When it comes to holiday entertaining, I don't think there should be any rules - only traditions and favorite party hacks that must be shared with friends. I love a festive Christmas Eve party with friends and family and all the trimmings of a Dickensian celebration, but I also think a Dirty Santa party with friends can be a ball, and I've been to a few ugly Christmas sweater parties that went way into the night and had everyone howling with laughter. I definitely err on the side of lavish traditional holiday entertaining, not because I'm a particularly formal person, but because it gives me a chance to pull out all the silver and china, lay a table decked in all the holiday treasures we've collected over the years, and to fill the house with fresh greens and flowers. So, on that note, here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks for a successful holiday party.

1. Set a lavish cocktail supper on the dining room table with food that only requires a fork.
2. Greet guests at the door with flutes of champagne on a silver tray.
3. Arrange a vase of gardenias for the powder room. They are so unexpected and fill a small space with the most wonderful smell of spring. High Camp Supply will ship fresh gardenias all year round.

   

4. Pass hors d'oeuvres that can be eaten in one bite. There's nothing worse than being decked out in your finery having a delightful conversation while trying to eat a ham biscuit the size of the ones they serve at Cracker Barrel.
5. Mix up the guest list so everyone meets someone new. I always think of a big party as an opportunity to invite someone you've been wanting to get to know better but haven't had the chance. Don't be afraid! People love getting invited to parties, and when they arrive and find that there are lots of folks who are just meeting, it adds a little frisson to the party. The greatest compliment, I think, is when new friendships (or better yet, new romances) are struck up at a party I'm hosting.

   

6. Never be afraid to serve a Jimmy Dean Sausage Ball. Period. Nothing more to say.
7. Fill silver bowls with chocolate covered popcorn from William Greenberg in New York and place around the living room. People go wild for the perfect alchemy of sweet and salty, and it's a great complement to cheese straws and salted pecans, which I also serve in silver bowls on the bars and side tables.

Whatever you do while entertaining at the holidays, don't forget to have fun. That's really what it's all about.