‘Tis the season to gather with family to celebrate Christmas, embrace time-honored traditions, and make new memories.
As either a novice or veteran host, you strive for a day that engages everyone in the joy of the holiday and wraps them in the warmth of good food, good company, and, of course, gifts galore.
While having a little of Saint Nick’s magic would certainly help out while preparing your event, there are several temporal steps you can take that will elevate the time you spend together.
So deck those halls and get excited for a day that you’ve crafted with heart and intent, sure to bring smiles to the faces of young and not-so-young, alike.
How do those fancy department stores create such a rich and bountiful Christmas landscape?
One of their secrets is having treats for the eyes at different heights throughout the space – from floor to ceiling.
Boughs draped from the crossbeams; towers of treats on countertops; plentiful piles of presents growing up from the ground all work together to transform an otherwise uninspired collection of surfaces into layers of holiday enjoyment and engagement.
Something as seemingly commonplace as cake stands can give your tabletops layers and platforms for your decorations and foods.
They increase the overall display area you have when piles atop one another and give you tantalizing towers that are both functional and beautiful.
Explore Weston Table’s collection of cake stands for a wonderful variety of sizes and gorgeous fabrications from polished pewter to colored glass to stunning ceramics.
Stack them on one another for extra height and added interest that mirrors the silhouette of your lovingly decorated Christmas tree. While looking beautiful they also make your vertical buffet enjoyably “shoppable” and accessible by many at once.
To help create a winter wonderland inside your home, nothing does the trick quite like illuminated greenery spread throughout your space – including on your cake stand towers!
The richness and earthiness that these evergreens give to your decor is quintessential of the season and creates a celebratory environment.
Lynch Creek Farm in the Pacific Northwest is a family-run farm that has been shipping quality greenery to homes since the 1980’s.
In addition to their beautiful pieces being handmade, you can feel good that your purchase doesn’t add to deforestation as they don’t cut down trees but rather prune them in order to collect the raw materials that will make your home look, and smell, so festive.
Wreaths are a great jumping off point but remember that they are not just for front doors.
Try hanging them over a mantelpiece mirror or lay them flat as the first layer under a cake stand or hurricane candle for a centerpiece.
Garlands are great for anywhere that needs a little holiday spirit, like around a door frame, in place of a runner on a dining room table, or cut smaller sprigs to interweave into your cake stand displays to give them a full feel and tie your look together across the room.
The more creative and ambitious you are with the greenery, the more wondrous your space will be, putting everyone in the holiday mood.
Another way to get folks into the holiday mood is by having a joyous soundtrack that underscores your activities, and may even invoke a few unexpected sing-alongs.
Rather than continually swapping out CDs from your stereo (or having the same disc on replay), we suggest taking advantage of the amazingly diverse playlists that are offered by the larger streaming services.
They often allow you to search not only by holiday music but by mood depending on whether you are hosting a sophisticated soiree that calls for a classical repertoire or a more family-friendly feast with more upbeat or even rambunctious rounds of carols and songs of the season.
Broadcasting your selections throughout your entertaining space is of utmost importance in order to reach each guests’ ear and infuse the sentiment you chose with the music.
Whether in one room or several, a system of speakers simply synchronized, such as several Sonos One smart speakers, make an effortless sound system connected over your WiFi.
Easily control these Bluetooth devices through the manufactures app, your home’s personal voice assistant, or an existing Apple Air Play2 system.
Let the music swirl around your guests and keep their spirits bright as they partake of the wonderful Christmas festivities you have formulated.
Engaging as many of your guests’ senses during your Christmas celebration adds layers of entertainment and excitement to each activity and mealtime.
The cake stands from Weston Table will bring forward not only visual excitement but tactile variety as your guests interact with towers of tempting treats or pillars of purposely perched presents.
The aroma of fresh greenery from Lynch Creek Farm will only heighten the beautiful impact of these wilderness touches, adding to your overall event impact.
The sounds from your Sonos smart speakers carry through your space the sensations of the season, effortlessly aligning all your guests on the same page to create a consistent and captivating Christmas climate.
Add to these touches the warmth and merriment of your family and other guests and you’ll undoubtedly all have an extra special Christmas.