Christmas Wrapped

In a few days we’re throwing the 2008 version of the party I shared here last month. This year is a lot like last year only with the added thrill of the Big Three Bailout looming heavily over our area, Metro Detroit. Festive!

I’ve been collecting some great, inexpensive and easy centerpiece ideas and thought I’d share them with you. They’re inexpensive because everyone around here is trying to keep as much money as they can in a coffee can under their beds and easy because I have many skills but elaborate centerpieces are not among them.

At Craftershock, Wendy Chung has a great Paper Flower Tutorial. She attaches the flowers to twigs and puts them in vases on the table. I’m especially drawn to the square bowls of pears on the table. With a red runner on your table, classic Christmas colors. Instead of paper flowers, you could attach very small glass bulbs to the branches and make it even easier on yourself.

I love these wooden quilting hoops and simple wooden balls on the table from the Real Simple Holiday Decorating Ideas From The Craft Store feature.

Ribbon, just like I used last year to add a little color to my table. But I love how Better Homes and Garden uses a wider layer of red fabric and then ribbon. The glass bowls with ribbon flowers are also a cheap way to avoid fresh flowers. You can find the directions for those right here.

Party Perfect shares the work of stylist Molly Fitzsimmons in this post. A pile of oranges on a lovely tray, it doesn’t get much cheap or easy than that. Unless you’re talking about…oh, never mind.

The easiest part of creating holiday centerpieces is the fact that if you throw some red, white or green out there, you’re pretty much good to go. This candy cane covered vase is perfect. The best part for me is I can you my small round vases from last year to complete this project for next to nothing.

With all these great ideas, maybe no one will know how I threw this party together in about one day.

I am having the pronounced urge these days to detox from all things electronic, battery-operated, or otherwise backlit. And that goes for my holiday shopping list too.

No doubt Nate would be thrilled with anything with the letters PS and the number 3 in front of it, and my daughters go nutty for demonic dolls imbedded with voice chips that activate when you’re least expecting it. But still, I think there’s something to be said for the good old-fashioned fun found in a classic board game.

I think fondly of the game night we had in my family as a kid, long before there was such a thing as Game Night. We all convened around the big glass coffee table, set up the board, and played until it was well past bedtime while the hot chocolate flowed. As I recall, we never once complained that we were missing some TV show or that our Atari was calling; we were having way too much fun. Unless of course we were playing Monopoly, in which case my dad and my brother always ganged up on me and bankrupted me within like four seconds, then refused to loan me a single white, crinkly dollar bill so that I could stay in the game. Tears ensued.

This is like three years ago, by the way. Monopoly in my house is not pretty.

I’m hoping the friends and family on my list is feeling the same sort of unplugged nostalgia because some of their gifts are going to reflect it this year. Here are a few that I’ve got my eye on:

*If you don’t have a good game of Scrabble (with all tiles still intact) you can’t even begin to call yourself a game-player. Scrabble just came out with a
Deluxe 60th Edition Game although I really am getting all excited and twitchy about the Premier Wood Edition. I’m loving the prospect of sitting down to play an actual game with an actual person, and not some stranger on Facebook who’s claiming to take a phone call while checking his cheating dictionary.

*There is no better $5 gift for a child than Candyland, with Chutes and Ladders a close second. $5! Really! Kids as little as two will enjoy moving their pieces around on the board and playing with the cards, even if they’re too young to really understand the rules. Did I mention $5?

*Okay so Operation doesn’t entirely live up to the no-batteries requirement, but I still love the low-tech fabulosity and the $10 price tag. Kids will love it provided they don’t lose all the pieces under the couch and try feeding the adam’s apple to the dog.

*If your kids are already tic tac toe masters,
Connect 4 is the next logical step. It’s also awesome in that you get to say “Pretty sneaky, sis” every time you release all the checkers, and no one under 30 will have any idea what you’re talking about. That’s okay – just keep doing it. It will be our little secret.

*I didn’t actually discover dominos until I met the inlaws, who were serious domino junkies. Now, I count myself among them. A really nice set packaged in a beautiful burled wooden box makes an original family gift or hostess gift, and will last a whole lot longer than the fruit basket. Similarly, a beautiful backgammon set feels somehow indulgent. Especially when it’s only a backgammon set, and not some multi-game deelio that flips over to become a checkerboard.

*Do you know how hard it is to find just regular old Monopoly? You have to weed through shelves of Bass Fishing Monopoly, Elvis Monopoly, Fantasy Baseball Special Edition Monopoly, Disney Villains Monopoly, the Olsen Twins Goes Shopping on Upper Bleecker Street Monopoly…you only think I’m exaggerating. Traditionalists (like me) will appreciate the time that you take to track down the classic. The new library edition of Monopoly hasn’t changed a bit from your own youth, except that it’s packaged in a more bookshelf-friendly box. To be honest, it’s about time that someone figured out how completely annoying it is trying to fit those old board games on your regular bookshelves.

*Finally, I have to give a shout-out to Risk, which is not only the best ever rainy day killer, it’s also the reason I know how to find Afghanistan on a map. Be warned: It’s definitely not for sore losers. When your opponent is on the verge of world domination, it’s way too easy to slap your hand down on the board and say, “oops!” as all the teeny little armies go flying everywhere. Not that I’d know of such things.

So what am I missing? What are your favorite classic games that I should be adding to my list? And were there any games that made you cry as a kid (or a sensitive adult) or is that just me?

We love throwing parties all through the year but, as I mentioned, we’re especially fond of parties at the holidays. After spending a reasonable time putting up the tree and decorating the mantel, it seems economically wise to share your home with as many people as possible after all that work.

