HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS-SOUTHAMPTON FIRESIDE DINNER

Hi everyone and welcome to Home for the Holidays-A Southampton Fireside Dinner. It's been an amazing dinner party with fantastic holiday design inspiration and delicious dining ideas from Cocktails & Carols, Tree Trimming & Holiday Cheer and our Festive First Course in Seville posts. I hope you've left a little room for dinner!  


I've always really loved the Holiday season-you might call me mildly obsessed. I was the crafty girl who spent hours pushing cloves into oranges for my bowl of pomanders, hand painted Christmas ornaments and fervently believed in Mr. Clause until--well I'm too embarrassed to say! I've learned to channel my Holiday centered enthusiasm but I still love a beautifully decorated tree, stylishly set table and a good Holiday party! Let's have some fun-

Southampton is the perfect spot for a beachy Christmas scene. I like to use natural elements like wicker and raffia to decorate, especially during the holidays.

Time for a cocktail. I set the bar up on a side table so that guests can serve themselves. I always have plenty of wine and champagne for guests and like to serve a fun signature cocktail

like a bubbly Poinsettia Champagne cocktail  

I couldn't resist the beautiful orange kumquats I found at the flower market. I mixed them with tropical palm leaves and traditional spruce branches for an unusual Holiday arrangement

Our labradoodle Dash is such a party boy!

Old fashioned mercury ornaments in a wooden basket are country chic

Don't you just love paperwhites? Not only do they have a wonderful scent, they look so gorgeous. I added white poinsettia and some seashells for a chic monochromatic vignette.

The hurricanes have a pretty alabaster band that reminded me of the inside of a shell. I added a few sprigs of kumquats-so pretty!

Looking for a stylish, inexpensive tablecloth? Try burlap-it can be dressed up or down, just roll it out, no hem needed.

Party crashers!

I used the foyer rather than my dining room for dinner because I wanted a more intimate space. Mix things up a bit and don't be afraid to use other rooms to entertain! 

A fresh willow wrapped around the kumquats make a pretty napkin holder.

Gold chargers and alabaster flatware give the table instant glamour.  

Keep dinner simple but elegant-my favorite special occasion entree is a roasted filet of beef with garlic-wasabi cream, delicious!

Add a decadent potato and mushroom gratin and...

Red wine, a must-I never met a Pomerol I didn't love!

There's a roaring fire in the living room waiting for us- so inviting!

Thank you for joining me for my Southampton Fireside Dinner. I loved sharing my favorite Holiday designs and ideas with you today. Please save room for dessert and join me on Monday when the oh so stylish Design Chic will be sharing a tantalizing Sugarplum Dessert Buffet with us! 

GUEST POST: TREE TRIMMING WITH THE ENCHANTED HOME

Mary Mc Donald

Welcome to Home for the Holidays! I'm delighted that Tina from The Enchanted Home has joined our party for Tree Trimming and Holiday Cheer. Tina's chic blog chronicles her journey to design, build and decorate her stunning new home. I was hooked after my first visit to her blog and I'm certain you will be too. Let's see what fantastic inspiration Tina's brought to our Tree Trimming party!

Good morning!! Thank you to lovely Barbara for having me here, and for finally giving me the chance to attend a holiday party in my pjs!! I have always said who needs the fancy shoes, that have me wanting to amputate my feet by 9pm, sequined tops, velvet pants and party frocks.....bring on the pjs, love this idea! I was so honored that she included me to participate in this wonderful holiday party! (all kidding aside I have to confess I do enjoy dressing up for a holiday party but this is a lot of fun too)!

 As much as the pressure of Christmas makes me shake in my boots I must admit the magic and beautiful spirit of this holiday always makes me feel alive and warm. When I hear those first Christmas songs being belted out on the radio, and the crisp air ushers in.... I know it cannot be far. I very much enjoy preparing my home for the holidays and try to start soon after Thanksgiving. I tend to stay with a consistent color scheme because lets face it ornaments and decorations have gotten incredibly expensive and to switch things up year to year would be a costly endeavor. But there are easy and cost effective ways to "switch it up" year to year without having to revamp your entire color scheme!

The way that I think you can change things up is with changing the colors of the fresh flowers you bring in, one year I will do all red, one year all white (my personal favorite) one year I won't do flowers at all but instead only evergreen and pine cones. I also started collecting nutcrackers a few years ago,  and these make beautiful decorative objects placed anywhere from a mantle, to a side chest, console, a grouping on a cocktail table..they even look great on a kitchen island. I have picked them up everywhere from my local CVS and Costco's to Horchow and dept. stores. For the actual tree....I always top my tree with bows after all the ornaments have been hung, I have two sets of bows which I had made at my local florist. One is a gold and the other is a red, green and gold plaid. Switching out the bows has a big impact on the tree and its overall feeling. There are no rules for holiday decorating, just go with what you love and your home will reflect that. So below are some of the holiday inspirations that I love.......happy tree trimming!

