Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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132 | DECEMBER 2015 nshoremag.com Christmas party for about 150 guests. She moves all the furniture into her basement, decorates each room to the hilt, and sets up high-top tables throughout the house for the party. Sandra Sigman likewise removes the furniture from her kitchen and brings a rented buffet table, plus three eight-foot tables that she sets up in a U-shape to encourage conversation during her Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner on Christmas Eve. PLAN AHEAD: "I'm a huge fan of lists," says Janie Haas. "I think people get overwhelmed by the holidays because they wait until the last minute and don't feel very organized." Think ahead, make a shopping list, and plan your menu well in advance. Wilson suggests a in-depth LIVE backwards schedule: If guests are arriving at 7 p.m. on Friday, plan what needs to be done an hour before, five hours before, or days before. Also, be sure to have enough food, "even if you have to send everyone home with doggy bags," Diane Manahan says. EMBRACE A THEME: The holi- days might be about tradition, but that doesn't mean you can't shake things up. Haas's Christmas Eve dinner parties embrace a differ- ent theme each year. Once, it was South Beach, with romantic white décor, crystal, candles, and clear chairs. Another year, a tropical Caribbean-themed party brought fun and warmth with playful décor and linens in mango orange, hot Prepare fun and different snacks for late- night guests. tip: Illustration by Julie McLaughlin