Hostess with the Mostess™

Just want to take a minute to thank you all for such amazing support in 2007 - and to wish you a very healthy & happy 2008…filled with lots of reasons to celebrate!

Jazz up your midnight toast this year with some festive, toast-worthy recipes from cocktailtimes.com:

• Lava Lamp Cocktail
• Junior Lava Lamp (Non-Alcoholic)
• Rising Star
• and this extremely yummy-looking Blackberry Bellini

*All recipes above except for the Junior Lava Lamp are champagne-based. To create mocktail versions of champagne-based cocktails, substitute ginger ale or lemon-lime soda for the champagne.

I love this “circle of friends” personalized confetti idea from Martha Stewart, which you can create using photos that have been shrunk down on your computer, vellum paper, and different sizes of circle craft punches. It’s listed as a New Year’s party idea on marthastewart.com (featuring photos of your party guests) - but I think this would also adorable for a bridal shower, engagement party or birthday party!

One of the great things about holiday decorations is that they can often transition nicely from your Christmas celebrations to New Year’s Eve soirées with just a few easy tricks! For example, my mom did a multi-color Christmas tree this year, using the exact same elements I used on the New Year’s Eve tablescape below {click images to view larger}:

The main part of the centerpiece is created from decorative sequin spray bunches, ornaments, and an ornament stand. To recreate, align the base of the spray with the stem of the ornament stand, then bind them together with elastic gold ribbon to match the stand. Hang ornaments in coordinating colors on the stand hooks, and you’ve got a very fun & festive centerpiece!

Next, set glass ball ornaments on both sides of the centerpiece, down the length of the table. Use tealight candle holders as a base for the ornaments to keep them in place. Varying the sizes of the ornaments will also make the design more interesting; both extra-large and regular sized ball ornaments are used here.

Tip: For a super-easy table-runner, just use gift wrap that matches your color palette!

Finishing Touches:

• Decorate napkins and the “table runner” with strands from the sequin spray or coordinating sequined gift wrap ribbon, as pictured here.
• Wrap the stems of wine glasses or champagne flutes with metallic chenille craft stems (pipe cleaners). This also makes for a cute bar display when all of the glasses are lined up together!

Product Resources:

• Ornaments, ornament stand, sequin spray, sequined ribbon, charger plates, white napkins, and giftwrap ALL from Target.
• Aqua tablecloth - $26.99 at Plum Party
• Metallic chenille craft stems - Michael’s
• Gala Wine Glasses - $3.95 ea at Crate & Barrel

Note: This design also looks great with a gold/silver, silver/red, or silver/hot pink palette!

Here’s another shimmery holiday tabletop idea that would work for both Christmas and New Year’s Eve! Click here for the full scoop on how to recreate this Gold & Silver Shimmer theme.

Its always fun to serve food & drinks that match the colors or theme of your party, like this yummy fondue dip for an appetizer or Glitzy Chocolate Puddings from Nigella Lawson for dessert! And to drink, try something swanky like a champagne-based Ritz 75 served in festive champagne flutes.

I know that Christmas is still top-of-mind for everyone, but if you’re hosting a New Year’s Eve cocktail or dinner party, it’s a good idea to start planning now, or you won’t have much downtime to recover between the 2 celebrations!

New Year’s Eve parties are the perfect excuse to break out the glitz & glamour - but another thing that might need some time to recover from Christmas is your pocket book, so we put together a silvery-themed tabletop with this idea in mind, and kept all of the elements very affordable. Read more →

I saw this I saw this coundown champagne flutes idea on marthastewart.com yesterday and just thought it was the cutest idea for New Years! Just attach self-stick numbers (available and craft and office supply stores) to the flutes and you’re all set! (another cute idea would be to arrange champagne flutes in groups of 4 displaying “2007″ with each grouping). And for a super easy decorating idea, check out this cool noisemaker centerpiece.
{images from marthastewart.com}

It’s the time of year when everyone seems to be buzzing about the new year and how they’re going to ring it in this weekend! Whether you’re going out on the town, toasting at a big house party, or just having an intimate celebration at home with your family or a few close friends, there’s just something exciting about counting down those last few seconds of year and thinking of all the fun moments that the new year will bring!

And speaking of last seconds, I’m a little behind on posting ideas for New Years parties this year (promise next year will be way in advance! already have the ideas going…) - but I thought I’d throw in a few cool things for anyone out there that’s in a bind and still planning to run to the store or deal with overnight shipping fees! My favorite thing about New Years parties is the excuse to go all out with as much glitz and sparkle as you can find - so what could be a more fitting choice for dessert than a sparkler cake! (see below) There are a few stores online and even on eBay that offer overnight shipping of these sparkler packs, so if you’re game, here is a link to some google search results that should help you on your way.

And don’t forget to pick up some And don’t forget to pick up some mod party poppers, new years hats, festive cocktail plates, and shimmery appetizer picks and drink stirrers - such as the products shown below from plumparty.com. (Pier 1 actually has some fun sparkly drink stirrers in store - and on sale - right now too!) Happy celebrating, everyone!