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The must-read holiday entertaining guide. Complete with entertaining tips, our hand-picked gift giving guide, proposal ideas, and traditions from around the world, our guide has it all! Not to mention, it's brimming with wintry eye candy!
Citation preview
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 1
Holidays at Home with
The Best Holiday
Entertaining Tips Our Blueprint for a
Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash Valley amp Corsquos
perfect gift giving guide
setting a
stylish holiday
table
ISSUE NO 1 HOLIDAYS
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 2
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
WEDDINGS | EVENTS | LOGISTICS | PLANNING | DESIGN
and all of lifersquos finery
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
We are beyond grateful to get to celebrate othersrsquo special moments each
and every day We thank all of our couples clients industry peers and our
wonderful and incredible family and friends for supporting us and allowing
us to do what we truly love Enjoy Holidays at Home with Valley amp Comdashwe
hope you find festive inspiration for the holidays weddings and all of lifersquos
special moments
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 3
7
JOY from the Valleys
9
LET THEM EAT
CHEESE
14-15
A WELL-DRESSED
PLACE SETTING
16
CHIC WINTER
WHITE
25-29
HOLIDAY TIPS
AND TRADITIONS
30
GIFT WRAPPING
with Lauren Elise
Crafted
35
HOLIDAY MUST-
HAVES
22
BLUEPRINT FOR A
ROCKINrsquo HOLIDAY
BASH
CONTRIBUTORS
LLANES WEDDINGS
JEREMY LEFFEL
LAUREN ELISE CRAFTED
RAVISHING RADISH
CONTENTS
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 4
OUR LOVELY SPONSORS
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 5
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 6
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 7
Each holiday season we
take time to slow down and take in the sights and sounds of joy One of our most favorite tradi-tions is to decorate our tree with ornaments wersquove collected over the years on our travels from family and friends and from Santa
lsquorsquorsquoTis the Season
JOY
These ornaments represent laughter hugs celebration
and the sparkle of the holiday season As we enter the holidays we want to take a moment to wish you all joy
and the very best ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 8
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 2
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
WEDDINGS | EVENTS | LOGISTICS | PLANNING | DESIGN
and all of lifersquos finery
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
We are beyond grateful to get to celebrate othersrsquo special moments each
and every day We thank all of our couples clients industry peers and our
wonderful and incredible family and friends for supporting us and allowing
us to do what we truly love Enjoy Holidays at Home with Valley amp Comdashwe
hope you find festive inspiration for the holidays weddings and all of lifersquos
special moments
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 3
7
JOY from the Valleys
9
LET THEM EAT
CHEESE
14-15
A WELL-DRESSED
PLACE SETTING
16
CHIC WINTER
WHITE
25-29
HOLIDAY TIPS
AND TRADITIONS
30
GIFT WRAPPING
with Lauren Elise
Crafted
35
HOLIDAY MUST-
HAVES
22
BLUEPRINT FOR A
ROCKINrsquo HOLIDAY
BASH
CONTRIBUTORS
LLANES WEDDINGS
JEREMY LEFFEL
LAUREN ELISE CRAFTED
RAVISHING RADISH
CONTENTS
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 4
OUR LOVELY SPONSORS
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 5
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 6
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 7
Each holiday season we
take time to slow down and take in the sights and sounds of joy One of our most favorite tradi-tions is to decorate our tree with ornaments wersquove collected over the years on our travels from family and friends and from Santa
lsquorsquorsquoTis the Season
JOY
These ornaments represent laughter hugs celebration
and the sparkle of the holiday season As we enter the holidays we want to take a moment to wish you all joy
and the very best ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 8
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 3
7
JOY from the Valleys
9
LET THEM EAT
CHEESE
14-15
A WELL-DRESSED
PLACE SETTING
16
CHIC WINTER
WHITE
25-29
HOLIDAY TIPS
AND TRADITIONS
30
GIFT WRAPPING
with Lauren Elise
Crafted
35
HOLIDAY MUST-
HAVES
22
BLUEPRINT FOR A
ROCKINrsquo HOLIDAY
BASH
CONTRIBUTORS
LLANES WEDDINGS
JEREMY LEFFEL
LAUREN ELISE CRAFTED
RAVISHING RADISH
CONTENTS
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 4
OUR LOVELY SPONSORS
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 5
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 6
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 7
