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Christmas Party Ideas: Simple Tips, Add Sparkle to Holiday Entertaining

(ARA) - This holiday season make all your festive get-togethers sparkle by using simple and innovative ways to entertain friends and family. Being creative with items you already own and a few extras will make your parties shine. Jennifer Sbranti, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hostess With The Mostess offers a few easy and clever tips to make your holiday celebrations sparkle.

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 Set a Festive Table

* Fill oversized, clear glass vases with colorful elements like fresh cranberries or white feathers for a modern, monochromatic centerpiece. Large bowls of pomegranates or green apples embellished with a few flower blossoms also make quick and easy centerpieces.

* White twinkle lights and candles are appropriate for any type of party theme and work wonders to put your guests in a festive mood. Use unscented candles, so they don't compete with the aroma of the food.

* Choose serving dishes that coordinate well with each other for a consistent look. All-white serve ware is a good choice because it ensures that the succulent food remains the center of attention.

* When deciding on the menu, select seasonal items, such as root vegetables, that are easily found in stores and at farmers markets in the fall and winter months to make great-tasting dishes.

Dress up Drinks

* Set a trend by offering a signature drink. Pick one that matches your party theme or colors. For holiday festivities, try a sparkling and refreshing Rize (recipe below). For non-alcoholic options -- and to make an eye-catching centerpiece -- try lining up colorful bottles of all-natural IZZE Sparkling Juice.

* Get creative with garnishes. Dip the rims of cocktail glasses in colorful sugars and complement the colors and flavors of a drink with fruit or holiday candy. Freeze fruits like strawberries or grapes and pop them into drinks before serving for unique and delicious "ice cubes."

* For creative, simple and fun bar table decorations, think sweet and savory. Line up martini or margarita glasses and fill them with multi-colored candies, small fruits and nuts. For a more cohesive look, use snacks that are similar in color and coordinate with your food table decor.

In addition to coordinating your tables in a complementary manner, James Beard Award-winning chef Lachlan Mackinnon Patterson, chef and owner of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colo. recommends paying attention to the beverages you're pairing with the foods you're serving.

"Food can be great-tasting as is, but you take it to another level when you enjoy it with an accompanying beverage," says Patterson. "For a flavorful appetizer, buy smoked salmon. Slice it and serve it up on small toasts or crackers with a bit of cream cheese mixed with scallions. Salmon is delicious paired with citrus-based beverages, so serve it with IZZE Sparkling Grapefruit and your guests will enjoy the complementary flavors."

Roasted Pork Loin and Root Vegetables
Courtesy of Lachlan Mackinnon Patterson, chef and owner of Frasca Food and Wine (Boulder, Colo.)

Ingredients:

3 pounds center-cut pork loin, trimmed and tied with butcher twine
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 large shallots, peeled and cut in half
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 celery root peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound spinach
2 large rosemary sprigs
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon minced shallots
3 tablespoons grape seed oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper
1 lemon

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325F and let pork stand for 30 minutes outside the refrigerator.

Heat a large saute pan over high heat and add grape seed oil. Season pork with sea salt and pepper and saute each side of the pork until golden brown. This may take 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pork and add carrots, shallots cut in half, parsnips, celery root, Yukon potatoes and rosemary sprigs. Place the pork on top of the vegetables and place in the oven for approximately 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until the pork temperature is 120F in the center.

Pull pan out of the oven and allow the pork to rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Stir raw spinach into the hot vegetables. Season the vegetables with sea salt and pepper and drain any excess fat. Add chopped herbs and minced shallots to the vegetables and pour onto a platter. Slice pork loin and lay over top. Finish the dish with a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice and serve.

The Rize
Courtesy of W Bar, W Hotel (Seattle)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces white rum
1/2 ounce orange-flavored triple sec
2 1/2 ounces IZZE Sparkling Pomegranate
Splash of lime juice
Garnish: Pomegranate puree and colored sugar trim

Directions:

Dip the rim of the glass into pomegranate puree and colored sugar trim. Combine above ingredients for a delicious signature cocktail and enjoy.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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 Theme Parties N More is a wedding & event planning company located in Cypress, TX. Our party & wedding planners have put this website together to provide our visitors with ideas for planning their events, this includes links to products that can help you to make your event extra special. In accordance with the FTC Guidelines we are disclosing that some of the vendors that we link you to, pay us a commission when you purchase products from them, but some of the vendors do not provide us with any compensation.

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