99 ways to get ready for the holidays

DINING ROOM
18 Display a pillar candle on top of a bed of cranberries or chestnuts inside a hurricane lantern. Duplicate or triplicate as desired.

19 Bedeck the dining table with a seasonal runner.

20 Condition and protect your wood dining table.

21 If you have upholstered seats, now’s the time to renew their Scotchguard protection.

22 Stock up on wine. The dining room has a steadier ambient temp than the kitchen and is a better place to stash a few bottles.

23 Create a long-lasting and eco-friendly tabletop arrangement with tiny vases, teapots, recycled bottles or other vessels filled with sprigs of fresh ever-greenery from your yard.

24 Hang a swag of ribbon – wired taffeta or sheer organza both work particularly well – from the bottom of your chandelier. (Keep it clear of light bulbs.)

25 Set up your menorah.

26 Force an amaryllis bulb. (Buy extras at the shop to give out as hostess gifts.)

27 Decorate the table with edibles such as a bowl of nuts with decorative nutcracker or bevy of clementines or petite lady apples.

28 Make sure your music system is good to go for any type of holiday get-together, from impromptu drinks to all-night parties. Have your CD collection at the ready, as well as your iPod or laptop playlists.

29 Stock up on place setting cards – if that’s how you roll!

30 Buy or make Christmas crackers.

31 Check on your linen napkins: make sure they’re ironed and good to go.

32 Iron your tablecloth.

33 Polish the good silver.

34 Refresh any of the arrangements you may have set out earlier (i.e. evergreen arrangements, bowls of fruit or nuts, forced bulbs etc.).