Apartment Blog

Thinking about throwing a holiday get-together? ‘Tis the season for elusive, ugly and tacky Christmas sweater parties!  Tacky sweater parties are a perfect theme for a fun yet festive party. Follow these tips to throw a successful tacky Christmas sweater party this holiday that is cost effective.

1. Send Invitations: Send out an evite to all of your guests and have the image be a picture of you or your grandparents in their favorite holiday sweater. Be sure to provide all of the details (especially the fun ones like the games and prizes included).

2. Find the Best Tacky Christmas Sweater: The best part of the party is OBVIOUSLY the sweater. Here are some ideas on places to find these fabulous outdated fashion statements: Garage Sales, Family Members (aka. Grandma and Grandpa) and Thrift Stores.

3. Don’t Forget Accessories: Accessories can often times make the tacky sweater that much tackier! Go to your local drug store and look for lighted pins, reindeer antlers, Santa hats, tinsel and more!

4. Make a Centerpiece: Creating a neat centerpiece that can actually be devoured is ideal. Make a ginger bread house with candy and icing to use as a centerpiece for the food table. Something tells me that this will be eaten after tip #9.

5. Provide an Award: Have a trophy personalized that says “Tackiest Sweater Award 2008″. After all of the guests have arrived, simply have them write on a piece of paper who they think should win and then count up the votes.

6. Food: Select a potluck style that will work best for you and your guests. For example: (1) appetizers only, (2) bring your favorite dish, (3) assign each guest to bring an appetizer, main dish, or dessert, or (4) as the host, you will provide the main dish (a turkey, ham, etc.) Try and coordinate this in advance so you don’t have duplicate dishes.

7. Beverages: There are a variety of factors to consider when selecting your beverages for your party. It’s important to have something available for everyone’s likes and dislikes. Be sure to have a variety of mixers on hand as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Having a pre-made themed beverage also saves time and money while still being festive.

8. Keep the Bathroom Line Entertained: All those beverages can certainly call for a long line at the restroom. Decorate your bathroom door with wrapping paper, ribbon and a bow and have people sign the door and write a message on the wrapping paper. The messages are bound to be great conversation starters and ice breakers.

9. Play Games: Set up a scavenger hunt with two teams. Create a checklist of all the items to provide to each team. Each team is then responsible for taking a picture of each checklist item as proof. Here are some checklist ideas: Find a street name that has a Christmas theme, take a picture with your team in your sweaters in a 7-11, sing a Christmas carol to a stranger as team, Find a Santa and sit on his lap, kiss someone under a mistletoe, find something showing one of the 12 days of Christmas etc…) This is absolutely hilarious.

10. Give Prizes: The winning team of the scavenger hunt or games that you play can receive prizes. Some good prize ideas are DVD’s, gift cards, candles, books etc… Wrap them up and put them under your tree. You could always go the gag gift route as well.

Best of luck with planning your next Tacky Christmas Sweater Party. Do you own a festive sweater that makes your friends laugh/cringe? Send it my way, and it may appear on our blog. (Please include your name, city and a brief description of the photo.)  

 As you get ready to decorate your apartment this holiday season, be sure to incorporate a few key items. These items traditionally help bring in the holiday spirit year after year!

1. A front door wreath

2. A Christmas tree

3. Stockings

4. The color RED!!

5. Presents

6. Holiday inspired centerpiece

7. The color GREEN!!

8. Candles

9. Outdoor Holiday Lighting

10. Christmas music

11. Home baked goods!

12. Nutcrackers

With all of these elements, your apartment will be ready for the holiday season. You could invite your friends over for a little get together or throw a holiday party!

With all the festivities surrounding the planning of your Thanksgiving feast, it’s no wonder you have forgotten one very important detail-the centerpiece! No worries, I’ve complied five easy and quick ways to make your centerpiece perfect for your family gathering.  The best part….most of them can be found at your local grocery store or right in your own home!!

Pumpkin Patch Centerpiece

For this masterpiece you’ll need pumpkins in a variety of sizes; one being large. Place the large pumpkin in the center of the table and arrange the other-sized pumpkins around it. To add a little bit more of décor, also add a few leaves and/or twigs.

Pumpkin Candle Centerpiece

For this Thanksgiving centerpiece, you’ll need a medium sized pumpkin, a 6 inch pillar candle, twigs, berries, and/or leaves. Cut the stem off of the top of the pumpkin. Place the pillar candle on top of the pumpkin and trace around it. Take a sharp knife and cut the circle out with about a 3 inch cut into the pumpkin and discard. Put the pillar candle inside the hole, place the twigs, leaves, and/or berries as an accent next to the candle.

Fall Bowl

With entertaining this Thanksgiving extra bowls will be sparse, as they will most likely be used for the mash potatoes, sweet potatoes and green beans. I would just recommend serving one of the sides in another shape serving ware and use the bowl for the centerpiece. For this creation, you’ll need leaves, twigs, pinecones, a pumpkin and a vibrant color ribbon.  Place the pumpkin in the middle of the bowl, tie the colored ribbon around the pumpkin (recommended colors would be red, orange or yellow). Then arrange the leaves, twigs and pinecones around the pumpkin.

Mini-Pumpkin Place Card Holders

For this table ornament, you won’t be doing one centerpiece as much as you’ll be doing several; in fact, you’ll be doing one for each guest. However many you plan on entertaining is how many little pumpkins you’ll need. Now, if this truly is a last minute project you can substitute some of the mini pumpkins for other fruits, i.e. apples and oranges.  You’ll need paper, a pen and toothpicks. Cut the paper into small square pieces. Write the names of your guests on one piece of paper. Then stick that name, with a toothpick, to the pumpkin, apple or orange. Set in front of a place setting. If you’d rather not designate seating, place these items inside a basket with leaves adorning it.  

Cake Plate Pumpkin

If you haven’t already used your cake plate or (tiered) fruit tray then save it for your beautiful centerpiece. Place the cake/pedestal plate or fruit tray in the center of the table. Arrange mini-pumpkins, a variety of fruits, leaves, twigs, or whatever you can find on top. This really is the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ type of décor.

On our site we’ve provided you some tips for your Thanksgiving feast , décor, and now your centerpiece, we truly hope this Thanksgiving will be a pleasant experience. For more centerpiece ideas check out About.com and Bhg.com.