C (2:57)

Yay. Well, ho, ho, ho. I'm all for it. I love the holidays, and I can't wait to share what I think are maybe some fun, you know, hosting tips and certainly my traditions, because I have always loved Christmas ever since I was a little kid. So I'm thrilled to dive right in.

B (3:18)

As I mentioned in the last one, you talked about your Christmas party. So why don't we start there and we can just talk about hosting. We could also talk a little bit about. Maybe we should. Actually, you know what? Maybe we should start with Thanksgiving, since that will. And then. And then get into Christmas and, you.

A (3:33)

Know, see how it all flows.

B (3:34)

Yeah, exactly.

A (3:36)

So what do you like to do for Thanksgiving?

C (3:38)

Okay, so Thanksgiving for me is the kickoff to the holiday season. So I'm all about, like, pumpkins and gourds and everything, you know, from Halloween at the farm. I have a gate and I, you know, I buy like, literally half a truckload of pumpkins, and I just kind of do mounds of them by the gate, and it looks super welcoming and very harvesty. And although I don't have a cornucopia, literally, I do have a cornucopia of different, like, gourds and pumpkins and the artisanal ones that are antique and French and, you know, look like Cinderella's carriage. I have those. And that, I think segues beautifully into Thanksgiving. Like, I am not a person who puts up holiday, you know, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's decor. Before Thanksgiving is over, I like to do the whole fall thing. Salute to the pilgrims, Indian corn, like, very traditional. And then I usually have people over to my farm for Thanksgiving and I do a bit of a friendsgiving. I usually do, like, dinner at my mom's house with my family in the evening and lunchtime at my own farm with a lot of friends from New York City. So I do a lot of eating that day. I get two gigantic meals. And to make things more complicated, I usually host the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade on ABC that morning as well. So.

B (5:08)

Oh, wow.

C (5:09)

I greet guests on Wednesday night. I make a bunch of stuff in advance, and then I say, okay, I'm not going to see you in the morning. I'm going to be on my way to Philly. I do the parade. I come home, pop everything in the oven except the turkey, which my friends do first. And then we have a great Thanksgiving lunch. Then I do a Thanksgiving dinner. And then here is my entertaining secret weapon. Pro tip. The day after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday, when everybody's out shopping, I don't do that. I wait and I do my cyber Monday. But on Friday, I have all of my guests. That evening we make leftovers. Maybe it's turkey chili or fresh carb turkey sandwiches. And we do a tree trimming party. And I'll bust out some homemade eggnog, get the holiday tunes going, bring all the decor down from the attic myself so I'm not asking too much of them. And then we start trimming the tree. And it's such a great way to talk about all the memories of each ornament. I like to collect an ornament when I travel. So I have like a little Bermuda house and I have the Sydney Opera House and I have a double decker bus from London. Everywhere I go, I get an ornament. So there's great conversation about, oh, where did you get this one? And what trip was this from? And by the end of the party, by the end of the evening, all of my many Christmas trees that I have at the farm are decorated. And then you have some helpers to get the things back up to the attic and voila. Friday after Thanksgiving, you are ready for your holiday season.

A (6:55)

So by Thanksgiving, you've already bought your tree and that's up or.

C (7:00)

Yeah.

A (7:01)

How are you pulling this all off? This is.

B (7:03)

Yeah. And all the lights too. And wait, when do you cook all your food if you're hosting the parade? Hold on.

C (7:08)

I cook the food. All good questions. Inquiring minds want to know. I cook the food the night before. So I'll make like a corn casserole. I'll make Pennsylvania Dutch potato filling. I'll make basically everything but the turkey the night before. And it's all ready to go in the oven. You have to have a couple ovens. I have one of those countertop convection ovens as well as like a third oven to like help with all of. Because everything at Thanksgiving is like a baked thing. It's like a corn casserole or a baked potato thing or sweet potatoes with marshmallows. All those things go in the oven. So I do all the prep the night before. And then the bird goes in the oven early, early morning, like 6am and then when I get home, like around noon, I throw everything else in the oven for like an hour. And then around one o' clock we are ready to go. Table is set the night before. You can actually do that a couple days before.

B (8:09)

Yeah, that's smart.

C (8:10)

And I think any of these big holidays, you know, you can make a timeline and work backwards from it and do as much in advance as possible. And that really makes it go really easily. All these years I've been doing this, I've been hosting that parade for like 10 years. So I have it down to a science now.

B (8:32)

That's amazing. So when you have all of your friends into town, do you have the same group every year or is it sort of like new people, like a rotating kind of cast?

C (8:43)

It's usually it's a cast of regulars. And then in a couple, you know, if somebody is traveling or they're stuck in New York or there's some kind of circumstance where they're not going to be able to go home, then they become the rotating guest star for that year on this very, very special episode of the Love Boat Thanksgiving. And so it's usually like, you know, a very consistent group with a couple new people every year.

B (9:13)

So they know the drill. They, you know, your, your regulars, they like know the system, they know what to expect. They're. They have their own bedroom.

C (9:22)

They do, yeah. The regular regulars definitely have their own bedroom. I just got the most fabulous for my guest room. Actually. This is another good thing to talk about. Like make sure your guest room is flawless and well appointed and ready to receive guests. It's a great time to like pop through the Ballard catalog. I'm being very self promotional here and get those things like a water carafe. Some beautiful throws. Have some great reading material in there. I just actually got, and I forgot the name of it, but it's like a wing chair bed from Ballard and it's done in a windowpane linen fabric. And I have it on my guest room. It is so warm and inviting and people just swoon over it. So, you know, in my week before Thanksgiving, I'm definitely doing a checklist. Like, are my guest rooms clean, organized? Do they have all the things that a great guest room should have? Are my towels fresh and fluffy? Here's another entertaining tip. I don't keep the towels for all my guest rooms in their respective bathrooms because summer shared bathrooms are not all ensuite. So I do. My bedrooms are all kind of color coded. There's a blue one, there's a brown one, there's a lavender one. There's one that kind of is more orange. I do matching towels for each room. So, yes, I might have blue towels for the blue guest room and pale lavender towels for the lavender room. And those are all in the closets in the room. So when they're. When the guests leave, I know where those towels go back to again. It just keeps it really organized.

