It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with holidays, cooking, decorating and hosting. In my next lifetime, I’d like to come back as a chef, Suzy Home-Maker… Martha Stewart! No seriously, I know it’s not for everyone but it gives me so much joy. From creating a Pinterest board with ideas, to the menu, to figuring out all the little details, and finally waking up early to make it all happen while wearing pajamas majority of the day! I simply love it all!

When PAPYRUS reached out to do a collab, my answer was YES! YES! YES!  I’ve been a major fan of PAPYRUS forever, I always have Papyrus wrapping paper and greeting cards in my home.

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For this dinner, I wanted to host a sweet, intimate, ‘Russian Style Family Holiday Party’. Holidays are such a busy time for everyone. Between work, gift shopping, kids and travel. It’s sometimes so nice to break out the paper goods, that look just as fancy as your fine-dining-china! This year I’m hosting numerous parties, a bubbly brunch for 27+ of my girlfriends, our annual big Christmakah Soirée and my mother in law’s 70th Birthday. The idea of not washing too many dishes was so nice for this intimate gathering.

K and I woke up early and were busy bees decorating, cooking and setting up our traditional Russian feast! I wanted pops of red for this party. First off, it’s my favorite color and secondly the gold dots really compliment my home and all the gold in the dining room. Check out PAPYRUS’ party supplies for even more colorful options.

We began by placing paper towels into the powder room. I love using paper towels. First off, they look so chic, like a fancy hotel bathroom. You can put a recycling basket next to your vanity and recycle the used towels. Also, it keeps the mess of bunching your regular towels that feel gross and wet from multiple uses.

We moved on to the dining room and assembled and put up the beautiful fans on the chandelier and dressed up the bar cart. I also love to transform my dining room for the holidays, and I create my own risers by wrapping empty boxes with beautiful wrapping paper. Once the room was decorated and place cards were created, we moved on to cooking!

On the menu?! Well, this is a very typical Russian Holiday Menu.

• Roasted Chicken with rosemary and stuffed with cranberries on a bed of green peas and haricot verts
• Goose liver pate
• Herring
• Herring in fur
• Sprats on pumpernickel bread with lemon, cucumber and dill
• Potato Olivié salad
• Seaweed salad with mayo
• Vinigret (Beet) Salad

I love to cook the majority of my meals from scratch. Honestly, it relaxes me and it helps that my kids love to cook and are so involved. So we spend majority of the day in the kitchen. Something about cooking makes me feel like all the love I have for my family and friends is magically transformed into my food.

WHAT I WORE

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Cooking, decorating and hosting is a family tradition. Something I hope to pass down to my kids! It’s a wonderful full day, (sometimes numerous days) activity that the whole family can partake in! How do you spend your holidays?