Happy December! Welcome back to the blog. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones! I am officially in full-blown Christmas mode and couldn’t be more excited for the most wonderful time of the year! Our apartment is officially decorated and I am slowly working on creating all of the festive content I’ve been planning for you over the last few weeks. When I posted an Instagram poll at the beginning of the season, the top response of what you were interested in seeing (aside from gift guides) was hosting tips! I love entertaining and hosting guests in our apartment so I am very excited to introduce “Hosting For The Holidays” in today’s post!
This post will feature my top three hosting tips for the holiday season which you can also find in my “Hosting For The Holidays” mini series on Instagram throughout the month of December. As always, links to everything I share can be found on my LTK. I hope you enjoy!
Set The Table Like A Pro
click here to shop & see a step-by-step overview of the tablescape!
One of my favorite things about hosting is creating a fun, festive tablescape! It’s so fun to plan and it’s also a great excuse to pull out some of your nicer tableware and serving platters that you may not always use. I love getting inspiration for different types of table settings, but it can be easy to feel like you need a large variety of pieces to achieve the look you’re going for. However, you can get really creative with some pieces you already have and slowly build up your collection over time to give your table a sophisticated, curated look! The best part is, you don’t always have to spend a ton of money! While I have purchased some more expensive items at times, I tend to get a lot of things from Target which is very helpful.
We have a small, round table that seats 4 so I wanted to keep it simple and tried my best to avoid it looking cluttered. I started with a Stewart Tartan runner from Pottery Barn that I folded in half, then added these woven chargers from Target to give some texture. I then layered these $5 plaid dinner plates from Target with some smaller plates from my grandmother’s china set for an elevated look! I used our everyday gold flatware and finished off with some linen napkins from Target! I happened to find these adorable velvet bow napkin ties at a boutique in Annapolis and couldn’t pass them up! I think they add the perfect finishing touch to each place setting.
I thought long and hard about a centerpiece idea for this table, and decided to keep it practical but still festive! I found this stoneware bowl while browsing in Anthropologie and added the cutest gingerbread house salt and pepper shakers that I received as a gift last year. To tie the entire look together, I added this stem vase with faux winter greens that we found at HomeGoods. Overall, I am so happy with how this turned out and cannot wait to use all of these pieces throughout the holiday season!
Cozy Christmas Bedding
Nothing is warmer or more inviting than some cozy bedding! Whether you’re looking to refresh your personal bedding, or add some Christmas spirit to your guest room, there are many affordable ways to incorporate a festive, cozy touch that everyone will love!
Crowd-Pleasing Cookies
Whether you’re hosting guests this holiday season or gathering in someone else’s home, I always love to provide an appetizer, snack, or dessert that you can all share and enjoy! My favorite thing to bake when I know guests are coming are the Magnolia Table Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are super easy to make and have been a crowd-pleaser every time! The key to this recipe is that it only calls for brown sugar. It gives them a more subtle kind of sweetness that differs from traditional cookie recipes that will be sure to have your guests raving about them! I typically cut the recipe in half but if you’re baking for a large group, definitely make the full batch!
If you are looking for a good hostess gift to give to someone else, you could place the cookies on one of those plaid plates I mentioned earlier from Target, wrap it up with a bow, and add some festive cocktail napkins as an inexpensive yet thoughtful gift. I also have an entire gift guide dedicated to hostess gifts which I will link here as well!
Thank you so much for reading!
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