When planning the perfect holiday party, start with your surroundings. Try this. Drive up to your house as a guest would. What do you see? What is on your front door? What is growing, or not, in your window boxes? Is this the first thing you want friends and family to see when arriving at your home?
Then take a step into your house. Just a step. When your guests do the same thing, they should know instantly why they're there. This is the reason Kathy Chitwood, interior decorator and owner of Down By the Ducks, always begins her decorating with the entry hall. "When people walk into your home, that is the first impression they get," she says.
Chitwood recommends decorating key elements throughout the house for a party atmosphere. One of her favorite pieces to decorate is the banister.
Prickly evergreen is wrapped around the railings and serves as a base for the other decorations which she will change with each season. For Thanksgiving, she tucks leaves, bittersweet and fruit into the evergreen rope. At Christmas, the leaves and other fall elements come out and in go lights, ornaments, pine cones and ribbons.
Tables should be covered with the colors of the season. For fall parties, Chitwood may use an old quilt as a tablecloth, with placemats, napkins dishes and glasses in complimentary colors and a bowl of golden apples as the centerpiece to tie it together.
As the focal point of the table, centerpieces play an important role. They should make a statement. Don't be afraid to use a large, bold object, such as a bunch of wheat or a miniature Christmas tree.
The table should reflect the formality or frivolity of the event. Fluted wine glasses at each place setting signify refinement and elegance, while party favors, such as pull-apart poppers - a favorite of Chitwood's - mean there are sure to be laughs ahead.
Beyond the visual elements of your home, there also is the "scent-ual." Your home should smell festive and welcoming. Chitwood starts burning candles two to three hours before company is expected. "Burn scented candles and put out potpourri that matches the season," she says. One of Chitwood's favorite smells for the home is a candle with hazelnut coffee beans.
Gifts for guests, Gifts from guests
Gifts are a must, both for guests and for the hostess. Chitwood recommends candles or potpourri in scents of the season for guests. "I like to take two candles and tie them together with ribbons, or split up a bag of potpourri and put it into flower pots."
Bring the host or hostess something to eat or drink or a small gift, such as wine charms. Like the playing pieces in Monopoly, these charms come in various personalities. Guests can choose a bee or watering can, for example, and attach it to the stem of their wine glass so they will recognize which glass is theirs.
