Celebrate New York Style for the New Year

New Years Eve in Times Square has become more than just a celebration - it's a world-wide ritual. Every year as the clock approaches midnight on December 31st, the eyes of the world wait in expectation as the clock strike twelve. As the famous New Year's Eve Ball moves down the flagpole atop One Times Square, over a billion people will be watching from all over the world and are united in exclaiming a shared parting to the passing year, and expressing our delight and hope for the coming year. Why not bring that enthusiasm to your own New Year’s Eve party by bringing One Times Square into the warmth of your own home.
Dazzle your guests with a fun scenic kit of Times Square for your background party decorations. Add a disco ball and a balloon drop bag for the midnight hour. Fill clear balloons with sparkling star confetti. Arrange them in bouquets around the room. Have confetti horn blowers as party favors for your guests. Add confetti poppers for the big bang, as the end of the year counts down to zero. These noisemakers and decorations are sure to be all the rage.

You can incorporate food with your theme by means of simple fare, just as they do on the streets of Place New York. Have a self-serve deli with cold cuts and sandwich fixings. You can add cole slaw, potato, and macaroni salads as a side. Serve a cheese cake as dessert. Assorted chips and dips are always a crowd pleaser as well.

No matter where you live, bringing in the New Year with shared hope of good tidings is the effect you want to bestow upon your guests. Above all else, be safe, and have a Prosperous New Year!

Party Favors for Holiday Party Decorations

A token of remembrance and gratitude were given to wedding guests of influential families as far back as the 16th century. These party favors have now been expanded and promoted to any celebration. You can now utilize them into your theme for your holiday party decorations, and your guests will leave with more than a memory of your event.

Party favors can be created or bought. They can be a novelty item, personalized, home made, or elaborate. Your favors can be displayed, or wrapped in fun packaging as part or your decoration theme. Usually, party favor decorations are presented as part of your place setting at your table. However, you can choose to show them in other decorous means. Exhibit them on a Christmas tree at your Christmas holiday party, or placing your party favors in a large basket at Easter are some other ways of having your party favors brought into your theme for holiday party decorations.

Your party favors can also be used as part of the entertainment. For instance, at a Christmas Party, use it as the gift exchange. Fill Christmas tins with a variety of baked goods, candy or other party favors. Start the gift exchange with numbers written on a small piece of paper, and have your guests draw a number from a hat. The person who drew the #1 will start by selecting a Christmas tin as their gift. Next, the guest that drew the #2 has the choice of taking another Christmas tin, or taking the Christmas tin from the person who drew #1, and so on down the line until the last gift has been taken. This is a fun way to distribute your party favor, and your guests will have fond memories, and a Christmas tin as a token.

Gift giving, no matter how small the gift, is always rewarding, even with party favors. It thanks your guest for coming and celebrating the holiday with you, and your guest will be glad they did.

Office Holiday Party Decorations on a Budget

It is a little more than a month until Christmas, and you have just been informed that you were picked to be on the office holiday party decoration committee. A committee of one. YOU! It was also made clear that funds for decorations are limited. Great. Never fear, the good news is that it will be held at the office, not a rented banquet room. Yikes! Don’t lose hope. Now that you have an idea as to your location, you now have a blank canvas to put your artistic abilities to work. Here are some inspiring ideas to make your office party into a winter wonderland!

Start with your table decorations. If your budget is too low to add accents to the room, your table(s) will be your focal point. Anything after that is superfluous. If your tables are small, rearrange them into longer tables. This will cut costs, as you will not have to decorate as many tables. Try using white plastic tablecloths, instead of the red or green. The white background will give a snowy touch and make your table decorations stand out more. For a winter wonderland effect, choose blue, white, and silver for your color scheme.

