Once upon a time, a wreath on the door and some fake snow on the table qualified as festive holiday party stylings. No more (thanks a lot, Pinterest). Today, nothing short of real reindeer in the front yard will do. Fortunately for those of us planning for Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Hanukkah festivities, there is Eclectic Hive, a two-year-old local decor-rental business. With a 10,000-square-foot warehouse full of furniture, props, and a team of elves (OK, about 20 strong deliverymen and -women), Eclectic Hive can help your holiday fete stand out amid the Instagram melee. Here, owner Jillian Livingston offers her picks for pieces that will anchor your party’s theme, so you can focus on more important things—like getting Grandma’s eggnog recipe just right.

For Your Ugly Sweater Party

A velour black couch and a fake tasseled tree

5280 November 2014
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Awkwardfamilyphotos.com has nothing on your hand-knit cheese-fest when you pair a fake gold-tasseled Christmas tree with an overstuffed, velour black couch. It fits four—and a lark bunting (that’s Colorado’s state bird, folks) in the tacky tree.

Cost: $750

For Your Mad Men Party

A gold bar cart and glass decanters

Power struggles, romance, and mystery underpin the AMC series Mad Men (and probably your party, too), but let’s be honest: The old-school cocktails are the real stars. Tee up these show-stealers and offer a nod to Mad Men’s final season with a classic gold bar cart that cradles glass decanters (we’d fill them with Leopold Bros. American Small Batch whiskey). Just remember: Have guests ditch their keys at the door unless they want to run into some real mad men.

Cost: $400

For Your Traditional Christmas Party

A wood mantle with a stack of firewood

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire are one thing (good). Guests getting toasty at your faux-fireplace bar is quite another (better). Electic Hive’s eight-foot-long elegant wood mantle—and accompanying stack of firewood—holds a stockpile of liquors and provides a natural gathering spot for butchered rounds of “Jingle Bells.”

Cost: $750

For Your “Colorado” Party

A fabric aspen tree backdrop

A lesson from the Griswolds: Bring the outside in with a real tree and you risk all manner of uninvited guests—spiders, centipedes, and fleet-footed squirrels—sabotaging your soiree. Instead, deck your wall with a 10-foot-tall fabric backdrop of aspen trees that boasts fragments of real aspen bark. Add a soft blue light and a sprinkle of faux snow to transport your partygoers to a mountainside chalet—minus the creepy crawlies.

Cost: $1,400