Most everyone is caught up in the eye-popping beauty of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, the 3D spectacle that follows the fantasy adventures of Alice as she falls down a rabbit hole and winds up in an upside-down world where most anything can happen - including tea parties! In honor of spring coming, we thought it would be fun to gather your family and friends together for something light, fun, and entertaining. Throw a tea party and then take a caravan of cars over to the nearest multiplex to see Alice's tea party in the movie.

We were inspired by the Tim Burton movie, but also by the perfect tea party (and tabletop) accessories, HomArt's Tiered Twig Servers (see photos above and below). There's something magical about the branch-like Round 3-Tier or the Rectangle 2-Tier servers that will make them the hit of your tea party. They're great ways to pile up small tea sandwiches, sweetes, scones, and other tea party treats. They also make a great centerpiece for the table, a serving station for any dinner or dessert you want to serve buffet style - think "come and get it yourself!" - or a nifty way to display decor items when you're not using them for food. We'd put collections of seashells, beautiful stones, bird nests, pine cones, and other natural found objects; but use them for more formal displays of small flea market treasures.

Let's be frank. Most families won't throw a tea party, for themselves or for others. While it's fun to do something whimsical and different every now and then, most families will use one or both of the Tiered Twig Servers to serve regular, everyday meals. They're great for holding appetizers, dinner rolls and bread, hamburgers and hotdogs and all the fixings, and other sides and entrees.

The Round 3-Tier Server is 13 inches x 23 inches and comes with three round dishwasher-safe ceramic plates, great for serving food and cleaning up afterwards. The Rectangle 2-Tier Server is 19.5 x 9 x 14 inches and comes with two rectangular dishwasher-safe ceramic plates. Both servers have cast aluminum stands that mimic tree branches, adding to the fantasy feel of the pieces. Both stands fold flat for optimal shipping and storage when not in use.

But back to tea parties (go on; try it out!). We were inspired by "10 Tips for Tea Party Etiquette," from the web's Advice with Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee. They note the difference between two different types of tea parties.  Full tea usually consists of three courses, such as scones, tea sandwiches, and sweets. Light tea will have just scones and sweets along with the tea. (Think full tea as a light lunch substitute and light tea as something between meals.)

Here are some tea party etiquette tips:

1. Eating with fingers is A-OK. But use a fork if something has a running filling or is naturally a bit messy. The fun of any tea party, however, is that this is mostly a drinking tea and picking up food with your hands sort of occasion.

2. If you lay all the courses out on your table at the same time, eat them in this order: scones or muffins, then tiny sandwiches, and save the sweets for the end. Pretty much like a regular meal where you first begin with some bread, then the main course, and ending with dessert. We recommend using small side, salad, or dessert plates for each place setting rather than a full-sized dinner plate. The food is light and bite-sized, so you don't need to serve small portions on a football field!

3. For scones or muffins, break off a bite-size piece, then put a small amount of jam or butter on it. If Devonshire or clotted cream is available, a small amount can be dabbed on after the jam. This thick cream is for scones, not for the tea.

4. Take bites of the tiny sandwiches. Never stuff the whole thing in your mouth, even though it's small.

5. If you're using sugar in your tea, try not to dip the sugar tong or sugar spoon into your tea.

6. Stir sugar and/or milk with your teaspoon, then place the teaspoon on your saucer.

7. When drinking tea, hold the cup and saucer near your chest, then take the teacup off the saucer and bring it up to your mouth to drink.

8. If the tea is hot, leave your teacup on the table to cool. No blowing allowed!

9. Hold the teacup normally. Do not stick the pinky out when drinking tea. (Sorry, Johnny Depp, but you're pouring the tea incorrectly - see movie photo at top.)

10. Try to serve the tea from teapots, but if you are using tea bags, place a small dish at your guests' place setting so the drippy tea bag can be set aside when not used to steep the tea.

But let's put the emphasis on PARTY. If tea party rules aren't followed precisely, it's still going to be a fun time. And we highly recommend the whimsical HomArt Tiered Twig Servers to add a touch of fantasy to your tabletop, available at the Design2Share Shop at OpenSky.

Design2Share was excited to host Elizabeth Kurtz of Gourmet Kosher Cooking in the Manhattan apartment of interior designer Irwin Weiner. Elizabeth found some teriffic placemats, napkins, napkin rings, cutlery, dinnerware, and silver seder accessories; Irwin rounded out the place settings with wine and water glasses and other tabletop items. Irwin styled three different Passover table settings. It's not too early to plan your table settings in time for Passover; this year it's from Tuesday, March 30 to Monday, April 5.

