Decor

Umbrellas made from brightly colored tablecloths and twisted stacks of seat cushions hung from the ceiling.

Create a cozy ambience in any setting by renting a black enclosed fireplace, $300, from Taylor Creative Inc.

Rent Cloth Connections' new piano-sequin overlay in red, $52.95 each, to make dinner tables look especially cheery.

Music for Tomorrow's online booking service, which launched earlier this year, allows you to easily book jazz musicians for last-minute parties and events in New York. Just name your price (starting from $100 an hour), the style of jazz you prefer, and the event details, and Music for Tomorrow will provide you with a list of available musicians selected from their curated database of more than 100 acts, including Grammy award-winners and Juilliard graduates who can play jazzy versions of holiday tunes like "Feliz Navidad" and "Deck the Halls." The company, which is a nonprofit charity organization, asks for voluntary tax-deductible donations on each booking.

Abigail Kirsch is introducing several new festive menu items for on-site and off-site holiday party catering. A take on the Jell-O shot is made from mulled sangria, featuring layers of cranberry spiced sangria and brandied ginger gelée in pomegranate pine needle syrup, and Very Cherry hot cocoa, featuring liquid Vahlrona ganache, kirschwasser, and cherry blossom essence served with double-chocolate-dipped cherries.

RentQuest has a variety of holiday party-appropriate lounge decor, including its wrought-iron five-tiered votive candle chandelier, $150, and rectangular white mohair slipcover, $275. Add in several of Greenroom’s Gold Link ottomans, $90 each, to complete the look.

For an interactive gift idea, the Underground Press, a 15-year-old Brooklyn company that prints T-shirts for concerts and corporate events, now offers on-site custom T-shirt screen-printing services for private events. Corporate groups can work with the company to come up with original T-shirt designs, which are then turned into print-ready files. At the event, guests can pick their design, color, and shirt size, then watch as it gets made. The setup takes up minimal space (at least 10 feet by 10 feet) and requires at least two weeks’ advance notice. Pricing is based on a variety of factors—including the quantity and quality of shirts needed, the length of the event, and how many presses and staffers are required—but generally costs between $2,000 and $10,000.

This season, the New York Holiday Singers are debuting a new contemporary jazz sound, singing custom a cappella arrangements of holiday favorites as well as original compositions in five-part harmony. Pricing is based on a variety of factors but generally starts around $800 per hour. If you’re looking for a choir with a more traditional repertoire, book their sibling ensemble, the Holiday Choristers. The fixed pricing structure ranges from $65 up to $100 per hour per singer; you can hire as few as three or as many as 14 singers.

By Brooklyn, a new boutique in Cobble Hill peddling locally made gift items, is offering custom holiday baskets, starting from $25. The baskets can be filled with any of the Brooklyn-made goods in the shop, including artisanal candy from Liddabit Sweets and recycled paper journals made by Andy Pratt, or they can be themed by category, like “food” or  “apothecary.”

For a booze-fueled group activity that’s more interactive than your average open bar, sign up for Astor Center’s Winter Greenmarket Cocktails class. A professional mixologist teaches groups of as many as 60 how to make cocktails using seasonal ingredients purchased from the Union Square Greenmarket. After making three drinks as a class, guests team to create their own cocktail using the featured Greenmarket ingredients and dozens of liquors, spirits, bitters, and juices. The classes begin and end with a sparkling wine and hors d’oeuvre reception and last for three hours. Pricing ranges from $3,500 up to $6,500.

White birch is a stylish and inexpensive way to create a tabletop display with a wintery forest look. Pair Brooklyn-based Nettleton Hollow's new birch pillars, from $4 to $12.25 each, with fresh pine boughs or votives.