Decorating your home for the holidays should be an enjoyable event! I have found that doing as much ahead as possible is the key to reducing stress. Start the decorating process as early as you are comfortable; gathering ideas and supplies ahead of time is a great start. Many of the retailers put out holiday merchandise as early as late August, which gives you the chance to browse, make a game plan and gather supplies without any evidence. If you aren't hosting the Thanksgiving festivities, it makes a good opportunity to get started even before the Thanksgiving meal is prepared. Since my family hosts Thanksgiving, I opt to decorate all the rooms except the living room and dining room. Then I start the transformation as soon as the table is cleared and extra chairs put away. I even have a friend that serves Thanksgiving dessert on her Christmas china to start the season!
When it comes time for a special holiday meal or party, I like to make a menu and gather ingredients once the menu is made. Some items can be purchased weeks in advance, which you can do to spread out the cost. My wife taught me to make a timeline for the "day of" preparations so that you can keep cooking and cleaning on-track. I tend to "overthink" some parts of entertaining more than others and forget how long things actually take. Be sure to set the table at most a week early. You dont want to have to dust the arrangement! Dig out the china and serving pieces, polish the silver and figure out which candy goes in which dish---these are a few of the things that often cause me to fall behind schedule. Even better, if your wife is an amazing cook, like mine is, take advantage! If it weren't for her, I'd have 37 kinds of cake and cookies, 23 appetizers based in cream cheese and not a single vegetable!
To minimize the most stressful parts of entertaining as the host, try to keep things as simple as possible. Choosing a signature cocktail or two, along with water and soda or punch, is so much easier than trying to figure out what each guest likes to drink and having everyone's favorites on hand. Not to mention the small fortune you'll have to invest into stocking a full bar and feeling like you need to hire a bartender. If you have a young-adult child around, this might be a nice way to include them. You can even make up a cute tip jar for them.
I always strive to be a great host. Greeting people at the door is great, but most will find their way in. I'd rather take their coats and purses and make sure they have a drink. Any extra help can make a big difference, like the bartender and someone in the kitchen to make sure that dirty dishes and glasses are whisked away or to pull the tray of hot hors 'de oeuvres out of the oven. It's also fun to have a game of some kind ready. I like to keep decks of Holiday Trivia cards around. A favorite at our house is a "White-Elephant" gift exchange. Ask guests to bring a gift each to trade. You can set a dollar amount, or more fun is to bring "re-gifts", begged or borrowed. Just be sure to announce that they need to take their gifts home when they leave, lest you end up with a closet full of next year's "White-Elephant" gifts.
China: Lenox Winter Greetings. Sterling: Reed & Barton Francis First. Placemats: antique linens. Napkins: Henry Handworks. Centerpiece bowl: William Yeoward. Glasses and knife rests: assorted antique crystal.
Ornaments in centerpiece: Christopher Radko.
