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November 20, 2023September 3, 2024

Vol. XI: Holiday Hints

Field Notes Vol. 11: Holiday Hints

I like to make a big fuss about Christmas, and go all out with decorating to make the holiday special for my family and everyone we host. Even when we were living in rental apartments in New York, I’d buy the biggest tree I could fit and host a big party to celebrate. I have a few holiday decorating hints that I return to time after time. December is the busiest time of year, and we need any help we can get, so I hope these tips relieve an inkling of stress this holiday season!

1) Mess with Red & Green: When decorating for the holiday or setting a Christmas table, I try to add a third color to the standard red and green Christmas scheme. I think this keeps things from feeling stale, and gives me the freedom to use more of my non-seasonal items along with my Christmas tabletop and decor. Cobalt, aqua, teal and marigold all work nicely as the third color mixed in with traditional red and green.

2) More is more: Before we put the ornaments up on the tree, I tie bows of double-faced satin ribbon all over it. I learned this trick from studying how hotels decorate Christmas trees. I noticed that my favorite hotel trees don't feel like a store display (with all the same ornaments repeated all over) but do feel more put together than the average Christmas tree. For the past few years I've used red and aqua ribbons to create the bows. The repeated theme throughout the tree pulls together all of the ornaments that don't coordinate, and creates a theme of sorts that can tie visually to the mantel garland in the same room.  

I carry the color scheme of the tree ribbons over to the mantel decorations and either wrap the garland in the same color ribbons, or add in another element with the same colors. Last year my au pair and I made these accordion paper snowflakes out of thick sheets of marbleized paper in the same red and aqua scheme. I picked up some marbleized hats from Houses & Parties, and gave one to each foo dog to really make it feel like a party!

Shop House & Parties

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Marbleized party hats | Double-faced satin ribbon | Similar marbleized paper

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3) Give something old that's new to you: I buy vintage cocktail table books whenever I see them, for my own library and to keep on hand to give as small extra gifts and hostess gifts at this time of year. We're all inundated with the same images all the time on Instagram, but most of the pictures from older design and cookbooks haven't made their way on to your friends' feeds! Pick something that aligns with their interests:

Books

For the consummate hostess | For the royal enthusiast | For the design nerd | For the collector | For the gardener

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Staircase with blue runner and Christmas garland

4) Double up: During the holidays, I double up whenever I find a great small gift; when I'm at the plant store, the liquor store, or even when I'm baking. Double the cookie recipe and put them in jars with ribbons on them to give to your neighbors. Buy the extra bottle of wine, just in case you swing by a party at the last minute. Get some extra paperwhites, as a little something extra for teachers. All of these things will find a home, and you'll be happy to have them even if that home ends up being yours!

Cookie jar and wine bag

Cookie jar | Wine bag

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5) Put a bow on it: Last year I bought a red leather bound Graphic Image album and personalized it with a gold “Christmas.”

Shop the album

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I bought the inserts to hold our closest friends’ Christmas cards, the boys’ best Christmas artwork, and their letters to and from Santa. For years we’ve taken polaroids at our Christmas parties, and never had a place to save them. This year, I’m ordering more sheets to hold those old photos. I’m also ordering some of these albums for family members, so they can create their own Christmas scrapbooks to flip through every year.

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