B (11:09)

Yeah. And easy when you're folding laundry to, like, put everything back because.

C (11:13)

Yeah.

B (11:14)

You know, anyone can help.

A (11:15)

Yeah, exactly.

C (11:16)

Exactly. So those are, you know, those are little. Little pro tips I've learned just from hosting for a long time.

B (11:24)

Do you do all the same s. Like, do you have all queen beds or do you have a mix of different types of. You know what I'm saying? Like, twins and a queen or king.

C (11:36)

Yeah, I have two twins in one room, which I think is a great setup, because not everybody. Sometimes when you have a lot of people, like, I'll have 10 people over for Thanksgiving as overnight guests. Not everybody wants to sleep together or as a couple. So it's great to have an option where you have maybe one room that has twin beds, and then I think the other four are all. Are all queen. And I'm a big white sheet person. Like, I know some people like a printed sheet or printed design. I'm kind of, you know, white sheets. Usually it has some kind of hotel bedding border. So, like in the brown room, maybe that has a brown border. In the blue room, maybe it has little blue accent stripe at the top of the sheet. But I. I usually keep it simple and white and crisp and kind of hotel like.

B (12:31)

Yeah, okay. So, all right, you back to the Thanksgiving thing. You have set your table a couple days before night before you are prepping all of the side dishes, prepping the bird. You go host your parade on Thursday morning while your friends put the burden. You come home, you've. You put in all the sides. Do you do anything for dinner later that evening? Is it just like leftovers and extra cake and coffee? What's the deal there?

C (13:02)

Dinner is totally leftovers. It's turkey sandwiches. You have to have great bread on hand for that, and then the rest kind of takes care of itself. Like, everybody's so thrilled because it's so many people's favorite meal of the year that they're happy to eat more, you know, stuffing or Brussels sprouts, along with their delicious turkey sandwich for their dinner. And there's always oodles of desserts. I'm from a part of Pennsylvania where, although I am not Amish and My family is not Amish. We are Pennsylvania Germans, so we are very Amish adjacent, and we know our way around a good pie. So there's a lot of desserts in the house for this whole Thanksgiving extravaganza.

A (13:53)

That is awesome. You're speaking my language. Pie in any form.

C (13:58)

Pie is the greatest. And it's like, I don't know, it's just not. It's not very present anymore. Like, when you go to, like, a nice restaurant, which I'm lucky enough to do all the time, they're like, no, the dessert is like a certain. Certain creme brulee, and this or that. I'm like, do you just have pie? Apple pie or chocolate cake? Like, I'm that basic. But they're. They're so good. Why. Why mess with perfection?

B (14:24)

Oh, my God. There's nothing better than a. Like, a really good apple pie. That's hot. Oh, right.

C (14:31)

Right about now. Fall season. Yes. Sign me up.

B (14:36)

So, all right, you have a big to do for Thanksgiving, and then I'm so impressed that you are fully decorated for Christmas by Saturday of Thanksgiving. What do people like? They. They like helping you decorate. I mean, that's such a smart idea to employ your village.

C (14:55)

Yeah. What a con artist, right? The old bait and switch. Come for a relaxing weekend in the country, and one day we'll be relaxing, and the next day you'll be on a ladder hanging a magnolia swag from my foyer chandelier.

A (15:12)

Oh, it's making memories.

C (15:14)

I don't. It is. It is making memories. And I don't make people, like, put up my decor. I really focus on them helping with the tree trimming. And then, you know, probably that Saturday or something, that's when I do like, the wreaths outside and maybe a little bit of outdoor lighting and getting my gate and my entrance looking good. So I kind of do that over the next couple of days. But the tree part, I think that's the most daunting because you have all the boxes with the ornaments and the lights, and I do. I used to always get a real tree. Growing up in the suburbs of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the 1970s, we always had an artificial tree from. We had a store in Allentown called Ice City, and they sold pools in the summer and they sold Christmas trees in the winter. So in the 70s, it was very chic to have, like, a fake tree. My mom had lived through, like, many fake, real trees and didn't want the message. So she's like, we are getting, you know, a state of the art artificial Tree. I hated it. So as soon as I moved to New York and I had my own apartment, I was like, I am getting a real tree. And also in New York, you don't have storage space for an artificial tree. So you, you are forced to get a real tree. And I remember when they were like $20 and I was like, oh, an extra $20. I really shouldn't be spending this on a tree. You know, in 1991, when I didn't even have money for food, so I always had a real tree there. Then when I moved to the farm and had an extra place and extra storage, I did start to do the artificial tree thing again because there's so many good options now and they really look fantastic. And you don't have to worry about like shopping out and getting a new one every year. So I can do my Thanksgiving, you know, day celebration and then do my tree trimming right away. Because all my trees, and I do 1, 2, 3. I do four of them at the farm. They're all just in their little boxes in the attic. Or if I'm really lazy, they get like a bedsheet thrown over them and they aren't even disassembled and they come down hole and we judge and fluff the branches and then we start trimming away.

A (17:41)

Oh, that's awesome. Because I was worried about that. Like you were, you were saying you just bring out a tree. I'm like, do you have like trees like hanging out in the garage? Like, how early are you getting trees? So that's great to know that they're artificial. They're so quick to put up.

B (17:55)

And are they pre lit?

C (17:57)

Some are pre lit. And I do like that. The ease of that. I am just also, as a child of the 70s and growing up with string lights were when one bulb went out, the entire set didn't work. I also get a little paranoid about doing the whole pre lit tree and thinking, oh, gosh, if the tree breaks, what do I do? So some are pre lit, some are not. Regardless if they're pre lit or not, I'm always adding more lights because I just want them to be literally loaded with twink, you know, twinkly beautiful light.

B (18:35)

Yeah.

A (18:36)

Sometimes it's really fun to put lights of a different scale too. If you're adding more lights to your pre lit tree.