But we also love these table settings for any occasion, even dressier family dinners, so there's some takeaways here for every family, Jewish or not.

This is the first table setting we shot - a stunning black and silver theme. Elizabeth walks us through some of the beautiful elements of the table and where different items came from (including a great wine recommendation) in the following video. 

Irwin used his lovely 400-year-old Jacobean table for the shoot. The table is normally used as a compact library table, but two wings slide out to turn the table into dining length. Our first black-and-silver scheme plays off the rich wood grain of the table for a rich effect.

Stunning Silver

Product Sourcing and Concepts: Elizabeth Kurtzman of Gourmet Kosher Cooking

Table design by Irwin Weiner ASID

Photographed by Simon Scheiner at The Perfect Portrait

1. Fiore Kiddush cup by Sharon Geller-Metal, available at Gotham Judaica $420 – $590

2. Stunning Silver plates by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the Gourmet Kosher Cooking shop, pictured large black, large paisley, medium black, small silver border, $6 – $18 per plate.
Placemats, sterling round metal bead by Kim Seybert available at Lagoon Linens $42.50
Rosette napkins by Kim Seybert, available at www.kimseybert.com $32
Silver/crystal dome napkin ring, available at Lagoon Linens $21
Black Jewel Acrylic Stainless Steel Cutlery (set of 16 pieces), available in the GCK shop, $20

3. Flowers by flowers by Debbie, available at www.debbieflowersonline.com

4. Wave Seder Plate by Sharon Geller-Metal, available at Gotham Judaica Worth the splurge! $1700 – $3000

Look at how beautifully our Passover and Spring Dinner Party table scheme changes when we add color! Lots of soft greens, some pinks and reds, and orange lines in the glass plates punch up the place setting and turn our thoughts to the coming season.

Our second place setting scheme covers the table with a beautiful linen cloth, with eyelets allowing the rich grain of the wood table to show through. The entire setting focuses on the celebration of Spring, fitting for Passover.

Spring Is Here

Product Sourcing and Concepts: Elizabeth Kurtzman of Gourmet Kosher Cooking

Table design by Irwin Weiner ASID

Photographed by Simon Scheiner at The Perfect Portrait

1. Carmel Private Collection, Cabernet Sauvignon, available at www.onlinekosherwine.com, $17

2. Spiral Stem wine glass, Yurana glass, available in the Gourmet Kosher Cooking shop, $12

3. Tuscany Pattern large plate, made by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the GCK shop, $12
Medium green tempered glass plate, made by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the GCK shop, $9
Small tuscany plate, made by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the GKC shop, $6
Green jewel Acrylic Stainless Steel Cutlery (Set of 16 pieces), available in the GCK shop, $20
White/Green Crochet Edge Napkin, available in assorted edge colors, available at www.lagoonlinens.com or www.kimseybert.com $18
Green Sequin Dragonfly Napkin ring, available at www.lagoonlinens.com, $21
Plastic green flatware, by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the GKC shop

4. Streit’s Matza, available at supermarkets nationwide

5. Frog plate, made by Yurana glass, available in the GCK shop $21

6. Wave Seder Plate by Sharon Geller-Metal, available at Gotham Judaica Worth the splurge! $1700 – $3000
Fiore Candlesticks, by Sharon Geller-Metal, available at Gotham Judaica, small and large, $1000-$1800
Wine drop Kiddush Set, made by Sharon Geller-Metal, available at Gotham Judaica, $410 – $600

Irwin's third place setting focuses on a rich, warm combination of black and gold tones. The dramatic, deep hues of the flowers on the table go perfectly with this dressy, yet clean styling.

This final place setting scheme covers the table with a linen cloth and uses a clever gold/tan runner down the center of the table to help tie in all the rich gold in the seder accessories and plates. Elizabeth Kurtz highly recommends all the inexpensive plates we used for the shoot, available from their Gourmet Kosher Cooking shop on Open Sky. It's a great idea to spend very little money for festive glass plates that you can use for Passover or any family or party dining occasion. And Design2Share would like to thank both Elizabeth Kurtz of Gourmet Kosher Cooking and Simon Scheiner Photography, Brooklyn (ThePerfectPortrait).

