National etiquette expert Diane Gottsman has been providing fall entertaining tips every Monday on our social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—check them out!).
From beautiful tablescapes to welcoming treats and ideas, we’ve compiled all of her Monday manners tips in one place for easy reference as you plan out your fall festivities this season.
Fall is upon us! Pull out your fall plates, or mix and match vintage plates and add small pumpkins and gourds to the table setting to give it a fall theme. And shop your closet first! Before going out and buying fall napkins, decorative candles, glass pumpkins, etc., see what you have from seasons’ past. Be creative—use classic trays, baskets, and plates in your storage closet to give your décor a “feel.”
For a festive fall centerpiece, bring the outdoors in—step out your back door, and collect branches, leaves, acorns, berries, and pinecones. Add items you have around the house such as votive candles, picture frames, lanterns, decorative vases, or anything else you love. Use mini pumpkins and gourds as place cards, and give them as a parting party favor.
But, be careful decorating with nuts. A lovely way to add a festive slant to a fall theme, adults and children may be at risk if they have a severe allergy. Contain the nuts to a hurricane lamp that is easily visible but not in direct contact to small children who may unknowingly grab a nut without giving it a thought.
Make your fresh pumpkins last through December. Start with a generic fall theme, and make changes to the décor throughout the fall season. Spray paint fresh pumpkins gold, silver, or white for December and enjoy. Use your pumpkins both outdoors and inside—you are only limited by your imagination.
Foolproof your fall dinner party. It’s fun to host a dinner party outdoors before the really cold weather arrives. Weather is unpredictable, though, so make sure to always have a Plan B—be ready to move indoors in case of a sudden change in weather.
Don’t forget your hostess gift. If you are invited to slew of fall events, make a batch of your favorite pumpkin muffins, or some homemade caramel apples, and wrap them creatively. Attach a small, fall-themed gift card with your name and voilà—an inexpensive hostess gift! Try these Candied Apples from our sister publication, all-american cooking.
Sleep in your guest room! Before your holiday guests arrive, feel what they will experience as an overnight guest. Replace burned out light bulbs and worn out pillows, clear one side of the closet to make room for their clothes, find the luggage rack you stored away, turn the mattress, wash the blankets using mildly scented organic detergent, and set a pretty coffee/water tray by the bed.
Purchase a sturdy, all-weather basket to collect shoes by the foot of the stairs or by the back door as your family comes home from work and school. Fall leaves will collect in the basket rather than throughout the house. Designate someone weekly to empty the basket and get it ready for the next week.
Put the cider on stove. Don’t wait until you have friends over to fill your house with the smell of fall. Make a pot of cider, and surprise your kids when they walk through the door after school. Give them something to look forward to—and remember—year to year. Invite your neighbor over for a cup of cider and a pumpkin muffin, and send a thermos of cider home for later. It will be easy to retrieve your thermos if it’s a short walk across the street. Try our Hot Spiced Cider!
For more modern manners and entertaining tips, visit dianegottsman.com.
Diane Gottsman is a national etiquette and modern manners expert, television personality, accomplished speaker, author, and the owner of The Protocol School of Texas, a company specializing in executive leadership and etiquette training. Diane’s timely advice has been featured on several national television shows such as The Today Show, HLN Headline News, and CBS Sunday Morning. She is a Huffington Post blogger, and her own popular blog, dianegottsman.com, was named by Forbes as one of “The 100 Best Websites for Women, 2013.”
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