Holiday Entertaining with the Design Stars
HOLIDAY RECIPES
APPETIZER
 Interior Designer, Layla Altman of Posh Living’s Crescent Chicken Squares Recipe. |
SIDE DISH
 Interior Designer Olga Adler’s Mini-Lemon Potato Latkes with Ginger & Avocado Creme. Recipe |
 Kitchen and Bath Designer Paul Anater’s Baguette Inspired Bread Recipe. |
|
Kitchen & Bath Designer Jennifer Gilmer’s DESSERT
 Interior Designer Andie Day’s German Coffee Braid Family Holiday Recipe and Santa’s Toffee Chip Cookies Family Holiday Recipe |
 Interior Designer Julie Bova’s Peppermint Ice Cream Pie Recipe |
 Kitchen and Bath Designer Cheryl Clendenon’s Low-fat Key Lime Bars Recipe. |
 Kitchen and Bath Designer Sarah Lloyd’s Boodle’s Orange Fool Recipe. |
 Kitchen and Bath Designer Kelly Morisseau’s Butter Tarts Recipe. |
COCKTAILS
| Interior Designer Andie Day’s White Blizzard Chocolate Martini Recipe. |
 Interior Designer Jill Seidner’s Champagne and Pomegranate Cocktail Recipe. |
HOLIDAY DECORATING & ENTERTAINING
| Interior Designer Andie Day’s fabulous and chic holiday decorating advice. |
Interior Designer Julie Bova’s Holiday Decorating Tip for Fireplace Mantels. |
 Interior Designer Joanne Fitzpatrick’s fun and fresh approach to decorating for the holidays. |
 Kitchen Designer Johnny Grey’s shares his 26 tips for a fantastic season of holiday fun, cooking, decorating and entertaining. |
|
Maya Romanoff’s Alek’s Controllable Christmas Lights for Celiac Disease
It’s that time of year again and Alek Komarnitsky has the Christmas light displays all ready to go – all set to raise funds and awareness for Celiac disease-a disease that has affected both his little boys. To date Alek has helped raise over $50,000 for the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Here’s a sneak peek, but make sure to visit Alek’s Christmas light website so you can interact (yes, control the lights – kids young and old will love this!) with the holiday displays.
Alek tells us that viewing the Christmas lights via web is also an eco-friendly activity , “While people around the world (157 countries last year) enjoy seeing the lights ON, environmentalists will be happy to know that they can turn the lights OFF with a click of the mouse. Better yet, this is the 7th year I’m using Wind Power and even though that is "clean" energy, I even did a Carbon Offset contribution for the 0.6 Tons of CO2 for the ~MegaWatt-Hour of power consumed – that’s about the same as *one* cross-country airline trip. Finally, by providing viewing via webcam, you don’t need to burn fossil fuels by driving around to see Christmas lights!”
Paul Anater Bakes Up A Baker’s Dream Kitchen & Delish Bread Loaves
The photo above is one of my all-time favorite design projects. The kitchen in question was a labor of love for my client as much as it was for me. My client was a baker, a baker’s baker. Our goal was to give her enough room, the right equipment and the perfect atmosphere for her to bake to her heart’s content.
I’m a baker too and although my client wasn’t fully aware of it, I was designing the kind of baker’s kitchen I’ll build for myself one of these days.
I baked my first loaf of bread when I was in college more than 20 years ago and from that first attempt I knew I’d found a niche I could call home. I had no experience with it up until then and all I had to go by were the kind and encouraging words I found in the Tassajara Bread Book written by Edward Espe Brown.
Edward Espe Brown’s gentle prodding and his inexact recipes taught me to bake by instinct as much as by the rules and I was hooked. Bread baking is a philosophy and a way of life as much as it is a method of food preparation.
Contrary to popularly-held opinion, bread baking is neither difficult nor time-consuming. Bread baking happens in short bursts of activity that fall between hours or days of doing nothing more than waiting. Bread baking is a never ending process and I don’t think anyone ever masters it fully. It thrives on experimentation and no two loaves ever turn out the same way. It can’t be rushed, it requires physical work to produce and it touches a part of me that nothing else can.