C (18:42)

Absolutely. Yeah. If the, if the tree is pre lit with tiny little, you know, fiber optic, you know, white lights, it's nice to do like a bigger round frosted bulb. I love an old fashioned, like 1950s gigantic bulb. If I'm doing colored lights, do colored lights for the base and then add those 1950s larger bulbs around it. I think everything with holiday decor is more. Is more like. I love an abundant, luxurious, dripping and sparkly, shiny things kind of Christmas tree.

B (19:20)

Are you. Do you like a white or a colored light, or do you have some of each just on different trees?

C (19:25)

I have some of beach. I. I have a tree in my family room that's much more casual, that has all of my. My travel ornaments, so they're all different colors. So on that tree, I just think it's pretty to have the multicolor. It's very nostalgic and fun. And that's where I do the base of the multicolor small lights. And then I have some of those bigger 1950s lights, and it looks very nostalgic and homey and sweet. And then in my living room, which is a little more formal, I have a smaller kind of flocked tree that has white lights. And those ornaments are all kind of metallic or clear, like silvers and golds. So each tree kind of has its own vibe based on the room that it's in.

B (20:14)

Okay, here's a question I always have, because I only have one tree, but anytime I, you know, I've kind of, like, wanted to get a second tree. But the organization of. Do you, like, how do you organize. Do you have all of your tree. Your. Your ornaments and your lights for this tree, like, you know, organized one way. They're separated. Yeah. Like in your storage, they're.

C (20:37)

They're separated by tree. And I. Years ago, I got some really great, like, ornament storage boxes from the Container Store, I think, and they're like red and lighter, red stripes, and they have a plastic wrap that goes around them. So each tree has all the ornaments for that particular tree in its own box. And then I use the clear kind of under the bed storage boxes for the lights and those. I can see, you know, which tree it's for. And then you can also just take, like, a Sharpie or a magic Marker and just write on the box. You know, this is like family room tree. This is dining room tree, living room tree, whatever. And keep it organized. And then those boxes go to those particular rooms in your house on that day when you're decorating and you stay really organized.

B (21:28)

Do you ever have the urge to mix it up, change it around? Or are you like, I've got it.

A (21:34)

To sign something trendy?

C (21:36)

Yeah, yeah, I. I do. I do. You know, I get lucky enough to go to These like the International Gift show in Atlanta. And there are floors and floors and floors. Guys, if you haven't gone, I'm sure there's a way you can get, like, a. Get a guest pass or something and not even be, like, a real buyer. I'm not. And I somehow sneak in there all the time. They probably hate me for saying that, but the inspiration from these places where you see the hundreds of vendors that make Christmas ornaments and trees and whatnot. I go to those maybe once a year. And then I'm like, oh, my gosh. My tree needs to be 1950s this year. So I do my smaller tree. Like, I have a little one in my breakfast nook. That one can be a little trendy because it's not as many ornaments. It's easier to handle. It's like four feet tall, maybe. My two big trees in my living room and my family room. Those are a big production. I keep those pretty much the same. But maybe one year I will. I think I'm gonna add, like, pheasant feathers to some of the branches. So they're always evolving. When I see something fun out there or I get inspired from somebody's showroom or a presentation, I will add those little nods to the more established trees that I don't change so much.

B (22:59)

That's fun. I like the. The idea of the feathers, you know, just. You can kind of. Yeah, just add that onto whatever layers you've already got, and it kind of has a whole new vibe. Doing too much different.

C (23:12)

Exactly. Or you might want to put a different ribbon color. You know, one year I get all mad about tartan. So it's just that. And then some years, it's. You know, it's more burlapy. Then some years, it's like just beautiful satin. I like to weave the ribbon through the branches, add organic material to some of them, like the feathers or baby's breath. There are certain years that have certain trendier items that I. I will throw in there just because I think it's fun.

B (23:43)

What about wreaths? Do you do an artificial wreath, or do you like a real wreath?

C (23:47)

I do like a real wreath, and I'm just. I'm crazy about magnolia wreaths. And years ago, they never made a good artificial magnolia. I know they do now. I've seen them in the Ballard catalog. They look fantastic. So I'll do some sort of. I've always also felt like a Southerner at heart. I don't know why I'm from Allentown, Pennsylvania, but I've always loved magnolia. And I loved going on, you know, planning summer vacations with my family, saying, can we go see, like, historic homes of the South? And my parents are both like, oh, okay, weird child. Yes, we'll take you to, you know, Built More House for your ninth birthday. But I do, I do like a good wreath. So I'll do the magnolia wreath. In New York, I don't have a lot of storage space and I don't do a lot of holiday decorating in New York. I have a big, a giant window that overlooks my street. And in that window, I will just do a big magnolia wreath. A fresh one maybe.

B (24:56)

What are we talking? What's big? Like 36 inches?

C (24:59)

I'd say 36 inches across. Yeah.

B (25:01)

Okay.

C (25:01)

And, and then I do just a beautiful, like a brown silk ribbon that's super wide. And I hang that from, like the window frame doesn't have a bow. It's just that, you know, the wide piece of brown silk velvet hanging it. And that's like one of the few pieces of decor that I do in New York because if I have a party there, my apartment is so small, I have so many people, you can't even really see the decor. So that one great statement piece, like the giant magnolia wreath, and then maybe I'll have some, some greenery and some swag floating around. And almost everything in New York I do fresh because it's there for the party. I'm not going to store it for the next year. It's going to live out the season. And then I'm going to, you know, put that in the composting, recycling bin area when I'm done with it. So New York, I keep really simple. And then other wreaths at the farm, I do the dried boxwood wreaths. I will do. I have, you know, another pro tip. You do not have to go out and spend thousands of dollars or hundreds of dollars or $100 on greenery. Most people, if you live in the suburbs or the country, you're going to have some evergreen kind of things growing in your backyard. And I am out there just snipping branches, some holly, some magnolia, some pine, and arranging it on mantles. And you can't do better than just some fresh greenery. It's just simple and chic and can be literally free.

