Do you like Pina Coladas?!
It’s that magical time of year when friends and family flood your home to celebrate Christmas. For many, the tell-tale signs of the festive season are the first snowflakes that fall from the sky and form a glistening powder at your feet. This traditional sentiment was the focus of our Christmas write-up in 2015, while that does sound somewhat romantic, here in South East Asia we celebrate in a balmy 30 degrees!
So, this year, why not give way to tradition and celebrate Christmas in true tropical style!?
A theme is an excellent way to streamline design ideas and bring a vision to life. Embracing Tropicana doesn’t mean tacky, keep your party Christmas classy by introducing a few key tropical elements and having a couple of wow factors to bring the idea together. Firstly, invite your guests to dress in tropical style – think linen shirts, palm prints, Hawaiian florals, bold colours and fruity flair. Not only will this get everyone in the mood to party, they can get creative and contribute to the island vibes!
Tropical Décor
For my family, there have always been two essential elements to Christmas décor, the tree and the table. Being a Christmas-a-holic myself these responsibilities have been (fiercely!) assumed by me. I enjoy cultivating an idea and bringing it to life, wowing guests with a visual feast that could impress even the Grinch.
To go full Tropicana, we suggest jazzing up a palm tree, however, to keep some traditional elements how about the following…
-Replace traditional tinsel with beautiful floral leis
-Introduce colour with metallic and glitter covered baubles, stick to a couple of statement colours – these are probably already in your Christmas cupboard!
-Add fun tropical shaped fairy lights, think watermelons, flamingos and bananas!
-Replace your angel tree topper with a sparkly pineapple cut-out
-Bright feathers and faux fruits add fun and layers of interest to your tree
Tropical styling doesn’t have to break the bank, carry the décor onto the table with these pocket-friendly ideas…
Use a white tablecloth as the base. This will create contrast and allow colours to pop
Gather fallen palm leaves and paint in bright colours, lay down the table centre
Use tropical fruits such as pineapples, and place these intermittently on top of the fronds
Tuck brightly coloured napkins into glasses to create height
Add a personal touch with hand written menus and place cards on brightly coloured cardboard
Customise white balloons with palm print stickers or hand drawings and float above the table
Introduce the tropics to your menu by serving guests a signature cocktail in chilled hulled pineapples, garnish with a small umbrella and sip through with a colourful straw.
So yes, this holiday season – I do like pina coladas!
Singapore
Australia
Hong Kong SAR
Indonesia
Malaysia
New Zealand
Philippines
