Entertaining for the Holidays!

This is one of my favorite times of the year.....everything is geared around the holidays. It's now that folks start thinking about seeing family and friends they haven't seen much during the year. One way of getting everyone together is to host a Holiday Party at home.

Now you can just grab some appetizers from your local supermarket and have everyone bring a dish and gather around the TV.....or you can really jazz it up and show off your decorating and entertaining skills. What's that you say? You have no skills?  Nonsense! It's not as hard as you think. Here are some ideas I've found useful over the years. Real easy stuff that will have your guests thinking you've been working on this party for 6 months - ha!

Food
During these cold months, folks love hearty comfort food and most times they don't have the opportunity to make it themselves because their daily lives are so busy. So here's your chance to feed your guests well without spending 2 days in the kitchen. Figure out your menu: check out www.allrecipes.com for really easy recipes that are fun and tasty!

Decor
Think beautiful linens, i.e.napkins, napkin holders, tablecloths. This is the time to pull out your favorite stemware and flatware. Don't worry about not having enough pieces for all your guests if it's not a sit-down dinner. However, you can always rent these items from upscale places like www.classicpartyrental.com or partyrentalltd.com. Believe it or not, they're quite affordable.

Don't forget your centerpiece. Purchase one already put together at your craft store or even Target has great ones for the holidays. Or if you're feeling crafty, create your own. You can get a beautiful vase and fill it with beautiful ornaments in your color theme. Oh and as for colors, step outside of the red and green realm. Incorporate blues or purples with accents of silver...which are the hot colors of the season this year.

Happy Holidays!

Andrea

Great Article from Get Married: 2010 Wedding Trends!

Get Married Unveils 

The New Top 10 Bridal Trends For 2010

Every wedding element is an opportunity for brides to personalize and express their unique style

ATLANTA, December 7, 2009 –
The holiday season—between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day—is the most popular time of year for engagements with approximately 35-40 percent (550,000-650,000) couples getting engaged to be married over the next 12 to 18 months, according to The Wedding Report*.

With an estimated 2.2 million weddings projected in 2010*, more than 1.1 million brides will discover their unique bridal style as they plan every moment of their celebration. Get Married offers these brides a sneak peek of the top 10 bridal trends for 2010. From runway fashions and edible passions to techie automations and color saturations, the new bridal trends are all about personalization and expressing your unique bridal style.

“Bringing your unique wedding inspirations to life is as exciting as it is essential when creating the ‘wow’-factor,” said Stacie Francombe, founder and CEO of Get Married, a tri-media wedding  lifestyle platform for passionate brides. “We encourage brides to be bold and adventurous, infusing the elements and styles that excite them in life in this momentous lifecycle occasion.”

Following is a look at the top 10 bridal trends for 2010 as determined by Get Married’s editorial and production teams as well as leading industry experts:

1. 1. Non-linear aisle: Brides are personalizing the procession by altering the traditional aisle with a circle or a triangular double aisle, enabling the couple to enter from multiple spots with a central meeting point. Stephanie Davis, Get Married magazine editor-in-chief and new bride, wedded lake-side on a circular dock from which she and her groom entered. “Our family no longer has two sides, so everyone sat together and, as an added bonus, there wasn’t a bad seat in the house!”
2. 2. Comfort foods with a kick: Chef Wolfgang Puck believes that comfort foods have become more popular in the current economy. Think burgers, pizza, ribs, pot pie, and risotto—but comfort does not have to mean pedestrian. “Upgrade ingredients and prepare them with great expertise. Serve hors d’oeuvres like Kobe burgers, wild mushroom risotto, smoked salmon pizzas, slow-braised short ribs or a simple chicken pot pie with lobster,” advises Puck.
3. 3. Gifting techie gadgetry: Registries and wedding gifts  have increasingly become more high tech. Brides want electronic recipe finders, books and charging plates, and matching his-and-hers PDA cases—all examples of great gadgets for the couple as well as thank-you gifts for parents and the wedding party.
4. 4. Texture-inspired invitations: Top bridal designer Monique Lhuillier shares inspirations and details from her various collections: “A lot of fabric details from the dresses translate into the invitations. We use techniques of embossing to mimic textures and incorporate the same colors from the gowns into the invitations.” Look for details you would see on the runway on your wedding invitations. .
5. 5. Old, new, borrowed and cobalt blue: From hints of blue in bridal fashion  to saturated color throughout the wedding décor, “blues will be the most requested color in 2010,” according to Shane Murray of The Wedding Report. Bright cobalt blue is a hot hue for 2010, offering fresh, bold and atmospheric twist on the bluesy tradition.
6. 6. Wear-again bridesmaid dresses: The urban legend of wearing a bridesmaids dress  by choice after the wedding is a reality with the new silhouettes that mirror what is happening on the runway. Gorgeous and glamorous dresses with drop waists, bubble skirts and ruffles add an additional sense of style for bridesmaids to wear—and wear again.
7. 7. Three-dimensional save-the-dates: Inform your friends and family of your wedding day with a twist. Three-dimensional elements on the save-the-dates, like a paper umbrella (signifying a destination wedding), adds character, humor and relevance.
8. 8. Old Hollywood glam, for men!: A return to Cary Grant’s sense of style is making a comeback this year for grooms, looking charming and dapper in a white tuxedo with black-rimmed lapels. This cool old-school look brings back the sharp-looking vest and nostalgic pocket watch.
9. 9. Blogger brides abound: Now more than ever, Get Married is seeing brides enjoy sharing snippets of surprises, ideas and images throughout their wedding planning experience. Personal blogs offer a space for brides to share, gather inspirations and explore. Check out Get Married’s robust and newly-skinned wedding blog.
10. 10 Personalized plus: From the décor designs and inspirational invites to a great gifts and super-fab favors, Get Married is observing brides’ aspiration for distinctly personalized wedding details. Designing invitations, save-the-dates and thank-you cards and adding monograms to guest books, aisle runners and gifts (like cosmetic and travel bags) offers a hint of personal bridal style. An assortment of personalized décor, invitations, gifts and favors are available at www.shop.getmarried.com.