Everyone wants to host the perfect holiday party and holiday parties almost always include a meal. But how do you set the table in a cheerful, seasonal way without it looking garish or over the top? It's easier than you think. There is one overall rule to remember, less is more. There must be room on the table for the food, guests must be able to see each other over or under the centrepieces and it must not look crowded. To accomplish this, here are 5 suggestions.
In the end, it is not any more difficult to set a table for a holiday party than it is any other day. You do, however, have a lot more options and likely many more props around the house to help you out. Just remember, keep it simple. You want a hint of holiday cheer rather than a cluttering of everything the holiday stands for.
Check out the DinnerwareGuide.com for tips and advice on how to choose the right dinnerware for your party.
Article by: Amy Mitchell, Ezine Articles author
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Do you ever wonder why we do all that we do during this time of the year? Who in their right mind would sit down to plan all of this! Can you imagine us saying to one another, "Let's plan one time of the year when we'll have 80% of the parties we'll have all year... if we work it right we'll have to make 8 or 9 in one evening so that we can't enjoy any of them. And how about this... during that same time of the year let's entirely redecorate our houses inside and out! Oh... and here's an idea... let's think of everyone we've ever met and send them a letter. And let's bake as much as we can... when else do you bake? And how about if in the middle of all this we let the kids out of school for two weeks!" None of these things are bad.... in fact they're all great. Our problem is there's just too many great things to do during this time of the year. I sure don't want to give you "one more thing to do." Instead, I hope that these devotions help to focus your heart and mind on the one priority that brings real joy during the Christmas season.
You can go to drivetimedevotions.com and either listen online or download the devotions to your iTunes or phone. It'll take you about five minutes to listen each day, and will prayerfully focus your heart on God's hope, peace and love.
From Pastor Tom Holladay, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California
Track Santa's journey from the North Pole at Norad starting December 1st.
Whether it is family or friends that are visiting, it is important to make them feel at home and not like they are in your way. There are challenges and rewards to hosting a guest during what is the most strenuous time of the year. However, with a few early preparations, you can create an enjoyable guest experience as well as enjoy the holidays.
First of all, if you are not feeling ok, then before beginning any type of preparation, take care of yourself. You could be suffering from a back ache or migraine headaches that, if left unchecked, could wreak havoc on the entire holiday season. Holiday entertaining is serious business. One year, my back went out due to a stressful time at work, and it was no small picnic to get everything done in time.
The next thing to do is to thoroughly clean your house, especially the areas that get frequent traffic, such as the kitchen, bathroom, and living room; and of course, the guest bedroom. If the intended guest bedroom is in somewhat disarray and disrepair and cannot be remedied in time, then consider offering your bedroom to the guest while you stay in the other room. Sometimes simply decluttering a space makes a huge difference. It is about the guest feeling welcome, after all. It is also about keeping you sane. You do not want to spend a lot of time renovating a guest room that will not be used for another year.
While you are cleaning the house (and hopefully delegating some of the chores), get someone in your family to start hanging decorations on the exterior of the house. Although the outside patio will be too cold to hang out on, it might be a good idea to get any clutter out of the way in case your guest wants to indulge in a cigarette on the back porch. Creating an inviting guest experience is about not overlooking any details, however minor. Plus, with a porch (especially a covered one), you can store wine, beer and other items that are needed during the holidays. Food storage solutionsare also a key factor.
At this time in the planning and preparation stages, draw up a list of non-perishable grocery and other entertaining supplies you will need and note some recipes you want to make. You will also be shopping for Thanksgiving at this time as well. There are many good sales during these holidays. Peruse the online store circulars and make your list detailed enough to show where else you can find a particular item should the item be out of stock in your usual store. Another alternative is to jot down a substitute for that item.
