Party Invitations, Party Planning & Event Ideas

Snowflakes In The Window

Use leftover evergreens to make these window snowflakes - from Sunset.

Add the perfect backdrop to your evergreen ornaments by giving windows an iced look - even if you don't live in a frosty climate. Just coat windows with a holiday decorating spray that's easy to clean off with water.

MATERIALS (for one snowflake)

• Five fir sprigs of equal length (7 in. maximum)

• Three 18-in. pieces of 20-gauge floral wire

• Three 18-in. pieces of 22-gauge floral wire

• Ribbon

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Lay two fir sprigs upside down, end to end.

Bend one end of an 18-in. piece of 20-gauge floral wire into a loop for hanging. Set the loop of wire flush with the top of a sprig, with the wire's other end resting along the length of both sprigs.

Step 2: Secure the loop-topped wire to the end-to-end sprigs by wrapping an 18-in. piece of the thinner (22-gauge) wire every couple of inches along the length of the two sprigs. Twist the straight end of the thicker wire around the tip of the bottom sprig to finish.

Repeat with another pair of end-to-end sprigs, omitting the initial loop. Then repeat with a single sprig, again omitting the initial loop, and leaving the excess wire (do not clip).

Step 3: Cross the two dual-sprig pieces (one on top of the other) to form an X (they're the top four pieces in the photo of step 3), then twist the wired sprigs together where they meet in the center. Bend the X slightly as needed to make room for the fifth sprig.

Step 4: Position the fifth sprig as shown at left.

Wrap its excess wire several times around the center of the X until it's tightly in place. Bend all wired sprigs as needed to refine the snowflake shape.

Thread one or more ribbons through the loop to hang.

Posted by Entertain Exchange

Handmade Holiday Hostess Gifts

Here a few simple handmade holiday hostess gifts to make from Sunset.


Bulbs planted in a paint can will brighten someone's life for weeks. Cover a 1-quart paint can (about $1 at hardware stores) with wrapping paper, securing the seam with double-stick tape.

Guided by the depression in the can's lid, trace and cut out a paper label, write your message, and attach to lid with double-stick tape. Fill can halfway with sand.

Place two or three paperwhite or other narcissus bulbs (about $5 for a 10-pack) in the sand (roots down, points up).

On a paper slip, offer advice for the giftee: To force bulbs, set aside lid and add water until sand is just moist. Place in sunny spot and keep moist; blooms in about seven weeks.

Tuck instructions in can, and, covering lid with a dishcloth, gently tap into place with a hammer.

Find more great gift plant ideas at Sunset.

Monogrammed River Rock Paperweight

Stencil river rocks with white rub-on transfers (available at craft stores). More ideas here.

Posted by Entertain Exchange.

Last-Minute Christmas Place Settings

Still looking for fun ways to set your Christmas table? Here are some great ideas from Martha, and I bet you have most the materials stashed in your craft room...Not Just a Mommy!

- An easy and fun tree place card.

- Can you believe this angel is made from paper plates?

- A piece of the tree creates these Christmas-tree and evergreen place cards.

- How simple and elegant is this paper scroll place card placed on a holly leaf?

- This candy-cane place card is made with ovals and ribbon.

Candy Cane Christmas Party Games

Get hooked on the holiday season with candy cane fun and games. The simple design of a candy cane allows for playful Christmas party games.

Candy Cane Fishing

• Cut out 3-inch long fish shapes from foam craft sheets.
• Make holes near the fishes' mouth large enough for a candy cane to fit through.
• Fill a big red plastic tub with water.
• Float fish on water. Fish should lay flat on the water's surface.
• Give each player a candy cane to try and hook the fish with the candy cane.

Candy Cane Relay

• Have teams line up behind a starting point, across from a determined “run to” point.
• Give each team a candy cane as a relay baton.
• Each racer must hold the candy cane by its hook using his or her finger.
• Each player must relay race to and from the “run to” point and pass the candy cane on to the next player on their team.
• The team who completes the relay first wins.

Gingerbread House Decorating Party

Here's a great playdate idea, if you want to do a get-together before friends disappear for the holidays.  Every year, our family becomes confectionery architects, creating memorable temples to tooth decay. This year is no exception, as we had a playdate glorifying this wonderful tradition. Alas, I neither have the skills to bake the real thing or the dollars to purchase kits for everyone.  We decided to decorating graham-cracker gingerbread houses. They are so much fun to make, and as my kids attested to after dinner, more fun to eat.