B (26:39)

We have some magnolia trees in an area of my neighborhood that is not in someone's yard. It's like a no man's land. So I'll, you know, go out there around 7 o' clock and do some trimming and Shove that into my artificial garland.

C (26:55)

Yes, exactly.

B (26:57)

You know, zhuzh it up a little bit.

C (27:00)

That's a great way. If you have an artificial garland that's kind of your base for your mantle, or I do one on my stairway banister. You can always supplement it with real greenery. And it really looks fantastic.

B (27:16)

Yeah, yeah. Like adding in a little bit and then a great ribbon. I mean, you're done.

C (27:21)

Yeah, yeah. And that's some of those garlands. That's where I'll change it up a little bit. Like my stairway garland that goes down the banister in my living room. That room is very kind of like, has a lot of aqua and pale green, and I have like the antelope. Those taupey antelope rugs. So I decided I was gonna do like, an aqua inspired, like, garland coming down the stairs. So I added aqua point settas. And they're very, like, silvery and very 1950s. And aqua ribbon in velvet. And it looks really pretty, and I've never done that before. So sometimes these, like, trendy little, like, tryouts become your traditions as well. So now I'm going to do that again in that space.

B (28:06)

So do you. Yeah. Are you like a red and green kind of Christmas fan or you. You do mix up the colors?

C (28:13)

Every year I mix it up, and this is a. This is very controversial, but I don't do the same holiday color story throughout my house. I do it based. Based on the room. So like I said, my. My more formal living room has a robin's egg blue tufted velvet Chesterfield sofa. So there's a lot of aqua kind of tones in there. So in that room, I just do like the 1950s shiny, bright ornaments, which are all kind of very metallic and aqua and magenta and silver and gold. And then I do that aqua ribbon down the staircase. So that's a very, like, non traditional palette for holiday, but it's still sparkly and festive. And then my family room is more. It's got warm walnut paneling, and it's much more traditional, I guess. So in there I do like a red and green. Very traditional. Lots of tartan. In my foyer, I do almost like, no color. It's just white lights on two, like, skinny Christmas trees, and that's very, like, neutral. And I have a big magnolia wreath hung over a mirror. And that's another great tip. You know, wreaths aren't just for doors. Hang them in windows. Hang them over your bookcases. Hang them over a piece of artwork. Hang them in front of a mirror. I Think a wreath is just, you know, so chic and classic, and I try to put them everywhere I can, literally.

B (29:57)

Yeah. I mean, there's nothing prettier than a great. Especially like an antique mirror with a pretty wreath on it and great bow. I mean.

C (30:06)

Yeah. Yeah, you're done. It's actually really simple and can be really cost effective and just have a lot of impact.

A (30:14)

Really love the idea of choosing that. Your decor for your room so you're not rearranging your entire life around this holiday.

C (30:26)

Yeah.

A (30:26)

Really crafting the holiday to you. That's really.

C (30:29)

Yes. Sometimes people are like, oh, my gosh, I've got to change all my plants and my artwork or. Or some people go a little cuckoo bananas and get all new bedding that's holiday inspired. I don't do that. That would be way too much of an overhaul. So, yeah, I kind of tailor my decor to the space as it already exists. And like I said, you know, maybe I'll just go around in every room and add boughs of greenery. That little simple thing of just putting, you know, a magnolia swag above a painting can do the trick, and it makes it feel festive and special. But you're not changing out your entire design.

B (31:10)

Yeah. And there's so many holiday colors. I mean, blue and white, I think, is a great holiday. Like purple. Deep purple is a. Is a Christmas color.

A (31:18)

Red sea.

C (31:19)

Yeah.

B (31:19)

I mean.

C (31:20)

Yeah. Mauves. You know, you could do something more Victorian. You could do all of the neutrals and do like a very, like, you know, prairie farmhouse kind of, you know, neutral look. I. I'm a big believer that, you know, the holidays are, like, every single color.

B (31:37)

Mm. Yeah. And why not pick something that is going to complement what you already have? It's like, you would never pick a lipstick that was going to just be red but not match your outfit or not coordinate with your outfit. You know what I mean? You're going to pick something. It goes so.

C (31:53)

Yeah, exactly. It just. It makes it. Because the decor can be, like, over the top also. I feel like if the colors kind of work with the room already, it's not jarring because you don't want it to be garish, but you do want it to be, you know, over the top and festive, because that's what the holidays are all about.

B (32:13)

And if you. No matter what color it is, if you put some, like, metallics and some greenery, some garland and a wreath, like, it'll look Christmassy.

C (32:22)

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

B (32:24)

At Christmas time, are you typically in Pennsylvania Are you in New York and what is your hosting situation?

C (32:32)

Yeah, Christmas. I like to hunker down. Usually I'm working, like, right up until, like, maybe mid December. And then when that rolls around, I like to decamp at the farm and fleek all the decor. And then the only, like, big entertaining I do at the farm is I will have Christmas Eve for, like, my, you know, immediate family. My sister has a farm next to mine, so it's very easy. Like, she makes some of the food and we do more. We're not Italian by any means. We're, like, all German and French, but we somehow do an Italian Christmas Eve and lasagna and a little bit of the feast of the seven fishes. Ish, with like, a shrimp cocktail, blue cheese, wedge salad. So I will do Christmas Eve, and that is a great time to just, you know, have all the lights twinkling and have. I have a couple fireplaces. And I have one. I'm so fortunate. I have one in one of my dining areas in my breakfast room. And because there's only like six or eight of us, we'll have it in there. And I have a fire going, and it's, you know, the wood is crackling and you're having some nice, dreamy wine. And. Yeah, you can see some pictures on my Instagram. I think I've saved some of those, you know, where you tag the story permanently. I think they're up there. You can see Thanksgiving and I think Christmas Eve. So it's all about keeping it cozy and family focused. And I just love the farm at the holidays. And sometimes, you know, we'll get a little snow, and it's just quite courier and ives and very idyllic.

A (34:19)

Sounds magical.

