The picture perfect holiday table
The essentials of hosting—or why your home should always be ready for a guest
The essentials of hosting — or why your home should always be ready for a guest
To use or not to use artificial flowers and why place cards, menu printouts, and other subtle touches help hosts produce beautiful and unforgettable table settings.
’Tis the season for parties, get-togethers, and reunions! And “bliss makers” Martine de
Luna and Maricel Mendoza offer several triedand-tested tips in making your homes, especially your table settings, as welcoming and as lovely as the picture-perfect vignettes found in the pages of glossy home and interior design magazines. But before anything else, everything you do should first take into consideration your own family.
“Always make your home ready for your family,” said de Luna. “Treat your family like you would your guests of honor. A lot of us tend to have a casual attitude when it comes to members of our family because tayo-tayo lang naman (it’s just us). But my mom, who was also a homemaker and homebody, always said that the best things you have—from your dinnerware to your linens and towels—shouldn’t be reserved for guests alone. They’re also meant to be enjoyed by your family.”
De Luna, a writer, content provider, social media strategist, and the woman behind the widely popular “women-centric” blog Make it Blissful, and Mendoza, an event stylist, party planner, and head of A Sweet Cottage, which offers partyplanning workshops, party essentials, and various sweet treats, recently conducted at Balay Dako by Antonio’s in Tagaytay a talk on the essentials of hosting a sit-down lunch or dinner.
“Always keep your home open for guests,” de Luna said. “It doesn’t mean that you should have guests come over to your house every day. Again, my mom, who was active at church, believes that your home is also a local church or community. When you welcome people into your home, it doesn’t mean that it has to be perfect. What’s important is for you to make your guests feel that there’s love in your home.”
“Homemaking doesn’t have to be a grueling and repetitive job,” added Mendoza. “You can turn it into something you can be inspired by, something you can enjoy and embrace for your family’s sake. For me, homemaking is practical love. When you invite people into your home, it’s a way for you to show your love and the beauty you can create for them. Instead of being stressed out, you should enjoy the process.”