Page 64 - The Hunt Winter 2021

Spruce up your holiday table decorations with tips from a pro like Cher Przelomski, founder and CEO of
the Planning Factory in Wilmington. Here, she creates a table fit for a glamorous dinner party.
DECK YOUR
HALLS
LOCAL EXPERTS SHARE HOW TO ADD SPARKLE AND
STYLE TO HOLIDAY SOIRÉES. BY EILEEN SMITH DALLABRIDA
Cher Przelomski has been a trendsetter in entertaining for more than 30 years, designing dazzling table settings, fanciful themes and game plans that ensure parties progress flawlessly.
The founder and CEO of the Planning Factory in Wilmington, Delaware, Przelomski takes the guesswork and scut work out of hosting. She and her daughter Lindsay Barnett are experts in creating memorable celebrations, offering tips
to those who want to rev up their party prowess at home for the holidays.
“We are getting back to what we knew before COVID, that you can have a table for 10 or less that is wonderful, as long as you include all the important elements,” she says.
For this pro, that includes creating an aura of abundance with multiple items as centerpieces.
6 todaymedia.com I December 2021
“It could be a combination of florals and candlesticks of varying shapes and sizes, layered with gold- or silver-sprayed fruit or vegetables, with twigs,” she says. “Artichokes make great candle holders, especially when set on a farm table.”
Bring out the best silver, china and crystal. Set out multiple glasses for sparkling, red and white wines.
“Always have something unexpected, such as a Lucite cutout of each guest’s name on a cardholder set at the top of a plate. It’s a nice keepsake your guests can take home,” she says.
For a spectacularly sparkling table, Przelomski suggests covering the top with a huge mirror.
“If you can’t do a full mirror tabletop, you can get a similar effect by using smaller mirrored tiles to create a large center area, or, for a twist, get 6-inch mirrors and use them as bread plates,” she says.
AL FRESCO ENTERTAINING
Even before the pandemic, Tonda Parks enjoyed entertaining outdoors during the winter months.
She and her husband Joe are accomplished hosts who have transformed their 1-acre yard in Dover, Delaware,
into an open-air party venue. Over the years, the Parks home has been the setting for several large-scale celebrations and fundraisers, including an al fresco soirée to benefit the CenDel Foundation, which fosters philanthropy in Central Delaware.
For a New Year’s Eve party, they filled a clawfoot tub with bottles of Champagne and white wine. On nippy nights, heating towers are stationed on the patio. Because
it gets dark outside early during the winter holidays, lighting is important. Parks stations table lamps outdoors, many of which she finds at Goodwill. She places a clear glass plate inside continued on page 8
JIM COARSE