The center pieces do not have to be so large that conversation is thwarted, but balanced to the size of your table. Several small decorations grouped together can be eye catching as long as you keep your groupings to a minimum. Make an arrangement of 3 tapered Christmas trees made from Styrofoam cones. Spray paint the large and small cones silver, then glue blue and silver beads and ribbon for a festive look. Your medium sized cone can be left white with colored decorations on it. Taper them in a tripod shape, then add tea lights on either side. In order to balance this group, add garland into the mix. Take your garland and ripple it down the length of the table, but leave enough space for a place setting at each ends. Within each ripple of the garland, sprinkle potpourri. You can add small pine cones, decorative confetti and more tea lights to the array as well. For an additional sparkle, spray paint the potpourri on one side with silver glitter. For fun, cut about 12” of wired star garland and wrap around your table garland in sections, with the ends pointed up and out. Bingo! A simple design that is festive, and easy on the pocket.

If there are funds left over and a wall to decorate, draped garland and wreath are always an additional benefit. Another crafty decoration would be to ask your fellow employees for a picture of them and their family. Frame them in Christmas wrap, and scrap book them on a poster board. This will bring up entertainment and conversation during the party.

Usually, your company will have a Christmas tree with decorations from previous years. If not, having one is not necessary. However, if you have the funds, you may want to invest in an artificial tree. Add wide, wired blue ribbon with blue and silver glass ball ornaments to carry on with your winter wonderland theme.

With these quick and easy ideas for your office party decorations, you’ll soon be singing “To face unafraid, the plans that you’ve made, for walking in a winter wonderland”. Happy Holidays!

Candy - The Edible Decoration

Remembering my holidays of, well …okay, a long time ago, I eagerly looked forward to receiving candy! In my stocking at Christmas, a basket for Easter, a box for Valentines, or a trick-or-treat bag for Halloween. It was never really displayed around the house, or if it was, I can’t recall seeing it. My Grandmother did have a covered brass candy dish on top of her television, usually filled with nuts, chocolate covered raisins and candy corn. However, being in a brass dish, the treats were concealed.

Nowadays, candy makers have successfully promoted their products to boost sales during the holidays by changing the colors of their goods to correspond with the holiday seasons. Why not incorporate these marketing strategies into your decorating plans by adding candy to the décor? How tempting it would be, especially for those with a sweet tooth, to see a bright display of edible decorations.

Imagine a shelf with three or four clear glass containers placed in tiers and filled with holiday colored candies. Foiled wrapped candy sparkles from the glass, candy coated chocolates add a confetti impression, or sugar coated gum drops give a frosted look that is not only inviting, but enjoyable as well. Add ribbon around the jars for a festive impression. Votive candles can also be placed around the jars to add a magical touch with the glow of the flame reflecting on the glass.

You can mix and match apothecary, decorative and even mason jars, or use them separately. Your home will be reminiscent of the old country store, where the candy display was always tempting. Colored, miniature popcorn balls and peanut brittle are appealing in large jars. The greatest thing about the apothecary jars is that you don’t even have to pack them away! Just keep filling them with candy all year around for each of the coming holidays.

Try fun art with your homemade candy. You can form a bouquet using candy dipped marshmallows, swirl pops, candy dipped pretzels sticks, and rice krispy treats. Any candy that can be colored or formed on wooden skewers can be used to accent your bouquet. It will add a sweet concoction to your holiday!

With these ideas and a small amount of your time you can create unique, original and charming decorations for your holiday, and share the delectable benefits from your efforts! Bon appétit!

Decorating With Candles

We decorate our homes with candles all year round. After all, they add warmth when illuminated, color for ambiance, or scent for aroma therapy. There is something calming and magical about the warm glow of the flame.

Candles have been used in celebrations for centuries. They are an inexpensive addition to your holiday party decorating. Candles are one of the most basic items of your décor, which never seem to go out of style.

Adding candles to your decorations during any holiday adds elegance to your design in any room of the house. There are many types, colors, shapes and sizes of candles that can bring just the right touch to your arrangements of decorations. For instance, a bouquet of flowers with either a taper or pillar candle added is always a nice touch. Tapering different sizes in a group on a mantle is enchanting. Candles are brilliant as centerpieces for your dining table. A jar scented candle in the bathroom always gives warmth to a small space.

You can easily decorate candles with a holiday theme in mind. Bark wrapped candles are stylish and natural looking for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It brings a bit of the outdoor atmosphere into your home. Most florists have bark that can be cut to the height and circumference of your candle. You then carefully hot-glue the strip to your candle. Wrapping them with colored ribbon and setting them around holiday foliage adds drama.

