Elegant eats, festive decorations, good friends - what better way to welcome 2009? And be sure to get our recipes for a delicious feast!

Shimmer and shine

For a fresh start to the new year, deck your dining table in shades of blue, white and silver. Don't worry about everything matching exactly - mix up any of your blue or sparkly things to reinforce the theme.

Silver wrapping paper makes a festive runner; just unroll it down the full length of the table so it hangs over each end and tape both ends of the paper to the underside of the table.

Having a ball

Get some extra use out of your Christmas ornaments before packing them away - fill a low-slung glass bowl with blue and silver balls piled high for a dramatic centerpiece.

Twinkle, twinkle

Transform humble tin cans into decorative votive holders for the dining table. Simply rinse out a few same-size cans, peel off the labels and poke a star pattern into them with a paper piercer.

Or put a small juice glass or glass jar inside a star-patterned can to make a small-scale vase.

Ring it in

These napkin rings are a fabulously quick, easy way to glam up your place settings. Bend metallic pipe cleaners into the shapes of the year (this time around, it's "'09"), and tie them to a short length of silver-colored curling ribbon to form the napkin ring.

For a finishing touch of sparkle, we added a glittery star embellishment from a craft store.

Personal poppers

Create a fun place card with a name-tag party cracker. You can pick up the poppers at a party supply shop and stick on name tags, or make your own using empty toilet-paper or paper-towel rolls, colorful tissue paper and curling ribbon.

We filled our homemade poppers with Hershey's Kisses - which doubled as an after-dinner treat and another hit of silver party decor!

Rol.vn - Source: Delish