Creating a Holiday Plan of Attack, Mastering Less is More, and Multitasking Decor
Can you believe we’re three days away from Christmas? But, the holidays don’t end there for most of us. New Year’s Eve is right around the corner. Here are a few quick dos and don’ts when it comes to entertaining around the holidays.
1. Do keep your menus crowd-pleasing and familiar. It’s always a good – and appreciated – idea to keep things familiar when it comes to holiday fare (recent post on this here). The holidays conjure up memories, customs, and family traditions. It’s always nice to take this into account when you’re planning a menu.
Your significant other’s great-grandmother’s marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole probably has special meaning to him/her. After all, there’s a reason why he’s brought it up twice in the last week. I always try to stick to the basics for this reason around the holidays. You can still throw in an updated version of an old classic in there, of course, just keep your crowd in mind.
2. Don’t go overboard decorating. Holly, live greens, and those twinkling lights. It’s easy to go overboard when you’re decorating for the holidays. Just remember: there’s a fine line between festive and over-the-top. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, keeping it simple is a good way to go.
It’s all about balance, too. Our garlands in the entryway popped with ribbon, lights, different types of greenery, and a festive oversize bow. In contrast, the garland in our main area was a simple boxwood finished off with a plaid bow. It was a beautiful, understated look, and balanced out the zing of the downstairs.
3. Do multitask, multitask, multitask. You’re three days out from Christmas and you’ve committed to another holiday party, baking for the troops, and visiting your in-laws all in the same weekend. We’ve all been there. Multitasking with a stacked calendar is the way to go.
Let the items you’re making, buying, or corralling together pull double duty. That goes for the items you’re making or bringing, too. Make three batches of cookies instead of just one. Wrap some up for your mother-in-law, drop some off for the troops, and take a small batch along with a bottle of bubbly to your holiday party.
4. Don’t recreate the wheel. Your holiday decorations should pull the same kind of double duty as everything else. Stick with a basic decor theme and find ways you can switch little things out to change up the whole look. I kept our antique brass candlesticks up after Thanksgiving because I loved the warm look the brass gave our living room.
All it took to change this look for our holiday party and holiday shoot was a simple update of the candlesticks and our bar tray. You guys also saw a similar change-up for our Halloween masquerade. Keep taper candles on-hand in different colors for the holidays like red, green, white, blue, and turquoise. I’m loving the current trend of decorating with non-traditional colors during the holidays. Switch your candles out and mix in different serving pieces and linens to transform your space.
Your flower arrangements can also pull double duty. I’ve found that a good arrangement with a mix of flowers can be edited and re-purposed twice. More than that and you’re probably stretching it unless your flowers are really strong and your events are all in the same weekend.
5. Do find ways to give back. We encouraged our guests to bring canned and nonperishable goods to our Christmas party this year (posts again here and here). A box set out in the entryway was the perfect drop for our guests to add their donations as they arrived. My friend Tristin always includes an Angel Tree activity at her holiday get-together. It means so much to have the opportunity to give back along with your friends and fellow party-goers. Many charities partner with Amazon to create wishlists that you can shop from and fulfill. I’ve seen this from educational groups to children’s hospitals.
6. Don’t stress out. It’s going to sound cheesy, but remember the reason for the season. You can get so wrapped up in the preparation, shopping, and planning that you’ll miss out on the warmth and joy of the holidays. Take time to let it all sink in and enjoy it.
7. Do keep flowers and greenery around. I’ve mentioned this above and in my holiday entertaining checklist post linked earlier in this post (again here). I always try to have flowers and lots of greenery on-hand during the holidays. Live greenery really transforms a space (my post once more on how to decorate with it). Snap off a small sprig for a simple yet beautiful placecard holder, gift tag enhancement, and so much more. You’ll see it on my upcoming Christmas tablescape! I especially love poinsettia. It’s the quintessential holiday plant and is wonderful to fill in decorating spaces and as a gift.
8. Do plan it all out. Finally, do take time to write up a plan. Writing my list down helps me prioritize and manage my time. Include everything you can from neighborhood gifts, cards for colleagues, Christmas pageant costumes, gift organizing, and scheduling your Christmas card photo shoot.
Then, work backwards, giving yourself deadlines to make decisions, order items, and so on. Take each task and divide it into smaller, more manageable ones. It makes the process easier and more rewarding. You’re able to check off more boxes more often.
Most importantly, enjoy the beauty of the season! Cheers to the holidays – and hopefully a white Christmas, y’all!
