Moms & Munchkins

I am so excited to introduce you to Chris with Celebrations at Home. I came across her site a couple of months ago when searching tips for creating a beautiful dessert table – you can see her creative tutorial here – and I was amazed at all of her fabulous ideas! Not only will you find planning inspiration on the site but you’ll also find loads of tips in the Party Design Basics tutorial series. Today Chris will share some tips with us on setting the scene for a beautiful and memorable celebration.

1) What is Celebrations at Home?

Celebrations At Home (CAH) is a blog all about stylish entertaining.  I like to think of it as a fusion between the classic text based “entertaining blog” and the heavily detailed “party blog,” with lots of photos and usable tips.  I’m extremely visual so if it’s not pretty to look at, I won’t stop and read.

CAH focuses on everyday get-togethers as well as the big celebrations in life.  Why wait for one day a year for gatherings when you can celebrate life, family, & friends every weekend?….And do it with style of course!  We share parties, recipes, easy DIY’s, and even sprinkle in ideas for home decor once in a while.

2) Do you have any tips on how to add a special WOW factor into your party?

It’s actually quite easy to add a wow factor to parties because most people (guests) simply aren’t used to seeing it.  As bloggers we get desensitized by all the details we see every day, but for the average hostess and her guests, it’s as simple as adding printed labels, a signature drink with a cute name and matching color, or adding ribbon bows to display pieces.

To go a step further, hang a fabric bunting, set the food up with an interesting presentation, and create a fabric backdrop as a focal point to a table or photo booth.

3) What are some of your favorite ways to take ordinary food and dress it up for a party buffet table?

Any time you can turn food into mini sizes it makes it more interesting.  It also makes it easier to handle and eat.  For instance, instead of serving one big cheese ball, roll the mixture into tiny individual sized versions like these.

Some of my tools of the trade for dressing up food are chocolate molds and ice molds, a piping bag with tips, different sizes and shapes of cookie cutters, and glass votive holders.

The chocolate molds make great toppers for cupcakes;  the ice molds can be filled with juice or berries to add flavor to drinks; piping bags can be used for more than icing cupcakes – you can use  them to pipe mashed potatoes into the glass votive holders for individual serving sizes; cookie cutters can cut cookies, biscuits, sandwiches, or fruit.  I share even more tips and photos for dressing up food, here.

4) What is the newest trend in dessert selections for parties? Is it still cake pops or is there something else that is becoming more popular?

I think cake pops have almost become a classic at this point.  Personally I like to make an easier version – brownie pops.  These are far less messy to make since you don’t need to mix in the frosting.  The moisture in the brownie holds itself together.

I’ve always enjoyed serving mini parfaits and I’m seeing these a lot more often now.  Anything that can be served in small glass containers has gotten very popular, from pies in jars to mousse shots.

Also, macaroons are still going strong!

5) What are some of your favorite DIY projects for party favors?

My favorite party favor that I’ve created was the tea bag cookie holder I made for a tea party.  What makes it so great is that it’s a themed favor so it blends into the party, it’s easy to do with items you find locally, and it’s totally unique.

There are so many packaging options now, from boxes, to bags, to tubes.  Fill any of these small containers with homemade or designer cookies, truffles, or other small candies and wrap it in a bow and printable tag.  When the favors are displayed all together, or at each place setting it will look like a million bucks.

All photos featured here are courtesy of the Celebrations At Home blog.

We’d like to send a big Thank You to Chris for being featured in this Party Tip Tuesday! Be sure to check out the links to her social media accounts (top right side of her site) to keep updated on all of the creative ideas and easy-to-follow tips.

Do you have party related questions that you’d like me to ask an expert? Do you have a favorite expert that you’d love to see featured? Please contact me to let me know!