Traditional Yet Informal Holiday Hosting

I can’t remember the last time we hosted… perhaps late November of 2019? Regardless, I’m eager to get back to it. In the meantime, I’m resharing this informal-meets-traditional tablescape I created for Food52 during a live broadcast, in the hopes it’ll provide some ideas for folks who are entertaining in small spaces this holiday season:

Low Waste Holiday Wall Decor for Small Spaces

Not enough room for a tree in your small space? Here’s one easy way to use fresh greenery to create space savvy holiday decor for a small home. (View the 30-second video here.)

List of supplies:

• Live branches

• A bit of rope

• A nail or damage-free Command strip

• Battery-operated twinkle lights (we use rechargables)

• A zip tie (to attach the battery pack to the back of the branch)

• Clippers

I simply wrapped the twinkle lights around the branch, tied the rope to either end, suspended the entire piece from a sturdy wall hook, and then added small florals and twigs throughout the branch for a pop of color and variation in texture. I carefully spritz the branch with a bit of water every few days, and replace the bright floral clippings as needed after they’ve fully dried up.

The final result is simple yet striking. And, best of all, at the end of the season the rope, hook and twinkle lights can be reused, and the greenery can go in the compost.

Low Waste, Small Space Holiday Wall Decor

Not enough room for a tree in your small space? (Same here, although our 4 year old might wear me down with his requests to get a tabletop version this year.) Either way, here’s one easy way to use fresh greenery to create space savvy holiday decor for a small home. (View the 30-second video here.)

List of supplies:

• Live branches

• A bit of rope

• A nail or damage-free Command strip

• Battery-operated twinkle lights (we use rechargables)

• A zip tie (to attach the battery pack to the back of the branch)

• Clippers

I simply wrapped the twinkle lights around the branch, tied the rope to either end, suspended the entire piece from a sturdy wall hook, and then added small florals and twigs throughout the branch for a pop of color and variation in texture. I carefully spritz the branch with a bit of water every few days, and replace the bright floral clippings as needed after they’ve fully dried up.

The final result is simple yet striking. And, best of all, at the end of the season the rope, hook and twinkle lights can be reused, and the greenery can go in the compost.

P.S. Here’s an alternative for folks who prefer an artificial, ready-made version.

A Traditional-Meets-Informal Holiday Table

As a way of showcasing some informal-meets-traditional tablescape ideas for this holiday season during which we’ll be sheltering-in-place, Food52 invited me to do LIVE broadcast in which I styled this lil’ vintage garden table at the cottage for their online community. Photos below:

(Click here to view the IGTV LIVE video via Food52.)