Once you have the necessary grocery items, start decorating as soon as you can. The day or the weekend after Thanksgiving would be optimal. Enlist the aid of family members. Do not go overboard if it makes you feel overwhelmed. A few smart holiday touches here and there, along with the Christmas tree, will make the statement. Take the opportunity to inexpensively put some understated holiday trimmings in the bathroom and guest's bedroom. Little soaps and candles with holiday scents of cinnamon, clove and evergreen are classic accents. Placing a poinsettia plant or other winter flower in the guest's bedroom will further add to the element of your holiday retreat for your guest.
Aside from a few other things to cross off on the list, the majority of the work is done. And hopefully, you have completed it by the first week in December!
Article by Stefanie Enza
With the commercialization of Christmas, it is getting harder and harder to find religious Christmas greetings on Christmas Photo Cards.
This is only one of 20 religious verses to choose from at Announcingit.com. Pick your favorite verse from their collection or create your own religious greeting to be custom printed on the inside of your family's photo Christmas cards.
Easy Toffee
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Grease a 9 x 9-inch cake pan. Spread the chopped walnuts evenly in the bottom of the pan. Over high heat, melt together sugar and butter in medium size saucepan until boiling. Lower heat to medium. Boil over medium heat for 7 minutes. Pour into pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot mixture.
Place a cookie sheet over the pan to retain the heat and melt the chocolate chips. Cut into squares while hot, then refrigerate until hard. Break into pieces.
Note: Yield depends on how large you break the pieces.
Like many singles, if you find yourself alone this holiday season and away from family, consider volunteering. It is an old idea, but one that bears emphasizing, especially in the dark economic times we are in. Which organizations should you sign up for? You have your Red Cross and other well-known organizations that have the funds to advertise their need of volunteers for the holiday season. This is great for them. However, there are the smaller or local organizations that rely less on advertising in the media sense and more on word of mouth. These are the ones you should look into for a day or two of volunteering.
For instance, I came across an article about an organization in London, Crisis Open Christmas that was urgently looking for volunteer dog handlers to care for pets of the homeless. In every big city, homelessness is a major problem and seems to escalate around the holidays. Perhaps that is when we take more notice of people who are freezing in the streets. You have probably seen a homeless person with a cat or a dog or several pets with them on the street. Check with your local animal shelter (or the ASPCA) or homeless shelter to see about such a volunteer opportunity. On a related note, many displaced folks who unfortunately lost their homes this year to foreclosure probably had to give up their pets due to financial hardship. Either way, the animal shelters will probably be overflowing during the holiday season. Of course, if you could allocate a day a month to caring for an animal in a shelter, this would be even better.
Find local volunteer opportunities:
Make A Wish - Enter your zip code to locate a chapter near you. They offer a questionnaire of sorts to identify the areas where you could help (languages you speak, office skills, event planning skills, etc).
Volunteer Match - This site will help locate local charities that are in need of volunteers during the holidays and beyond. Again, it is as easy as entering your city or zip code.
ServeNet - Same set up as Volunteer Match.
Local charities, shelters, crisis centers, soup kitchens, youth and senior communities are some further areas in need of volunteers that are likely listed with the above volunteer databases.
Are you a natural event planner or team leader? Then consider The Holiday Project, a national non-profit organization of volunteers who visit with people spending Christmas, Chanukah and other holidays throughout the year confined in nursing homes, hospitals, prisons and other facilities. It features a start-up kit that shows you how to set up a visit to a local center in need.
In New York, there is New York Cares, a wonderful organization that has projects all throughout the year in schools, community centers, and shelters. I believe they have sister cities throughout the U.S., but I could not locate this info from the website.
Perhaps you are working Christmas Eve but are off Christmas Day and cannot travel home to your family. Take the time now to plan how you will spend the holidays if you will be away from family and probably some friends as well, since they might go home. It will be a bleak holiday for many people adversely affected by the sluggish economy. They will welcome any cheer.
For more information about the organizations mentioned above and their direct links, visit Kris Kringle For Singles.
Article by Stephanie Enza