Glamorous Gold

Product Sourcing and Concepts: Elizabeth Kurtzman of Gourmet Kosher Cooking

Table design by Irwin Weiner ASID

Photographed by Simon Scheiner at The Perfect Portrait

1. Flowers by Flowers by Debbie, available at www.debbieflowersonline.com

2. Glamorous gold charger, by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the Gourmet Kosher Cooking shop, $18
Large tempered glass black plate, by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the GCK shop, $12
Medium paisley gold and clear plate, by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the GCK shop, $10
Small black and gold rimmed plates, by Two Lumps of Sugar, available in the GCK shop, $6
Black Jewel Acrylic Stainless Steel Cutlery (set of 16 pieces), available in the GCK shop, $20
Organza napkin by Kim Seybert, available at www.kimseybert.com $28
Tablecloth by Mona, available at www.lagoonlinens.com $324

3. Streit’s matza, available at supermarkets nationwide

4. Seder Plate, by Esther Shahaf, available in the GCK shop, $224

5. Segal Cabernet Sauvignon, available at www.onlinekosherwine.com $18

6. Beaded Kiddush cup, by Esther Shahaf, available in the GCK shop, $110

Americans generally are timid about using bold color when decorating their homes and apartments. We fear we were all born with an automatic default setting for "white" or "beige."

But then along comes Valentine's Day, and the world suddenly turns a bright red. We're saturated with reds, pinks, and dusky oxbloods and we frankly find it refreshing to add a little heat to our normally glum and proper color environments.

Here's a decorating assignment: freshen up one room in your house or apartment this weekend by bringing in a few punches of red. You can add red in accent pillows, book jackets, artwork and frames, a colorful fabric throw draped over the back of a chair or sofa, or a hot accent rug. Go a bit mad and turn up the heat with a bit of red, pink, or related shades. It shouldn't cost much either; you can go out to Home Goods and pick up some of their red and pink accessories for very little cash. The end result will be a fresher and livelier room.

Here are a few of our Favorite Red Rooms.

Actress Angelica Huston has a smashingly red gah-gah look going for her in this dining room at her Central Valley, CA ranch. Not afraid of bright color, she's blended punchy reds with greens and blues and warm wood tones in the flooring and dining chairs to get a great look. This room suggests two great ways to get red in a hurry: red paint will get you a quick hit of color in your room and a fab red tablecloth will add an inexpensive and sharp burst of color to your room while dressing up your dining.

The woman who does a fantastic job blogging on her Soul Pretty website complained that she can't relax in a room with red walls, and that's after painting her cool living room a hot red color and adding some pink and other colorful bursts. The point is well taken that red is a lively, vibrant, and often VIBRATING color. A little of it can go a long way. But unless it's your bedroom, we think red walls are fair game and can jazz up any living space. And we love her colorful seat cushions and neutral pillows, adding great comfort to the room while taking not a drop of attention away from the bold red walls, mod art, and classic marble lines of the fireplace.

Look at the punch that red gives this 2008 Kips Bay Decorator Show House library designed by Geoffrey Bradfield. The red upholstered chairs, walls, and artwork form a strong composition that is toned down a bit by the calm of white and lucite accents.

We could learn a thing or two from master interior designer Carleton Varney. In the living room of his Upstate New York farm (above), he's toned down bright red walls and red popping up in upholstered chairs and in fabric patterns with contrasting cool blues and soft, buttery browns from his wood furniture and area rug. Beautifully done, and he's staved off boredom by fearlessly using bold color!

We love the simplicity of this Country Living decorating idea. Use a large clear jar to collect pincushions and display fabric tomatoes just as you would real tomatoes. Red collectibles would look beautiful on a breakfront, etagere, display case, or grouped together as a tablescape, too. Look for red plates, bowls, glass paperweights, marbles, salt and pepper shakers, and other items to display with color-punchy pride.

The Heart Truth: And speaking of red . . . The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI) hosts an ongoing campaign called The Heart Truth that focuses on raising heart disease awareness. Heart disease is the #1 killer of women, so it is important to spread the word not only about heart disease, but also about the risk factors associated and how all women can take action to reduce their risk of heart disease.

Become a part of The Heart Truth Healthy Action Community by pledging to take action to reduce your risk of heart disease and encourage others to join you. Post your Healthy Action badge and share with others while taking action to lead a healthier lifestyle. Choose from any of the following: Quit Smoking, Aim for a Healthy Weight, Get Moving: Exercise Regularly, Eat for Your Heart Health and Know Your Numbers. You can download the badges from NHBLI's exclusive preview page.

