Dreaming of a Stress-Free Christmas

During the holidays, a night out on the town filled with glitz and glamour can be invigorating but, if we’re being honest, a cozy evening at home with friends and family enjoying a stress-free Christmas is generally our preference!

The anticipation of ushering guests through our front door soon has us focused on ways to create lifetime memories. Whether it’s letting the bakery do the heavy lifting [and flour sifting…hehe] or keeping a chilled bottle of champagne always at the ready, everything you see here is focused on creating a stress-free Christmas.

COMMIT TO A COLOR PALETTE

We like to think the first step of being ready to receive holiday guests is pretty obvious — Christmas décor! A beautifully adorned home sets the tone for even the most casual get-together. Since Thanksgiving has officially passed, we give you permission to trim the tree and hang that garland! Streamline the process by committing yourself to a color palette before those boxes venture down from the attic. Whether it’s white-on-white or traditional red and green, we recommend deciding on a clear direction. Also, ensure any newly-purchased items (even your gift wrap) play along nicely.

I love starting with a light, bright, neutral foundation, while a beautifully flocked tree creates the perfect backdrop for ornaments! Then, linens in a subtle ash hue and classic serveware are accented by fresh greenery and rosehips from our local market.

Sugar Paper LA gift wrap

STRESS-FREE CHRISTMAS: SIMPLIFY WITH STORE-BOUGHT

We confess! We didn’t bake the cake. Instead, we rang up the bakery in our local grocery store and described the cake of our dreams. The best part? It wasn’t even expensive! With the headache-inducing task of buying a gift for each member of your family [not even counting extended fam and friends!], who has time to bake? Pick up the cake and top it with homemade sugared cranberries for a special flourish — guests will think you’ve been slaving away for hours! Apply the same theory to store-bought cookies and cocktail mixes and marvel in the time you save.

Expert Tip: Study up before making that bakery call – it always helps when you’re speaking the same language! To get this look, ask for a bare cake with a light layer of frosting scraped around the sides.

STRESS-FREE CHRISTMAS: RINSE AND REUSE

The magic of these gorgeous pieces is that they’ll be making guest appearances on our table well beyond the holidays! The clean, classic designs are appropriate for any setting, making them a breeze to work in with other serveware. And at such a reasonable price point, you won’t have to worry about that clumsy friend breaking another one of your expensive wine glasses!

POP THE CHAMPS

What’s a party without champagne? Or cocktails, if that’s more your speed! We recommend always having a bottle of champagne [might as well throw in a bottle of white and red while you’re at it] on ice so that you’re celebration ready at the ring of the doorbell. Guests arrive with a range of tastes and, being the prepared host or hostess that you are, you would never want to disappoint!

Time to run off and spread that holiday cheer — drop us a note with a few of your stress-free Christmas entertaining tips!