With the holiday season in full swing, people everywhere are getting ready to entertain family, friends and business associates. But along with the extra festivities comes some extra stress this down-economy year: How can you decorate the house, set the table, select the menu and handle the guests so everyone has a good time — without breaking the bank?

Victoria Price hopes to help answer many of these questions with a holiday home seminar that will bring interior and floral designers, a chef and an etiquette expert together Thursday morning at her Pacheco Park shop, Victoria Price Art & Design.

The company did a similar event two years ago, Price says, and it was well received. "The idea really came from my family," she says. "My dad was Vincent Price, the actor, and my mother was a designer named Mary Grant Price — and they wrote a cookbook together in 1965."

Treasury was the first coffee table cookbook, Victoria Price says, but it wasn't just about recipes. It was about enjoying a place by experiencing its design and culture as well as its food — "the whole experience."

And the whole experience of a holiday party is what Price plans to cover in her three-hour seminar. She and Paige Kelleher from Santa Fe Modern are going to talk about how to "use inexpensive things plus things you have in your home to create a very festive table setting."

Floral designer Kristine Ruesch of Blumen Kenner Exquisite Flowers will show people how to make beautiful and interesting arrangements with flowers that they can pick up a local grocery stores, like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

"I'm going to use a lot of different fruit and an edible gold leaf powder (available at Michael's or Hobby Lobby, in the cake decorating area) that a lot of chefs use on cakes," Ruesch says, "and I'm going to show them how to brush it on pears and fruit to make it part of the arrangement."

Ruesch's company does floral work for events at the Santa Fe Opera, SITE Santa Fe, the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and Evo Gallery — and she'll share the way she looks at a site and designs arrangements to suit both the setting and the theme of the event. "Everyone's cutting back a little now," she says, "but they can still do something a little more interesting than just throwing some flowers in a vase."

John Vollertsen, The New Mexican food columnist, cooking teacher and food editor of Santa Fean magazine, will offer planning tips and shortcuts for the edible part of the party process. He'll discuss how much food to plan for, how to choose recipes to include on the menu — and try them first — and the cooking shortcuts you can take to speed up and simplify the time you spend in the kitchen and reduce the mess you have clean up before and after the guests arrive. "These are the kinds of things that will ensure that you get to enjoy you own party," he says.

He'll also demonstrate how to use a pressure cooker to reduce the pressure on the cook and make a creamy and delicious dessert risotto studded with berries and nuts in just 15 minutes. "A pressure cooker can help made entertaining easy and fast," Vollertsen says, "and the risotto would make a great addition to a brunch menu."

A lot of people are anxious about throwing parties, Price says, "even my mother, who threw big parties, was always very anxious about doing it." That's where Bizia Greene comes in. "She's going to help people avoid the potential pitfalls ... and put it all together," Price says.

Greene, who has been called the "Miss Manners of Santa Fe," teaches etiquette to young children, adults and corporate clients. She's also worked as a professional wedding and party planner. To build on Vollertsen's presentation, she says, she'll talk about dining skills — everything from proper placement of the right silverware to meeting new people to making your guests feel welcome and cared for.

"When bringing friends and family together, you can never introduce or reintroduce people enough," Greene says — and "never assume that people remember other people's names. Introducing all your guests is an important part of your duties as a host, even if you think they've met before."

Greene also thinks it's important for the host to personally greet each guest at the door. "Don't delegate that task," she says. Having "a tray of poured drinks ready to go — whether that's some bubbly or sparkling water or cider" is another key to helping visitors feel welcome. "When you do greet your guests at the door, you can give them a drink and speak with them for a few minutes," she says, "get them settled and acclimated and introduced to the group so they don't have to fend for themselves."

A menu that keeps you in the kitchen takes you away from your guests, Greene says, so choose something that you can prepare a day in advance or earlier in the afternoon so "you can be there to answer the door and converse."

One thing that makes parties more stressful than they have to be, Greene says, is not doing enough advance planning. "If you can set your table or buffet the day prior (to the party) it will help immensely," she says. "The most important thing is to remember that you are creating an experience for your guests through cooking, conversation and ambiance," she says, so don't punish yourself. As long as you can spend a lot of time with your guests, that's the most important part of the evening; (a holiday party) is meant to be a very personal experience."

Contact Pat West-Barker at 986-3085 or pwest@sfnewmexican.com.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: How to throw a fun, fabulous and affordable party — a holiday home seminar offering tips on cooking, decorating, tablescaping, floral designing and entertaining skills. Featured presenters include Pacheco Park designers Victoria Price and Page Kelleher; floral designer Kristine Ruesch; chef Johnny Vee; and Santa Fe's own "Miss Manners," Bizia Greene.

WHEN: 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday

WHERE: Victoria Price Art & Design, 1512 Pacheco St., Suite B-102

PRICE: $40 per person includes breakfast, the workshop and the opportunity to take home a door prize.

For reservations or more information: Call Crystal at 982-8632.