Each holiday season we
take time to slow down and take in the sights and sounds of joy One of our most favorite tradi-tions is to decorate our tree with ornaments wersquove collected over the years on our travels from family and friends and from Santa
lsquorsquorsquoTis the Season
JOY
These ornaments represent laughter hugs celebration
and the sparkle of the holiday season As we enter the holidays we want to take a moment to wish you all joy
and the very best ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 8
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 4
OUR LOVELY SPONSORS
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 5
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 6
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 7
Each holiday season we
take time to slow down and take in the sights and sounds of joy One of our most favorite tradi-tions is to decorate our tree with ornaments wersquove collected over the years on our travels from family and friends and from Santa
lsquorsquorsquoTis the Season
JOY
These ornaments represent laughter hugs celebration
and the sparkle of the holiday season As we enter the holidays we want to take a moment to wish you all joy
and the very best ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 8
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 5
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 6
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 7
Each holiday season we
take time to slow down and take in the sights and sounds of joy One of our most favorite tradi-tions is to decorate our tree with ornaments wersquove collected over the years on our travels from family and friends and from Santa
lsquorsquorsquoTis the Season
JOY
These ornaments represent laughter hugs celebration
and the sparkle of the holiday season As we enter the holidays we want to take a moment to wish you all joy
and the very best ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 8
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 6
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 7
Each holiday season we
take time to slow down and take in the sights and sounds of joy One of our most favorite tradi-tions is to decorate our tree with ornaments wersquove collected over the years on our travels from family and friends and from Santa
lsquorsquorsquoTis the Season
JOY
These ornaments represent laughter hugs celebration
and the sparkle of the holiday season As we enter the holidays we want to take a moment to wish you all joy
and the very best ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 8
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 7
Each holiday season we
take time to slow down and take in the sights and sounds of joy One of our most favorite tradi-tions is to decorate our tree with ornaments wersquove collected over the years on our travels from family and friends and from Santa
lsquorsquorsquoTis the Season
JOY
These ornaments represent laughter hugs celebration
and the sparkle of the holiday season As we enter the holidays we want to take a moment to wish you all joy
and the very best ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 8
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 8
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 9
Whether yoursquore hosting a fanciful fete a holiday sweater
party or a stylish cocktail celebration showing off an in-ternational cheese board with a delectable display is a sure crowd-pleaser
Let Them Eat Cheese
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 10
How-To Festive Cheese Board
Dress up your display using your best silver serving ware
Display a handful of sparkling wines and table wines paired with
your favorite cheeses
Dazzle your cheese board with glittering ornaments in
apothecary jars
Serve up the best local and international cheeses that are unique
and hard to find
Offer your guests rustic French and Italian loaves of bread salted
Marcona almonds and toppings like honey and chutney
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 11
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 12
Valley amp Co Must Place a jar of fun and glitzy ornaments by your front door so that guests can take home a treat when they leave your bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 13
Think about throwing an ornament swap where your guests
participate in a gift exchange of holiday goodness
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 14
A Well Dressed Place Setting Neednrsquot be overdone Dressing your table with simple
yet unique items like vintage spoons oversized
pinecones and a well pressed napkin makes for a breathtaking winter table without the fuss Dress each place setting with a natural wintry element that your
guests can take home
