Tips to decorate your home for any occasion

Part of the fun of hosting a party is the decorating beforehand.Of course, different occasions dictate entirely different approaches.

Before sending out the invitations, settle on the theme and style of the occasion: will it be an evening gala, a colourful and entertaining afternoon event, a drop-in tea party, a barbecue, or a casual brunch?

Tables set for summer need fresh flowers and lots of green. For example, a garland of ivy looks festive on a brightly-decorated table. You can deck out the table any way you want, but try to stick with one or two bright colours (say, a cool blue and white or sunflower yellow).

• Once your table decor is settled, you can add a playful touch to cocktails or ice cream sundaes with cheerful paper umbrellas. Straw hats with colourful flower wreaths hung about the terrace contribute to a rustic decor. Also, it's a good idea to make sure there are plenty of flickering lanterns spread along the tables at an evening barbecue, and strings of light are a must. Torches can create a romantic light in the yard and they work particularly well for a luau-themed party.
• A well-decorated party space doesn't have to be just about looks; scented candles can do double-duty, contributing to the ambience as well as keeping the bugs away. The scents of carnations, mint and eucalyptus work best.

• Send invitations. This is usually done in writing, although for a casual event you might send an e-mail. Make your invitation original, personal and tailored to the occasion.
• Using place cards? Make sure they suit the context. Be imaginative: hand-lettered stones, home-made cupcakes or little silhouettes in miniature picture frames can spell out where people are to sit, as will cardboard cards with ornamental calligraphy.
• Give your event a restaurant feel by posting the menu on a blackboard or printing it on decorative paper, then rolling and tying it with a ribbon and placing one on each guest's plate.
• Make the floral decorations suit the occasion: a bouquet of wildflowers works well for a barbecue, while a single amaryllis in a slim silver vase adds elegance to a dinner table.

No one wants to be miserly during the holiday season, but you don't have to spend a fortune to come up with tasteful holiday decorations. In fact, traditional items like red velvet bows, nutcrackers and handcrafted nativity scenes or angels can often decorate your home more festively than any life-sized Santa Claus climbing the wall, or rows and rows of lights flashing on the roof.

• Buying a real tree? If you have to trim off the lower branches, keep them to use for wreaths, floral arrangements or garlands. Then, mirror the tree's festive green hue with embroidered napkins, place mats, or tablecloths and add a pop of red to set it off. Think ribbons and smaller accessories.
• Place nuts, pinecones or glass marbles covered with metallic paint in a silver bowl and decorate it with ivy tendrils. Or create a pyramid of oranges, then tuck whole walnuts, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts into the crevices and place the pyramid on a bed of pine boughs. Presto! You've just made a beautiful, but edible, holiday centrepiece.
• Create an inviting Christmas atmosphere with candles in pretty candlesticks or lanterns spaced throughout the room. (Be sure that none of the candles are too close to the Christmas tree.) If you like, decorate the windows, terrace, balcony and trees on your property with strings of lights, lanterns or a variety of glittery ornaments.