Category Archives: Entertaining

Dec 07, 2015

It’s that time of year again, offices and friends are hosting holiday get togethers, and Secret Santa and White Elephant gift exchanges come with the territory. We rounded up our favorites for these occasions and ALL are under $25! Click on the links to purchase.

1. The Gray Malin Airport cocktail carry on set. Pop this in your bag for your flight home, and then enjoy once you’re settled in your seat. Brings some cheer to what can sometimes be a frightful travel experience.

2. The Yeti Rambler Lowball tumbler- perfect for bourbon or hot chocolate by the fire pit, and then for drinks on the beach in warmer weather…

3. The High as the Moon coffee mug and the Masala Chai Tea from Anthropologie. Time to clean out all of the old mugs with random logos on them, and drink out of something that’s actually pretty! And their Chai is divine…

4. The Truffle Clarity Pouch small- perfect for keeping all of the small random items in your bag organized and in one place, clear so you can easily find them too. Also, could be great for your carry on toiletries for your holiday trip home.

5. The Stainless Steel garden scissors from Terrain. These are a beautiful addition to have around the house- multi purpose for your garden, flower arranging, gift wrap, food prep, endless options… Comfy and sleek.

12.07.15 | TARA GUÉRARD
Accessories, Entertaining, Etiquette, Food and Drink, Gifts, Shopping, Travel | Comments >>

Dec 03, 2015

Christmas with Lettered Olive

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Our sister company, Lettered Olive, is a custom letterpress stationer based in Charleston, SC. Specializing in wedding papers naturally, baby announcements, party invitations, and at this time of year, holiday cards.

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Surcies (a little surprise gift just because) a staple in the South, but to me the Surcie needs to be beautifully presented as well. So, we created our surcie tag set (available on letteredolive.com), which are perfect to dress up Secret Santa/office gifts, hostess gifts, and other surcies of the season. Who doesn’t feel even more special when they receive something, no matter how small, when it’s beautifully packaged?

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Another popular item that we were printing often for our weddings were matchbooks. We thought it could be a great addition to homes around the holidays having their own custom matchbooks for the hearth or candles, parties, etc.

Of course, there are your must haves for entertaining year round… Linen cocktail napkins would be a perfect surcie to gift, and a perfect companion for any hostess’ collection. I have an affinity for cocktail napkins, so I have a wide variety of different designs, colors, etc. You can definitely mix them up at your parties, put fun different colored ones at the bar or with the drinks, and mix complimentary ones throughout the food set ups.

A fun addition that you may not think about but will sure make a difference to your guests are cocktail stirrers (can also be used as food picks). Definitely a nice little touch, and the good thing is that they last forever, so you can stock up and not worry…

12.03.15 | TARA GUÉRARD
Accessories, Entertaining, Food and Drink, Gifts, Parties, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive | Comments >>

Dec 01, 2015

Setting Your Holiday Table

Fresh off of hosting everyone for Thanksgiving, I’m already thinking about my table for Christmas. Here are some settings we styled and some simple tips on ways you can incorporate what you have around the house to give your table a a magazine worthy look. Thank you to Corbin Gurkin for the photos. Depending on your menu you may not need an additional salad plate, but I loved the dimension these gave to the table. The white napkins were rolled up here and wrapped with gold metallic thread easily found at a fabric/craft store.

For the centerpiece, we spray painted grocery store pairs a champagne metallic and set in a simple compote bowl. I always save the clippings from when we get our Christmas tree place on the mantle or in other arrangements. This was the perfect way to use these extras. I always iron my napkins if the fold calls for lots of real estate. There is something about a crisp wrinkle free napkin that I have to have (we iron ALL napkins for ALL of our events!). Simple gift wrap ribbon was tied in a square knot.

I have a wide wrapping paper collection that I raided here for a simple belly band wrap.

I don’t shy away from black… this velvet ribbon with shimmied edges made for such an elegant tie. So easy!

I love a simple classic pocket fold napkin. It allows you to do so many design concepts- holding a menu, silverware, and even a bloom or branch. I cut Camelias out of my yard and tucked them into each napkin. Jump over to Martha Stewart for instructions on how to do this style of napkin fold.

This cotton napkin was rolled into a wider roll and tied off again with gift wrap ribbon and adorned with a simple sprig of greenery from the yard. Again, if you have extra pine sprigs from your tree (or can reach the very very low branches were you could take a few), this would be a lovely way to incorporate them.

I hope everyone has a joyful and healthy holiday season full of celebration!

12.01.15 | TARA GUÉRARD
Entertaining, Event Design, Flowers, Food and Drink, Interior Design | Comments >>