__________________________________
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 15
Play up a neutral palette
with colored taper candles
or natural elements like
pinecones
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 16
Chic Winter White
The Art of Celebration
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 17
We designed this chic winter table top to reflect an
effortless brunch Serving our guests caviar atop
fresh blinis and heirloom ceramic plates we set the
tone for a New Yearrsquos Day brunch that no guest will
forget
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 18
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 19
Chilly snowy cosmos set
the tone for a cozy and fes-tive celebration Bare branches in brushed silver vessels bring the frozen out-doors in Utilizing chic streamlined pieces against more ornate textured lin-ens stemware and soft petals creates a magical am-biance that is unforgettable
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 20
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 21
Snowy Cosmo
Dressing up your holiday table
should be fun Create an unex-pected setting by incorporating items old and new Mixing heirloom napkins or fine china sparkling candle sticks and textured blooms with bare branch-es creates a cozy yet chic ambiance and gives off an eclectic look
Ingredients 1 oz Ketel One 12 ounce Cointreau 1 oz fresh lime juice 1 oz white cranberry juice 12 sliced lime -- for garnish Superfine sugar Directions In a shaker with cracked ice combine Ketel One Cointreau fresh lime juice and white cranberry juice Shake well Take a lime wedge to moisten the rim of the martini glass Dip the glass rim in superfine sugar Strain drink into a martini glass garnish with the lime and serve at once Or skewer fresh cranberries on a bar pick to be used as a festive swiz-zle stick ndashRavishing Radish Catering
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 22
A festive holiday
cocktail party truly isnrsquot complete without a
champagne tasting bar Let your guests adorn their own glasses of bubbly with candied
ginger orange zest and frozen grapes
Use your best festive
linen to complete the fun look Display recipes in sparkly
frames for signature
winter champagne
drinks or let guests take
home hand-written
drink recipe cards
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 23
Mix up your play list with Christmas anthems and holiday
classics but pepper in Top 40 hits for an upbeat ambiance
Plan on your guests celebrating well into the night and
have late-night snacks like sliders bites and snacks on hand
Hire your favorite caterer to provide scrumptious and the
most time-consuming bites and desserts Most will either
deliver or let you pick up
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 24
Stage a photo booth with digital and Polaroid cameras
Create a prop box with kitschy holiday items like ugly
sweaters antlers and mistletoe
Be sure to send your guest home with cookies and an
ornament
Most importantly have taxi numbers on-hand or set up a
car service in advance to take your guests home
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 25
FROM THEIR HOME TO YOURS
Holiday tips and traditions from our friends around the world
Whoopee Pies are one of
the fun new items really popu-lar this season Ours are called Sweetie Pies and have that Fan-tasy Frostings difference They are easy to make at home and are a great finger snack They also pack nicely for a take home favor to remember your event ndashFantasy Frostings
My husband and I have created our own traditions to add to our
families holiday celebrations At our Christmas dinner my family
now expects the special walnut pillow cookies that I started mak-
ing from his great-aunts recipe- so much that we have to hide them
until dessert is served -Lauren Grove Every Last Detail Blog
Our family tradition every year is to put up the Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving build a gingerbread house with
the children and visit Disneyland in all its Christmas glory
Phyllis Cheung My Wedding Concierge
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 26
Give gifts that are timeless and will be cherished for years to
come Record special moments recipes and visitors in a Holi-day Journal to create a written history for your family This will be priceless for future generations to learn from and to keep traditions alive -Caroline Coloacutem Vaacutesquez Palomarsquos Nest
My husband and I started a new tradition this year We buy a bottle of champagne for our tree trimming festivities and write the year under the cork basket and put that on the tree In years to come we will have a wire basket for each year and these will keep special memories as we start a family together and move through life as a married couple
- Jacin Fitzgerald She Said Yes Blog
