Prepping For Holiday Parties

When it comes to hosting for the holidays, it’s best to be as prepared as possible before the big night. Now is the time to get started.

The first step is stocking up, says Analise Bukowski, the manager of Hildreth’s Department Store in Southampton. Big sellers this season are festive hand towels—which run $34 or $36 each—and Vance Kitira candles, she said.

“These red and green pillars are probably our top sellers for candles,” she said during an interview at the store last week, noting that they cost between $7.50 and $19 each. “They’re unscented, but when you burn these and it burns down a little bit, it really makes the candle glow so the colors glow beautifully. They make a table look so pretty, nice and cozy.”

Dressed in a festive cloth or runner, the table is arguably the most important element of a successful holiday party. Be sure to have extra dishes on hand, such as the Pillivuyt serving platter line—safe for ovens, dishwashers, microwaves and freezers, which cost $38 to $70 each—as well as wine glasses, Ms. Bukowski said. She recommends the Schott Zwiesel goblets, which cost $12 each.

“You will always have an unexpected guest and they’ll need a wine glass,” she said. “The Schott Zwiesel actually have titanium in them so they don’t break as easily. That’s a nice feature. Wine glasses are top this time of year.”

She hummed and asked herself, “What else, what else?” while walking over to sales associate Brigitte Horstmann. “Say you’re hosting a holiday party. What did you forget?” she posed.

“You forgot ice tongs and an ice bucket!” Ms. Horstmann said excitedly, throwing her hands in the air. “Spreaders for the hors d’oeuvres. Plenty of cocktail napkins and maybe markers for wine glasses. That’s a cute little thing.”

“Oh my god, Brigitte, I’m so glad I asked you,” Ms. Bukowski sighed.

Ms. Horstmann took off through the store, pointing at different gadgets on the shelves.

“Wine pourers, you don’t have the spillage on the wine bottle or the tablecloth. And bottle openers,” she said, holding up a Rabbit Corkscrew, which costs $82. “One of these elaborate openers. All of the men love these to look macho. The red wine adds ambiance to a table, and the whites, as well, because it accommodates most of the foods. Mixed drinks you have to be a little bit more careful, but wine is actually an accommodating kind of drink.”

She continued along the shelves, gesturing to an elongated artisan breadboard that costs $39 and wooden appetizer trays, which cost $24 to $35.

“Cheeseboards, sweetheart, cheeseboards are very good, yeah,” she said. “I could go on and on. And the cheese shavers, which if you present a nice cheese board with a chunk of cheese and everybody can, at their own pace, have some cheese. That’s very nice.”

For the end of the meal, Ms. Horstmann recommended serving coffee with festive Saxon Chocolates chocolate-covered spoons, which cost $2.99 each.

“You put them in the coffee and melt them, stir them around,” she said. “And make sure you have a centerpiece, but we can’t really provide that. But you can always do a live centerpiece—poinsettias and holly and branches—with some candles, which you can buy here. Basically, we have a lot to set a table.”

“We do,” Ms. Bukowski seconded.

The best centerpieces are works of art, Sag Harbor Florist owner Anastasia Casale said during a visit at her shop last week. At the mention of poinsettias, she groaned.

“Ugh,” she said. “The classic table centerpieces are long and low with a couple candles and beautiful evergreens and natural elements like berries and pine cones, cinnamon sticks. That’s a classic, traditional centerpiece. But we’d rather go not so classical.”

Instead, Ms. Casale creates elaborate living table runners from fresh evergreens, berries, purple artichoke, eucalyptus pods, pussy willow, branches and edible microgreens, she said. Recently, she made a table runner for celebrity chef Ina Garten, who lives in East Hampton, she said, adding that remarkable centerpieces typically cost between $75 and $400.

“Anyone can go buy a poinsettia. We have to separate ourselves from grocery store-purchased centerpieces and plants,” Ms. Casale explained. “You have to set yourself apart and tap into your creative sense, which is why we’re artists. It’s like a great chef creating a recipe. Anyone can make something, but to create, it, that’s something. Having a beautiful centerpiece in front of you adds to the whole dining experience. It adds to a great meal.”

Ms. Casale’s artistry doesn’t start and end with just the table, she said. It begins with a wreath, even before guests walk in the door.

These aren’t ordinary wreaths, she said. They’re made from bay leaves, long-needle pines and oversized grapevines woven with sprigs, twigs, fir and balsam that run between $45 and $225. She even carries pepper and succulent wreaths, which cost $65 and $125, respectively.

“People that have really unique wreaths that are different than your everyday mixed green, a beautiful wreath on the front door that welcomes a guest sparks their imagination of what the rest of their holiday décor is going to be,” Ms. Casale said. “And what else awaits inside.”