The Party Dress » holidays

TPD Magazine: Decorating for Kids

Kelly — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:39:42 +0000

Have you been contemplating how to create a little holiday magic in your home for your children this season? Nursery design enthusiasts, Melisa and Pam from Project Nursery came up with 8 must-have items for just this occasion. Click on over to view them (and their direct shopping links to make your life easier!) in the holiday issue of The Party Dress Magazine.

Elf on the Shelf Calendar

Kelly — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:00:37 +0000

Does your family have a beloved “Elf on the Shelf“? While designing the latest issue of The Party Dress Magazine, my assistant editor, Charynn and I came up with the idea of creating a calendar of ideas of places to hide your elf. Cute, creative, amusing (to both adults and kids) places to put your elf for your kids to find every day. We had SO.MUCH.FUN coming up with these ideas and hope that you will all get a kick out of them.

The calendar is below (if you click on the picture, it will take you directly to the free download) – please print it off, share it with friends and let us know if you try out any of these ideas!! Enjoy!

Introducing….Holiday 2011!!

Kelly — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:00:09 +0000

It is with GREAT excitement that I launch the 2011 Holiday Collection from WH Hostess! This collection is so festive, so colorful and so…US! Bold chevrons, colorful clover patterns, a modern ikat and classic holiday patterns adorn holiday photo cards, party goods and gifts. If you are one of our newsletter subscribers, you received a little gift in your inbox this morning celebrating the launch!

Photo cards are the sweetest way to send your family’s holiday wishes. Our collection includes 40+ designs for Christmas, Hanukkah and so many colorful options for a combination of the two! Our cards are printed on a luxe, thick cardstock (almost double the weight of most stationery brands) with rich colors and a nice smooth hand. Each design has a coordinating return address label to dress up your envelopes.

When it comes to gift-giving, I find that I am always in need of those “price-point” gifts. You know, the $20 teacher gift, the simple hostess gift, the under $50 gift for your sister or best friend. We worked really hard this season to bring you SO MANY fun options! Dress up your gifts this season with a colorful gift sticker, offered in so many darling patterns, trust me…it will be tough to just choose one!

Attending a party this season?! Our favorite hostess gift is a set of paper coasters (personalized, of course). At just $15 per set of 36, you can pair them with a bottle of champagne!

My favorite gift is our chunky notepads. At $18, this 200 page notepad is THE perfect teacher gift, office-friend gift, or a little “just because” gift for a friend.

Melamine plates are (and probably always will be) one of our favorite products. It’s so fun to see our designs translated into dishes! In addition to our broad assortment of children’s plates, we added a bunch of festive patterns into the shop. I love that they look perfectly jolly during the holidays, but most of the patterns can continue to be used during the year too. At $24 each, they make a fabulous gift and a lovely way to present Christmas cookies to a neighbor.

A new addition this year are our melamine trays. These are FABULOUS. 12″ square, with handles on both sides, they are available in a huge assortment of patterns….and at $48 each, it’s the perfect price point for a holiday gift. (PS – I just learned that they stack really well for storage!)

Last, but certainly not least are our exclusive collection of patterned holiday stockings. We are IN LOVE with these and consider them a must-have! Dress your mantel with all different patterns or hang an individual stocking on your child’s bedroom door. (There is even an option to add a monogram!)

I hope you will all explore our new collection and pass it on to any friends you think may enjoy it!

The holiday edition of The Party Dress Magazine is shipping this week! There is still time to order your copy (here).

Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping!

{Pre-Order} TPD Magazine – Holiday

Kelly — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 09:00:05 +0000

It is with GREAT excitement that I share with you the cover of our upcoming Holiday issue of The Party Dress Magazine! Our biggest issue yet, these 100+ pages are full of simple, stylized ideas perfect for your holiday celebrations. With contributions from some of the top party bloggers and stylists, d-i-y ideas that are sure to become new family favorites, and party ideas that will make you squeal with delight….I have no doubt you will fall in love with this issue!

The digital issue is set to launch on Monday, November 7th, and our luxe, glossy editions are available now as pre-order in the shop (you can reserve your copy here). Also, as a side note….the final run of our first and second issues will be happening soon, so if you are still hoping to get your hands on one, order soon!