The best thing about the
holidays is creating an at-mosphere where memo-ries can be made wheth-er it be with family or friends I try to incorpo-rate tradition into my dec-orations but also infuse it with twist on things to in-corporate my own style -Katie Saeger Simply amp Forever
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 27
One of my favorite German tradi-
tions from childhood is getting to open presents on Christmas Eve Looking back I remember all the bi-zarre ways my parents and grand-parents would distract me so Santa could bring the presents in Otherwise I love Christmas for the twinkling lights falling snow the sweet treats a crackling fire and my family just being together Most definitely adding hot buttered rum this year too
-Alexandra BWed Exclusive
I made personalized placemats for all my Christmas dinner guests designed around the table setting in the same colors bringing in ele-ments of the deacutecor Put your guestsrsquo names on them or even a per-sonalized message for them Or get really creative and put some fun games on there -Kate Holland Ruby and Willow
Celebrating the holidays for us is a little bit of old and new Weve started our own traditions of tree decorating and hot cocoa mixed with family traditions of apple pie and great big holiday gatherings We hope to create our own traditions that we can carry on for years and years to come
-Allison OrsquoGrady Inspired List
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 28
In Portugal we normally we start our Christmas decorations around December first (its a holiday here Restoration of Inde-pendence) On December 24th we have dinner (boiled pota-toes cod and Bolo Rei a marvelous cake) We call this meal Consoada and by midnight we attend Missa do Galo (a Catholic mass) When we return home we open our presents Sofia Brancoprata
To entertain family and
friends we love to host
wine tasting parties
Everyone bring a bottle of
their favorite wine while
we have yummy appetiz-
ers pairings chocolates
and desserts Itrsquos an
amazing time
-Wendy Ramos Just Wenderful
We normally do a bubbles and bites theme and set up a champagne
bar with different champagne based cocktail recipes on cards so
guests can mix their own creations It lets them have a little fun cre-
ating cocktails and lets us the hosts not have to worry about filling
glasses all night And to keep the spending down we serve prosecco
instead of the real bubbles But sssssh donrsquot tell our party goers
Lisa Green Anderson Green Events
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 29
We have very few but very serious holiday traditions in our house Children may not wake the parents any earlier than 7am Stockings may be opened at any time and Christmas morning breakfast must consist of the following fruit salad quick breads (banana poppy seed) and kielbasa Its been a part of our breakfast tradition as long as I can remember We tried to leave it out one year and people threatened not
to show up -Lassorsquod Moons
Entertaining around the holidays is the perfect time to set up
a signature cocktail bar Whether its a Jack Frost Cocktail or a Candy Cane Martini set up the ingredients along a side table towards the partys entrance Spice things up with crushed peppermint and colored sugars for rimming the cocktail glass-es Use a festive 8x10 frame to announce the signature cocktail and give your guests the recipe -Courtney Dial Pizzazzerie
I make sure we stock up on all of our guestsrsquo favorite wineliqueur for our post-holiday parties The guest room is always ready and prepped for anyone who wants to stay over just in case someone had one too many glasses of wine I also keep a few pashminas and throws on hand for the wom-en to wear
-Naomi V Goodman Enchanted Dream Weddings amp Affairs
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 30
This wonderful holiday gift wrapping project
comes from Lauren Elise of Lauren Elise
Crafted It is cheery festive and oh-so fun to
recreate To avoid the clicheacute red and green
during the holidays keep gift wrapping
simple and neutral with Kraft paper Add
pops of red for color different fabrics for tex-
ture and postcards for a unique and vintage
touch to each gift
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 31
HAND CRAFTED
Supplies and Tools -vintage postcards -Evenweave fabric in antique white -red cotton fabric -scissors -disappearing ink marker -red and white embroidery floss -embroidery needle -red and white thread -ruffle lace trim -Kraft paper roll for wrapping -red and white bakers twine
Pick up vintage postcards from a local antique store and write a special holiday greeting on the back of the postcard
