From throwing a big gay party to making your own celebration cozy, try these tips and tricks for making your place super fabulous.
By Mike Fleming
If you are looking to make the season bright with cocktails, food and décor but wouldn’t know your Martha Stewart spray from a stick in the ground, these ideas are for you.
Gathering your gays is always such a warm idea until you realize that other than wanting to get together, you are having trouble making it special. What’s more, you may not have the funds, the time, or that branch of the gay gene to make it as special as your guests deserve.
Fear not. These tips are easy and affordable and will make you the belle of your own ball.
Frozen Fab
Drop a few berries in the tray before you make ice to make every cocktail more festive. Cranberries are seasonally accurate, but already frozen mixed berries add variety.
Buffet
Unless you are a sit-down dinner kind of person with all those skills to pull it off, give yourself a break and do buffet-style, even potluck. Nothing looks more inviting than a table full of food.
Bubbly
Nothing says “celebration” like champagne. While the “real” stuff is pricey, sparkling wines like Christalino are as low as $7 a bottle. Drop frozen berries or limes in the flutes like the ice above, or add straight cranberry juice to make Poinsettias and stretch your supply.
Punch It
Cider, mulled wine, and punch are great for groups. Add star anise and cinnamon sticks to the bowl for extra flavor and a great look.
Drink Up
Stock up on sodas and mixers, one bottle of your favorite three hard liquors, and a couple bottles of red and white. Tell others to bring what they want to drink. Coffee, cocoa and a selection of teas is a nice touch, and if you have alcohol, consider providing a way home.
Easy Bites
Unless you just enjoy doing so, don’t spend stressful hours creating hors d’oeuvres. Do cookies and crackers. Scatter nuts around a cheese platter, cut up some fruit. Mix sour cream with jarred tapanades and pestos. Put festive-colored chips in a bowl.
Simple Sights
You don’t need garland on every bough and baubles on every surface. Place a wreath or bow on the door, pump music into the air, limit tablescapes to the buffet and entry, and call it done.
Color Stories
Let the candles, napkins and ornaments come together in combinations beyond red and green. Try Red and Turquoise, Green and Gold, or Blue and Silver. Try some hot pinks and oranges to shake things up.
Décor on a Dime
Fill bowls, vases and serving trays with inexpensive Christmas ornaments, evergreen twigs, or twinkle lights. You can group them by color for a chic look, or mix them up to make a splash. Hang small ornaments on a bare branch.
Smells Like Christmas
For an inexpensive, fragrant and long lasting decoration, put sprigs of rosemary in coordinated or mismatched containers. Or bundle thyme, rosemary and marjoram in vases. You can even use them for cooking after they dry.
Nice Basket
Turn a shallow basket or tray into a fun arrangement with that’s tuff that’s readily available, like moss, pinecones, rocks, or fruits.
Tie One On
Anyone can tie a single ornament on a ribbon or yarn, hang at varying heights, and create a memorable window display.
Roll One Up
Turn holiday-theme wrapping paper into tabletop displays. Cut and fold into cone “trees” of different sizes, stick with double-sided tape, and voila.
Sources: Food Network, HGTV, Bonus Up