B (34:20)

You know what I love about the idea of a Thanksgiving or a Christmas Eve lasagna is as much as a pain in the neck. The lasagna is at least you can make it even two weeks in advance and put it in the freezer and just, yeah, totally bake it. And it's not, you know.

C (34:38)

Yeah. For those of us who are not. Even though I do some things with the Food Network, I am not a food maker. I'm a food eater. So any of these holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, whatever, baby showers, any kind of entertaining you can do where it's kind of a one pot superstar, like lasagna that can be made ahead of time, you're gonna thank yourself because then you're not preparing food while people are there. And you're supposed to be hosting and handing out glasses of wine.

B (35:10)

So are You a good multitasker? Do you, do you like people to be in your kitchen when you're cooking or are you more of like you can, you know, focus if you're.

C (35:21)

Yeah, I'm very bossy, naturally. And if people are in my kitchen and they're moving things, they're saying, where's the spoon for the. I'm just like, I've got it. So I try to, you know, have people run interference and keep them away until everything is ready. And then I pop in and say, hey, do you need a wine? Oh, here's, you know, some more. Here's some more spiced nuts. And then when dinner is served, I will see you. So I'm probably not a great hostess in that way because you're supposed to have everybody pitching in and helping. But I just like it to be perfect, so I just do it my way.

A (36:00)

Now what about your bar? Do you have just wine or do you do a signature cocktail for the holidays?

C (36:06)

Yeah, I'm really lucky because when I bought my house in Pennsylvania, just in from the foyer. So you like enter a foyer and then the next doorway you go through there is an actual full on bar, like with bar stools. I have the, they're like a natural like wicker bar stool. They're actually from Ballard. I have four bar stools there. It has a big, kind of a marble slab. It has under bar lighting. I have a beautiful lamp on the bar. I have an old big giant brandy snifter full of antique matches from restaurants in the area from like the 70s. It's, it's giving regal beagle from, from three company vibes. And it's great because. And I didn't design this house, but the architect who did it was really smart because you come into the foyer, get rid of your coat, say hello, and then the next moment that you experience is an actual bar and it has a little room behind it with a full on freezer and refrigerator. Wine fridge.

B (37:16)

Oh, that's nice.

C (37:18)

Yeah, it's a dream. It makes entertaining so easy. So if I'm having a party party, I will have a bartender there every Christmas. I forgot. I also have this one thing that I do. My mom is 86 years old and her friends were never getting together except for sad things like funerals or, you know, awful things. So I was like, now that I have a big house in the country that's perfect for entertaining, I do a little holiday brunch for her and her friends.

B (37:49)

Oh my gosh, that's so adorable. I love that. Idea.

C (37:53)

Yeah. Usually the first, like Saturday in December, it's not super cold. Hopefully. Hopefully the weather's decent. I get a valet car parker person so the little old ladies don't have to park their car. And then we do, like, it's an afternoon. It's like from one to four, and I'll do like a tea, and it's finger sandwiches and little sweet treats and holiday cookies. And none of them like to drink, but we'll have, like, they do like a little bit of merlot, so we'll have some wine. And for that, I do have a bartender. I have one of my favorite, you know, wait wait staff people at my restaurant that I go to. She volunteers and comes over. She has a volunteer, but she comes over and she is my bartender. So I have a big bar. I have everything in there, and people can just order up whatever they want.

B (38:47)

That is such a good idea.

C (38:49)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just. If you're gonna have a holiday party, like a big party with like 25 or 30 people or more, I always say if you have a favorite wait person at your. Your favorite restaurant, like, whatever it is, most of them during the holidays, you know, a Saturday afternoon, they're not working. They would love to come and get some extra cash in their pocket, and they can help make drinks, and they can help clean and kind of keep your house organized and tidy while the party is going on. So you can flit around and be the hostess with the mostess. So it's. It's well worth it.

B (39:27)

Yeah, that's smart. Especially because when you're. When you are hosting, I mean, I think we all want to be able to, like, go refill the ice bucket or, you know, get another pack of tonic or whatever. But there's just so many things to do and so many people to talk to that you probably aren't able to, you know, observant as you.

C (39:48)

Yeah, it's great to. It's great to have that extra person. I also like, if it's a lot of people, I'll have just a local friend of the family, like a teenager. I'll have them be like, coat check. And they're there to greet people at the door. Can I take your coat? And that keeps things really organized as well. So one or two little extra sets of hands is so worthwhile.

B (40:15)

Yeah. I think last time, when we spoke last summer, you were talking about having the little rolly cart for. For coats for your Christmas party. And that's such a smart idea.

C (40:27)

Yeah.

B (40:28)

And you can usually get those and like, take them apart. So you could always just keep it in a closet or something. Put it together for your party.

C (40:34)

They go under the bed, and they're great. Just the little collapsible rolling racks are great for party coats. I have them at the farm. They're even great for if I'm going on a big trip. Say I'm going on a cruise for, like, a week. Or if I'm filming a show, I'll use those rolling racks to, like, just put all of my outfits on for the trip that I. I pack day, day by day. And when you see them, it goes back to my stylist days where, like, I just have all the looks, and I'll literally, like, Polaroid the looks and have a look number, and they can go in a bag.

B (41:09)

You do that for packing.

C (41:11)

I'm a very lonely, sad person, you guys.

B (41:15)

It sounds genius to me.

A (41:16)

Totally.

C (41:18)

I do that for important trips. Like if I'm shooting a TV show, like Barbecue Brawl we make in Austin, Texas, every year. I do not live in Austin, Texas, so I have to bring everything with me. I bring my own wardrobe and that I will actually, like, do the complete look. Put everything, you know, in three hangers and put that in a garment bag and be like, this is look one for day one. And then I have a unique outfit for every episode. I'm not forgetting the belt or the shoes or the socks or the underwear. It just all goes in the bag.

B (41:51)

When you do that and you're taking the Polaroid, is it like a Polaroid of you in it, or is it, like, laid out, no style on the bed or something?

C (41:58)

It's laid out on a checkerboard tile floor. Yeah. In, like, a bathroom.