Also, join and encourage your friends to join the The Heart Truth fan page on Facebook. Learn of new events in your area, get first hand updates on the 2010 Red Dress Fashion Show, and share your stories with others. This is another way to add RED to help energize your life, and let's face it -- good health is the best design for your home and family.

If you're an in-the-know shopper, you'll immediately head to Wisteria, the fabulous home goods folks (they produce one of our favorite decor catalogs and have a groovy website that blends antiques and new finds with exclusive items and always-beautifully-designed pieces). 

We're excited about Wisteria's Holiday Sale, offering up to 75% off on holiday decorations and festive home decor pieces. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so we've selected some of our favorite sale-priced items in the photos below. Take out your charge card and think ahead for next year by picking out some of the real steals from this and other quality home goods purveyors. Happy Holidays!

How adorable is this Holiday Birch Train Set from Wisteria? It looks great either as a table runner/centerpiece or try it chugging along your fireplace mantle for a festive effect.

These Angelic Lace Plates, inspired by actual old lace patterns on a holiday-fresh red background will dress up a holiday table but are also lovely enough to use year round.

This set of four Christmas Tree Party Glasses is a hoot. We love the messages on each!

These Birch Reindeer are ideal decorations for your holiday table, mantle, or coffee table.

Beauty and versatility are embodied in this lovely Wisteria exclusive, their Corinthian Christmas Tree Stand. Yes, you can use it to hold your freshly-cut tree in place (and in style), but look how incredible it looks holding winter greenery and serving as a large-scale centerpiece. Buy two!

These Embroidered Linen Snowflake Stockings are elegant, simple, and homey.

Isn't this a great way to dress up plain glass votive candles! These Embroidered Linen Snowflake Votive Holders slip over glass votives to turn them into holiday luminaries. This is a wonderful gift item.

 Wisteria's Embroidered Snowflake Linen Table Runner is a charmer and coordinates so beautifully with their other Snowflake decor pieces.

How about this Gingerbread Drink Set? What an adorable way to drink your morning coffee or serve hot chocolates to holiday guests.

Elegant and simple, this Glitter Snowflake Tree Topper is a showstopper.

Look how nicely the Glitter Snowflake line extends in Wisteria's votives. Sprinkle these all over your holiday table along with taller pillar candles for a glittering and magical effect.

These Green Peppermint Pillar Candles from Wisteria look almost too good to light. We like the glittery, festive way these candles look, adding luxe to the holiday table or extra sparkle to your fireplace mantle or center hall table display.

 The small and large Red Peppermint Pillar Candles are pretty, aren't they?

If you've ever wondered how to display and tame the mess of holiday cards your family gets each year, here's a lovely solution: Wisteria's Hanging Stocking Note Holder.

Glitterama! This Snow-Flower Tree Topper will add an elegant cap to your next holiday tree. We also see some holly, evergreens, pine cones, and votive candles surrounding it as a great-idea centerpiece.

Our award for best holiday candles has to go to these charming Scarfed Skating Snowmen Candles. Wisteria's done it again!

And our award for best holiday ornaments goes to these amazing Glitter Icicles. They'll add sparkle and elegance to any tree or try hanging them from a dining room chandelier!

Place Leviton Everywhere Lights . . . everywhere! Set these little hockey-puck-size LED lights (get them in red for the holidays) on tables, the fireplace mantle, and on your holiday table. Surround them with some holiday greenery and berries. This is a cheap and easy way to add light and color, and you'll always use the lights any time of year as uplights for drama, outdoors mood dining, handy closet illumination, etc.

Add some Santa Maria Novella Potpouri in small dishes around your home. You'll have an unbelievable home fragrance to greet your guests. This is a real treat, with a fresh-from-Florence pedigree. The herbs and flowers come from the Florentine hills and are collected by hand, soaked in essence in huge earthenware jars, sealed with wax, and aged for months. The fragrance lasts for months and you can release more scent by fluffing up the potpourri on occasion with your fingers. Bella!

Some decorators recommend taking a color that dominates a room and going mad with it. One idea: paint your celing to match that dominant color. A few hours of painting with give you a bold decorating statement!

Go to a home goods store and pick up small baskets or bowls that match. Add drama to your rooms by spreading out these items and filling them with clusters of small apples, pears, walnuts, and chestnuts. You'll get a quick decorating fix with mucho impact when you multiply these accessories over several rooms and place the baskets or bowls on occasional tables, coffee tables, counters, and sideboards.

