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Thursday, December 6th, 2018
The Hyde Park Double Pedestal Dining Table 1110 plays the perfect ally to your hosting needs.
Hosting parties during the holiday season can be a stressful thing to do. But don’t worry. This year, you just might pull this off minus the stress. Here are some tips on how to take it easy this time –
What Sort of Party?
You must be able to define what get-together you are about to host. Will it be a cocktail party? A casual social gathering? Or will it be a buffet?
Prep the Invitations
As soon as you have decided what kind of parties you’ll be holding, it’s time to make a guest list. Determine also the date and time and the people whom you will invite.
You can send the invites through email, via post, or you can just call each guest and ask for a confirmation straightaway. The proper thing to do is to invite your guests three to four weeks before the party. Remember that calendars tend to fill up quite quickly during the holidays so it is best to get their yes ahead of everybody else.
Draft the Menu
It’s not too early to prepare the menu for the party that’s weeks away. Find out easy to prepare holiday foods or ask for recipes that you would want to become a traditional part of your menu.
If it’s a cocktail party that you’re going to hold, then you should also prepare for the appetizers in advance. Find those that will save you energy and time especially on the day of the party. Soups are easy to prepare plus they can feed a lot of people all at once.
Also, take note that you wouldn’t want to spend your hours during the party concocting drinks for everyone. It is better to set up a cocktail bar with infused vodkas, pre-cut garnishes, and other cocktail recipes. Your guests should be able to help themselves with ease. This separate station, as much as possible, must be located in a different area or room. There must also be a section for non-alcoholic beverages, ice, napkins, and glassware.
Oh, and don’t forget to have both regular and decaffeinated coffee, teas, cocoa and cider.
Yet Another List
After the guest list, the next list that you need to accomplish is that of the things that you need to do prior to the party. Make sure that you’re an hour early in prepping the venue so that there won’t be any shocking last minute emergencies to tend to.
Plus, finishing early will help you feel more relaxed as your guests begin arriving. You won’t have to worry about buying any last minute food or drinks. Your guests will also be glad that they can interact with you since you won’t spend the entire time cooking.
Stock Up
You also wouldn’t want to run out of finger foods if your goal is to keep everyone happy. Stock food in your pantry especially baked cookies, crackers, nuts, and popcorn.
Pestos and tapanades can be jarred and are an impressive dip for chips. Fresh sour cream can also be mixed with these.
What Décor?
Think small when it comes to your decorative items. Be sure to save some space for the food display as well as the possible floral or fruit centerpieces. Small accents like gilded nuts can fill empty spots at the buffet or the dining table.
Even bowls of vintage décor grouped according to type of color can be used to decorate the party zone. Even a simple bowl with twinkling lights would do. Don’t forget the wreaths on the door.
And, as always, just make sure to keep everything tidy so that your guests will have a good impression of your clean home.
Tags: Christmas dinner, holiday gatherings, holiday get-togethers, holiday parties, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, prepping for holiday parties, social get-together
Posted in Decorative Elements, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements, Winter Season | Comments Off on Hosting Your 2018 Holiday Party (Minus the Stress)
Thursday, April 21st, 2016
Make the media room more exciting with the Hooker Furniture Bar and Game Room Waverly Place Reversible Top Poker Table. Your poker nights will never be the same again!
Media room is a term that has undergone major evolution. It is now a generic term used for any space that is used for different purposes. This often contains a huge HDTV, surround sound systems and the most comfortable seats. Friends and relatives convene there to watch movies and sports shows. This is also the center for parties where a gazillion guests socialize
Media Room Means Social Life
Someone who wants to enjoy life will need to consider setting up a media room. This is not just your regular home theatre, though. This is a dedicated area – not just for an awesome cinema experience but also for socialization in its purest form.
So, yeah, you watch the games, enjoy some movies, bring in some popcorn and soda yet the social experience of it all is when the chatting and laughter begin. This is when the kids go loco and the lights go down. Here, the outside lives of participants are suspended as they turn off their cell phones and sit down to have a grand time.
The purists consider the media room as home theatre experience to the max. Some would even go out of their way and set up brighter projectors, the most advanced digital surround sound systems, and flat panel displays. The result, of course, is a room that is no less than the best cinematic experience provider for your family.
Creating the Media Room
Hooker Furniture Home Entertainment Studio 7H LP Record Player-Gaming Entertainment Console 5398-55464 is a cradle of entertainment.
Again, a media room isn’t there just for movie experiences. This means that you also have to arrange furniture into a conversation setup. This can be broken down later when the screen needs to be faced once more. Flexible seating is an absolute necessity inside a media room. Consider comfortable sofas, loveseats (for smaller families), or room recliners.
Next, find a screen size that will be huge enough for everyone to see. Set it up at a good angle so that everyone will be comfortable as the viewing experience begins.
If you are not sure about what to buy, measure the diagonal of your preferred screen size. Be able to sit back from the TV at a distance of 2-3 times the measurement you just took. This will optimize everyone’s viewing experience.
Aesthetics is another element that you need to think about. You need to have sound-absorbent aesthetics in your media room. Use the fluffiest sofas that you can find. Find draperies and carpets that will subdue the reflections coming from the sound system.
With regard to the overall look of the room, you must make sure that the room won’t look like a techie control center. Remember the interior finishes that are applicable to your new media room. See if you can set up remote controls but make sure they won’t go through walls and cabinet doors.
Be cutting edge. Have the media room stream movies, offer internet, and provide every possible content each day. Lighting is also a huge part of making the media room a successful project. Settle for subtle lighting that will best preserve the picture quality. There are new projection screens, though, that can now perform well even under higher ambient lighting conditions.
Put light or windows by a pool table or the bar but make sure that you can control them when it is time to dim the lights for the upcoming film showing. Just imagine how you feel when the lights go dim inside the movie theatre and that’s the amount of excitement that you are supposed to bring in to your new media room.
Set the mood for the ultimate cinema, gaming or socializing experience. Technology is just a small part of the media room. See that all other design elements are also properly set up.
Tags: decorating the media room, designing the media room, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, media room, media room design, social get-together, theater room, TV room
Posted in Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements, Special Rooms In Your Home | No Comments »
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