Nothing speaks to the warmth and magic of the holidays like an over sized Christmas wreath placed on your front door.....its the first thing to welcome your guests in. Pinterest

Or having a pair of nutcrackers  stand guard at the front door! RH

Fill your front door urns or planters with a big spray of evergreens...always beautiful! 

You cannot underestimate the power of beautiful white twinkling lights....a must have on any Christmas tree! TH

A beautiful table laden with holiday foods, decorated with the Christmas spirit in mind always sets the tone for a beautiful and elegant holiday season.

Can't forget a tree skirt....might as well make it a pretty one! HGTV

A great big spray of evergreens and berries on a side chest is a decadent and beautiful Holiday statement ala Christopher Hyland!

This is actually my old dining room (oh how I miss that room) something as simple as draping a big  spray of evergreen and a great big bow in the middle  made it appear very festive, eventually I replaced my dogs with more festive nutcrackers!

To me, an abundance of greenery and pinecones with berries is the perfect touch for above a mantle and something everyone can do....Decorpad

When it comes to ornaments, I like to choose a few special ones every year to add to my collection that have meaning, either something that symbolizes something my sons or husbands love and I always add a few cherub ornaments every year to my growing cherub collection, Martha Stewart

Never met a pinecone I didn't want to decorate with! Love them all over the place, from pinecone topiaries to placing a great big bowl of scented pinecones near a front entry hall.

Whats better than one tree? Two beautiful trees flanking an elegant wreath! Pinterest

A tree decorated in gold is always so regal.....TH

Paperwhites add such beauty and such a fragrant smell to a dining table Pinterest

Love this idea, and so easy to do. You could set a dining table with one on each place setting or give this as a small holiday parting gift to your guests! Pinterest

I love the idea of having large topiaries with pointsettas on other seasonal flowers flanking a staircase, this was my old foyer.....brings back many happy memories! As you can see I loved decorating for the holidays....and LOVE a garland going down the stairs.

Any seasonal holiday flower in small clusters is a beautiful way to dress up a side chest, console, dining table or even add a small vase to a powder room for your guests

Natural greens are such a wonderful way to bring a little bit of the outdoors in....TH

How about hanging a wreath draped with ribbon above an interior doorway? Yes!

Christopher Hyland

Nutcrackers flanking a fireplace is always such a beautiful way to dress it up 

Paperwhites are amongst one of my most favorite holiday flowers, with their beautiful crisp white color and fragrant smell, I like putting them in  beautiful urns or containers and filling the bottom with small glistening ornaments as shown. Pinterest

The lushness of a very full garland can make any room feel grand and elegant, I say go for the fullest garland and wreath you can find, in this case bigger is better!

Love seeing potted seasonal flowers next to the soft glow of candles in votive holders on a mantle top

A tall slender tree can be made to feel fuller with many ornaments and topped with gold bows

Burning beautifully scented candles is a must do.....Pinterest

How about the idea of adding greeenry and berries to a chandelier? Love it! Christopher Hyland

Love the idea of filling an old oversized urn with beautifully wrapped gifts, just like little jewels!

And if you really want to get ambitious, hire yourself a "sleigh driver" and head into the woods to find your very own tree......happy decorating! (I have always dreamed of doing this but it would have to look just like the picture above)!

Here are six things I always do for holiday decorating/tree trimming-

1. Buy plenty of fresh garland, not only for the stairs but it looks beautiful draped over a dining room sideboard, a foyer console or any mantle (I get it very reasonably at a place like Costco's) even a small section around the mirror in a powder room is a lovely touch.

2. I buy big bags of pinecones, you can never have too many, they are so easy to use, tied in with wire thine to the garland, big bowls of them (especially the scented ones) around the house, and in a bathroom they make the holidays felt throughout the entire home!

3.I always have some fresh holiday flowers, whether I buy the bulbs in the fall (normally I am not that organized)  and let them blossom on their own or buy blooms at a local florist, nothing graces a holiday home like a beautiful amaryllis, paperwhite or pointsetta

4. Consider having beautiful bows made by your florist, choose the ribbon on your own (you can get big spools for 50% at Michaels) and most florists will only charge a  nominal fee to make them. Bows are great for the tree, wreaths, and the garland that you place throughout the home

5. I always have a holiday scented candle burning in the foyer and kitchen, and when we have guests, I always make sure to have one in the living, dining room and powder room too. Candles make one feel welcome and cozy. And let's not even forget the wonderful scent that permeates throughout the house!

6. Holiday music.....pick a favorite artist and crank up that Christmas music, nothing will get you in the mood like festive Christmas music! My dancing and singing has permanently traumatized my boys, but that doesn't stop me from allowing Holiday music to get me in the mood!

This was great fun, and now I am feeling ready at last to tackle Christmas 2011....bring it on!!! Hope you got some ideas too!

Barbara, many thanks for having me here.....and happy holiday decorating!

With all best wishes for a joyous holiday season and the best in 2012!

Thank you Tina for such a creative and inspiring post-I know what I'll be doing this weekend! Next stop, Monday in Seville, Spain for our festive first course with Decadence for Divas!