B (42:04)

I like that.

C (42:04)

Just.

B (42:05)

I love that idea.

C (42:06)

I do it.

B (42:07)

Yeah. But even for a trip, especially if you're trying to fit everything into a, you know, like a small bag or a carry on, it helps you kind of either say, okay, I can repeat this. I don't know. It helps you plan and not overpack.

C (42:22)

Also, when you use the rolling rack and you see all the looks together, you can see what's going to work with other outfits. Like, just seeing the whole landscape of everything and knowing every day what you're doing, it's really helpful because overpacking is what causes you to have, like, overweight luggage and too many things. So if you have it all laid out for the whole trip and you can see every piece, you're not going to duplicate as much.

B (42:49)

It's like a design board, but for your it is. Yeah.

C (42:53)

For your love that for your week or wherever, how many days you're going.

B (42:57)

Away, I'm going to copy that. Because I do like to have a Christmas party. And the coat thing is a problem because people don't, you know, they're always like, where do I put the coat? But then I hang my bag. You don't want to carry your bag, so. Yeah.

C (43:12)

Yeah. And in New York, you know, the way I entertain in New York versus the way I entertain at the farm is so different. In New York, I have the rolling racks. They're out in my hallway much.

B (43:22)

We won't tell the fire marshal.

C (43:24)

No, I know. Much to the chagrin of my building, but no one needs to know. And I invite all my neighbors so they don't. They don't turn me in. And, you know, I don't have the space in my apartment, so I do rolling racks out there. And nobody has room in their closets. Like, even if you have a coat closet in your foyer, mine's full of my own coats. Like, I am a coat fanatic. And I have, like, 85 coats, and they're, like, in my front hallway, so I still have to do the rolling rack and put it, like, in the laundry room.

B (43:56)

And I don't want people opening my closet. Like, I don't want you to see that mess, you know?

C (44:01)

No, I know. I know. I try to keep mine pretty organized, but at holiday time, there's a lot of things to shoved in there so you could have a closet avalanche very easily.

B (44:11)

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Will you tell everyone in case they have not heard? Because, like, I. I mentioned, I went back and listened to our episode from last time. You were talking about the menu for your Christmas party. And so I wanted you to tell everyone about that here in case they didn't hear that episode.

C (44:32)

Yeah. In New York, again, smaller space, not quite as many people. Although I've had probably 100 or 150 people in my New York apartment at one time. It is a one bedroom. They were, you know, jammed in there. But it's so fun and so festive for that party. I do a buffet. I order chicken tenders from Kentucky Fried Chicken. I do, like, a catering order. I get, like, a hundred pieces. I put them on a silver platter, like an antique horse show platter from, like, the New Orleans horse show from 1951. And I stack them beautifully. I make a homemade champagne mustard dipping sauce, which. The chicken tenders from KFC are so freaking delicious. People go mad over that. And then you have Like a delicious like really high end dipping mustard. People go bonkers. They love it. And then I'll do, maybe I'll do like a country ham, like a pre sliced spiral ham and a bunch of biscuits. And I do a very southern kind of thing. And also people in New York are like, what are these ham and biscuit things? I'm like, that is a Kentucky staple. And then I'll do like crudite, some cheeses and different crackers and dips and you're basically done. Like it, it can be really, really simple and then people can just, you know, help themselves. And again, even in New York, I do invest in a bartender. That's really important for a New York City party. I'll usually have a picture of a signature cocktail. You know, maybe it's some kind of like, you know, mistletoe martini and it's, you know, red and it's made with like some special ingredients that make it holiday. And then I'll still have like a full bar with just the basics. Like I don't have any like, you know, blue Curacao or whatever, but I have, you know, the, all the classic, you know, gin, vodka, rum, whatever.

B (46:39)

And like the mixer. The easy mixers.

C (46:41)

Yeah, yeah, and the easy mixers, for sure.

B (46:44)

I loved the idea of the chicken fingers because I mean, who does not go to a spread that has chicken fingers and not want one?

C (46:54)

I mean they're, they're just so, they're just so good. I think parties are the time to serve things that people like to eat.

B (47:02)

Right.

C (47:03)

So I am not like, I don't get fancy with it. Like who doesn't love a Swedish meatball out of a, out of a crock pot? Like they're so warm and yummy and delicious. So things like that party classics, Pigs in a blanket, those types of things, I just, I serve them and people love them.

A (47:24)

But you know that just that personal twist of like the homemade dipping sauce.

B (47:28)

And on the silver platter.

A (47:29)

Perfect. And the silver bladder.

C (47:31)

Yeah, it's, it's presentation. It's having the right kind of accessories and you just want it to be delicious. And I think if you do like those homemade sauces, that makes the difference.

B (47:43)

What about glassware? Do you use a real wine glass? Do you use a plastic cup? What do you do for glassware? That's, that's trickier, I think, than a plate.

C (47:52)

It is, yeah. What I do is I use. There's a company called American Stationary and they do frosted plastic cups and I know they're plastic and I know that's bad, so don't judge. And then I get them monogrammed with either my monogram. Like in New York, it'll have a clk. It'll be in a diamond pattern. It'll be hunter green on a frosted cup. And everything goes in there, wine, cocktails, whatever. But then everybody's holding the same cup. I am a person who washes their plastic throwaway cups. And I reuse them again because I'm guilty. And I also just feel like, why not? I mean, I hate throwing things away. So if I have barbecues at the farm in the summer, it says Fox Hill Farm, like Fourth of July. I get those custom printed cups again.

B (48:47)

But you reuse them for each party. That's smart.

C (48:49)

And I do reuse them. When I have those little tea parties for my mom and her friends, I get her monogram, you know, and, like, they're very frilly, you know, 1970s on a sweater kind of monogram. So that's my trick. And then I get cocktail napkins that have the same monogram or have Fox Hill farm and a little fox head. And I order those in advance, but I usually have a lot of leftovers, and I almost always have extras on hand. So those custom tricks like the monogram napkins and the monogram cups just make your party feel really thoughtful and cohesive. And I think people really think it's cool and think, wow, this is great. You really thought of everything. And they feel. They feel taken care of, which is what hospitality is all about.

