Tree-Trimming Party

Want to have a Christmas party but don't feel like cooking a whole holiday meal? Think about throwing a tree-trimming party.

These soirees can be fun and festive, offering everyone the chance to socialize, while also helping you to get your tree in tip-top shape.

The Early Show, Colin Cowie talked about the elements needed for a tree-trimming party.

Instead of just sticking with the usual red-and-green color theme, why not add a twist with bright pink in the mix? The color scheme for Cowie's party will be red, silver and bright pink.

You can start using the color scheme when you first invite your guests. When hosting a tree-trimming party, a nice way to include the guests in your holiday is to have each person bring an ornament to add to the tree. However, this can be a tricky prospect when you think about how different people's tastes can run.

Therefore, the solution is to request that the guests bring certain kinds of ornaments in specific colors. For this party, Cowie requests that the "guests" bring balls in clear, silver, red or bright pink. This way, he knows that everyone's ornament will look beautiful in the end.

As an added element to both the wreath and the tree, Cowie suggests adding some red and hot pink roses along with the lights and ornaments. He says by just cutting the end short and sticking them into tubes, you can place the roses into the tree all over the place and they'll stay easily. This is just a little unexpected touch of glamour to your party. (Don't do it too far in advance, as the flowers will eventually die. Add them right before the party.)

As for decorating the rest of the living room, stay with the colors you've chosen and set out an array of votives and candles (Cowie's favorite kind of light). Get votives in red and hot pink, and get candles in silver, red and hot pink and wrap a piece of pink ribbon around the candles to make them look a little more special.

When hosting a tree-trimming party, Cowie says there are some things to remember:

1. You'll need about 100 lights per foot for your Christmas tree (and of course, he prefers clear lights, rather than colored lights).
   
2. Select a tree with needles that don't fall off easily. In addition to constantly having to clean it up, it'll make hanging the ornaments that much more difficult.
   
3. As mentioned above: Select a color theme and weave it throughout the party.
   
4. If you do want to involve your guests and have them bring ornaments, be sure to tell them what colors to bring so that you won't be stuck with things you don't want on your tree.
   
5. As with any soiree, greet each guest at the door with a snappy cocktail.

Chocolate Fondue
Serves 6

Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 small bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Marshmallows (large size)
Biscotti (from your local market or bakery)
2 pints strawberries, rinsed and hulled

Method