If you are planning to have a Cinco de Mayo party or are looking for a fun decoration for a birthday or other kind of celebration, then consider incorporating a pinata. I just found a great resource for already-made or custom-designed pinatas that are so special I would use them at a party that we were planning; Dale’ Pinatas, on Etsy. Dale’ means “hit it” in Spanish ~ just make sure that everyone stands back during this activity so that your whack does not end up on America’s Funniest Home Videos!

Lin Ellis is one of the principals of Running in Stilettos, a full-service lifestyle management, personal concierge, event planning, home organizing & design & property care firm covering the southern Lake Norman area. Running in Stilettos is proud to be members of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, National Organization of Professional Organizers & the International Concierge & Lifestyle Management Association.

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There is s-o-o much more you can do with ornaments besides grabbing a hook & hanging them on your tree. Today, I am sharing a little ornament inspiration with you.

Strung with coordinating ribbon, ornaments make a fabulous window display ~

Make an ornament wreath & fill cloches, apothecary jars & glass bowls with ornaments ~

Glam up your chandelier ~

Decorate your holiday table with ornaments ~

Hang from a banister or mantle ~

Make a Christmas tree mobile (directions here from notmartha) ~

As you will notice, fishing line is a great friend when decorating your home ~ it is always in my toolkit when doing holiday decorating for clients.

Lin Ellis is one of the principals of Running in Stilettos, a full-service lifestyle management, personal concierge, event planning, home organizing & design & property care firm covering the southern Lake Norman area. Running in Stilettos is proud to be members of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, National Organization of Professional Organizers & the International Concierge & Lifestyle Management Association.

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photo credits: centsational girl, country living, not martha, apartment therapy, running in stilettos

If you want to make a gift for yourself or a special someone that is heartfelt & very personal, consider making your own snow globe.

All items can be found at a craft store ~ you will need:
. a jar of your choice (with a lid)
. figurines or jewelery
. anti-rust sealant for metal pieces
. clear-drying epoxy
. distilled water
. a dash of glycerin
. large silver/white glitter (smaller versions will float at the top)

Steps:
1. use clear-drying epoxy to adhere your piece to the inside of the lid. let dry per instructions
2. after the epoxy dries completely, fill your jar with distilled water
3. add just a dash of glycerin ~ so the “snow” falls slowly.
4. add as much glitter as you like. If you don’t like the look of glitter, you can usually find faux snow at craft stores.
5. Screw your lid on tightly and enjoy your snow globe!

These snow globes were famously made by Taylor Swift ~

This is a fun Christmas project to do with kids ~

Lin Ellis is one of the principals of Running in Stilettos, a full-service lifestyle management, personal concierge, event planning, home organizing & design & property care firm covering the southern Lake Norman area. Running in Stilettos is proud to be members of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, National Organization of Professional Organizers & the International Concierge & Lifestyle Management Association.

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photo credits: taste of country, anthropologie, the creative mama

Dessert buffets have become a popular addition to wedding receptions & open houses. You can customize the desserts, the color palette & decor to fit your event’s theme or the specific holiday you are celebrating.

If you want guests to go home with some pastries, aim for these quantities:

for 8 people: 80 pastries, 4 bottles of wine, 2 pots of coffee
for 16 people: 160 pastries, 8 bottles of wine, 3 pots of coffee
for 24 people: 240 pastries, 12 bottles of wine, 5 pots of coffee

To be visually effective, alter the heights of your serving pieces. And, consider adding a candy buffet utilizing apothecary jars.

Want to include some sweet treats that are sure to garner the complements? Here are a few suggestions ~

Lin Ellis is one of the principals of Running in Stilettos, a full-service lifestyle management, personal concierge, event planning, home organizing & design & property care firm covering the southern Lake Norman area. Running in Stilettos is proud to be members of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, National Organization of Professional Organizers & the International Concierge & Lifestyle Management Association.

photo credits: my sweet & saucy, style me pretty, project wedding & erichegwer, bakerella, tee&cakes, hostess w/ mostess, love from the oven

You are deep in the midst of planning for your party or event ~ you have developed your theme, the invitations have been sent & you are working on your decorations, flowers, menu, beverages, music/entertainment. You want to capture images of this special day ~ the options range from diy with your digital or disposable camera, enlisting a talented friend, hiring a professional photographer, to:

Renting a photo booth for a day can run in excess of $700-, but there is a viable alternative ~ make your own, which is exactly what we did for our events:

We took pvc pipe & draped it with some cool fabric from Ikea for about $8- a yard ~

& added these ~

We’ve used a photo booth at several events (available to rent for a nominal fee) & have learned that the key to making it a success in capturing those precious memories is to have someone man the booth during the entire party & encourage everyone to jump into the fun. Actually, this is usually quite easy after everyone has had some liquid courage!

And, finally, here are some tips for the big day:

Allow extra time ~ things take longer than you envision, so avoid the 11th hour stress by starting earlier than you think you should

Plan for the early bird & very fashionably late guest

If you are drawing together guests who may not know each other, have a few ice-breakers up your sleeve

Consider hiring help ~ this will enable you to actually enjoy your own party & not be stuck with all the clean-up

Relax, put on your party clothes & smile!!!

Lin Ellis is one of the principals of Running in Stilettos, a full-service property care, personal concierge & lifestyle management firm covering the southern Lake Norman area. Lin is passionate about art & design & started a design blog, Style is in the Details, two years ago & also writes all of the blog posts for Running in Stilettos.

Here is where we left off from Tuesday’s post on planning the perfect party:

3. It’s now time to embrace the nitty gritty portion of event planning process &, to me, the most fun part ~ the invitations, decorations, flowers, menu, beverages, music/entertainment, etc.

First up the invitations ~

For a small dinner party a personal call is all that is needed, but for a bigger soiree’, there are 2 choices: via an internet “e-vite” or via snail mail. Most everyone has sent or gotten an invitation from evite, but there are several other web-based invitation services ~ pingg, paperlesspost, crush3r, punchbowl, zoji & of course, facebook.

For a traditional printed invitation, there are endless options all over the web, but I suggest going to a local resource. I use Papaya Papers, in Cornelius, for my clients. They have a great selection, are friendly & extremely helpful & they turn around their printing in a day.

Your decorations & flowers should support your theme or the mood as determined in step #1. Everything should tie together & things to think about include centerpieces, place settings, favors or props, candles, banners, etc.

Magazines & blogs can be amazing sources of inspiration & don’t shy away from some diy projects.

If you are catering your event yourself, my greatest piece of advise is not to get too overly ambitious ~ & do a dry run of all your dishes. A nice mix of warm & cold food & dishes you can make in advance work the best.

Don’t leave all your preparation to the day of your party. Consider getting some trays or additional food items from the Fresh Market or other grocer to supplement the dishes you want to make just to make things a little easier.

And, my biggest tip, add 30% to amount of time you think anything will take to make.

A lot of parties will work very well with some great wine & beer selections as well as bottled waters & sodas. If you are offering mixed drinks, consider enlisting a bartender.

A party should thrill all your guests senses ~ touch, taste, sight, smell & hearing ~ music is critical to that last one. Your music should support your event, not compete with it. Whether you hire a band or singer or put together your own playlist, make sure your tunes complement your event & don’t overpower it.

Lin Ellis is one of the principals of Running in Stilettos, a full-service property care, personal concierge & lifestyle management firm covering the southern Lake Norman area. Lin is passionate about art & design & started a design blog, Style is in the Details, two years ago & also writes all of the blog posts for Running in Stilettos.