Find a great holiday gift wrap and buy roll after roll of the same pattern. Measure the back panels of bookshelves, hutches, cabinets, etageres, breakfronts, and other shelving units in your home and cut out gift wrap to fit. Use double-sided tape to affix the colorful wrap to the back of shelves and your books and accessories will really pop against this holiday backdrop. Other quick gift wrap decorating ideas: (1) Wrap the covers of hardcover books and place a colorful pile on a coffee table; (2) Cut out two sheets of gift wrap and stick them up to the front panels of your refrigerator, cutting out holes to accommodate the handles; mount your family pictures and kid art with magnets on top of this colorful background; stick a big gift bow near the top to complete the "wrapped gift" effect.

Select two colorful fabrics to quickly cover and skirt round tables in any room of the house. The fabrics should be different patterns, yet compatible, to provide a layered look (see photo below). If you have time, apply hems and end stitching to give the fabric a more finished look.

Wall sticker companies like RoomMates sell holiday sticker sets. Peel off the stickers and affix them to your wall for a simple decorating solution. When the festivities are over, peel them off your wall and put them away for next year. (Pictured below is RoomMates Build a Christmas Tree Wall sticker pack.)

Many homes are fireplace challenged, yet a fireplace and fire is a holiday tradition. You can quickly add a festive glow to any room or area of your home if you get a biofuel fireplace. Look into these stylish fireplace alternatives and find just the right spots in your home for them, with models ranging from tabletop flamers to free-standing units. Many biofuel models add sculptural flair to your decor, too, which is that extra bonus we like from quality home products (see the EcoSmart Fire line below).

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted margarine
1½ cup 2 tablespoons packed sight-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)
¼ cup large coarse crystallized sugar, clear or colored, or granulated sugar

Preparation

In a bowl of a mixer, mix brown sugar with the margarine until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until fully incorporated. In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and orange zest. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, continue mixing until the ingredients combined, scraping down sides of the bowl.

Scrape dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten into a disk. Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to ¼ inch thick and cut out with round cookie cutter or the top of a juice cup. Press each cookie into the crystallized or colored sugar and place on the baking sheets.

Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool and wrap in aluminum foil to look like gelt.

Go to Gourmet Kosher Cooking for more great Hanukkah crafts, gifts, and delicious recipes. And visit the Gourmet Kosher Cooking Store on Open Sky!

Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Christ, which can easily get lost during the commercialism of the holiday. But we found an amazing Pair of 18th Century Italian Putti that put us back into the reverential frame of mind. We like to take the pulse of the antique and collectible furniture market with industry spokesman George Evans, the entrepreneur behind Bond & Bowery, a great online resource for antiques and fine art. When we asked him what he had that would be appropriate for the holidays, he showed us this pair of beautiful angelic figures (putti = angels or cupids, little guys with wings), made in the country that gave birth to the  crèche  or nativity scene.

Design2Share: Why did this pair of putti catch your attention, George?

George: I dare you to find a fine pair of 18th century Italian figures of putti in the Neapolitan style of crèche figures! These lovely sculptures were probably part of a larger grouping, possibly used in a church of the period (around the 1720s).

D2S: Are these figures collectible?

George: The quality of the carving and painting is rare to find, and the fact that they're in untouched condition makes the pair quite collectible. It’s also hard to find a pair carved by the same hand. It's amazing that these two figures have been together for a long time, and we're glad they'll be staying together.

D2S: Where would you put this pair of angelic figures in the home?

George: These would work in many interiors. They can be a solo Boroque influence in a modern interior, or would complete a rustic Tuscan-influenced interior. Put the pair on the wall of a baby's room or nursery -- your child's guardian angels. They would also carry extra importance during the holidays; pair them with a large evergreen wreath and mirror over the fireplace, entry hall wall, or other place of prominence.

These figures come to us from the Bond and Bowery dealer Verdigris of Alexandria, VA. Religious-inspired art of the 19th century and earlier are often finer examples of quality craftsmanship. Artists were inspired by their religious beliefs and this spirit elevated their standards, bringing them closer to God when they executed their artistic abilities to the fullest. This pair of putti were hand carved and painted by an unknown Italian craftsman, and the artist's religious fervor is very evident. Their handmade beauty and the use of dazzling gold leaf make the pair a wonder to behold.

You're always going into stores and pointing to things and saying, "I could make that myself." But do you ever get around to doing it? Nope. Make the New Year different by tackling a home goods craft project from Kata Golda's Hand-Stitched Felt, a new book filled with easy and practical sewing projects.

