Christmas

Holiday Prep + Well Crafted Gift Guide

December 16, 2016 7 Comments Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… right? Bueller?

Okay, I have to admit, while I LOVE this time of year it does at times get stressful and overwhelming. Sometimes I can’t see the next move between my holiday obligations, work, family, finances, expectations, and occasional crazy weather. At this point in time I’ve only done just a little bit of holiday shopping (YIKES). Though, if you are like me then you will be excited to read that I have some great last minute holiday prep materials for you right now!

My 2016 Holiday Gift Guide was sponsored by several great companies. All of the companies I choose to highlight are ones that I use and can recommend on my personal experience.

Click to download my Holiday Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide & Holiday Prep Printables!

Included in the Well Crafted Holiday Gift Guide:

Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Her
Stocking Suffer Ideas for Him
Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Blogger
Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Home Entertainer
Free Printable Holiday Checklist
Free Printable Holiday Gift Tags

Check out the posts:

Click to download the free gift guide for articles, recipes, printables, and great gift suggestions!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas

Last Minute Holiday Party Tips

December 14, 2016 11 Comments Christmas

The holidays are seriously right around the corner and I am a little bit shocked. I still have my stocking stuffer gift guides coming to the blog and lots of holiday shopping that still needs to be done. YIKES! This weekend will likely be a big holiday party weekend and I was thrilled to be asked back to KATU’s Afternoon Live to share my last minute holiday party tips.

Here is my spot! Scroll below to look for links to some of the items discussed on this clip.

Holiday Party Tips

Below are some of the tips I shared in my segment and some great links to more tips, recipes, ideas, and DIYs. I also snapped a few behind the scene photos from yesterdays shoot and have shared them below.

Think of people’s schedules.

My favorite type of holiday party to host is an Open House style party so that people can come and go as they please and still make it to any other holiday obligations they may have. Brunch time parties, late afternoon, or early evening are great times for an Open House style party. Avoid dinner time as you would want to serve heavier foods and more people have plans during the holidays at dinner time.

Holiday Party Decor Tips - Behind the Scenes at KATU - A Well Crafted Party — The Holiday Party Decor Tips Segment Set-Up before rolling on screen!

Decorate with What You Have

Use items from your own holiday decor or that will coordinate with your holiday decor to decorate for your holiday party. Use natural elements such as garlands and rosemary Christmas trees as decoration as well. (See the Natural Green & White Holiday Party for more ideas.)

Pick a color scheme and use it throughout the party.

Pick a color scheme that coordinates with the holiday decor items you are using and extend that throughout the party to make everything look like it goes together. (Use balloons on stemless beverage-ware to make your glasses stand out and coordinate. This tip has been on a lot of party blogs, but I think the first place I saw it was over on Hostess with the Mostess – click for her tutorial on balloon dipped glasses!)

Create height at the food buffet.

Use platters and stands to create a food display at various heights. TIP: If you don’t have a lot of stands and platters fill a vase with holiday decor and set your platter on top. You can also make yourself an awesome (and inexpensive) cake stand with a glass, glue, and plate! (Check out my tutorial on EAT DRINK PRETTY for making your own cake stand.)

Serve bite sized appetizers and just refill your platters throughout the party.

This not only looks better but it is safer than letting food sit for several hours. Keep platters prepped and in the fridge or in the oven on warm setting so that you can easily replenish. If you are worried about spending the afternoon replenishing platters instead of engaging with your guests farm that chore out to family and friends who ask how they may help. (Check out my favorite holiday appetizers .)

The holiday bar set up before its TV debut!

Set up a Beverage Bar!

Don’t spend the entire party making your guests drinks. Set out a simple beverage bar or batch drink (punch bowls are totally back in style) and let guests serve themselves. For the holidays I recommend creating a Sparkling Wine bar with additions such as pomegranate seeds, sugared rosemary, sugared cranberries, and your favorite liquor. I love the Marrionberry Vodka from Wild Roots as a festive addition to a glass of sparkling wine. Pour 3/4 oz of Marrionberry Vodka into a glass and top (carefully, it will bubble!) with 5 oz of sparkling wine. Garnish with a sprig of sugared rosemary.

Yes, Give Party Favors.

