Now that you’ve seen the inspiration, today’s post is dedicated to the details I used at my Christmas party. The decor was mainly gingham and gold-inspired, and thanks to the cocktail napkins I fell in love with at Target, I used the phrase “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry” in a few different places, starting with the invites. Since I live in a furnished student apartment, I didn’t achieve the look I wanted perfectly, but I think I did okay with what I had to work with. Most of the details were DIY and I had so much fun crafting before the party. My personal favorites are the gold-dipped mason jars, which I know I’ll get a ton of use out of, and the mini ornament garland.

{Pictures by Lisa Olson for Something Pretty}

The Hot Chocolate Bar was one of the party highlights. Just as everyone began to arrive, I started making homemade hot chocolate on the stove. Once it was ready, everyone grabbed a cup (complete with a DIY ribbon sleeve, because I couldn’t figure out any other way to make styrofoam cute) and piled on their favorite toppings. Since I decided not to serve alcohol, it was nice to have the hot chocolate as a fun drink at the beginning of the party.

Decor-wise, the snack bar was probably my favorite part.  Thanks to my mom’s gold snowflake tablecloth, this is one area that looked exactly the way I pictured it despite the rental furniture in my living room. I used clear bowls from Hobby Lobby for the chips and trail mix and gold charger plates for the cheeses and assorted flavored coconut macaroons. I loved the gold votive holders I picked up at Target, and the glittery stars came in the pack of ornaments I bought for the garland. And of course, a party isn’t quite complete without fun straws, so I picked up some classic red and white striped ones from Paper Source.

It isn’t shown in these pictures, but another detail of the party that you’ll see tomorrow is the photo backdrop I put together. I asked everyone to come dressed up, so I knew people would want pictures. Taking pictures in front of my laundry closet door is pretty lame, so I hung up about three yards of red and white gingham fabric over an open part of the living room wall. I also printed out the word “Merry” to hang across the top. You’ll see how that turned out in tomorrow’s party pictures, but I must say, I’m never having a party without some sort of photo backdrop again! As a finishing touch, I hole punched some festive confetti as a photo prop. So much fun, and the pictures turned out great!

Love, Lisa