Holiday Decorating: Light Up Your Entryway

Kelly — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:32:54 +0000

I’m always looking for unique ways to dress up the front of my house for a party. You know, a gorgeous way of signaling “the party’s here!”?! This idea from Better Homes and Gardens is just that.

Take your old cylinder vases, or hurricanes that you put away for the season to make room for holiday decor, and fill them up with black stones, leaves, berries and candles. Place along your front path, up your front steps or even lining your driveway. The glow of the candles will be the perfect warm welcome to your guests!

Green with Envy

Kelly — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:00:11 +0000

When it comes to decorating my home for Christmas, the first color I reach for is green. Shocking, right? I love combining the deep forest green, grass green and chartreuse together…especially when there is a touch of shimmer involved. Better Homes and Gardens is a great resource for decorating and tabletop ideas, and this season I was especially drawn to their ideas centered around the green color palette.

I am completely swooning over this ornament tree above. How fabulous would it be hung over your holiday buffet table?! Each of the images below shows off a unique idea using greenery, candy or gift-wrapped packages – and I adore each of them!

Images via Better Homes and Gardens

Product Search: Holiday Gift Guide

Kelly — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:00:38 +0000

With the holidays quickly approaching, we have been hard at work searching out the most sought-after products to recommend to our readers. We already have our short (not very short at all!) list….but we would love to hear from you!

If you have a product you think our readers might enjoy – falling in the holiday gifts or entertaining classification – please e-mail it to parties@thepartydress.net. We look forward to hearing from you!

Image via jcrew.com

WH Hostess Holiday Preview

Kelly — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:00:09 +0000

I apologize for being light on posts this week! Between a business trip to NYC, preparations for a bunch of upcoming birthday parties and uploading new product onto WH Hostess…..well, I’m a busy bee! Although it’s early…..the first part of our holiday collection (our very first holiday collection!) is up on the site…..and I would love to hear your feedback!

Here’s a sneak peek….a little taste of the products to come….of the some of the items you need to create a party-perfect holiday!

Bunny Cupcakes

Kelly — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:00:29 +0000

I wish you had all been sitting with me when I first saw these cupcakes….I couldn’t hide my “ooh!!” if I had tried! They are so cute, so unique….and are sure to get rave reviews from guests young and old. Here is the recipe from All You:

Ingredients

1 16.5-oz. roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons egg-white powder (such as Just Whites)
Red and green food coloring
1/2 cup each light and dark pink decorating sugars
Large flower décors
2 cups chopped sweetened flaked coconut
1 16-oz. can vanilla frosting
24 cupcakes, any flavor

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Knead dough and flour together until smooth. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out bunny shapes using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Transfer to baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Reroll scraps; continue cutting to get 24 bunnies.

3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Make cookie frosting: Stir confectioners’ sugar, egg-white powder and 3 Tbsp. warm water until smooth. (If frosting is too thick, stir in more water, 1 tsp. at a time.) Spoon 2 Tbsp. frosting into a ziplock bag. Tint remaining frosting light pink with a drop of red food coloring. Keep frosting covered to prevent drying.

4. Working on 1 cookie at a time, spread a thin layer of pink frosting on top. Sprinkle top of frosted cookie with light or dark pink decorating sugar to coat, shaking off excess. Snip a small corner from bag with white frosting. Pipe a few dots of white frosting on cookie; attach décors. Repeat with remaining cookies. Allow cookies to dry, 1 hour.

5. Place chopped coconut in a ziplock bag. Add a few drops of green food coloring; massage to tint coconut evenly. Put coconut in a shallow bowl. Spread vanilla frosting on cupcakes. Roll edges in green coconut. Press a cookie on top of each cupcake.

Sweet Packaging for Holiday Treats

Kelly — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:00:54 +0000

If you are looking for some cute packaging for your holiday treats, look no further than these darling gingerbread boxes. The perfect vessel to deliver all of your holiday cookies and candy, and they can be customized to the size you want (you make them, you decide the size!). Made simply of gingerbread squares, and glued together with royal icing….here are the instructions from House and Home:

Step 1

Enlarge the templates on House and Home on a photocopier, but we recommend making these boxes no larger than 6” square. Otherwise, they’ll be too fragile.

Step 2

Cut the gingerbread squares using the templates. Bake cookies.

Step 3

“Glue” together and hide edges using Royal Icing.

Step 4

Place gift inside, and wrap with ribbons to reinforce.