Holiday Party

I threw an early Holiday Party for a handful of my friends at Strip House, a sexy steakhouse on East 12th Street in NYC. Here are some helpful tips from decorations to being the guests that are invited:

- Serve a signature cocktail. This way the investment in alcohol is not a lot and if you make it in a color that matches the theme of the party, they will look pretty in pictures with everyone holding the same thing. In my case, the bartender at Strip House created "The Hottie" in a provocative red to suit my holiday theme.

- Always have on hand a presentation of non-alcoholic drinks such as sparkling water, juices and soda. You'll always have guests that won't drink or can't because they have to drive.

- To create an abundant center piece, purchase mini vases from your local home shop such as, Ikea or Target. Place single flowers in them. Hydrangeas are my flowers of choice, they are colorful (choose colors according to your theme), usually big and fluffy and cost effective. Then scatter rose petals around your mini vases.

- If using flowers aren't your first choice, purchase candles that are in unique tumblers. In my case, I bought these candles by Altru in copper tumblers. The tumblers can be given to your guests or reused as a vase after the candle has finished its burn.

- Another option is to fill small vases with berries. To go with my red holiday theme party, I filled my glass vases with little strawberries and tied each vase with a pink ribbon. The ribbon adds a nice finished touch.

- When using candles as centerpieces or decorations on the table, do not light the candles as the scents will compete with the aroma of the food. Leave them unlit unless they are unscented.

- A great investment for parties and dinners is a coffee machine that makes single pods of different flavor and style coffees. Dulce Gusto sells for $169 and will make anything from regular coffee to cappuccinos and lattes. Guests always love coffee at the end of the night, especially if you create a coffee bar for them to play around with.

- Always send guests home with a piece of something from your party. You don't have to spend a lot of money on party favors as it will be the thought and memories that the guests will remember most. For my party, pastry chef Cecile from Macaron Cafe made chocolate macarons painted in edible 24k gold for my guests. She placed each delicate macaron in cellophane bags and tied them with a ribbon. For you at home, you can purchase Oreos covered in holiday colors icing or bake cookies with holiday images on them. Individually wrap them and finish it off with a ribbon and a little card of thank you. Your guests will sure to leave smiling.

- As a guest, attending a party at a restaurant or at someone's home - it is always nice and appreciated to bring the host a holiday gift. Put some thought into the gift, match personalities to what you are buying. That's the least you can do for someone who's graciously opening their home to you or had spent the money throwing a fantastic party.