Bored with red & green?

by Barb Hamilton-Sustad, Tastemaker in Residence

Add some jewel tone color:

Bored with your old Red & Green? Try adding "non-traditional" colors! Jewel tones of purple or blue mixed in will brighten your table or decor. Try red and green with purple or green and purple with blue for something different. Or try a softer but elegant look with gold, silver and white; you can always add just a small pop of red to brighten it up!

Get the kids involved:

My usual advise is getting kids involved makes a mess and your table looks like a craft project. Keep the kids busy without making your table look like a 3 year old did it, even if they did. 

Take place card stock and let the kids stamp gold snowlakes on them. Subtle, lovely and the kids are still busy. Pick a few different designs and have the kids ask each guest if they want to be a snowflake or a candy cane, etc. You get the idea.

You don't have to do all the cooking:

This idea was really hard for me to accept. If you are short on time, choose a few main dishes you want to make then supplement with store bought. You can find wonderful side dishes, pastries, appetizers and cakes on-line, at bakeries and the grocery store and most deliver.  

Happy Holidays!