Become The Entertaining Queen

Domestic diva Kimberly Kennedy was the winner of the CBS reality show "Wickedly Perfect." Since then, she's written a new book called "The Art And Craft Of Entertaining."

She stops by The Early Show to share terrific ideas for impromptu holiday entertaining.

You can still be creative and entertain without breaking your back, says Kennedy. All you need is what she calls an "impromptu entertaining arsenal."

And throughout the book she offers tips to help you be prepared and have fun.

Food And Beverage
"There are several things you should always have on hand for impromptu entertaining," she says.

Whatever you choose does not have to be overly elaborate or expensive. The key here is to have items with quality ingredients that are easy to prepare and present to your guests. All these items have a long shelf-life and are easy to prepare at a moment's notice.

Pick some, not all:

• Two or three kinds of cured meats, such as prosciutto, salami, soppresetta, etc.
• Mixed olives
• Jars of marinated items such as artichoke hearts, caper berries, roasted peppers
• Two kinds of cheeses (wrapped & not picked over)
• Prepared pestos and ready-made appetizer bases
• Nuts
• Crackers
• Chilled wine or champagne (or both!)

• Olive tapenade; spread on sliced and toasted bread
  
• Artichoke lemon pesto; add mayonnaise and bake for 15 minutes
  
• Basil pesto

An added bonus about keeping these types of items on hand is that they serve as an excellent "plan B" for your holiday entertaining.

"I keep these items handy year round as an appetizer insurance policy, of sorts," Kennedy explains. "That way if my original appetizer does not turn out as planned, I always have this fall-back option that is easy and always a crowd pleaser. In the end, it really is all about presentation and how you lay it out."

Click on page 2 for gift wrapping ideas.
Gifts

Kennedy says that during the holidays everyone is pressed for time and frequently has to bring a hostess gift or give an unexpected present, such as when someone brings a gift to your house and you had not gotten them something yet.

So to prevent embarrassing moments she keeps a few generic gifts on hand and gets a small gift wrapping kit.

Here is what you need to personalize your gifts:

• 3 spools of coordinating 1"- 2" wired ribbon, 3 yards of ribbon on each spool (NOTE: the better quality ribbon you buy, the better the bows will look)
• 1 or 2 spools of very thin 1/4" unwired ribbon
• Scissors
• Markers, punches, rubber stamps or any paper embellishment tool you desire
• Plain gift or enclosure cards
• Split ring 1"-2" round metal rimmed key tags (available at office supply stores)
• A few stems of artificial greenery, flowers or berries
• New roll of scotch tape
• 2 folds of tissue paper in coordinating colors
• Attractive box or basket

1. Cut the 1"- 2" ribbon into 1-yard lengths.
2. Find the center of each yard long piece by folding in half.
3. Once you find the center, create two loops — "bunny ears" — on either side of the center and tie (this is the same technique you would use to show a toddler how to tie his shoes).
4. Once you pull the first two loops into a tight bow, take the ends of the ribbon and make two more loops on each end and tie together. (Don't worry if your bow does not look perfect. You can tweak it later.)
5. If desired, create a 6-loop bow by repeating the bow tie (step 4) once more.
6. Once you have completed your loops, trim the edges of the remaining ribbon at an angle.
7. Tweak the loops of the bow by straightening and forming the wires on the edge of the ribbon until your bow looks nice.

1. Remove the split ring from the metal rimmed round tags.
2. Cut 16" of 1/4" ribbon and fold in half.
3. Thread fold of ribbon at least 1" through the tag's hole. This creates a loop through the top of the tag.
4. Take the bottom of the cut ends of ribbon and thread thru the folded loop.
5. Pull ends tightly to secure ribbon on tag.

Directions to assemble gift box:
Place 6 bows (2 of each kind) in the box along with 10 note cards, 10 rimmed tags, tape, tissue paper folds, and any other embellishment pieces you desire. Wrap it all up with another coordinating bow on the outside of the package along with a self made enclosure card.

Click here to read an excerpt from Kennedy's book. "The Art And Craft Of Entertaining" is published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, which is a sister company to CBS.