Gifts Affair

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INVITATIONS

Set the mood.  Choose one of these Christmas party invitations to create and send your invitation.

GIFTS

Spread a little extra good cheer by giving gifts at your party.
Here’s how:

Host a gift exchange

Gift exchange keeps costs low and suspense high as people figure out who their Secret Santa was.

Give each guest a personalized gift

A small, thoughtful gift is an unexpected, and welcome, touch at any holiday party.

Personalize holiday gifts ideas:

A mug filled with hot chocolate mix: Choose your favorite recipe for hot chocolate, and put together bags of the dry ingredients. Write out the recipe, and attach the recipe to the bag with a ribbon. Place the bag in a holiday mug–no gift wrap needed!

A CD of your favorite holiday songs: Mix classics by Frank, Mel and Dean with pop hits like those in our Christmas party music section of this Christmas planning page.

Before any guests leave, put out your gifts near the front door. If you’re giving identical gifts, just wrap them and place them in a basket. If your gift is specific to each guest, put a prominent gift tag on each gift and lay them out on a table so people can easily find their gifts.

MUSIC

Set the holiday spirit with music

FOOD

Snacky parties are easier on the cooks and the wallets than most other holiday parties. So break out the cocktail shaker and start cutting food up into bite-size pieces.

Keep the menu simple with olives, cheese and crackers and assorted nuts-include roasted chestnuts to really get into the spirit of the season.

For heartier snacks, add mini-sandwiches, meat or fish skewers or a cheese fondue.

Stock bar basics, or keep your sips simple by sticking with wine and a holiday cocktail.

Ensconced in tiny, exquisitely decorated boxes, a few candies or a slice of groom’s cake become delightful gifts for guests to take with them at the end of the celebration. You can easily prepare the favors in large quantities if you use an assembly-line approach, but start early to avoid a last-minute rush.

Start with plain, inexpensive boxes, and fill them with anything you like: a souvenir from the city you are marrying in; a scented soap; or a few scrumptious cookies, chocolates, or other sweets. And be sure to consider how best to display the finished favors. You might arrange them in rows on a large table by the door, pile them in bowls for centerpieces, or set them at each guest’s place — perhaps even having them serve double duty as place cards.

Here are a few of our favorite ways to decorate favor boxes:

1. A paper ribbon printed with poetry binds a stack of boxes (top left).

2. A blue ribbon threaded through the lid and sides and secured with knots creates a handle for this box.

3. This package is sealed with a personalized label made using a rubber stamp.

4. A copper-cord tie is finished with a monogrammed wax seal.

5. Buttons make charming closures: Punch holes in the box’s lid for the button, slip wire through, and fasten on the underside; tie a ribbon to the button’s base, loop it around the box, and wrap to secure.

6. The message on this lilac scroll was calligraphed, then photocopied onto the paper.

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