There’s a lot of magic that comes along with the holidays. From the fashion, to heading home, to the gifts with a little added flair – even to the big man in red, himself – the holidays are a time where everything feels just a bit better.
The same could be said for those holiday parties we find ourselves throwing, and attending, the minute the calendar turns November.
They serve as the perfect excuse to bring all of the people you love together and sit down with some really (really) good food. Multiple courses of it, even. But with the party, comes the work, the planning, the less than glamorous breakdown about whether or not there are enough side dishes or if you remembered the side dishes at all.
So, we’re here to help, here to decorate with style and get that tablescape ready for your nearest and dearest – and all of that incredible food.
Let’s take it from the top.
The first thing you’ll need is a little inspiration. It might come from the reason for the event itself, from your favorite blogger or magazine, from Instagram – it might even come from a color scheme. In our case, it was a bit of event mixed with color scheme. We wanted something that felt both seasonally relevant, but had an edge of cool and trending. Cue our first decision of the series – a moody color scheme of greens, black, and gold.
Instead of going for it all at once, we balanced it through a few necessary (and a few unnecessary) elements.
Necessary: utensils, plates, glasses, napkins, food.
Not as necessary but definitely helped us add in a little drama while elevating the experience: candle sticks, napkin rings, twinkle lights and greenery and pinecones.
One thing to consider as you start your build is how many guests are you expecting – and how much food are you planning on serving. An offering of appetizers and snacks takes up a lot less room than a full three course meal – even the right entree can end up dominating the table with crowded with too much else.
We thought about this as we added a runner that made the table feel more full, without actually taking up any space. Then we strategically placed greenery wrapped in twinkle lights with a few integrated pinecones between where we planned on dishes being placed, which helped add more texture and depth to the vibe we were going for. If you have a few starters that can already be set out, we found it super helpful to have them incorporated from the start.
When all else fails, consider the rule of threes and filter down with the idea that things are more visually appealing in series of threes (it almost always works). Three candlesticks, three colors (see what we did there?), etc.
From here, it’s really all about the final touches. Lighting the candles, even potentially adding a small element that feels a bit more personal than the experience your guests would expect at a restaurant. For us, this meant a customized menu with various options to satisfy all of our guests (and make us very hungry in the process). We even took a bit more time and added a touch of gold leaf after printing to continue to play into our inspiration.
Now that you’re ready to gather with friends and family (and of course dine with style), let’s take it back to those moments before there’s a knock at the door. That time when it’s still just you setting up the tablescape and putting those final touches on the food. To truly decorate with style, we made a playlist that adds even more ambiance.
Press play and soak up the excitement and delight that come before you’re gathered at the table. Plus, you can even leave it as background music when your guest arrive – just adding a little more to each celebration.
Now… about that outfit…
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