A Boho-ho holiday party with Pier 1

It’s that time of year again, even in L.A. I’m all bundled up, the string lights across the street are already twinkling, the holidays are just around the corner. So today we’re sharing a few ideas and DIYs for how to put together a boho-ho holiday party with the help of Pier 1" target="_blank">Pier 1. First, let’s watch the video, then, below, get all the details, DIY’s and recipes:

The concept for this party is a setup that’s fancy without being fussy, sweet without being saccharine, cheerful, abundant, personal and (duh!) boho!

We started the decor with these gold rimmed plates and decided to include gold details throughout including gold flatware, these glasses (that I’m obsessed with) sparkling with gold stars, and this fun decanter.

From there we brought in the boho with these fringed napkins, and a rustic winter chandelier.

To make this chandelier, here is what you’ll need:

MATERIALS:

Winter birch branch
Foraged branches
Star ornaments
Homemade pomanders
LED lights

TOOLKIT:

(2) stepladders
Measuring tape
Thin floral wire (metallic paddle wire works best; found at most craft stores)
Floral snips
(2) strong c-hook screws
Thick twine
Power drill

1. To find the perfect base for our holiday chandelier, we visited our local flower market and sourced this beautiful winter birch branch. Consider the weight of your base as you select your materials. You’ll want to make sure your finished creation is not too heavy to suspend from the ceiling.

2. You might find it helpful to bridge the ends of your base branch between two chairs and build onto it from there. We started by adding simple, textural swags from berry branches foraged at Jungalow HQ. Once a few sturdy stems are wired in place, fill in gaps by threading in extra bits of foliage here and there.

3. Next, select your ornaments. We used festive gold stars and homemade pomanders made from small Satsuma oranges studded with whole cloves in pretty patterns. Cut pieces of floral wire at various lengths and loop them through your ornaments. We tied ours loosely to the birch so we could adjust the placement later if needed.

4. A chandelier wouldn’t be a chandelier without any sparkle, would it? We finished ours with a string of LED lights. Pro tip: use a lush and leafy piece of foliage to hide the battery pack.

5. Determine how far apart you want your hooks to be on the ceiling (our chandelier is 6ft long, with a distance of about 4ft between the hooks). Attach two strong c-hook screws to your ceiling. You might need to drill holes with a power drill first.

6. Mirroring the distance between your ceiling hooks, loop two pieces of extra strong twine around the chandelier. Now grab a friend and a couple of stepladders and get ready to glow!

Now that our chandelier is creating the perfect frame for our festivities, it’s time to create the edible runner.

To make our table look frosty and festive, we made quick, easy and delicious sugared fruits to sprinkle all the way down the table. Here’s the simple recipe:

Ingredients:

Assortment of small fruits- we used Lady apples, Seckel pears, plums, grapes, persimmons, and Satsuma oranges.
1-2 cups sanding sugar (depending on how much fruit you’re using)
2 egg whites or powdered egg whites/meringue powder
1 tsp powdered vanilla (optional- adds a nice flavor)

Directions:

Wash and dry fruit, leaving all stems intact.

In a small bowl, beat egg whites lightly with a fork. (If using powdered egg whites, prepare according to directions on package).

Mix sanding sugar and powdered vanilla, until combined.

Using a pastry brush, brush egg whites onto the fruit until lightly, but evenly coated. Alternately, using the stems as a handle (or a toothpick inserted where the stem was), dip the fruit into the egg whites, shaking off any excess.

Roll egg washed fruit in sanding sugar until evenly coated.

Place fruit on a baking sheet to dry- about 1 hour.

Note- fruit can be stored at room temperature for 24-48 hours.

Next, to ensure that every one of our guests feels welcome, we made place card gingerbread cookies for each place-setting:

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 tsp vanilla
Royal icing (we like this recipe)

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium until well blended.

Add molasses and vanilla- mix until incorporated.

Gradually add dry ingredient mix, stirring until smooth.

Divide dough in two and wrap each half in plastic. Chill for two hours.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Lightly flour work surface and rolling pin. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll out to 1/4 inch thickness (thinner for crisper cookies).

Using a cookie cutter (we used a scalloped square for the place cards, in addition to small stars and snowflakes), cut cookies out. Dip cookie cutter in flour before each cut, to keep cookies from sticking. After cutting, you can form the scraps into a new ball, refrigerate briefly, then roll out again.

Bake cookies, spaced 1.5 inches apart, for 7-10 minutes (7 for soft cookies, 10 for crisper). After removing from oven, let cookies rest on baking sheet until firm, then transfer to cooling rack.

Once cool, use a pastry bag with a #1 or #2 tip to decorate with royal icing.

And then, of course the finishing touches: citrus leaves, gingerbread cookies and pomanders ensure that the table smells like the holidays. The Birch candles bring the glow, filing the champagne flutes with a nice bubbly rose’ is the perfect way to get the party started.

Cheers! Hope you have fun getting ready for your Boho-ho holiday party!!

Get the look:

Photography and original recipes by Danae Horst for The Jungalow.
Video by Robert Cuadra
Music by Ken Urbina
Makeup by Tami Shirey
With thanks to Abby Powell and Melanie Stephens for assistance.
Styling and creative direction by Justina Blakeney.