Small touches like candy canes and Polaroids can personalize your party
Melanie Acevedo
Serve coffee with candy-cane stirrers.
Fill your pepper mill with Tellicherry peppercorns (one of the
finest kinds of black pepper) or a blend of pink and green
peppercorns. 1.9-ounce container Tellicherry peppercorns, $4;
1-ounce container pink peppercorns, $7; 1-ounce container green
peppercorns, $4: all from Spices Etc., www.spicesetc.com.
Buy gingerbread men (and women) and write your guests' names on
them with store-bought icing. Use them as place cards or hang them
on your tree.
Place a bud vase of eucalyptus in each bathroom.
Use colorful lollipops in silver cups or fresh herb sprigs in
glasses for decorative touches around the house.
Fill glass bowls with lemons and limes for centerpieces.
Slowly simmer 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract in a small
saucepan to scent the whole house.
Snap Polaroid pictures of your guests, then punch a hole in the
corner of each photo and tie with a ribbon to hang them as
ornaments or to give as favors.
To upgrade chocolate desserts, use chopped Valrhona bittersweet
bars (available in gourmet shops) or Ghirardelli semisweet bars or
chips (available at most markets) instead of generic bags of
chips.
