Sure, the holidays are happy and heartwarming, but they can also be daunting. The idea of yet another year of family and friends gathering en masse in your home—and at your table—leaves the obvious task of decorating for the event. If your budget is bottomless, it’s a snap. But if you need to set a low ceiling on the spending? Not such a slam-dunk.
We gave four stylists a budget of $200 to decorate for four holidays. And we are happy to report that several of them came in with dollars to spare.
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CLICK HERE FOR BEHIND-THE-SCENES IMAGES FROM THE HOLIDAY DECOR PHOTO SHOOT.
THANKSGIVING TABLE
Styling by Kathy Curotto
Tips
• Add ribbons tied in a single-loop bow to napkins and wall-mounted platters. The ribbon can be tacked above the platters, then attached to the back of each one with Glue Dots. Alternately, you can secure the loop with a Glue Dot directly on the wall.
• Wrap a piece of wood veneer around the bottom of a vase and use a wooden ball as a decanter stopper.
• Add a pear, a pomegranate, or another fruit to each place setting for a rustic, organic look.
• Turn the place mats perpendicular to the table to save tabletop space and bring the design over the tablecloth’s edge, giving it an extra dimension.
• Start with white dinner plates, wine glasses, flatware, a cake stand, and runners. Layer and add color with the salad plates, napkins, appetizer plates, and dessert plates.
• Stripe the table with a runner, versus a striped tablecloth.
Price List for Items Purchased
6 green salad plates, Crate & Barrel: $47.70 6 napkins, Crate & Barrel: $35.70 6 wood appetizer plates, Crate & Barrel: $59.70 6 place mats, Crate & Barrel: $35.70 2 flat birch veneers, Hobby Lobby: $12.00 1 package of four wood balls, Hobby Lobby: $2.99 Total: $193.79
Resources
Green salad plates, wood appetizer plates, dessert plates, napkins, and placemats: Crate and Barrel, 1 The Boulevard, 314-725-5380, crateandbarrel.com.
Wood ball (on bottle/carafe) and wood veneer (around vase): Hobby Lobby, multiple locations, hobbylobby.com.
Loaned for the photo shoot:
Wine glasses and chair cushions: Cost Plus World Market, multiple locations, 877-967-5362, worldmarket.com.
Curtain: Anthropologie, 1155 St. Louis Galleria, 314-727-7419, anthropologie.com.
Platters (on wall): Target, multiple locations, 800-591-3869, target.com
Dessert: La Bonne Bouchee, 12344 Olive Blvd/Westgate Center, 314-576-6606, labonnebouchee.com.
Hanukkah Buffet
Styling by Trenna Travis
Tips
• Each gift bag represents one of the holiday’s eight nights and an associated value (e.g., togetherness), with gift coupons like play tickets or for a time to do charity work. “It doesn’t have to be monetary,” says Travis.
• Blue and white are the holiday’s traditional colors, but silver and gold work well, too.
• To make this menorah, spray a manzanita branch silver and attach the candles with a hot-glue gun. The look was inspired by one sold at West Elm.
• Make large dreidels out of scrapbook paper, add a name to each, and set them out as place cards.
Price List for Items Purchased
Gelt, The Source Unlimited: $12.95 Silver dreidels, The Source Unlimited: $11.25 Cookie cutters, The Source Unlimited: $5.00 Menorah candles, The Source Unlimited: $9.90 Paper dreidels and gifts, Artmart: $12.20 White gift boxes, Hobby Lobby: $5.98 White gift bags, Hobby Lobby: $7.99 Sticks for dreidels, Hobby Lobby: $2.99 Manzanita branch, Floral Supply: $10.50 Silver spray paint, Hobby Lobby: $3.99 White cookie platter, HomeGoods: $5.99 Total: $88.74
Resources
Gelt, dreidels, cookie cutters, menorah candles: The Source Unlimited, 11044 Olive, 314-567-8994, sourcejudaica.com
Paper for dreidels and gift wrapping, white gift boxes, white gift bags, sticks for dreidels, spray paint for Manzanita Branch made into the menorah: Hobby Lobby, multiple locations, hobbylobby.com
Gold-chevron and blue-and-gold circle pattern papers for dreidels and to wrap gifts: ArtMart, 2355 S. Hanley, 314-781-9999, artmartstl.com
Manzanita branch: Floral Supply Syndicate, 2728 Lasalle, 314-772-1152
White cookie platter: HomeGoods, multiple locations, homegoods.com
Christmas Mantel
Styling by Dottie Eaton
Tips
• Place a variety of ornaments in clear vases.
• Mix textures—matte, mirrored, shiny—and colors.
• Cut a log into slices and stack them to use as rustic risers, adding height and interest to decorations.
• Pick a definite color scheme and stick to it.
• Add in herbs, sticks, and twigs from the garden.
• Gather pine cones and wire or hot-glue them onto your garland or wreath material.
Price List for Items Purchased
6-foot sugar-pine garland, Baisch & Skinner: $46.50 3 sprays of juniper berries, Baisch & Skinner: $13.50 Reindeer moss, Baisch & Skinner: $4.95 70-millimeter ornaments, Baisch & Skinner: $6.85 Ornaments, Garden Ridge: $9.98 Antique silver fleur-de-lis votives, Baisch & Skinner: $11.70 Glass candle holder, Baisch & Skinner: $5.85 30-inch sugar-pine wreath, Baisch & Skinner: $66.50 3 glitter stars, Garden Ridge: $8.97 Total: $174.80
Resources
Garland, juniper berry, moss, 70 milimeter ornaments, votives, candleholders, wreath: Baisch & Skinner, 2721 Lasalle, 314-664-1212, baischandskinner.com
Packages of nine and 16 ornaments, glitter stars: Garden Ridge, 11968 Paul Mayer, 314-209-0177; 665 Gravois Bluffs, 636-326-6305, gardenridge.com
New Year’s Eve Cocktail Bar
Styling by Becky McFarland
Tips
• Bring candlesticks out of storage and place them around your food table or bar to lend it height. Here, the stylist placed a clock from her collection on top of one of the candlesticks.
• Paint decorative numbers on the glasses so guests can keep track of their own flutes.
• Strings of little sparkle lights from your Christmas bins or these individually lighted branches instantly create a party atmosphere.
• Use wrapping paper in gold or silver, either crinkled or flat, to line various glass vases.
Price List for Items Purchased
Lighted tree, set of three, Lusso: $68.00 Cupcake holders, Lusso: $31.50 Champagne glasses, Lusso: $72.00 New Year’s sign, 7 Gray: $40.00 Small stars, 7 Gray: $9.50 Large stars, 7 Gray: $12.50 Total: $233.50
Resources
New Year’s sign, stars, and candles: 7 Gray, 7 Gray Avenue, 314-223-1543, shopsevengray.com
Lighted tree, champagne glasses, hats: Lusso, 165 Carondelet, 314-725-7205, lussohome.com
Loaned for the photo shoot:
Chest of drawers, The White Rabbit, 9030 Manchester, 314-963-9784, thewhiterabbitstl.com
Beverage dispenser, glass and silver vases, Lusso, 165 Carondelet, 314-725-7205, lussohome.com
Donated for the photo shoot:
Cupcakes, St. Louis Cupcake, 29 S. Old Orchard, 314-961-1111, stlouiscupcake.com
Prop Styling by Kathy Curotto, Dottie Eaton, Becky McFarland, and Trenna Travis. Photographs by Clay Crain and Chris Malacarne