I bake bread year round, but it’s at this time of year that my baking ratchets up a couple of notches. Nothing expresses the depth of my affection for the people I love like my bread does. It’s not just a good food, it’s me in those loaves. Life gets no better than to have my loved ones sitting around my table as I fill them with food I made.
I’m attaching my current favorite bread recipe. It’s based on a French baguette but I don’t use a baguette pan for it. It’s perfect with dinner, it’s perfect as dinner and it’s the backbone of my turkey stuffing every Thanksgiving. It’s a simple recipe and one that would be a great introduction to the way of life that is being a baker. Happy holidays to one and all.
Photo of two bread loaves that Paul baked recently. Looks absolutely delish!
Paul’s Baguette Inspired Bread Recipe
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ cups warm water (105°–115° F)
- 4 to 4 ½ cups unbleached bread flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- olive oil
In a large bowl, take ½ cup of warm water, 1 cup of flour and a pinch of the yeast and mix together. Cover and let sit overnight at room temperature. The next day, add a cup of water to this starter and mix it well. In a separate bowl, dry mix 3 cups of flour, sugar, salt and yeast and then fold into the larger bowl. Mix thoroughly with a metal spoon.
Take the remaining ½ cup of flour and use it to lightly flour your hands and a kneading surface. Turn the dough in the bowl onto the surface and knead thoroughly for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Rinse and dry the bread bowl. Lightly oil the bowl and transfer the dough back into it. Turn the dough to oil it top and bottom. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in size (1 ½ to 2 hours).
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Take a cast iron skillet and fill it ¾ full with water. Set in the lower rack of the oven.
Punch down the dough, turn it out onto the floured surface and form it into two long, slender loaves around 3" in diameter. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set loaves onto it. Let rise for ½ hour at room temperature.
Make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes across the the top of the loaves. Lightly brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake on the center rack for ½ hour or until the crust is golden. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
About Paul Anater of Kitchen & Residential Design
I am a kitchen and bath designer based in St. Petersburg, Florida. I’ve been designing in this market for almost ten years now and I’ve developed a great base of clients, many of whom have become friends.Two years ago I started a blog called Kitchen and Residential Design. My intention was for it to be an online resource for my kitchen and bath clients. It’s taken on a life of its own since then and its effects have been as thrilling as they’ve been surprising. Through my blog, I’m able to reach clients, vendors and colleagues I could have never met otherwise.
My blog’s become more broad in its subject matter since I started it, but my first love will always be kitchen design.
Contact Information
- Blog: Kitchen and Residential Design
- Twitter: @paul_anater
- Facebook: Paul Anater on Facebook
RELATED
- More recipes by Paul at his blog Kitchen and Residential Design.
- The Decorating Diva.com interviews Paul Anater.
- Paul’s Style Maker Look Book – Kitchen Design.
Layla Altman of Posh Living LLC Shares her Favorite Holiday Recipe
The Crystal Bud Chandeliers add an elegant, feminine detail
to this classic style kitchen design by Posh Living, LLC
Crescent Chicken Squares
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent melted and divided rolls
- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 3/4 cup seasoned croutons, crushed
- 2 tablespoons milk
Combine Cream Cheese and 2 tablespoons butter; stir in chicken and next 3 ingredients. Set aside. Unroll crescent dough, separating into 4 rectangles; press perforations to seal. Spoon one-fourth of chicken mixture into center of each rectangle; bring corners of each rectangle together over chicken mixture, and twist gently to seal. Brush packets with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter; dredge in crushed croutons, and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake, uncovered,at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Yields: 4 servings.
(Recipe Attribution: JoAnn Frazee, Premium Recipes That Really Rate Insurance Women of Sussex County Ocean View, Delaware)
About Layla Altman of Posh Living, LLC
After spending her childhood in Miami, Florida and then later finishing her education in Atlanta, Layla developed her own style early on, influenced by the clean lines and sophisticated details of stylish South Beach and historic Atlanta architecture. After completing her degree at The Atlanta College of Art with a BA in Interior Design, Layla started her career in midtown Atlanta.
