Here comes the most beautiful time of the year - the festive time. 

The time that infuses us with hope.

The time when we look forward to pleasant socializing with our loved ones at a festively arranged table. 

The time of sincere smiles and warm hugs and gifts from the heart. 

The epidemic robbed many people of celebration and socializing last year, so this year's pre-festive and festive days will have an even greater meaning. 

 

Choose a common thread of pre-festive and festive gatherings

Each eye notices a meaningfully connected whole.

When planning a festive gathering, even if only in a family circle, try to find a common point, a certain common thread for drinks, food and festive table decorations.

It does not matter whether this is in terms of content (for example a theme of homemade, vintage, modern, traditionally Christmas) or visual (matching colour scheme of decoration and dishes).

Your guests will notice the effort and time you put into the preparation.

 

Colour scheme for December 2021: glamorous silver and gold

The fashion connoisseurs have been looking forward to the upcoming December already since the first leaf fell off the tree in autumn.

The trends of this so long-awaited month will go in two directions: glamour and homemade.

Glamorous accessories can quickly become kitschy so therefore it is important to find the right balance and not exaggerate.

When it comes to your glamorous decoration, follow the principle: less is more.

If you choose a silver tablecloth, you should only use gold placemats and some gilding in the bouquet on the table and, on the contrary, more gold and silver accessories if the tablecloth is more moderate.

Take a walk around the shops offering a lot of decorations for little money and choose a smaller number of glamorous accessories in silver and gold colour that make a great impression.

For a glamorous kitchen in the festive time and all remaining months, you shall choose the collection of Monarch kitchen sinks.

Can you imagine an elegant black kitchen in which shines a golden Monarch kitchen sink?

Do you prefer a more traditional kitchen in white, grey or some other gentle colour?  

Then the final touch to your kitchen will be given with an elegant stainless steel kitchen sink of modern lines, for example, Pure, Stricto, Rando or Luno.

 

Trend: sustainable and homemade

If you are more sustainably oriented, you can make the decorations yourself or find them in nature.

On the Internet, you will find many examples of how you can create the look of a simple yet elegant decoration with a string and a spruce or fir twig. 

Since at the end of the festive dinner you can use the decoration again for the next party and then put it in the organic waste container, you are also and above all environmentally friendly.

Would you like to take a step forward in a sustainable lifestyle? Think how much torn wrapping paper you throw away each year that you recently bought at the store.

Such paper should usually not even be put in waste paper containers, as it is plastic, waxed paper.

It is better to save some black-and-white newspapers during the year or ask for them from your older neighbours.

Wrap the gifts nicely into newsprint and attach a spruce twig or a red ribbon made of fabric or simply draw it on paper if you are skilled.

Your gifts will shine under the Christmas tree and will be completely environmentally friendly at the same time as you will just reuse the paper and then put it into the waste paper container, where it will wait to be recycled.

 

Tips for festive recipes

If we have convinced you and your theme will be silver-gold, then set yourself a challenge and surprise your guests with sweets on a stick in the appearance of silver and gold sleigh bells.

Make sweets on a stick or the popular »cake pops« according to your proven recipe and then coat half of them with silver and the other half with gold edible paint (or Ticino mass, depending on what you use). 

When the paint dries, apply a thin coat of melted dark chocolate in a cross shape and make a dot on each outer point of the line.

Sweet sleigh bells are a nice decoration and a great festive snack.

For those who prefer classic Christmas and/or New Year tradition or a sustainable theme of the festive gathering, we recommend baking cookies.

These are always a welcome dessert but you can change them a little bit this year- instead of butter cookies cut out with models, you may decide on cute gingerbread cookies or chocolate crinkle cookies.

Tip: such cookies packed in a glass jar with a friendly dedication are also a great homemade gift.

For adults only: impress your adult guests with Mimosa Cocktail with creamy raspberries. 

Heat two cups of frozen raspberries and gradually add sugar (a quarter of a cup). When it is melted, remove from the heat and stir into a puree, strain it and allow to cool. Then add a cup of whipping cream and mix well and we leave the mixture in the freezer overnight. Add a teaspoon of this mixture to each sparkling wine glass, pour over with sparkling wine and add some fresh raspberries.

 

Surprise for your guests

You can surprise your guests with small gifts that you either make by yourself, order or buy. 

Here are some ideas:

• already mentioned cookies which you pack into glass storage jars,
• homemade chocolate with different kinds of ingredients of your choice,
• homemade jam, spices, herbal tea and similar - it is important that it is made by yourself or at least by your local provider,
• candle with a scent of Christmas,
• enamelled mug for warm winter drinks,
• wooden decorations for the Christmas tree with the name of the guest,
• framed motivational messages that you design by yourself and insert into purchased frames,
• Christmas tree made from tea bags.

We usually bring a gift when we come to guests. Your guests will not even expect such attention and will therefore be even more pleased. But the real gift is of course spending time with your loved ones. Make it unforgettable!