Welcoming The New Chinese Year!

This is the first time that I celebrated the arrival of the New Chinese Year. Two of my best friends put together a lovely dinner party at their home, and everything turned out to be ‘perfect’: the decoration, the food (yummy appetizers, deli Chinese food, wines, chocolate-strawberries), the little goodie bags, and of course the ‘good vibes’ that always come out of gathering a bunch of good old friends. We even partied via Skype along with some other friends in Chile. At this point…Could you imagine your life without this kind of technology? I couldn’t…!

I have no problem admitting that I still have a lot of things to learn about the art of hosting the perfect party or get-together. I have been doing some research about books that might help me become the ‘perfect host,’ and Willian Yeoward’s books and work caught my attention. He is one of the most prestigious furniture designers, who has several shops around the world. Yeoward has recently put his good taste and knowledge about design, functionality and creativity into service to create several books about how to entertain people at home, presentation/table settings and just ‘how to be the perfect host.’

Now, let’s go back to the meaning of the celebration itself. When it comes to Oriental traditions we can go on reading about them for years! Needless to say that I am pretty ignorant about the history of those. I’m just going to ‘steal’ my friend’s vision about it: On December 31, we usually put ourselves through so much pressure (the party, the outfits, possible social conflicts…) that we easily forget about the essence of the celebration: To welcome the New Year with happiness, harmony and ‘good vibes’ along with the people you love the most.

This ‘Chinese New Year’ takes all kind of social pressure off our minds –in Occident, of course!- and allows us to focus on what at least, it’s the most important for me: to regenerate our energies and toast for a New Year full of health, love, productivity and success!

Congrats C&G for the amazing dinner!

Are you guys celebrating the New Chinese Year?

Also, do you guys have some tips or material to help me become a better host?