She was employed by a well sought after design firm whose focus was on corporate, educational, medical and high-end residential design. Layla’s design management experience includes projects for companies such as BMW, Coca-Cola, Cingular Wireless and Emory University. Designing interiors for the homes of Atlanta executives sparked her passion for Residential design, which continues today. Layla holds the highest level of ASID membership (Professional Member, ASID), having achieved an accredited education and experience in interior design, and successfully passing the difficult NCIDQ exam.
Layla’s work has been featured on Southern Living Presents television show, published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Coastal Caroline Homestyles Magazine. She also co-owns the pillow website, PillowFolly.com with her partner Kerry Ann Dame. Ever creative, her new project is creating a line of framed art and photography based on vintage pieces and her own photographs.
Layla’s stone & tile designs, furniture layouts and custom millwork are created using Autocad for her clients. Her involvement in the design process from the pre-construction phase through the completion of the interiors results in a cohesive and less stressful experience for the client.
CONTACT
- Website: Posh Living LLC and Pillow Folly
- Blog: Posh Living Blog
- Facebook: Posh Living,LLC on Facebook
- Twitter: Posh Living,LLC on Twitter (Layla)
- Twitter: Kerry Ann Dame on Twitter
Related: Posh Living, LLC’s design portfolio and Interview with Kerry Ann Dame of Posh Living, LLC on The Decorating Diva.com.
Read More »Johnny Grey’s 26 Christmas Entertaining & Decorating Tips
Warm, charming and inviting kitchen designed by acclaimed kitchen designer Johnny Grey.
12 Holiday Decor Tips
- Create a portable cooking station. Buy a low-height, compact camping gas ring that sits on any surface. This creates an instant cooking space. Most hardware stores stock them for the price of a take-away meal.
- If you don’t have a hutch or dresser, create a temporary one by adopting some shelves or a small piece of found furniture like a carte or trolley so that you can make a harvest festival style display. Bring out various sized bowls and fill to overflowing with produce, whether nuts, egg plants, tangerines and pumpkins in all their sizes, colors and shapes.
- Spruce up your window sill, shelf, or dresser. Signs of abundance add a reassuring dimension to the Christmas spirit.
- Your eyes can make your mouth water. Make sure you have somewhere to plate and serve. If necessary bring in a trolley (cart for our USA readers) from another room.
- A splash of color change. Take one wall and repaint it with a dark rich color. Choose one that is quick to do without too many fiddly bits to paint around.
- Find some old hooks and screw into a ceiling joist. Having things hanging down is very festive, not just dried hams but herbs, onions and open baskets of colorful goodies.
- Buy one of those clip-on lights to illuminate a dark spot. Place it on a shelf where you won’t hit it when you lean forward. You may be surprised how it changes your pattern of use.
- Use one of your spare Christmas tree lights and dress up a piece of kitchen furniture.
- If your table is too small, extend it by buying a sheet of cheap ply 8mm thick and cut it to (any) shape you like. All you need is a tablecloth and you are all set for dinner with extended family and friends – with space for decorations, candles, big serving plates, and that fine china on its annual outing.
- Gather holly or evergreen branches and spray with silver or gold paint. Tuck them behind pictures or mirrors; tape them onto shelves or dressers.
- Wind string around hooks, the stems of light fittings and pined onto shelf or architraves and place Christmas cards upside down card-to card. That way you can see all the friends who have sent you their wishes as a constant reminder of the affection.
- Candles everywhere, placed around fire-safe things including fruits, bowls of seasonal produce. Tea lights along the edges of horizontal surfaces makes the room more dramatic, and feel longer or wider!
6 Holiday Cooking and Preparation Tips
- Buy a copy of Elizabeth David’s Christmas a book dedicated to holiday cooking. It’s chock full of out-of the-ordinary ideas. I might be biased because she was my aunt and she cooked for us during my childhood, but it is the only cookbook I know that offers an original view with a choice of light, traditional, rich and seasonal recipes. It’s wittily written and accurate with the listing of ingredients.
- Hibernate. Think of Ratty’s kitchen in Wind in the Willows which feels so modest, reassuring and safe from the world above. Fall into a sleepy routine of book reading, games, TV viewing, preferably around a fire, with plenty of time for strolls.
