Planning Creative Holiday Parties
“You’re invited…” are always popular and welcome words around the holidays. If you’re like me, you love to host a party. But if you’re a hostess with the “leas test” amount of time, a party is a lot of work. Entertaining requires considerable planning and preparation because there are so many things to do.
Think about the parties you’ve attended and what made them special. Was it the food, guests, laughs, decorations, ambience? The parties I liked best were the ones that touched me in a personal way. A special party creates lasting memories for you and your guests. No matter who is on the guest list, the basics of organizing a party are almost always the same. What’s different is how you customize the details. Here are my tips to get you started:
Holiday Decorating Ideas And The Environment
Have you thought about how your holiday decorating affects the environment? What can you do about your holiday decorating to improve your happiness and at the same time be kind to the environment?
The good news, taking action to decorate your home and office for the holidays, while keeping respect for the environment, makes your workload easier.
Conquer holiday stress with simplicity. Keep your decorations to a minimum. Simple holiday decorating makes your life easier to manage.
Simple decorating doesn’t mean no impact. You can use Environmental Psychology strategies to achieve a stunning display with less work. At the same time, you can save money on new holiday decorations.
Holiday Baking Tips: Dessert won’t be humble pie anymore
As the holiday season arrives, our menus are sure to include tasty treats and yummy desserts, including traditional and new, anything-but-humble pie flavors. Pies are a favorite way to end a meal and they’ve been part of our culture for a long time.
Did you know… the early Romans probably made the first pies, a humble pastry stuffed primarily with meat or other savory fillings? The first recipe published by the Romans was for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. The word "pie" dates back to Middle English of the 14th century when it was also spelled "pye". During Tudor and Stuart times in England, pies were often made with pears and quince, as well as apples. English tradition credits Queen Elizabeth I with making the first cherry pie, but whether her majesty spent time in the kitchen is arguable. The first mention of a fruit pie in print appeared in 1590 in prose writer Robert Greene’s Arcadia: "Thy breath is like the steamed of apple-pies."
