START YOUR OWN FESTIVE HOLIDAY traditions with the best decorating and entertaining ideas gathered by House Beautiful magazine. You're invited into homes where Christmas angels are nestled in yards of pleated silk ribbon, for example, and a table is set in frosty colors of white and silver. With advice from caterers and top interior and floral designers, you'll find many ways to enhance your holiday celebrations for years to come.

Christmas is a holiday with rich religious meaning;it is no wonder that the traditions surrounding this day have taken on a life of their own. But the domestic side of Christmas has magic of its own, too, composed of three essential parts. The first is decorating ~ from the traditional vocabulary of red and green to fresh variations not immediately associated with the season. The second is celebrating. After years of Christmasfestivities at home and at House Beautiful, we've learned that the tree gets star billing, collecting family memories as surely as it collects ornaments on its branches. And some delightful and surprising new ideas for wrapping gifts make both the giving and the receiving more fun.

The third element is entertaining. Though family gatherings are such a special part of this season, most of us like to reach out to friends and neighbors as well. Feeling no one should be alone on Christmas Eve, a brother and sister we know always give a Christmas Eve party, with the guest list depending on who is without a family that year. A great idea, we think: Christmas is, after all,a time for sharing, and when that undergirds all the decorations, the celebrations, and the entertaining,the spirit of Christmas is present as well.

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

DECORATING

CELEBRATING

ENTERTAINING

DIRECTORY OF DESIGNERS

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

INDEX