Votive candles or tea lights adds luster to your figurine decorations. Placing candles in clear glass votives among your decorations brings awareness to your theme. There are inexpensive holiday themed votives for added attention to a small space.

Whatever choice is made with your design, please keep in mind safety when your candles are lit. Some good tips on safety and the burning of your candles can be found at the National Candle Association’s website. You will find plenty of interesting facts and ideas on this site to help make your candles more enjoyable. Some other tips on candles to remember are: 1) use candle snuffers to avoid wax splash, and 2) avoid scented candles in the dining area, where the aroma of food is the enticement.

Bringing in the joy of candlelight for your holiday is a welcoming addition to your home. Enjoy them as they glow, let them surround you with their warmth, and help keep the magic of your holiday bright!

Thanksgiving Holiday Party Planning

Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside to rejoice the harvest and express gratitude. Friends and family gather around to celebrate with football and good food. It’s a time to catch up with one another from our busy lifestyles that we have created for ourselves and bond. Coming together for this holiday gives us purpose of that long ago harvest festival of our forefathers.

If you are hosting this years Thanksgiving party with friends and family, it is always sensible to plan ahead so that stress doesn’t get in the way of having a good time. You want to create an atmosphere of ease and comfort so that your guests feel welcome. Cooking and entertaining can almost frazzle the best of us if preparations are last minute.

Organization is the key to any successful party. Getting yourself organized starts with creating lists from your guests to your decorations. Here, I’ve provided you with guidelines to help pull your thoughts together to ensure a good outcome.

• List your guests. This will give you a head count and provide you with how many children that will be attending as well.
• Make a menu, and include all “snacks” (such as chips and dip, etc)
• Make a grocery list (go over recipes in your menu for ingredients needed)
• Decide on how you want to decorate, and make a list of things you will need.

When placing your thoughts into your holiday party decorations, your table should be the focal point of your theme. Whether you are planning an informal (everybody sits away from the table), or formal dinner, a decorated table helps to create an ambiance of hospitality. Start with selecting a tablecloth in a color that will blend with your home, (fall colors are usually benign). Then choose a style centerpiece in the theme you want to portray, such as pumpkins, Pilgrims, turkeys, etc. From there you can embellish with small items such as candles, or fall foliage. (Please keep in mind that formal dining is always best with small objects, as they tend to get in the way of food and conversation).

Other rooms in your home can help create an atmosphere of warmth by adding small touches. A small flower arrangement, candles or figurines are always aesthetic. Holiday hand towels in the bathrooms with scented candles of pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon are always nice touches. If you have children in the home, display holiday crafts that they have created. Feeling that they have contributed to the festivities is gratifying in being included as part of the holiday.

As a result of all your hard planning, enjoy yourself above all things! Take the holiday to heart, and be thankful for family and friends. Here’s wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Planning Your Holiday Party Decorations

Holiday party decorations play an essential part in setting your event. Whether you want lavish or simple, deciding what will work within your budget should be planned out before you shop. Bringing your ideas together will make everything you do look purposeful, and personal.

Choose your holiday party decorations theme and color scheme. If you apply this concept to holiday decorating you will be amazed at the results. Whatever theme and color scheme you decide on, make sure everything coordinates. If you take the time to plan a holiday color scheme and theme, your home will be transformed into a festive setting your guests and family will talk about for seasons to come.

There are plenty of holiday party decorations that can be found for sale at your local party supply store, department stores or on-line. Browsing the internet for your holiday party decorations can be helpful in finding a theme, where to find it, and a price range. After you decided on what holiday party decorations you want, plan your space and decorations accordingly.

If you are on a tight budget, you can make some inexpensive holiday party decorations that can turn your home into a holiday wonderland without overspending. For example, fill glass vases with colored stones, curled ribbon or other discount seasonal decorations you might find at your local craft store. Spread these vases throughout your home on tables, mantels and counters, and then surround them with twinkling tea lights.

Now for the fun part – decorating! It's time to place your holiday party decorations and create your holiday home.