B (49:42)

Yeah. I love. You are such a wonderful host, and I love getting to hear your. Your. Your system. And I feel like it's. It's a good reminder to people, like, you have been doing it for a long time. And therefore each year you can kind of iterate and make it better and you get more comfortable. So it's just like, have people over. Like, don't worry so much in the beginning. Just start having people over, and then you can build your. Your, you know, arsenal.

C (50:10)

Yeah, you build kind of like your framework and you make it foolproof, and then you can just focus on having fun. And I think the thing that. That trips people up a lot is they think it needs to be fancy. And people just love simple, delicious things like pigs in a blanket and a monogrammed cup and a delicious homemade eggnog. Like, you don't need a million choices. You don't need it to be, like, really elaborate. Simple and delicious and simple and good looking, you know, in your design is always going to Be appreciated by your guests. And the, the thing that they're going to remember is, like, how much fun they had at the party, how yummy the food was, how pretty your tree was. Those things all make for a great event. Mm.

B (50:59)

Well, I so, like, inspired now to host a Christmas party and get ready to decorate. I always find it's hard kind of this time of year to, like. It feels very daunting a little bit going into Christmas. So.

C (51:16)

Yes.

B (51:16)

Feeling much better about it now.

C (51:18)

Yeah. There's so much to do. And I, I was a chronic overdoer. I would have, like, 85 things to eat and half of it would, you know, not be even touched. And I would decorate every single surface. Now I just. It's about strategy. And you have like five or six really delicious things and you have one or two moments in your home that are gloriously decorated. It doesn't need to be really elaborate. You just need a couple of those great ingredients. And the more you do it, the more, the better you will become at hosting and the easier it becomes and it just kind of becomes second nature. And it's kind of like how I think our parents entertained. Like, they would crack open a can of, you know, like Virginia cocktail peanuts and make whiskey sours. Like, it doesn't have to be complicated.

B (52:14)

Yeah. And people just want to get together. So, you know, I think, wow, like the host, you're going to put a lot of pressure on yourself for it to be perfect. But your guests are not at all putting that pressure on you. They're happy to be included, happy to come and bring wine. And they don't, you know, they're not, like, judging your, you know, what you haven't done.

C (52:36)

Well, I am, but no, no, I agree with you. I think everybody's there to just have a great time. And when people laugh and enjoy good food and good drink and good company, that's. That's all they're concerned about.

B (52:55)

Hi, team. I'm a longtime listener from Gothenburg, Sweden. Hope I said that right. Thank you, Liz, for that. A little bit of a dilemma that I hope that you brilliant ladies and Carson can help me with. The problem I have is with window sills, what to put on them, how to make the windows look gorgeous, stylish and nice pictures and magazines and on sites usually cut off by the windows or the windows are huge and missing windowsills. I have regular size windows with a regular size windowsill in a small house with no special features. I want to know how to decorate with plants and lamps and what Else one can have on the window sills, not the curtains. I'm not too fond of empty window sills, but I am doing something wrong because my curtains feel meh. I have included some pictures from my home, but I have this as a generic problem. So are there any guidelines to follow? When there is a patio door next to a window, when there is a sofa in front of the window, when there's a work table in front of the window, when there are a lot of plants. Do you have some ideas on how to make windows look good and stylish? What am I missing and doing wrong? Can I. And how do I move from meh to gorgeous? I don't really care about people looking in and I never draw the curtain, so privacy is not an issue. But during the winter, the outside is black from 4 to 5pm and 8 to 9am so basically, all the time we are at home, the windows are dark and so lamps are a bit of a must. Please help. I would love your input. Any specific products you can suggest would be highly appreciated. And I can drool in your website. And then I need to look elsewhere for. For alternatives in Sweden. Sorry about that, Pia. Uh, Carson, do you need me to pull up?

C (54:25)

Yeah. Could I see the. The photo? Yes, let's.

A (54:31)

And it looks like she has radiators underneath a lot of her windows and then she's got shelves over the radiators. So she's looking to really figure out how to decorate those spaces.

C (54:45)

Yeah, it's a common thing to like in older, like Pennsylvania farmhouses, they'll have very deep window sills. People want to put things on there. Or the radiators right in front of the window with like a case over it that looks almost like a piece of furniture. You're thinking like, what do I put here?

A (55:03)

Right. Or a console. If someone had a console in front of their window.

B (55:08)

She's got a beautiful taste. She has these fast wallpapers. Yes. So. So she has the. The radiators in front of the windows and she sort of added some little accessories onto a ledge that is. Looks like it's mounted above the radiator.

C (55:27)

Right.

B (55:30)

I mean, what is your. What is your. What are your initial thoughts?

C (55:35)

I mean, my initial thoughts are she's doing everything that you're supposed to be doing, which is, you know, your go to. If you have a deep window sill, if you have an older house with thick walls and has those inset windows, it is a great place to, you know, put like a marble slab and put several different potted plants in gorgeous containers. Because, you know, the. The go to is a plant in the window. It's the best scenario for everything. And it looks, you know, it makes sense. I also like how she has a small lamp there that's really charming from inside. And also from the outside, like, seeing that lamp in the window is like a old fashioned symbol of hospitality. So at my farm, I have a couple different, you know, window setups where I have little lamps or maybe I have a pharmacist's kind of like stand lamp in the window. So I think she's doing it right. I think you have to be careful with decorative items in front of a window because they will fade tremendously. So if you did, you know, like coffee table books or decorative boxes, those things can fade. So I think, you know, the beautiful porcelain pots with gorgeous plants in them is certainly a great go to. Also. I was thinking you can also kind of make the window the superstar. And I see these windows are, you know, just basic. They're casement windows with white frames. But, you know, in this particular room that we're looking at, which has a green floral wallpaper all over, even on the ceiling, wouldn't it be fabulous to do a little bit of a different green, a shade lighter or darker, and lack of the window frames and make the window frame the actual star? Because I know she lives in Sweden. We're Elsker Sveria. I did one season of Sweden's Next Top Model and I learned how to say that. That means, we love you, Sweden. But they don't get a lot of light, especially in the winter. So you want to keep your windows kind of open and bare. Why not paint those window frames and a beautiful lacquer and maybe ditch the curtain panels and make the frame the star and kind of highlight that architecture and then just keep the actual window sill scape simple with two or three beautiful plants in gorgeous containers.

