a tablecloth. For formal and elegant occasions, crisp, starched, white damask linen is my favorite choice, with ivory being my second choice. Napkin rings are another way to bring a decorative touch to the table and may be used at breakfast, lunch, tea, or an informal dinner. Place cards help to bring the theme together on your tablescape, while making guests feel special. You might also want to have a menu card on the table to coordinate with your place cards.

A proper tablesetting for Afternoon Tea...

A proper tablesetting for a Luncheon or Informal Dinner...
A proper tablesetting for a Formal Dinner...
Place cards inform your guests where they should sit and may be coordinated with other accoutrements at the table. This fleur de lis place card holder with the Eiffel Tower embellished place card coordinates with a "French Theme" tea setting...
This folded place card...
Reveals the menu, when opened...

Napkin rings add embellishment to napkins and may also be coordinated with other accoutrements at the table. This Eiffel Tower napkin ring adorns a brown linen napkin, and coordinates well with the blue and brown toile tablecloth...

Add the "Bistro de Paris" coffee pot and dinnerware, and voila! Now you have a special setting for a Frenchi-fied breakfast!

Centerpieces are the focal point of a tablescape and I try to use items that really showcase my theme.

Sometimes, the food is the centerpiece, especially at teatime...

And sometimes the beverage-in-a-preppy-bucket is the centerpiece...


This is a cute centerpiece for a "Diva" themed event. The tile menu card coordinates with the theme--it's embellished with a little high heel shoe. Remember, it is perfectly proper to move a tall centerpiece to the sideboard just before the meal begins!
For the Diva-themed event, the cake coordinates well with the tablescape theme--the "crowned cake" is on a plate, standing on little high heels!

For a Lilly Pulitzer beverage table, I displayed a Lilly shift, sandals, and hat as the centerpiece!

This menu card is printed on cardstock and has a bird's nest stamp embellishment--to coordinate with a "Garden Luncheon" theme tablescape.

Flowers and candles add to the festive atmosphere of any event. Avoid heavily fragrant arrangements or candle scents at the dining table. All sorts of vessels may be used to contain your flowers or candles; i.e., teapots, vases, glass cylinders, buckets, compotes, et cetera. Just be sure that guests will be able to see each other during the meal. Music, whether it is lively or background tunes, is a very important element in creating a relaxed atmosphere. Try to match the music with the theme of your event. To complete the ambiance of your event, use any other party decorations that will accent your theme; i.e, balloons, streamers, beads, et cetera.

This simple floral arrangement coordinated well with a "Preppy & Personalized" tablescape.

Head vases are the vessels for these beautiful roses--to accent the Afternoon Tea setting in the photo below...

All the accoutrements for Afternoon Tea are here...for a "Southern Lady Tea." The magnolia motif china, the head vases, silver, crystal, linens, the tea tray, et cetera.

Beautiful hydrangeas in a simple basket make a beautiful centerpiece...

Decorations are also important on a tablescape...This was a fun piece I created for a Mardi Gras celebration.

Y'all know Miss Janice always serves a Signature Beverage at all her parties. These Bloody Marys were great for my Mardi Gras "Fat Tuesday" party!

Okay, I just love it when I attend a party and the hostess provides nametags! My friend Teresa Jane hand crafted these darling nametags for her guests at a baby shower she hosted for her niece. Of course, she made invitations and thank-you notes to coordinate with the nametags!

Party favors are a nice way of thanking your guests for attending your event. I always try to give party favors that coordinate with the theme of my event. But y'all already know that, also!

Baby shower party favors...courtesy of Teresa Jane!

"Fat Tuesday" party favors...

Close-up of the "Fat Tuesday" party favors...

Flower seed party favors--for my "Garden Luncheon" guests...

"Themed" thank-you cards are also a great idea, if gifts were received...more thanks to Teresa Jane!

~Preparing the venue/home.
So now you are ready to party! Make sure that your home says "Welcome!" to your guests. Your front door area should be clean and well lit. The bathroom will get lots of use, so make sure it is clean and stocked with bath tissue, hand soap, drying towels, a fragrant candle, and a wastebasket. Make sure your home is warm/cool enough for your guests and set aside an area for coats, etc.

Turn on the tunes...don't forget to greet each guest at the door, introduce them to other guests, and offer them a beverage. Enjoy the party!

