“Snow” Place Like Home For the Holidays

Think planning an Outdoor Holiday Celebration is too tricky? Let me share my simple tips on how to pull off a successful party!

Welcome to the Amazing Creators Holiday Blog Hop!  As a special treat today, I am joining together with a group of my friends to share an abundance of Holiday ideas!  From recipes to decorating ideas to tablescapes and more, I am sure you will find ideas and inspiration for your holiday celebrations!  Once you have visited everyone, you will have a sleigh full of holiday ideas! 

Follow along to see all of the amazing & creative Holiday Inspiration!   All of the links to my creative friends’ posts are at the end of the post.

Home For the Holidays!

An Outdoor Holiday Celebration! Doesn’t that sound like a lot of fun!   I’d love to share a few simple tips on planning an outdoor holiday celebration!  Don’t stress if you live in an area where being outdoors in December isn’t feasible!   These tips and ideas can easily be used to make your inside holiday party fun and festive as well! 

Before we get started:

No matter how you arrived here today, whether you are one of my regular readers or you “hopped” over from one of my blogger friends , I am so glad you are here!  My name is Kimberly and I have a passion for flowers (a former florist) and flour (a former pizzeria owner) and many things in between!  Especially rusty and chippy items!

I love to share all the things I have learned over the years.  Sometimes I tell stories about my life.  Other times, I will share a craft, decorating tips or a recipe. I hope you enjoy your thyme here today and learn at least one thing during your visit!

Hopefully by the time you are finished reading, you will feel less like this:

and more like this:

“Snow” Place Like Home For The Holidays!

Let’s Get The Party Started!

There really is “snow” place like home! When I was growing up, my Mom held an open house every Christmas Eve.   The party would start at 6 in the morning with biscuits and gravy and end sometime in the late evening.  People would come and go all day.  In addition to the Christmas Holidays, we were also celebrating my Dad’s Christmas Eve birthday!

Even as small child, I knew that one day I would want to entertain just like my Mom!  Here I am, asking Santa for my very own outdoor area where I could hold family holidays when I was a grown up! 

Santa Has Green Eyes Just Like My Daddy

My Christmas wish was to have an outdoor space where my friends and family could relax and celebrate the season. I also gave Santa a list of all of my Holiday Decorating & Entertaining Essentials in order to have the perfect Outdoor (or indoor) Holiday Celebration!

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Planning an Outdoor Holiday Celebration

My project involves taking the inside Holiday Celebration/gathering outdoors to the family’s porch, patio, lanai using a cozy snowflake theme.

If you live in a warm climate, like I do, it will be fairly simple to have your celebration outdoors.  But don’t be discouraged if you live in colder climates.  Have plenty of cozy blankets or throws to help keep your guests toasty warm.  A fire pit or an outdoor heater can also help keep your guests warm. Or if the weather is simply too frightful, simply use these ideas to move your celebration indoors! 

I like to use a snowman theme accented with snowflakes for my Holiday decorations.  By using snowmen and snowflakes, my Outdoor Holiday Celebration could be held anytime from right after Thanksgiving thru the New Year.

Festive Holiday European Dish Garden

Food & Beverage Ideas

A rolling potting bench like this one could be used as a Hot Cocoa and Cider drink station. 

  My favorite Hot Chocolate Recipe can be found here: Kim’s Chocolate Sauce

Cranberry Mulling Spices make a delicious hot drink.  I sometimes like to package up extra mulling spices and send them home with my guests as a Holiday favor. 

Cranberry Mulling Spices

A selection of charcuterie boards can help make your Holiday entertaining so much easier!  I like to have a variety of sizes and shapes on hand to add interest.  This adorable Snowman Charcuterie Board is so perfect for the season!  

A selection of fruit and cheese trays as well as cookie trays help keep the menu simple. 

I kept the menu simple for this Holiday Open House.  If you are looking for a menu with heartier foods, please see my post Cajun Inspired Christmas Eve Buffet

Oops!  I almost forgot!  Can’t have a holiday celebration without a dough bowl or two! Isn’t this Christmas Tree shaped one so cute?

Quick Tips For Decorating Your Outdoor Living Area

If you have been following me for a while, you might know that I may have a fondness for accent pillows!  It has gotten to the point that I am running out of places to store my out of season accent pillows!  Pillow covers are the perfect solution! Instead of purchasing new accent pillows for each season or whenever I want to change my color scheme or theme of a room, I can simply purchase new pillow covers.

What is a Pillow Cover?

Most of you probably are familiar with pillow covers but in case you aren’t let me describe them for you!  They are like a heavier pillow case with a zipper.  Pillow covers allow you to change the look of your accent pillow with just a tug of a zipper! Just like magic!

 

I ordered these Retro themed Holiday pillow covers from Amazon on a Tuesday and they arrived the next day.  I hadn’t planned to refresh the lanai at that particular moment but when I saw how adorable they were, I grabbed the pillow covers, a few things for a tabletop centerpiece and raced out to the lanai!

 

These pillow covers are actually meant to be used indoors.  To help them weather the outdoor conditions, I keep them under the roof part of the lanai .  I also sprayed them with fabric protector. A word of caution when purchasing pillow covers.  Be sure the check the size of the covers against the size of your pillows.  Covers and pillows come in different sizes and you want to be sure the covers will fit your pillows.  The pillow covers I purchased are 18 x 18.

 

How Quickly can you refresh your area?

In less than 30 minutes, I went from  this:

to this:

 

There are hundreds of options to choose from!  Just remember to check the size of the cover to make sure it will work with your pillows.  The ones I bought fit 18 x 18 pillows.

Next, I changed out the wicker coffee table centerpiece in no time.  I used a pine garland and some red berry picks that I have had for quite a while.

 

The lantern works well inside as well as outside.  I love the iridescence of the globe!

 

Save This Pin For Later!

Thanks for stopping by today for some easy tips on Planning an Outdoor Holiday Celebration !

For More Holiday Inspiration, Please Visit My Friends’ Posts! 

Simply click on the links below to see all of the ideas my talented friends are sharing today!

• Star Anise Garland with Orange Slices by Cindy from Cloches & Lavender
• DIY Dried Orange Slice Ornaments by Sue from Shop at Blu
• DIY Christmas Countdown Calendar by Kristin from 5th Sparrow No More
• Repurposed Cookie Sheet Christmas Sign by Kim from Exquisitely Unremarkable
• Elegant Winter Wreath by Crystal at Sweet Valley Acres
• The Best Christmas Decor Ideas for Decorating Your Home by Rachel from Tea and Forget Me Nots
• The Perfect Gifts for Couples to Give Each Other by Sharon from Now Choose Life
• Nature Inspired Wood Slice & Pinecone Christmas Ornaments from Donna at An Organized Season
• Peppermint Christmas Bowl with Popcorn by Maria from Pure Happy Home
• Homemade Christmas Thin Mint Cookies by Kristy from At Home With Kristy
• Crochet Christmas Tree Pattern from Sara at Birdz of a Feather
• The Best Kitchen Christmas Decorating Ideas for a Cozy Home by Kim at Perfecting Places
• A Holiday Farmhouse Kitchen Table from Linda at Bushel and a Pickle
• Christmas Tree Brownies from Rosemary from My Home and Travels
• DIY Charger Plates for Christmas from Carol at Blue Sky at Home
• A Holiday Gingerbread House Party by Mary Anne from House of Mar

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