B (58:06)

Yeah, Pia, I think you're doing a much better job than you think you're doing. I mean, this particular one where she's got these little sort of like miniature bust and she's got all white pots, and then she's got one with these sort of great, like, funky white candlesticks. I mean, I think she's doing it right. Like, she's got levels, she's got different shapes. I mean, I love all of your ideas about. I love the idea of painting some of the window sills, especially in that wallpapered room. That would be so pretty.

C (58:38)

Yeah.

B (58:38)

And certainly the fading thing is something to consider.

C (58:43)

Yeah. The other thing I was thinking, too, I know you want to have a lot of light and. And the panels going up to the top of the ceiling are exactly what you should be doing. But if you wanted to change up the aesthetic a little bit and maybe make it a little bit more modern, I would even think about doing cafe curtains on, you know, a slim black rod and slim, you know, kind of matte black rings to hold the cafe curtains. And that gives you just a beautiful backdrop for some of those vignettes she's creating on the windowsill in front. And then they can easily be opened up when you need more light. But when you don't, you have kind of a nice, beautiful textile backdrop to the vignettes in the windowsill, if that makes sense.

B (59:38)

I do love how she's kind of gone monochromatic with the items. You know, like, it's very sculptural, which I think keeps it from looking, like, cluttered. It feels.

C (59:52)

Yeah, it could. I think if they were all different colors, it would look like a lot of tchotchkes, and I love tchotchkes, but you've gotta keep them organized, either on a tray or uniform in color, like she's doing here. So, again, yeah, I think you're doing better than you realize because you're creating some really cohesive vignettes that make sense and look pretty.

B (60:20)

I mean, I always think that in terms of styling, it's about texture, shape, and height. So if you've got different heights, you've got some round, you've got some square, you've got, you know, different textures all combined together than. And you've got some negative space. Like, that's kind of. You just sort of play with those four until you see you. You kind of hit the right, like. Yeah. The right formula.

C (60:48)

Yeah.

B (60:48)

The right balance.

C (60:49)

Yeah. Yeah. It feels like this particular picture where that kind of illustration. Little model is there, the little. A human figure. I would even put, you know, a stack of three vintage books that you don't care about getting faded from a flea market just to give that a little bit more interesting, create some different levels. But I think she's doing a great job.

B (61:14)

Yeah. And thank you from lit for listening all the way from Sweden. That's amazing.

C (61:20)

I know. That's incredible.

B (61:23)

I love that she has great taste. I love all that she's done in each of these rooms, especially this wallpapered room you mentioned with the. She's wallpapered the ceiling and the walls because it's sort of vaulted. Very Charming.

C (61:38)

Yeah. That's lovely.

B (61:41)

Well, thank you for listening, Pia. We appreciate it. And thanks for writing in. Yes, thank you, Carson.

C (61:47)

And I'll say it again. Ver elskja Sveria, Pia. That means we love you, Sweden.

B (61:55)

Hopefully, that's what that means.

C (61:57)

Yes. It's been a while.

B (62:01)

Well, Carson, thank you so much. You know what, actually, can you tell everybody what, what you're up to? What. What sort of projects are you working on that we can check out?

C (62:09)

Well, hopefully we will do another season of Barbecue brawl. That's it. Airs every summer on the Food Network. And my pal Bobby Flay is kind of at the helm, and I get to be one of the judges and the little kind of host on that RuPaul's Drag Race. We are entering, I believe, our 17th season is going into production, which is insane. And that usually airs, you know, right after the holidays. So, like, when you're looking for your new show to get into in January or February, hibernate. Yeah. Check out RuPaul's Drag Race on MTV, and, gosh, I think that's it. But you can always check on my Instagram. I'm much more of an Instagram person than I am Twitter or X or whatever it's called and. Or Facebook, but you can find me on all those platforms. But I really, you can see exactly where I'm going to be and what I'm doing on my Instagram. Right now, I'm hosting a show on the Strip in Las Vegas for a couple of weeks at the Flamingo hotel. So that's RuPaul's Drag Race live. It's super fun, amazing. And I, I get to, you know, live out my Donny Osmond fantasy and, you know, host a show in a. In a Vegas showroom with round, tufted velvet booths. And it's really fun, fabulous. And. Yeah. And who knows? And I. We didn't talk about it, but I love flea marketing and thrifting. So you might see me at a place like Scotts in Atlanta or I adore going to Round Top Texas in the spring and the fall for their big giant antique markets. So I, you know, I get around. So follow me on social media and you can see exactly where I'll be and what I'm doing.

B (64:05)

Amazing. Well, thank you for, of course, joining us, and we would love to have you back anytime because we're big fans.

C (64:14)

So I'm a big fan of you guys, and I would love to come back anytime you want me, you just say the word.

B (64:22)

Will do. Will do.

A (64:26)

What a treat it was to listen to that conversation with Carson. His energy and passion for all things holiday are just so fun. His tips for holiday decorating and hosting remind me that throwing a party doesn't have to be overwhelming. Like his genius tip for making decor work with your existing room and choosing colors with themes that complement what you already have. Or creating those personalized cups for the event because it's those thoughtful details that show your guests that you care about the special celebration. Personally, I followed his strategy for having a post Thanksgiving tree trimming party and it was amazing. It's all about making those beautiful, abundant and luxurious moments happen without any unnecessary stress. Thank you so much for joining us for this special holiday throwback series. This was the third and final part and we hope that it brought some festive inspiration and joy as we head into the thick of the holiday season. From all of us here at how to Decorate podcast and Ballard Designs, we want to wish you and your family the happiest of holidays.