- Eye contact allows for conversation so when you cook and prep do it facing into the room.
- The pace makes a difference to the enjoyment and sense of satisfaction of cooking. If you create a sense of order, starting with sharp knifes, accessible recipe instructions and well laid out utensils cooking becomes a pleasure, a craft not a grind and the pace can be more easily sustained.
- Cook Christmas day lunch the day before so you don’t have to cook twice on the same day. Serve the different dishes like tapas, putting them on display for all to take in. (This should allow the cook to earn brownie points and escape the washing up.)
- Debate the menu in detail but if you can get everyone to make something. Democratize the cooking. Its more fun, exciting and takes the burden away from any one person.
8 Entertaining Tips for Christmas Day
- Cook together. Accept help from anyone keen to join in. Adapt your kitchen to have two prep zones by using the table or bringing in a temporary one on trestles.
- Stretch and share the music menu. It’s very important everyone gets a look in, so along with seasonal family popular choices like old musicals, carols and contemporary favorites.
- For dinner, dress up in something posh. Iconic fancy or vintage dress for dinner makes it feel important, theatrical, or even slightly absurd, but memorable.
- Traditional fare for Christmas dinner can be straight forward. Meat – whether turkey or goose with spiced up bread sauce and gravy – and two vegetable dishes is the norm for our family.
- We still enjoy child-friendly desserts; it makes us recall Christmases past. We usually luxuriate in home made ice cream and biscuits, the former made in advance but not churned until we sit down to the second course (texture is everything). Fine wines for each course, favorite old glasses and candles everywhere, crackers to nibble on and lots of chat about the last year.
- You can live comfortably on the leftovers for several days, so cook generous quantities of everything. One of the joys is these only need reheating. The cook can take a break and meals eaten casually without much pre-planning. (In other words, try to get some relaxation during your winter holidays).
- Make Christmas day lunch light and savor the prospect of dinner.
- Get some fresh air. Wining and dining can quickly turn to over-indulgence, and my family always finds it refreshing to walk off a feast and encourage an appetite, especially on Christmas day between lunch and dinner. A bracing hike and the mood is set for a feast.
About Johnny Grey
British kitchen designer Johnny Grey was born in London and raised on a farm in the Sussex Downs in England. One of his first kitchen projects was for his maternal aunt, British cookery writer Elizabeth David.
Johnny was later educated at the London Architectural Association School of Architecture. After graduating, he set up a design studio and furniture workshop and also pursued a brief career as an antique dealer.
In the early 1980s, while working with British kitchen manufacturer Smallbone of Devizes, he pioneered the “Unfitted Kitchen,” resulting in a new freedom and creativity for designing kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms without built-in rigidity of continuous counters and wall based units.
Johnny has authored and contributed to several volumes on kitchen and home design: Kitchen Culture: Re-inventing Kitchen Design; The Complete Home Design Book; The Hard-Working House; The Kitchen Work Book; and The Art of Kitchen Design.
For the last several years, Johnny has been involved with neuroscience research at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK with Professor John Zeisel on the subject of well-being and architecture. His global speaking engagements have included a design tour of Canada, Australia and New Zealand to discuss “Sociability and Sanctuary” of kitchen design. In 2008, Johnny won the Simon Taylor Award for lifetime achievement in the kitchen industry.
CONTACT
- Website: Johnny Grey Studios
- Twitter: @JohnnyGrey
- Facebook: Johnny Grey-Studios on Facebook
Jennifer Gilmer’s Holiday Recipe for Corn Soufflé
 |
 |
Jennifer Gilmer creates a warm, elegant Old World kitchen design.
Corn Soufflé
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tbsp. Sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Flour
- 1 Lb. (15oz) Can Creamed Corn or Drained Regular Corn or Fresh Com off the Cob
- 1 Cup Milk
- Salt to Taste
- 1/4 Cup Melted Butter Papńka
Pre-Heat oven to 350. Mix eggs, sugar, flour, corn, milk and salt together in a bowl. Pour into casserole dish. Melt butter and pour on top of mixture but DO NOT MIX! Sprinkle top with paprika. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Serves four. lf doubled, no need to double butter.
