Fest intentions: Holiday party

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin

After finishing her MFA in sculpture in 2000, Brooklyn-based floral designer Emily Thompson (emilythompsonflowers.com) agreed to help her sister with her Vermont wedding, discovering “all the weird and wonderful things—like long-stemmed artichokes—that you can find at the wholesale flower market” in the process. But she didn’t think flowers would be her thing until 2004, when friends started asking for help designing various events. Now, Thompson does everything from biweekly arrangements for people’s homes to huge blowout weddings. She isn’t the sort of person you turn to if you want a hypertraditional affair; she can do standard bouquets, but her real specialty is strange, otherworldly centerpieces. “I like flowers that look like they grew that way, only better,” she says. “I want them to feel alive, wild, occasionally sinister, like a ten-and-a-half-foot-long bouquet of orchids and ferns that I assembled for a Cape Cod wedding last summer: It trailed behind the bride like a swampy train and after the ceremony the groom wore the end of it like a feather boa.” When Thompson isn’t working for clients, she’s usually entertaining at home in a similarly over-the-top way. “I like to turn the table into a landscape—it’s really affordable, particularly if you forage for the items to make a centerpiece—and it’s always memorable. You can serve crappy takeout—though I wouldn’t!—and your guests will still be impressed.”

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ Make ho-hum ice cubes a little prettier by adding berries and leaves. “When they melt you can eat the liquor-soaked fruit.”

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ “You can gold-leaf everything,” Thompson explains. Mix the powder with egg white and paint it on cake slices, rum balls, slices of fruit. “It’s edible and makes everything look fancy.” $8 for 1 oz at Pearl Paint, 42 Lispenard St between Broadway and Church St (212-431-7932)

[Ed note: Not all gold leaf is edible. Make sure that you request the edible product upon purchase.]

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ Burlap is an inexpensive way to add some texture—or to make a tablecloth if you don’t have one. “Use it sparingly, otherwise you get that homestyle country fair vibe going. I also like to swag it on a wall.” $4 per yard at Mood Fabrics, 225 W 37th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves (212-730-5003)

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ Galvanized pails, available at any hardware store ($5–$10 at Home Depot, 40 W 23rd St between Fifth and Sixth Aves, 212-929-9571) are a great vessel for serving holiday punch. “If you don’t have a beautiful crystal bowl, they’re a funny—and cheap—alternative.”

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ “Cut a thin slice off the bottom of an acorn squash—to keep it stable on the table—and then brown it in the oven (about 75 minutes at 375 degrees). It’s an easy but impressive-looking way to serve soup.”

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ “I forage Prospect Park for a lot of materials—branches in particular—but for the same effect—and not very much money—try U.S. Evergreens (805 Sixth Ave at 28th St, 212-741-5300). They have everything from bunches of bittersweet (about $15) to moss. Spend from $30 to $60 and you’ll walk out with enough to decorate your whole apartment.”

If making your own doesn’t appeal, order one from Thompson, who creates custom wreaths in her sculpture studio. Willow, magnolia, eucalyptus berries, pomegranates, reindeer moss wreath, $185, emilythompsonflowers.com

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ Good table settings are key: My plates are from my grandmother, but they have similar antique options on ebay.com. These glasses are Juliska.” Isabella tumbler, $52, and Graham goblet, $68, at juliska.com

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ “Gold spray-paint is my best friend when I’m building a centerpiece. You can lacquer everything from old shoes to nuts and shells. I’ve even spray-painted a real, cooked lobster—it looked strange and lavish at the same time.” $4.50 for 8 oz at Pearl Paint, 42 Lispenard St between Broadway and Church St (212-431-7932)

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin and Alexander Milligan

☛ “If you don’t have a fireplace, simulate the effect with this DVD.” Plasmavironments DVD Fireplace video, $18, amazon.com