Best party advice I’ve ever gotten: If someone goes through the trouble to host a party, your part of the commitment is to make it fun. It seems like at the holidays every one understands that unspoken rule.

I am married to a graphic designer and when we plan parties my husband is full of inspiring ideas for the invitations. What he is not full of is the inspiration to find the actual time required to make these inspiring invitations. I’ve learned the best way to get him on the ball is to get ready to place orders for invitations, at that point he’ll either come through or I’ll place my order and have the invites one way or another. All without becoming the Nagging Harpy Of The Holidays.

Here are a few invitations from Target that will set the tone for any simple and elegant holiday parties you’re planning this season.

Pink Peony for a holiday invitation? Yes. It works because it’s understated and in the right color family. Your guests will expect a cozy holiday dinner at your home with this invitation.

This tea length invitation in merlot will slip through the printer easily and is easily customized with some free clip art. This is a great source.

Using red or green ink to fill in the details and switching out the black ribbon with the same will make this paisley flat card a holiday invite without any trouble.

The Crimson Deckle Edge collection is another simple way to invite your guests to your house for holiday celebrating.

This olive pocket card printed from your computer with a deep red ink will also set a simply elegant tone for your party. this set is intended as wedding stationary but you can use the pocket and response cards for extra information about your party. We like to hold a White Elephant Gift Exchange at our holiday party, use the pocket and enclosure card to explain the rules.

It’s T minus (mumble mumble) days to Christmas and in our home that means the salivary glands are gearing up for some holiday cookie action.

We have the tasks divided pretty well: My sigOth, the true gastronome of the family, seeks out the recipes for the finest sugar cookies, the lightest lemon cookies, the most perfectly spiced gingerbread men and women, while I scour the web for the decorating inspiration.

The food blogs are always a good stop (oh, thank you Tastespotting – thank you, thank you.) but I also find the myriad cookie photo groups on Flick’r are a fantastic resource for inspired design that I myself might even be able to replicate.

Some of the groups totally worth a look include Holiday Cakes and Cupcakes, Pretty Sweets, and The Cookie Jar. (But I warn you, steer clear if your culinary ego can’t handle it.)

From there I start making mental notes about color schemes, cookie cutter shapes, and of course, those shiny metallic edible balls that kids go nuts over. I fantasize about gift tins and big red tartan plaid ribbons; about presenting the cookies on crisp white dishes to visitors, or tucking them into little mesh bags and tying them to bottles of wine as hostess gifts.

And yeah, I think about eating them.

Here are just a few images recently that have sparked some ideas that I think I could actually do. I mean inspiration is nice and all, but not when executing it requires $600 worth of equipment, a professional convection oven and a culinary arts degree.

From Dano: I love how simple and elegant these trees are. Definitely something I could do myself without messing it up too much.

 

Evanrudemi:

I also adore how this baker sprinkled some sparkly clear sugar over top to make the snowflakes glisten. I never would have thought of that and it’s a really smart touch.

 

From Amy_B: It is highly unlikely that I will pull off something like these clever Thanksgiving cookies, but they don’t seem all that complicated, provided you have some pilgrim heads lying around. They’d be great with Santa heads too, swapping in green and red sprinkles.

 

From finna dat: Once in a while, more is more. I think it’s cool how absolutely covering these trees in sprinkles and red-hots works better than sprinkling them on sparsely.

 

From Solyanka: Gingerbread people get so elegant with stark white piping over a deep brown cookie. And I love those little cars! Makes for a speedy getaway when you’re trying to bite off their limbs I suppose.

 

But alas, I have kids. Which means we all know the reality of the cookie decorating situation.

 

Oh well. At least they taste just as good going down.

What are your holiday cookie plans? Is it a big deal in your house? Does everyone get to pitch in or are you all control freak-y and want them to turn out perfect as only you can make them?

If you were to take a quick glance at your holiday to-do list (or visualize it if you haven’t yet started one) what would you see? Lots of shopping tasks? Party prep details? Scheduling babysitters? Scheduling extra work to cover the added costs of the holidays? 

A list like that can quickly induce stress and anxiety – things that are the exact opposite of what the holiday season should include. I remember as a kid, the holidays were so much fun for me. They felt light and airy and exciting. Obviously, my parents were doing a lot of behind the scenes work to make those feelings possible, but there’s no reason I shouldn’t still have that joy of the holidays without the stress now that I’m a parent myself. 

So this year, I challenge you to change your to-do list. And while there are details that certainly have to be covered, it’s equally important to include some items on your list that serve no purpose other than providing you with pure, simple f-u-n. 

Grab a piece of paper right now (or open up a blank document on your computer) and create a “Fun To-Do” list. Put down things that you loved doing during the holidays as a kid, or always wanted to do. As a kid, I loved our annual night of driving through neighborhoods to look at lights. My parents would make hot chocolate for us, we’d put Christmas music on in the car, and we’d drive around for a couple of hours “oooooohing” and “ahhhhhing” over the lights. And one thing that I always wanted to do, but never did, was make a gingerbread house. That’s something I’d love to try with my kids this year. 

Speaking of kids – if you have them, let them join in the process of creating your “Fun To-Do” list. What a great example you can set for them by showing that it’s not just the details in life, but that having fun is just as important. And they are most likely to come up with the best fun items on the list. 

Finally, think ahead to early January. How do you want to feel, and how do you want to remember your holiday season? Do you wan to remember a month of fun and excitement, or of stress and anxiety? Be sure to make your lists accordingly.