About Jennifer Gilmer
Jennifer Gilmer, CKD, has been creating beautiful kitchens in the Washington, DC area and beyond for more than 20 years. Starting with a drafting job in a small kitchen design firm in McLean, Virginia, Jennifer soon realized she had an absolute passion for this creatively technical work. She also discovered an innate ability to understand the needs and personalities of her clients and to create spaces to compliment each individual. Her award-winning designs span the spectrum from classic and traditional to sleek and contemporary. She is committed to fulfilling her clients’ needs, doing it well and making the process as joyful as possible.
Jennifer is a native of the Washington, DC area. After her initial drafting job, Jennifer worked with legendary high-end kitchen designer Richard Tunis for eight years. She and a partner then opened Kitchen and Bath Studios, Inc. in Chevy Chase, Maryland in 1993. In 1998, she decided to launch her own firm — Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen and Bath, Ltd. Her vision has grown into a successful business, which includes a dedicated support staff who strive to provide the firm’s clients with detailed designs and exceptional service.
In 2009, Jennifer launched an online kitchen design studio, Kitchen Design Online (KDOL) that provides homeowners (both DIY and those working with contractors), architects and builders with a range of services from floor plans to detailed elevations to 3D perspective images.
RELATED: Read Jennifer’s column Kitchen Design Secrets Revealed on The Decorating Diva.
Read More »Designer Cheryl Clendenon’s Guilt-Free Holiday Treat: Low-Fat Key Lime Bars
Beautiful, traditional styled kitchen in rich,warm-toned woods designed by Cheryl Clendenon.
Award-winning kitchen and bath designer, Cheryl Clendenon, is always on the go whether working on various design projects or attending industry shows. The last time I caught up with her was in Chicago at the National Kitchen and Bath Industry Show – and from there she was off to the spring High Point Market in North Carolina, and then off to spend a few hours at the Coverings show in Orlando. So how does such a busy business woman have time to create scrumptious holiday treats? Cheryl shares her holiday culinary secret, “the low-fat key lime bars are one of my favorite quick and easy recipes for the holidays to whip up and take with you as a hostess gift! They are easy to make, taste great and look like you spent more time than you did…and they’re low fat as a bonus! ” She also offered up a delightful morsel of holiday decorating advice, “Edit, edit, edit”. As for holiday decorating in her home, Cheryl keeps it “ …simple and elegant natural greenery is my favorite with a few glittery accents….and of course, since I have kids, the homemade tree with lots of little keepsake ornaments is still the only way I do my tree!”
Low-Fat Key Lime Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package of light cream cheese 8oz
- 1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk 14 oz
- Lime zest 2 tablespoons
- Lime juice from 4 limes about half cup
- Graham crackers crushed for crust
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar ( to mixed with graham cracker crumbs)
Instructions
- Mix the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together, then add lime zest and juice to the mixture.
- Crush the graham crackers together and add the brown sugar.
- Pour the cracker mixture into a greased baking pan (8×8) and press down firmly: spray the top lightly with butter flavored cooking spray, and pour the cream cheese mixture over top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 min or until springs back in middle.
- Cool completely then refrigerate for approximately 2 hours.
- Slice into bars and top each bar with a lime curl.
About Cheryl Clendenon
Cheryl Kees Clendenon, a California transplant to Northwest Florida, has been in the design industry for eleven years and continues to learn something new every day. She credits an education in the fine arts for helping to shape her perspective and how she views spatial relationships.
In Detail, Cheryl’s Pensacola, Florida-based kitchen and bath design firm, is a 3000 square foot boutique design showroom which focuses on design and furnishings for kitchens, baths and interiors. Her award-winning designs have graced the pages of over 50 national consumer magazines. She has won multiple prestigious national design awards for kitchens, baths, and closets. Cheryl’s most recent industry recognition includes being a finalist in the following design competitions: the 2010 National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) Design Competition, Caesarstone Design Competition, Closets Magazine Design Competition, and she received a Merit award in the 2010 Kitchen and Bath Business design.
Last year at the NKBA conference in Chicago, Cheryl was a featured speaker at the Brizo Media panel event along with Fashion Designer Jason Wu, Industrial designer, Judd Lord and Kitchen and Bath News editor, Janice Costa.
