7 Secrets to Holiday Entertaining Success

As you prepare to open your home for festive gatherings with family and friends during the holiday season, the goal should always be to reduce stress and maximize merriment for all, including the host!

Interior designer, entertaining expert and author of The Collected Cottage, Kathryn Greeley, shares some of her secret tips for hosting memorable holiday parties.

1. Planning, organizing and executing. As an interior designer and holiday entertainer, this is critical for ensuring perfect outcomes for Greeley. She recommends starting with the “four Ws”–who will be invited, what will be served, when the party will take place and where the party will be. Planning and organizing ensures that you will be able to enjoy your party without any last-minute surprises, and if the unexpected does happen, you will be ready to manage it.

2. Start with a beautifully handwritten or printed invitation. In this day of electronic messages, Greeley believes that receiving a thoughtful holiday invitation in the mail makes a special and caring statement, immediately setting your event apart from the rest.

3. Dress mantles, windowsills and chandeliers in your favorite holiday style. Fill your space with the scents of the season, like fresh florals and greenery, incense and candles. Taper candles on the mantles and tables work well for small groups while pillar candles and votives are safer for larger crowds.

4. Menus make the memories. If you don’t enjoy cooking, hire a caterer for all or just part of the meal. Start with a “signature cocktail” or champagne bar where guests can easily serve themselves so that you can mingle. Build a menu that includes your favorite appetizers, a main course and sides, and a delicious dessert finale. Signature menu items give repeat guests something to look forward to, and serve as a welcome surprise for new guests. Greeley’s Thanksgiving guests, for example, know to expect her famous Caramel Cake, or her Buche de Noel on Christmas Eve.

5. Set a festive table. Greeley’s passion is collecting china, crystal and silver. Colorful pottery, unusual stemware and baskets work well, too. Whatever your design preference, create a table that expresses your own unique style. Greeley enjoys mixing and layering her china patterns when setting her holiday tables. Be creative with your serving pieces, too. Try serving a shrimp or lobster cocktail in your favorite martini glass, for example.

6. Place cards and printed menus add a special touch to your holiday tables. Place cards end seating confusion, and a menu card helps your guests pace themselves for the next course. And don’t forget the music. Create a playlist of your favorite holiday tunes but remember to keep the music soft so that guests can enjoy interesting conversations.

7. Create your own holiday dining traditions. Greeley never ends her Christmas Eve dinner without Christmas Crackers, which adds a fun and festive element to the event. As a small added token, she sends her guests home with a little homemade gift, a jar of Lime Pickles at Thanksgiving and Rosemary Cashews at Christmas time. Find your own small traditions that will become a beloved part of your holiday entertaining for years to come.