I can definitely say I'm ready to get this holiday season started and Make it Southern...Make it Memorable! I've even got the mood lighting y'all...

Thank you for stopping by today.

KICK OFF THE HOLIDAY SEASON--PART 1 OF 2

The spiced pumpkin lattes are back at Starbucks...it's fall y'all! Cardigan sweater sets, football, pumpkin bread, craft fairs, 5k races, pumpkin pie with cool whip, soups in the crock pot, all the autumn scented candles from Yankee Candle, and hot apple cider...These are a few of my favorite things in the autumn season!









Kick Off the Holiday Season!
Whether your holiday entertaining plans include a Halloween trunk-or-treat display (these are all the rage in the South), a festive cookie swap, or a formal dinner on Christmas day, with a little savvy planning and incorporating your personal style, you will be able to host a memorable holiday event.

Here are some ways to begin planning your event:

~Decide on a date, time, and venue.

~Create a theme.
Some occasions are easy to figure out a theme you want to use; i.e., tailgating--the theme would be based on the sport, using the team colors and serving foods that complement the environment of the venue. Try to choose a specific element/color inspiration and incorporate that--starting with the invitations, continuing through the event, and ending with the party favors and thank-you notes, if gifts were received.

~Make a budget and try to stick to it!

~Create your guest list.
When creating your guest list, remember that the first guests on your list should be people who have invited you to their home. Even if you did not attend, etiquette dictates that you still need to reciprocate that act of hospitality.

~Choose your invitations.
Invitations set the tone for your event and provide the guests information about the theme and formality of the event. Whatever style of invitation you use--phone call, mail, evites, et cetera, be sure to provide all the necessary information that your guests will need to know:

Name of hostess
Name of honoree
Type of event (Luncheon, Formal Dinner, Surprise Party, et cetera)
Day and date
Time
Venue Address

R.s.v.p.

Invitations should be received no later than two weeks prior to an informal event and no later than six weeks to a formal event. Invitations should be phrased in the third person. It is not proper etiquette to mention gifts or a gift registry on an invitation. If the guest wants to know the information, they will ask the hostess when they R.s.v.p!)

~Choose the style of dining.
Will you have a breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, informal dinner, or a formal dinner?

~Choose the style of service.
Buffet Style--guests pick up part or all of their meal from displays on a dining table, sideboard, or countertop.

American-Plated--the food is portioned on plates in the kitchen and served directly to guests at the dining table. Food is served from the guest's left side and removed from the right side. Beverages are served and cleared from the right side.

Family Style--guests serve themselves from large bowls and platters placed on the dining table. This style of service originated in the South.

French Style--the food is partially prepped in the kitchen and brought to the dining table on a cart (French gueridon). The food is then fully cooked in front of the guest. This type of service is considered to be very fashionable.

Russian Style--all of the food is cooked and portioned in the kitchen and then presented at the dining table on silver trays. Each guest is served individually from the trays. This is a very impressive style of service.

Butler-English Style--the food is portioned on trays in the kitchen. The trays are held by the Butler and guests at the dining table serve themselves by using tray utensils.

~Plan the menu.
When you are planning your menu, consider the season and occasion. An inviting menu is a balance of bland, strong, sharp, and sweet tastes, with foods of different textures, temperatures, and colors. Be careful not to duplicate tastes; i.e., if cheese is served in a hors d'oeuvre, do not include it in another dish. Serve crunchy with smooth foods and don't forget to be colorful in your selections. Stay in your culinary comfort zone. If pigs-in-a-blanket are your specialty, serve them--I certainly do and they are always a hit with my guests!

Remember there are no set amount of courses you must have, formal or informal; there are suggested courses you may have. Your table setting will allude to what you will be serving. An informal menu may include as few/many courses as you choose. Here is an example of a formal dinner menu:

Fruit Cocktail
Sherried-Base Bisque (Served with a glass of sherry)
Turbans of Scallops & Petite Potatoes (Served with a glass of white wine)
Crown Roast and String Beans (Served with a glass of red wine)
Herb Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing (Serve no wine with a salad)
Pecan Pie ala Mode (Serve with Champagne)

So, this is a bit of information to get you started planning your holiday event. Stop in tomorrow and I will be blogging about "Setting the Stage" for your event and "Preparing Your Home/Venue."