Cheryl is also the editor of the popular blog, Kitchen Details and Design, where she journals in a bitingly funny, and refreshingly honest manner, her experiences as a working designer.
Contact
- Website: In Detail Kitchen and Bath
- Twitter: @indetailsays
- Facebook: In Detail on Facebook
- Blog: Kitchen Details and Design
Related:
- Interview with Cheryl Clendenon of In Detail
- Cheryl Clendenon’s Style Maker Look Book: Dream Bath Design
Designer Kelly Morisseau’s Yummy & Nutty Holiday Butter Tarts Recipe
Contemporary kitchen design by Kelly Morrisseau at Cupertino Kitchen Design.
Kelly Morisseau, kitchen and bath designer, and editor of the witty and informative Kitchen Sync blog, shares her favorite holiday pastry recipe for making what is sure to be a decadent, buttery and delicious holiday treat – makes us wish every day was a holiday.
Butter Tarts Recipe
(Requires tart shell pan or muffin tin. If you don’t have one, you can buy aluminum tart shells, if available in your area, which would be placed on a cookie sheet.)
Pie Crust Ingredients
You can either use this recipe or any of your favorite pie shell recipes.You can also buy ready-made tart shells, if available in your area, or buy ready-made pie shells and cut to fit. Homemade is really the best, though:
- 2½ cups (625 ml) sifted cake-and-pastry flour (Canadians, use regular flour – gluten content is different than US)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp (2 ml) salt
- 1 cup (250 ml) chilled unsalted butter (alternative is Crisco lard)
- ¾ cup (175 ml) ice water
Filling Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soft butter
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans, chopped into small pieces)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Making pastry shells: Make pie dough in a bowl by sifting together flour, sugar and salt. With a fork or pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Slowly add ice water in a trickle, and mix until the dough can be gathered up into a ball. (You’re really mixing until the dough follows the fork around the bowl.) Divide in half. Take one half and roll out onto a lightly floured surface using a floured rolling pin. Roll out and cut circles approximately 4" (I use a wide-mouth glass but if you have a big cookie cutter, it’s a bonus); fit dough circles into tart shell or muffin tin (ungreased) and set aside.
- Making filling:Mix the first 4 filling ingredients in a medium sized bowl until creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Stir in raisins and nuts last, or drop 6-8 each (or more) into each tart shell.
- Fill shells: Fill the tart shells with the filling mixture to 2/3rd full only (you don’t want the filling to boil over unless you like scrubbing pas for a long time.)
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until filling is light-to-medium brown. How long you bake them depends on if you like them runny or slightly chewy – I like mine caramelized around the edges, so I bake them until they’re a rich golden brown. Don’t let them get too dark or grandma’s dentures will come out.
About Kelly Morisseau
Kelly is a second-generation Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer (CMKBD) and a Certified Interior Designer (CID) in California.When she’s not working on her current day job at Main Street Kitchens, an award-winning design/build firm, she studies design, trends, and generational behavior for her blog, Kitchen Sync.
She understands and empathizes with homeowners and the challenges they face as they remodel their homes. As the sub-title of her blog states, “Some people jog to get their heart-rates up; I design kitchens.”
Contact
7 Ideas for a Memorable Thanksgiving Dinner Party
Holiday decorating and event preparation can be relatively stress-free with a little planning.
- Table size and number of chairs. How many dinner guests will you need to sit comfortably at the dinner table? Is your table large enough? Is it still large enough after you’ve placed the serving dishes, drinks, floral arrangement and candles in the center? If not consider bringing in secondary tables to use as serving tables. Give your guests at least 18″ of elbow space at the table and plenty of space to get in and out their seats without disrupting their neighbors.
- Table linens. The table cloth, runners and place mats all form the foundation for your Thanksgiving table. I like to use neutral colored table clothes in ivory, black, navy or white. The table cloth will create a large block of color on which you can layer table runners – this is where I recommend using non-neutral colors and metallic sparkle. Take your color and pattern cues from the dinnerware or formal china you will be using as this will create a cohesive table setting.
