I love that the holiday season has arrived!! It’s the best time of year to entertain and get together with friends and family you don’t get to see very often. I shared some of my event planning tips to make it easy for you over on The Welcome Co blog and thought I’d share here too. Plus I included one of my favorite salad recipes that is perfect for any party this time of year. Let me know if you try it out!

SETTING YOUR TABLE

Entertaining is something I really love to do because it's such a labor of love to create a beautiful tablescape and delicious food to enjoy with people and invite them into your home. We love to eat out on our back patio whenever we can, so that's where we set the table for thanksgiving and I created a tablescape with everything I already had at home. You can easily create this look with a simple neutral tablecloth and table runner.

Then layer your place settings with a fun set of dishes and glasses. I always think you should bring out your nice set of silverware or dishes because there is never going to be a better time to use them and everyday should be celebrated. Instead of using the traditional napkin rings I decided to do a knot in the napkin to give it a more unique look. You could also tie a little name tag for guests on a pear or a pomegranate and set it on each place setting to match the decor.

CENTERPIECES

I made a floral centerpiece arrangement with mostly flowers from the local market and then ran candles of different sizes down the middle of the table. Remember when you're putting your flowers together that you want to keep the centerpiece low so that people can see across the table to each other and also to mix in flowers of different shapes to help give the arrangement some dimension. You could even just keep it simple and cut a few branches from your backyard and use that down the center of your table instead of a center arrangement. It's amazing how good some simple greenery can look on a table and then your food will be the main focus. I try to keep all of my serving pieces in matching whites and always serve everything in a dish, never the container it came in.

HOSTING

Having people in your home is such a great way to get to know new friends and it always makes me happy to see my table filled with people enjoying a good meal together. It creates such a more intimate setting to really develop great friendships.

I get inspiration from lots of things around me, sometimes I'll find a color palette in nature or walking through a great decor store and I'll try to incorporate it into a room. Traveling and new places always inspires me, I've been pinning a lot on Pinterest for inspiration on some current jobs I'm doing and I also am inspired by some amazingly talented people I follow.

PEAR POMEGRANATE SALAD RECIPE

| INGREDIENTS |

fresh spinach

sliced avocado

chopped red onion

sliced pear

pomegranate seeds

feta cheese

crispy bacon

Put the spinach in a large serving bowl and layer with the avocado, pears, bacon, and red onion. Then sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and feta and toss with the salad dressing right before you're ready to serve.

| VINAIGRETTE DRESSING |

6 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed [it really makes a difference]

You can also find my artisan bread recipe here, and the cranberry drink we serve here as well as the best pumpkin dessert here. Hope you have a wonderful holiday season entertaining with close family and friends.