Kathy Hilton on Christmas in July, Holiday Memories With Paris and Decorating at 3 A.M. (EXCLUSIVE)
From vintage ribbon to turkey and tinsel—Kathy Hilton’s Christmas magic starts in July
Not everyone can say they’re the Queen of Christmas, but Kathy Hilton has certainly earned it. While she’s known for her elaborate and detailed holiday decor, over-the-top holiday parties each season and overall appreciation for all things Christmas, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that she’s teamed up with QVC as one of their Merrymakers to celebrate Christmas in July. Alongside a dazzling lineup that includes Martha Stewart, Elton John, Kim Gravel and Babs Costello, these Merrymakers will be curating exclusive holiday content, sharing their favorite QVC picks and spreading the cheer in the midst of one of the network’s most popular sales. Between now and July 31, shop over 4,000 pieces all marked down by 20-50%, because it’s never too soon to start planning—at least according to Kathy Hilton! Here, the famed television personality, entrepreneur, and Christmas extraordinaire dishes on her hosting hacks, the method to her decorating madness, and her fondest holiday memories with her kids, Paris, Nicky, Barron and Conrad.
Holidays with the Hiltons
For Kathy, her annual holiday parties are planned to the tee, but the foundation of these elaborate soirees starts out with the atmosphere. Each room in Kathy’s home is decked out in decor, but despite the glamour we associate with the multi-talented 66-year-old, the Christmas enthusiast can appreciate the nostalgia associated with older, vintage decor. For example, the library room in her house, she explains, is “extremely nostalgic. It is very warm. There is nothing new, not even the tree. It’s beautiful, multi-colored—It’s just playful. It has baby shoes from the children hanging. It has my baby shoes hanging. Everything but the kitchen sink. Just lots of keepsakes,” she shares with Woman’s World.
That’s not to say she doesn’t enjoy bringing to life the more curated areas of her home during the holidays. For example, she describes the aesthetic of her entryway as something more along the lines of Miracle on 34th Street, sharing that it’s “really elegant, just very whimsical and beautiful,” while her living room is even more coordinated. Her holiday decor in that room more so matches the colors of the fabrics, and the innovative holiday decorator even kept all the extra fabric used in that particular room to wrap fake presents and incorporate them into her design! In addition to those fabrics on hand, Kathy reveals that she adores vintage ribbon.
“I’m a big ribbon collector. I’m always on eBay, Etsy, Ruby Lane when I go to London, to Paris, QVC. I mix in the new with the vintage.”
For this Christmas fanatic, decorating for the holidays doesn’t just happen during the daytime. As a matter of fact, Kathy explains to Woman’s World that sometimes, she’ll find herself awake in the middle of the night adding a few touches here and there that came to her mind.
“I’ll get up in the middle of the night and say, ‘Oh, I want to add those silver little walnuts, or I want to put some acorns here or there.’ And I can’t sleep until I go down and do it. I’m constantly adding and just going through my things and trying to mix it up a little bit.”
Kathy Hilton’s hosting musts
Kathy’s love of hosting came from her mom and grandmother, but her time working in banquet and sales in New York’s Waldorf Astoria drove her further. “I was very involved and learned so much,” Hilton revealed. “There were 1,800 seats in that ballroom, and just to see it transformed on a daily—Every evening that ballroom would be booked. It was so much fun seeing all the different flowers coming in, and the different tablecloths and the silver and the China.”
Today, she’s taken what she’s learned there and applied it to hosting her own parties each year. For her, planning and starting early, staying as organized as possible, and sticking to a classic menu are her non-negotiables. “I do the same thing every year, and people love it,” shares Kathy, listing off everything from a roast turkey to a seafood raw bar as part of her lineup.
Hosting these parties for so many years, Kathy has learned a thing or two and acquired quite the party-planning arsenal that includes plates, linens and everything else one might need to host. “I used to be the type—‘Oh, I can’t use this. I have to save this for something special’—and now I’m like, wait a minute, use everything that you’ve got! Enjoy it. Every day is special.”
Kathy reflects on fond holiday memories
Though Kathy’s children are grown now, she looks back and remembers the days when they were kids excited for Santa’s arrival.
“Every single Christmas, there was always something special,” she recalled of holidays spent with Paris, Nicky, Barron and Conrad. “They’d get my husband and I up in the morning. They’d be dragging us out of bed, literally. Meanwhile, we’d been up until one in the morning wrapping the gifts and doing all of that. That seems like we always did that the night before.”
To shop some of Kathy’s QVC favorites this Christmas in July, visit their website here.
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