We liked the practical step-by-step advice from Ms. Golda, a self-taught crafter. She loves the marks made with hand stitches and as she started out making soft toys out of wool felt for her child, she began to add new crafts to her bag of tricks. Her book features 25 "whimsical" projects and you'll need no more than a needle, pen, scissors, felt, and threat. You'll be torn as to what to make first of the toys, decor, and practical home items she walks you through (and sometimes even provides cut-out templates to help make your end results foolproof). These home goods projects caught our eye.

• Holds Everything Bucket, a floppy felt bucket that's a great storage solution and can be used for toys, crafting supplies, magazines, or even as a "gift basket" filled with thoughtfully selected items.
• Gift Wrap Tag, a lovely way to perk up any wrapped present and use leftover felt scraps.
• Terra-Cotta Pot Cozy, a colorful and artistic wrap to decorate houseplants with a bonus -- in cooler months, the cozy will keep the roots warmer and wool's moisture-wicking properties will prevent water from evaporating through the terra-cotta.

• Songbird Mug Cozy and Coaster, a decorative way to keep your drink warm and keep your furniture protected when you set your drink down.
• Textured Pillows, lovely, soft wool felt pillows for any room of the house, with playful shapes and animals complementing one another. If you're looking at one way to perk up your interiors in the New Year, try making a variety of these perky pillows.
• And many other great projects, including a Picture Perfect Bunny Patch, a Photo Pocket, Baby's Giraffe Quilt, a Patchwork Curtain, and a Patchwork Potholder.

It's become an annual tradition: you've always done holiday decorating in a certain way. You've always had the same light displays on the bushes in front of the house. You've always put up Santa tea towels looped over the oven door. You've always put out reindeer soaps in the powder room soap dish. And you've always set the holiday table with a large centerpiece spilling over with pinecones and glass balls. You've always, you've always, you've always! It's time to break out of your annual decorating rut.

The delightful thing about being adults is our ability to be flexible, to change, to break out of routines, and change mind-numbing patterns. Here are some tabletop tips we'd like to share with you that might help you break out of the mold a bit this year (remember: you can always go back to comfortable tradition next year; it's fun to change it up every so often and experiment).

1. Who says that flowers always have to be the heart of a holiday table centerpiece? Place different sized glass vases, cake stands, and bowls of varying height in the center of the table or lengthwise along the table like a visual "runner." Fill them with colorful fruits, nuts, and candies. Tie in the colors with your placesettings by either harmonizing or contrasting the look, e.g. bright orange fruit contrasting with metallic-look plates. It's nice to go taller in the center with your tablescape, then taper off towards the ends, but be sure to keep your centerpiece management height-wise so the centerpiece can stay on the table during the meal and your guests can easily see across the table and carry on a comfortable discussion.
2. Try a more casual holiday buffet this year. In the kitchen or breakfast room, set up serving stations and guests can pick up plates, serve themselves their main courses and sides, then find a place at the table. Make sure condiments and seasonings are on the table to begin with. If a guest wants seconds, they go back to the buffet area and get what they want. This avoids the passing hassle at the table and frees up table space for decoration as you no longer have the need for finding a place to wedge in the salad bowl or green beans once they've made the rounds. Later in the meal, clear away the mains and sides and switch the buffet stations over to dessert, tea, and coffee and have everyone help themselves at a festive dessert buffet.
3. Play with a new color scheme for your holiday table this year. Banish the red and green, everything has to be matchy-matchy look and be more bold. We have friends who decorated their holiday table with spring pastels and covered the table with small sprays of yellow tulips in silver mint julep cups. Mercury glass birds were clustered with the flowers and the silver cups and shimmering mercury glass ornaments added holiday glam to the table. And what a festive touch to bring Spring flowers into the dead of Winter! Try decorating in jewel tones for a richer luxe effect or sprinkle in metallic tones of gold, copper, and silver to make your table sparkle.
4. Use cloth napkins and add fun napkin rings that add a festive note to your table. We picked up some stunning napkin rings at Bergdorf's this year that are miniature peacocks with long peacock feathers -- imagine how festive these fowls would look on the table. Remember that these extra touches on your table are like accessorizing an outfit with jewelry.

Keep in mind that your guests will be going to many holiday parties this year. After awhile, it's going to be a visual blur of red and green. You can make your holiday party more memorable and refreshing by breaking away from traditional decorating.