I was recently interviewed by The Rocky Mountain News on ideas for throwing a holiday party while keeping your budget in check. Here is a copy of the article. I hope some of you get some good inspiration from this and don’t let the economy keep you from celebrating the holidays with friends and family!
How to throw a bargain bash
Spread holiday cheer without breaking the bank
By Debra Melani, Special to the Rocky
Published December 5, 2008 at 4:59 p.m.
Updated December 5, 2008 at 4:59 p.m.
Logic has it, if people are cutting back on things deemed dispensable this year, then the holiday revelry went out with 2007. But who said logic has anything to do with merrymaking?
“It’s actually a great excuse to have a party, to just hang out with your friends and celebrate the season,” said Lindsay Horning, founder and event coordinator of Bliss Events in Denver, referring to times of economic unrest.
But while the parties should go on, Horning and fellow metro-area event planners agree, that doesn’t mean the people who step up to the hosting task this season should risk financial ruin.
Here are the best tips for reining in holiday-party costs from Horning; Kimberly Kee, owner of Party Stylings, Castle Rock; and Jennifer Lyn Miller, owner of Events by Jennifer Lyn, Denver:
DECOR
* Use food.
Food can serve multiple purposes; it can garnish, decorate and feed. One example, Kee said: Fill some vases with pomegranates and make your signature drink a pomegranate martini.
* Stay focused.
If you don’t have boxes of decorations, focus on three main areas, Horning said: the front porch and entryway; the bathroom that guests will use; and the food and drink area.
* Combine nature, inexpensive decor and creativity.
Horning’s suggestions:
Gather twigs from your yard, spray-paint them, tie a red bow around them and hang them on your door. In the bathroom, use candles and small decorations for a cozy feel. For the food area, wrap empty boxes or old yellow-pages books to create faux gifts. Fill vases with colorful bulb ornaments.
Miller’s suggestions:
Use those poinsettias that friends give you as centerpiece decor. Buy inexpensive candle pillars and dress them up. Use the pillars on your table, staggering heights and varying candle colors. Strategically place ornaments around them. Gather evergreen boughs and pine cones to dress up empty spaces.
Kee’s suggestions:
Wow your guests with your buffet table.
Create different heights using anything that works - paint cans, yellow pages, boxes. Place these atop your linen-covered table. Drape scraps of fabric that accent your tablecloth over the cans and boxes, and tuck them around the bases. (Find these scraps in the fabric-store clearance bin.) For example, if your bottom cloth is blue, you might buy silver fabric scraps. Then you could use silver and blue ornaments for a holiday accent.
DRINKS
* Ditch the full bar.
All three party planners agreed on one thing: Forget the budget-busting full bar. Instead, stick with wine and beer, and serve one signature drink. For instance: Serve a pitcher of margaritas with a Mexican buffet or glasses of sparkling wine mixed with cranberry juice for a festive holiday brunch.
* Can the cans.
Don’t stock a mountain of canned sodas and bottled teas for nonalcoholic beverages. That’s both pricey and wasteful, Kee said. A cheaper, greener and more fun alternative? Serve a mocktail. Kee’s favorite: Mix equal parts Ocean Spray white cranberry peach with club soda. Dress it up with orange slices or berries. Next to this peachy concoction, set varied flavors of infused vodkas for self- serve cocktail-mixing.
* Make it a wine-tasting.
Share your menu with your guests and ask them to bring a wine that pairs with one of the foods, Miller said. Or go with the recession theme and challenge everyone to bring a good wine for less than $10, Horning said. “That way, drinks are provided and everybody gets to try some new wines.”
DETAILS
* Invitations:
For truly cost-effective, use evite.com. The invitations are free and convenient. But the party gals said buying invitation programs at the local craft store is better. It’s inexpensive, easy and makes a statement, Kee said. “I love paper invitations. It’s a lost piece of etiquette.”
* Music:
When cutting corners, live music is the first to go, the party experts agreed. But for a holiday party, set a holiday channel on your satellite radio, load Christmas CDs into your disc player or create a festive play list on your iPod. Horning’s secret: Check out holiday CDs from your local library.
* Party favors:
Party favors can be costly, but they’re a nice touch, the planners say. A small cellophane bag of cookies and a ribbon tie, are fine, Miller said. Kee suggests having an ornament-making table, with inexpensive glass bulbs and assorted decor from the craft store. Let guests make their own party favors. Before they leave, wrap them in tissue paper and put them in a little bag. “Every year, they’ll have this ornament to remember your party by.”
FOOD
* Trim your list.
“Invite only those you are closest to,” Kee said. Sure, it’s hard to do, but leaving 10 people off your list can dramatically reduce your tab.
* Choose off-hours.
If you throw a party during dinner hour, guests will expect a meal, which is too costly when penny-pinching. Instead, have a cocktail party at 4 p.m. or a dessert party (all the rage now) at 8 p.m.
* Ditch the plates.
Just use cocktail napkins and serve finger foods, Horning said. When guests are unable to load up plates, they eat and waste less. Plus, bite-size foods make the table look fuller and classier.
* Cook from scratch.
“If you’re having a small holiday party, homemade is always going to be more cost-effective,” Miller said. No clue what to do? Check the Food Network (her favorite) or Martha Stewart Web sites, Miller said (foodnetwork.com, marthastewart.com).
* Buy baguettes.
Doing it yourself doesn’t mean you have to splurge on fancy crab and shrimp hors d’oeuvres. Try crostinis, toasted baguette slices that you top however you like. “They’re easy and chic right now,” Horning said, and you can choose toppings to fit your budget. (See Kee’s crostini recipe suggestions in side box).
* Think seasonal.
Plan your full menu before shopping, incorporating lots of seasonal foods (turkey, ham, cranberries, pumpkin, squash), which are generally cheaper. Go ahead and buy the $10 turkey, use some in a pastry appetizer and save the rest for a family meal.
* Get double-duty out of your foods.
Plan your menu so that the dishes include like ingredients, Kee said, using cranberries as an example: Use the seasonal berries to 1) garnish platters, 2) make a homemade relish for a cheese-and-cracker tray, 3) accent a puff pastry with goat cheese and walnuts and 4) top off a highlighted cocktail.
* Forget potluck mayhem.
Although having guests bring food is less sophisticated, it can spread the cost. Don’t, however, flirt with party disaster by having an open potluck. Be specific on what each guest should bring. Or take Kee’s even safer route:
“What I would do instead is, reach out to four or five of my ‘Martha’ friends that I knew did interesting things in the kitchen.”
Making crostinis
From Kimberly Kee and her Party Stylings’ chef:
* Get a variety of baguettes, white, whole wheat, etc.
* Slice into thin rounds.
* Brush with olive oil and salt and pepper.
* Toast in oven. (Can do this two days in advance.)
Three chef suggestions:
1. Smear borson cheese (a garlicky, herb, creamy cheese) on crostini. Top with sauteed artichoke hearts (not marinated).
2. Mix chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh herbs and spread on crostini. Simmer balsamic vinegar until it reduces down into a thick syrup. Drizzle syrup over tomato topping.
3. Spread blue cheese atop crostini. Place a walnut half on top. Drizzle with warm honey.