Party favors are a way to extend your party in the memories of your guests. Give them something to enjoy after the party! My favorite holiday party favor ideas:

Set out little holiday bags or boxes for your guests to fill with sweets. BONUS: Now you won’t have a ton of leftover sweets from the party!
Give your guests a small bag of stocking stuffers. They can use the ones that they want or they can use them in stockings at home so that they don’t have to go out and buy as much. I’d LOVE for someone to do me the favor of getting some of that type of holiday shopping out of the way.
Give an ornament. Beautiful and small ornaments are a really lovely way for a guest to remember the party year after year.

Check out my NYE Ideas for a Holiday Game Night as well.

What is the best holiday party that you’ve ever attended? Comment below, I’d love to know!

Christmas

Holidays in Portland: Zoo Lights + A Giveaway!

December 5, 2016 7 Comments Christmas

What are your favorite holiday traditions? My little family have begun traditions over the past few years that I hope will last our lifetime and possibly end up as traditions my kids keep with their kids someday. One of my favorite holiday traditions that we try to do every year is visiting Oregon Zoo’s Zoo Lights. This year the whole family attended and I got to share my joy of holiday lights and zoo animals with two very excited little guys! Read on to see my tips for an enjoyable #ZooLightsPDX experience, cute photos of kiddos, and a chance to win a package of 4 tickets to this year’s Zoo Lights!

This post is sponsored, all opinions are my own. To learn more about my posting policies regarding sponsored posts please visit my policies page. As always, thank you for reading more about the companies that help support this blog.

If you were following my Instastories or Snapchat last week you might have seen my very, very excited posts about Zoo Lights. I just can’t help it. I LOVE the feeling that this season brings and the twinkly lights just push it over the moon for me. Don’t even get me started on how I feel about Santa and snow this season. Heart eyes all day long.

Tips for Making the Most out of Your Zoo Lights Experience

Plan your trip— Zoo Lights this year has some pretty great hours and fun extra opportunities. Plan your trip to make the most of your budget and experience. ZooLights is open 5 PM to 8 PM on Value Nights and 5PM to 9PM all other nights. ZooLights is open 7 days a week until January 1st with the exception of December 24th and 25th. Zoo Members get discounts on food purchases, gift store purchases, the carousel, and train.

Take advantage of Zoo Value Nights: Monday through Thursday November 28th through December 15th tickets are $9.95 (adults), $7.95 (seniors), and $4.95 (youth) with $1.50 off with proof of Trimet fare.

Tip: Take public transportation! While we had no problems with parking on a Thursday night and found that the parking fee was reasonable… I do recommend taking public transportation. Public transportation can drop you right off at the zoo and will give you a discount for your tickets. If the parking lot is full there is a parking shuttle from the overflow parking area, but it can mean some waiting in the cold. Might as well do a park and ride and make your trip less of a hassle.

Dress appropriately— It is Oregon in winter. It often rains and up where the zoo is located is often cooler than other areas of Portland. Dress for cold weather. We have gone to zoo lights for nearly 5 years now and I think this was the first year that we REALLY dressed for it. We had many layers on, a blanket for the kiddo in his stroller, and outerwear that was rain resistant. Thankfully we barely got a drizzle while there, but I was glad that we were prepared.

Get tickets for the Zoo Train— Maybe it is just because I have two little boys who love trains… but, this was my favorite part of the whole trip. The trains are decorated and drive through the zoo where you get to see the lights all while in a comfortable little cart. I had been waiting for huge lines at the train, but was pleasantly surprised to find that they gave us tickets for certain times which meant that when we went to the train we had a less than 5 minute wait!

Get your family photo in the tunnel of lights! There are so many great photo opportunities at Zoo Lights, but this is my favorite. I am so glad that it is a staple in the zoo light decorations and comes back year after year.

Win 4 Tickets to Oregon Zoo’s Zoo Lights 2016

Must be 18+ years of age or older, and a US resident to enter to win. Winner will be notified via email, so please leave a valid email address within your comment on with Rafflecopter. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning email to claim their prize. If they do not respond a new winner will be chosen. Upon confirmation, tickets will be placed in will call at the zoo under the winner’s name. Tickets are valid for one-time use from completion of contest through the last night of ZooLights (January 1, 2017). Visit the Zoo Website for more information about ZooLights. Value of four tickets is $59.80. No cash value. Non-transferrable.

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