Charming Beverage Dispensers
A lot of the drink dispensers for sale at Classic Hostess seem to carry with them a sense of class and elegance. They are gorgeous pieces meant for high brow parties and formal affairs but they can also be utilized in every day use. That said there are also more playful options as far as beverage dispensers go. One of my favorites being the ceramic lemonade barrel pictured here.
It can be a great decorative centerpiece or just a perfect addition to your kitchen decor. In its way it is not dissimilar to a fantastically designed cookie jar in its ability to be both decorative and completely functional. It is not limited to lemonade either, in fact you can mix your lemons with some rum or vodka to create a refreshing beverage that is perfect for parties. Just keep the kids away from the drink dispenser.
Not all barware has to be implicitly adult in its look and style. Some of us enjoy a more playful element in all of our home goods. The folks at Classic Hostess notice this and have options for both the incredibly elegant and the playfully charming. This lemonade dispenser is just the tip of the iceberg here. Explore the site for all kinds of great pieces.
Permalink | Tags: barware, beverage dispensers, drink dispenser | Posted in barware, beverage dispensers | No Comments
Your Own Bar
Setting up a home bar is a great way to make your leisure time a little classier and a lot more contained. You get yourself all of the pertinent alcohol and you make sure you have a wide variety of chasers. Regular maintenance shopping for your home bar should be a consideration. If you are utilizing a couple of bottles of your favorite wine or spirit in a week chances are you might want to make that a regular part of your shopping list.
For me one of the decorative beverage dispensers you can by through the Classic Hostess site is a great asset for a home bar. It means you can pre-mix a large amount of drinks and simply lounge in your home bar area refilling your cup at your leisure. This is the exact kind of luxury we all aim for when we find ourselves thinking about our dream homes with our own bars. Making it a reality is not so far out of reach.
A beverage dispenser can go a long way in making the decor at your home bar more than meets the eye. It will mold the space into a convenient hub for drinking and entertaining.
Permalink | Tags: barware, Beverage Dispenser, beverage dispensers | Posted in barware, beverage dispensers | No Comments
Hosting Duties Made Easy
If you are entertaining at a party you might often find yourself married for the evening to the barware. You want to be an attentive and cordial host and as a result you find yourself making drink after drink for your guests. The individual beverage can go a long way in making a guest feel welcome but the personal attention each mix and adornment takes can take a host out of party mood all together.
This is why I like to utilize a glass beverage dispenser or two with a couple of different pre-made beverage options. Guests can help themselves and with some limes, umbrellas and other accouterments on the side they can still enjoy their drinks with the splash of style we all have come to love from mixed drinks.
I find a glass beverage dispenser can become a focal point of an entire party. Folks gathering around and getting to know each other around the old drink dispenser. It is the sort of thing that makes entertaining more fun and easier, without sacrificing the charm of your party and of your home. Showing guests a good time can not be your only motivation for a party. You too deserve a good time.
Permalink | Tags: barware, glass beverage dispenser | Posted in barware, beverage dispensers | No Comments
Champagne and Other Gifts For Host
New Year’s is just a few days away. If you’re entertaining there are some things to remember.
Make sure your champagne flutes are clean and dry, and that you have at least one decent bottle of champagne to begin the night with as well as less expensive bottles as the night moves on. Prime the champagne by pouring a little into a flute and letting the bubbles subside. Then pour the glass to about three-quarters fullness. Hopefully your guests will have brought extra bottles as gifts for host, but there’s also the chance they’ll bring wine, whiskey or any other kind of present, from tabletop accessories to a glass cake stand with dessert.
Your home should be clean now so that on New Year’s Eve you can give everything a quick wipe down to make it spic-and-span. Depending on whether you are having dinner with friends or just amuse-bouches and canapes, now is the time to prepare. Go out and buy all of your ingredients and find your recipes.
Party hats and kazoos or other noisemakers are also fun. And if you want to save the champagne for after midnight, you may consider making a punch or cocktails, with the proper barware of course.
Permalink | Tags: barware, flatware caddy, gifts for host, gifts for mom, glass cake stand, glass cake stands, Ravenscroft Decanters, tabletop accessories, wedding cake stands, wine carafe | Posted in barware, beverage dispensers, Tips | No Comments
Surviving the Holidays, Buying Gifts for Mom and More
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Family parties, delicious foods and a much needed respite from the hectic working world. That doesn’t mean it won’t be stressful. Here are some holiday tips to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
-) When traveling, it’s important to prepare for the worst and accept it when it happens. Don’t get stuck in a mood, move on.
-) If you’re nervous or worried about seeing a certain family member, stay away from them altogether. This may seem weak to those around you, but in reality it is wise, and much better than having an uncomfortable scene with many present.
-) Always remember gifts for mom. Tabletop accessories such as a wine carafe work very well, since they are the kind of luxury items she normally wouldn’t buy for herself.
-)n If you’re entertaining, don’t wait until the last minute. Make sure to start shopping a week beforehand so that if you forget anything at the last minute, it’s just a quick stop at the supermarket while the ham is baking, instead of a long list of things you still have to chop and dice.
-) And if you’re a guest, bring gifts for host to show how much you appreciate them. Be safe and have a happy holiday season!
