Deck the Halls with a Christmas Tree Decorating Party!

The holiday season is a great time to celebrate. Kick off your holiday party season with a get-together to decorate your Christmas tree! This is a great party for family, close friends, and neighbors. There are tons of decorations and party supplies perfect for hosting this party. Check out our tips!

Welcome guests to your party with a personalized Christmas tree vinyl banner. It’s made from heavy-duty, weather-resistant vinyl that you’ll be able to use again and again.

Set up fiber optic mini-trees on tables for a lovely centerpiece that will tie the whole party together. For a more subtle approach try Christmas tree mylar balloons. Be sure to dress your table in bright holiday tableware ensembles and red or green tablecovers.

For a big impact your can use a personalized Christmas tree arch, a dazzling snowflake arch or a Christmas candy cane arch. Guests will love taking their pictures under it! Decorate the entire room with evergreen standees, fireplace scene setters, and other Christmas decorating kits!

The most important part of this party is decorating the tree with your guests. Get some holiday music playing and some coffee or hot chocolate brewing and decorate the tree!

When it’s time for guests to go, there are tons of favors you can hand out. Decorate personalized ornaments for each guests or hand out a Christmas favor pack.

Tell us all about your holiday celebrations!

Grandmother Mulholland’s Fudgies

I’ve been making my Grandmother Mulholland’s Fudgies since I was a child. They are very easy to make and the kids love to roll them. Messy fun! Load up a plate for each of your friends.

Grandmother Mulholland’s Fudgies

6oz dark or semi sweet chocolate
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons butter
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
½ teaspoon vanilla

Melt chocolate, butter and cinnamon in a double boiler (or microwave), then add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Stir all ingredients until they are thoroughly blended. Pour the mixture into a shallow platter and chill (covered) for 2 hours or more. Form into small balls (about walnut size) and roll the balls in colored sugar or sprinkles. Chill until hard. Enjoy!

Try Elfing This Holiday Season

Start a new tradition of spreading holiday cheer to your neighbors and friends this year by Elfing. This fun activity involves leaving a special package of goodies at the front door of a few friends’ houses, with instructions for them to do the same. The joy of gift giving becomes contagious and soon everyone you know will be involved in Elfing!

As Christmas approaches, make up 3 or 4 gift bags with special Elfing goodies inside. The list below contains foods that Buddy the Elf ate in the movie Elf.

• Candy
• Candy Corn
• Candy Canes
• Syrup
• The Elf DVD
• Elf costumes (can be purchased at ShindigZ.com)
• Elfing letter (from below)

Next, print off the following letter and stick a copy in each goodie bag to explain the surprise and to make sure the fun gets spreads to all!

Hi, it’s Buddy the Elf stopping by to say,
“What’s your favorite color?” this holiday.
To bring you a smile “his favorite thing”
And warm Christmas Greetings the season brings.

Amidst all the hustle of this Holiday Season,
Let’s not forget the purpose and reason
To celebrate the birth of a special baby boy
Who brought us peace and everlasting joy.

So take time with your family to relax and have fun,
With Buddy the Elf, the “gynormous” one.
Then sign this and take it and “Elf” someone new
And spread Christmas cheer, it’s easy to do.

Buddy

After dark, maybe right before bedtime, dress your kids in Elfing attire and sneak out for some crazy, quiet, sneaky fun! Here’s how it works: Put on your elf costume, creep up to your friend’s door, leave the goodie bag with the letter at the step, ring the doorbell, and RUN LIKE CRAZY! Do this to 3 or 4 neighbors in one evening. The idea is for everyone in the neighborhood to get “Elfed” and spread some holiday cheer!

Decorations for a Fantastic Holiday Open House

The great thing about entertaining in your home around the holidays is that you can show off all of your seasonal decorating that you have already done! Almost everyone does some form of decorating in their homes for the holidays, so just a few special touches can add big impact to the already festive atmosphere!

The most traditional and popular colors for the Christmas season are, of course, red and green. We suggest that with these colors you choose a specific theme to center all of your party decorations around. Some of these themes would be:

• North Pole Enchantment
• Old Fashioned Christmas
• Arctic Fun
• Peppermint and Candy Canes
• Gingerbread Men
• Snowmen

Although it is not absolutely necessary, the most effective decorating would be done around one of these themes or a blended combination of two of them. We recommend that you try not to get carried away by using one or two items from each theme, even though it is tempting! You will have the biggest impact on your guests by keeping it simple and coordinated! Keeping that in mind, we have included suggestions for all of the above themes. So, pick your favorite and go all out with it!

Outdoor Decorations:

Along with your bows, Christmas lights, and garland, here are some more great ideas to decorate the outside of your home that will help to make your guests feel welcome and jolly before they even enter your home!

To add a touch of winter magic to your lawn, place one or a few giant bulb light stakes to your front yard. To make your front porch warm and inviting, try placing one of these items next to your front door:

• 3-D Gel Light Presents
• Toy Soldier Personalized Banner
• Airblown Snow Globe
• Snowman Standee

Indoor Decorations:

Inside your home, add to your traditional decorations with one or more of these big impact items:

• Chair covers - Slip these oversized fabric hats over the back of your dining room or kitchen chairs for a major festive flair!
• Corrugated characters - These are perfect to use in your foyer or kitchen to establish a theme for your party!
• Gossamer is a lightweight material that you can use to drape, swag, or tie just about anywhere around your home to add a merry mood!
• Large 3D Focal Points - When you really want to make a huge statement, use one a large focal points as a main attraction.

It is always a warm and inviting touch to have a fragrant candle burning or to simmer a few cinnamon sticks on the stove!

And, don’t forget to have mistletoe hanging from ceilings and doorways throughout your home to encourage lots of hugs and kisses!

Table Decorations:

Usually during an open house you will serve the food buffet-style rather than offering a sit down dinner of any type. Even though you do not have a dining table, you can still decorate your buffet table with items that add elegance as well as glitz!

To make your buffet table more interesting, consider creating different levels to set the multiple food dishes on. This is easy to achieve by using upside-down buckets, stacks of books, paint cans, and bricks set at various heights on your table. Cover the entire surface with a white sheet or tablecloth that reaches the floor on all sides. Cover that cloth again with our gossamer or sparkle netting in a color of your choice. Gather up the second layer of fabric every few feet with gossamer streamers and evergreen sprigs. Add some confetti around the table for added sparkle.

Candles are a must on the buffet table as well as throughout your home. It is impossible to have too much candlelight this time of the year!

Another way to adorn your table is by placing several fresh sprigs of evergreens around the serving dishes and using a cute garland to weave around the entire surface. Adding a strand of twinkle lights to the table along with a few small gift-wrapped boxes is another way to create a festive flair!

For your tableware, we suggest that you purchase plastic coated plates and plastic cutlery in red or green (if you do not have enough of your fine china for all your guests!) Dress these plates up by combining them with adorable Napkins.

Bunch your plastic cutlery together into easy-to-grab servings with red and green curling ribbon and place them all in a basket lined with snow (polyester fiberfill).