Cut the Evenweave and red cotton fabric into strips To make the lsquomerryrsquo card cut the red fabric into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip To make the lsquojoyrsquo card cut the Evenweave into a 225rdquox12rdquo strip and the red fabric into a 1rdquox14rdquo strip
Use a disappearing ink marker to write lsquomerryrsquo and lsquojoyrsquo onto the fabric
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 32
HAND CRAFTED
Embroider the words using a simple backstitch with red and white embroi-dery floss Use four of the flossrsquos six strands to make the embroidery less thick
Fold up the fabric keeping it inline with what is already stitched down Continue running the stitch threading through the folds when necessary image g Edges of the fabric may fray but they can be re-moved when finished or left for a more
Embroider the entire word and secure the floss on the underside of the fabric
For the lsquojoyrsquo card line up the
1rdquox14rdquo fabric strip below the em-
broidered word and run a few
stitches with white thread to se-
cure it in place
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 33
HAND CRAFTED
For the lsquomerryrsquo card stitch the ruffle lace trim onto the bottom of the 225rdquox12rdquo red fabric strip Use a simple backstitch to sew the two ends of the fabric strips together
For the packaging wrap boxes in Kraft paper Decorate with white thread and bakers twine Follow the directions in step 5 to make a ruffle out of the red fabric and use to adorn the box Follow the directions in step 6 to make a red lace trim for another box
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 34
HAND CRAFTED
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 35
SMASHING HOSTESS GIFTS
GIFT GUIDE PALOMArsquoS NEST $28
DEAN AND DELUCA $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $34
ANTHROPOLOGIE $18
CRATE amp BARREL $350 EACH
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 36
Nickrsquos Picks for the Guys
MIDDLETON VERY RARE $110-150
GIFT GUIDE
AMOUAGE AT MIN $260 TIVOLI AUDIO $219
TIVOLI AUDIO $399
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound35
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 37
At Home with Aleah
Favorite Holiday Treats
GIFT GUIDE
CHARBONNEL ET WALKER $25
AVEDA $2875
J CREW $165
JENNIFER REA
TIVOLI AUDIO $219
NORDSTROM $90
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 38
Fab Stocking Stuffer Finds
GIFT GUIDE
WINDSWEPT ART FARM $12-22
CRATE AND BARREL $10 for 6
FRANrsquoS CHOCOLATES $25
CRABTREE AND EVELYN $7
TABLE TOPICS $25
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 39
Nesting
GIFT GUIDE
GLASSYBABY $40
CECI NEW YORK $3995
NAMBE AT MICHAEL C FINA $115
KATE SPADE AT MACYrsquoS $80
DEAN AND DELUCA $55
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 40
A Pampered Chef
GIFT GUIDE
DEAN AND DELUCA $45
LE CROUSET AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA $240
PEUGOT OLIVIER ROELLINGER AT
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $100
GIFT GUIDE
WILLIAMS-SONOMA $139
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 41
LULUrsquoS PICKS
GIFT GUIDE
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $10
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $13
LL BEAN $79
PAMPERED DOG GIFTS $22
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 42
JET SETTERS
GIFT GUIDE
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound95
OTIS BATTERBEE LONDON pound16
MOLESKINE
LEVENGER $49
LEVENGER $249
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 43
ARE YOU POPPING THE QUESTION
Make sure the timing is just right Donrsquot rush your proposal Find
the most perfect setting that your fianceacutee-to-be will remember
forever
Hire a photographer to capture the surprise from afar Yoursquoll get
major bonus points
Take notes on what your bride-to-be likes and cherishes Would
she want her family and friends to be present
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 44
lsquoTis the Season A Well Dressed Table and Let Them Eat Cheese
images from Llanes Weddings Concept + styling by Valley amp Co
Chic Winter White images from Jeremy Leffel Centerpieces Floressence Venue Palace Ballroom by Tom Douglas Linens Choice Linens Chairs and silverware AA Party Rentals Concept + Styling Valley amp Co Snowy Cosmo Recipe from Ravishing Radish
Blueprint for a Rockinrsquo Holiday Bash photos from Jeremy Leffel Concept + Styling by Valley amp Co
Holiday Gift Wrapping from Lauren Elise Crafted
_____________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTORS SCROLL OVER BOLD NAMES TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
At Home with Valley amp ComdashEntertaining and Gift Giving Expertise 45
ALEAH + NICK VALLEY
Event design + logistics from the husband and wife wedding and
event planning teamtrade since 2003
SAN DIEGO | SEATTLE | PALM SPRINGS + BEYOND
valleyandcocom | hellovalleyandcocom
wwwvalleyandcoblogspotcom
Tel 8583499900 | 2062502055