Permalink | Tags: gifts for host, gifts for mom, tabletop accessories, wine carafe | Posted in beverage dispensers, Classic Hostess, Tips | No Comments
Glass Cake Stands
A glass cake stand is a royal way to display a cake or pie, cupcakes or any sort of baked good. There are more options available than the traditional glass cake stands we are all familiar 
with. For example, the glass pie plate with dome is a great alternative. It’s elegant and practical because it keeps pies fresher for longer, so that they keep their straight out of the oven taste.
Then there’s the 6-in-1 glass cake stand. This serves as a traditional cake stand; you can turn it upside-down and serve punch or fruit in it; the bottom tray has four sections to hold different appetizers; and the foot of the bowl can be used to hold a dip or sauce.
Then there are fun holiday glass cake stands such as a red scalloped one. It’s a set of three, so you can stack them and place cookies or appetizers on each tier, or use them as three separate stands. Whatever kind of cake stand you choose for your home this holiday, you’ll be sure to make the most of it.
Permalink | Tags: flatware caddy, glass cake stand, glass cake stands | Posted in cake stand | No Comments
A Wine Carafe For Mom
I miss my mom. I can’t wait to see her over the holidays. I know she’ll be expecting a gift, so on top of the earrings and jewelry I’ll choose from the gifts for mom Classic Hostess offers. I know she’s a big white wine drinker and whenever she has people over she likes to impress them.
At her last party, her friend Marie came over and tried opening a wine bottle and couldn’t get it; the cork was shoddy and it began to fall apart. It was a nice bottle of wine too, an ’09 Pinot Gris. So we eventually had to press the cork into the bottle and filter the wine through a strainer — very tedious and unsightly for the guests, who asked about the bottle and what was going on. I decided that what she really needed was a wine carafe, so that if such a thing ever happens again, at least we can empty the corky wine into a beautiful container.
And so while browsing through the gifts for host, I chose mom a beautiful crystal wine carafe, something which she will always use and probably prefer to drink wine from, from now on. Now all I need are some earrings.
Permalink | Tags: gifts for host, gifts for mom, wine carafe | Posted in beverage dispensers | No Comments
Tabletop Accessories for the Holidays
I love the holidays. Just looking at my empty dining room reminds me of all the good dinners I’ve hosted, the set table with napkin rings on dinner plates and holly between candlesticks that anchor each side of the long table, ready for the guests who will soon fill the room, hungry and thirsty, ready and excited to see each other after so long, passing tabletop accessories and admiring what lies inside glass cake stands.
Even in preparation for the holidays, weeks in advance of them, I remember the feelings of elation and modesty I have when Uncle Johnny or Aunt Allison bring gifts for host and I have to accept them, the ice cream maker, the wine carafe, so that I can make the next time even more special with fresh ice cream and purely elegant wine.
Such feasts embody the spirit of holidays, and the life that goes into them. We are eating and drinking and making merry — living it all to the fullest, not worrying about anything but how much cake we can eat after dinner, and it all comes and goes so quickly that it makes it that much more special. I’m ready for the holidays already. Can you tell?
Permalink | Tags: gifts for host, glass cake stands, tabletop accessories, wine carafe | Posted in beverage dispensers, cake stand | No Comments
Your Thanksgiving Checklist
It’s nearly here. Turkey day. If you haven’t already you should:
Defrost your turkey with one day for every five pounds.
Have canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce (many people prefer sliced canned cranberry sauce over a homemade sauce. Americans.)
Dust your glass cake stands and prepare them for the menagerie of pies coming your way.
Organize your wine cellar and have a good idea of what to serve on the big day.
Tidy house and make sure the bathrooms are clean. Have plenty of paper towels and toilet paper.
Do your last minute food shopping — ice, coffee, nuts and nibbles for appetizers.
Make a cooking schedule so you know that everything will be ready on time.
Set the table, prepare the barware and make sure that you have enough tabletop accessories, that they match, and are clean.
Clear out the coat closet and make sure you have enough counter space to hold all of the gifts for host you’ll be receiving (as well as food).
That should about cover it. The earlier you get these chores done, the more time you’ll have to relax. You don’t want to worry about the details come the big day — you want to be thinking about cooking and eating.
Permalink | Tags: barware, gifts for host, glass cake stands, tabletop accessories | Posted in cake stand, Classic Hostess, Tips | No Comments
Pie Season and Glass Cake Stands
The winter is pie season. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie, chocolate pie.
The way pecan pie is kind of caramely and chocolatey incorporates aspects of chocolate pie and pumpkin pie. It’s especially delicious with ice cream, but what pie isn’t? The one thing you must keep in mind is that children love pies. In fact, pies are only second to cookies on most children’s most desired dessert lists, followed by cakes. They won’t want to wait for them to cool. They’ll smell the scent and their mouths will water and they will try to sneak a crust or a piece without your knowing. Which is why you need a glass cake stand, which obviously doubles as a glass pie stand and protects the pie while it cools.
Even if you’re going to another house for Thanksgiving, you can still bring glass cake stands as presents. It says much more than a bottle of wine and because there will likely be so many cakes and pies, there will certainly be a need for it.
And, the best thing about glass cake stands is that after Thanksgiving and the holidays are over, you can still use them to protect against children’s hungry fingers.
Permalink | Tags: glass cake stand, glass cake stands | Posted in cake stand | No Comments