- Candles,floral and/or gourd dinner table arrangements. Keep it simple, keep it low, keep it centered and keep it non-scented (candles). Don’t let your decorative touches impede the most important aspects of your holiday dinner – conversation and ease of accessing food dishes and drinks. Long after your dinner party is over you want your guest to remember how much fun they had and what wonderful food was presented to them. Those are the key elements the decor is just a supporting prop.
- Lighting. Warm golden light is the best. Dim the dining room lighting so that it feels cozy and intimate. Candle light is beautiful and perfect for this type of dinner party.
- Music. Set the tone with music – you can decide what best fits your party. Personally, I like to play soft modern classics and later in the evening I love to bring out the Christmas music as we trim the Christmas tree with our family.
- Fragrance. Strategically place nutmeg, pumpkin and pecan pie scented candles at your home’s entry, living room and other rooms where your guest will congregate. The only rule for scented candles is to keep them off the dinner table so that the strong (and scented candles are) fragrance doesn’t overpower your wonderful Thanksgiving feast.
- Give Thanks. Create unique and memorable place cards for your guests by using seasonally inspired “Thank You/Gratitude” cards. How to do this, for each guest: on the card jot down why you are thankful to count these special people among your friends and family, place the card in its envelope (the envelope can also be seasonally decorated if you enjoy creating paper crafts) and with a calligraphy pen (color coordinated with the predominate color from your holiday decorating palette or gold) write their name and place the gratitude card at their assigned seat.
Christmas and Holiday Decorating Articles at a Glance
- Designer Joanne Fitzgerald’s Fresh & Fun Approach to Holiday Decorating
- Designer Olga Adler’s Delish Holiday Recipe: Mini Lemon Potato Latkes with Ginger/Avocado Creme
- Designer Andie Day’s Holiday Decorating & Entertaining Tips
- Designer Jill Seidner’s Favorite Holiday Champagne Cocktail Recipe
- Designer Cheryl Clendenon’s Guilt-Free Holiday Treat: Low-Fat Key Lime Bars
- Kitchen Designer Sarah Lloyd’s Citrusy Holiday Desert Recipe
- Designer Kelly Morisseau’s Yummy & Nutty Holiday Butter Tarts Recipe
- Interior Designer Julie Bova’s Holiday Recipe: Peppermint Ice Cream Pie
- Holiday Decorating – Easy Holiday Wall Decor with Art-A-Peel
- A Twist on Christmas Traditions
- Tree Trimming and Holiday Decorating Fun for the Whole Family
- Holiday Decorating and Entertaining – Appeal to the Senses
- 7 Ideas for a Memorable Thanksgiving Dinner Party
- Holiday Decorating Inside and Outside
- Holiday Decorating Novelty Fun Ornaments: Hippie Chicks, Martini Mermaids and Pink Diva Reindeer!
- Holiday Decorating on a Budget: 5 Ideas to Get You Started
- Holiday Decorating Ornaments Angels from Adorable to Artistic Glass Sculptures
- Holiday Decorating Ornaments Christmas Tree Motifs
- Holiday Decorating Ornaments for Pet Parents
- Holiday Decorating Ornaments Snowflake Shapes and Patterns
- White & Silver Christmas Decorating Theme
- Pink-tastic Diva Christmas Decorating Theme
- Silver & Gold Christmas Decorating Theme
- Retro Christmas Trees
- Winter Wonderland Decor Idea
- A Royal Copenhagen Christmas Tabletop and Tablescapes Inspiration
- Beach House Christmas Decorating Theme
- Dreaming of a Green Christmas: 4 Eco-Friendly Holiday Decorating and Entertaining Ideas
- Elegant Evergreen, Red & Green Ornament Holiday Centerpiece
- Fabulous Holiday Decorating Ideas
- Ice Sculptures You Can Make At Home
- Chris Madden’s Secret to Stress-Free Holiday Entertaining
- Stress Free Approach to Preparing Holiday Meals
- 9 Super Easy Tips to Relax This Holiday Season
- Throwing the Perfect Holiday Party
The 12 Days of Design 2009: Christmas Gift Guide {Day by Day}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 1}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 2}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 3}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 4}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 5}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 6}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 7}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 8}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 9}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 10}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 11}
- 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 12}