I pre-assembled the houses, using white candy melts as the "glue", which is so much easier, and sets faster than frosting. As you can see, the roofs are chocolate graham crackers, because most of the regular ones were casualties, and luckily I had a package in my pantry. The little ones spread frosting on their houses, while the older ones used Wilton's Decorating Icing Tubes and Betty Crocker's Cookie Icing tubes.

Thanks to Garnish's party idea, I purchased the large gable houses and labeled with each child's name to take home their creations. I didn't get the white cups from them though, I swiped them from a local fast-food joint.

Although I didn't get a picture of the gingerbread men cookies (the cake platter was covered in them, I think they all ran off while I was fixing the cocoa), they were too cute, just regular cookies, sandwiching a layer of frosting.  Not Just a Mommy!

Baker McLovin'

The holidays bring out the creativity in bakers, but alas, some of us are gifted and others have to purchase.  I recently discovered Two Sugars from the Fancy Flours blog, and they are truly gifted in their holiday cookie creations. Wouldn't a plate of these at your next get-together be divine? Or maybe you see them as party favors for your holiday gathering, either way, they won't make it out your home! Not Just a Mommy!

Holiday Decorations with Natural Elements

Take your Christmas decorations one step further by incorporating natural elements.

There are plenty of beautiful plants, berries, flowers and twigs you can use to embellish your Christmas tree, garlands and wreaths. Here is a list to get your creative juices flowing:

Flora

• Berries - Cranberries, holly berries, Christmas berry, green hypericum berries

• Dried Flowers – White English statice, bleached baby's breath, white and deep red roses, dried white peonies

• Branches, Leaves & Twigs - Ethereal skeleton leaves, birch branches, curly willow, silver dollar branches, small bleached Manzanita branches, bleached bell cups, preserved amaranthus

Fauna

• Feathers - Feathers of any kid, shape and color can make beautiful additions to your holiday décor. For easy decorating, buy pre-assembled feather sprays that you can insert in various places on your tree.

• Birds - Birds in general have been making a decorating comeback. From wallpaper prints to furniture fabrics, birds are back en vogue. Incorporate small, lifelike birds purchased from a local craft store into your decorations.

"Faux" Naturale

• Icicle Branches - Icicle branches are great to use when creating winter wonderland looks.

• Crystal Sprays - Crystal beading on branches can look like delicate dew drops.

• Snow Flocking - Flocking is a great look when you are creating a winter wonderland or monochromatic neutral color scheme on your tree.

Christmas Entertaing Class at Pottery Barn

This weekend, I checked out a complimentary decorating class at Pottery Barn -Holiday Decorating and Entertaining, co-sponsored by Real Simple. If you have a PB in your area, you should check it out, but hurry, the next class is Sunday.

They showcase their new merchandise, and at our store, we received a 10% off coupon and recipe cards from events showcased in their book Real Simple: Celebrations. Which, BTW, if you don't have this book, you should, it's one of my favorite guides to a spectacular event. It even has invitation templates online to go with the different party themes outlined. I loved all the ideas and although I couldn't take pictures, here are pictures from the new catalog, and some of the items they talked about.

Not pictured, but definitely worth the mention are the Caterer's dinnerware set. This set is a blank canvas, versatile all year round, although they only offer it during the holidays. It comes packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with dividers, that you can easily store away.

My favorite idea was the monogrammed candlepot as a placeholder and a party favor. You can purchase them with any letter you like and how thrilled would your guests be to receive one?

I loved, loved, loved the mercury glass collection. The silver is between the glass walls, so they'll never chip. They have them displayed just like they do in the book, with the moss and ornaments.

The Reindeer Collection is just too fun. The dinnerware collection consists of 3 sets of bowls, plates and mugs, each set has 4 different reindeer, so you need all 3 sets to get all 12 of Santa's helpers. Napkin holders, linens and serveware round it out. They showcased it with a really pretty red and white polka-dotted runner, which isn't available online.

The capri lanterns are fab in person, they had the large one in nickel with silver glitter candles and pinecones, as a table centerpiece.   Not Just a Mommy!

Holiday Playlist

Thanks Free People for a fun holiday party playlist in your last newsletter! All my favorite holiday songs I will be sure to download onto my iPhone.