‘Tis the Season: Stephanie Hollman’s Expert Holiday Advice

Stephanie Hollman

You may recognize Stephanie Hollman’s gorgeous face from, “The Real Housewives of Dallas”, but what is even better is her kind heart and flawless holiday advice. While talking to Stephanie, one thing was obvious, this sweet girl is genuine and full of joy- seriously so much joy! Even over the phone I instantly felt like Stephanie was a long-time friend of mine who wanted to share all of her advice so that I could have the perfect holidays. I have a feeling you are going to love her ideas as much as I did!

Who is Stephanie?

I have seen Stephanie on TV, but there is nothing quite like hearing first hand someone’s life story and really getting to know them. Stephanie Hollman was born and raised in small town Waggoner, TX. Life growing up was small, country, and normal. She graduated with a degree in Psychology from Oklahoma State University and followed in her mom’s footsteps by becoming a social worker. She moved to Tulsa, TX and worked as a social worker for Head Start. Giving back and helping others is a huge part of Stephanie’s life and makes Stephanie, well, Stephanie. Her and her husband later moved to Dallas where they currently reside. Stephanie no longer is a social worker but instead has taken over charitable givings at her husbands company. Her favorite charities to work with include women and children’s issues and domestic issues. She has also been involved in The Big Brother, Big Sister organization for 9 years as a mentor.

Giving Back

After hearing about all of Stephanie’s involvement in the community, I asked her opinion on how to give back. Involving children, and teaching them to help others in the process, is so important. For example, during Christmas Stephanie recommends taking the kids to go buy winter coats to donate. If you don’t have the money to do so you can simply just take the kids out to go to the mall or participate in Toys-for-Tots. Bake cookies for neighbors, anything to show kindness. Giving back means serving others without expecting anything in return.

Holiday Fashion

Color plays a huge role in determining your holiday outfits. Stephanie’s go to color is that super-chic burgundy/red-wine color that is SO trendy right now. Suede over the knee burgundy boots and velvet jackets scream chic. In Stephanie’s opinion any shade of red is going to be super cute during the holidays.

Hostess with the Most-ess

I asked Stephanie for her advice for hosting the holiday in your own home. She said the best advice she has to cook WITH your parents. Don’t try to make everything yourself, the holidays are about being together and it is more fun when you have everyone in the kitchen. Having different generations together, like your grandma, mom, and sister all in the kitchen is magical. Bonding is what is most important. The kids get to play together while the adults chat in the kitchen. It’s all about the experience, if you do hot chocolate for all the kids they will always remember and look forward to that in the following years.

Shopping

Stephanie is a hug online shopper. Obviously, Black Friday has passed but the more deals you can find the better. Amazon and other online sites are her go-to. She does most of her shopping online to avoid the chaos in the stores. Fighting traffic and waiting in lines is for the birds! Her favorite shops include: Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. Her advice when shopping, is to shop at places that have a good return policy. For the kids, she loves Toys-R-Us, it is a one stop shop where she can get everyone taken care of.

Holiday Essentials

Holiday times wouldn’t be the same without a fire going outside every night and making s’mores with the family. Also holiday scented candles set the mood for the entire holiday. Also taking time to snuggle up with the family on the couch and watch holiday movies! I couldn’t agree with Stephanie more on this one. As far as essentials for holiday parties, comfort food and alcohol. More importantly making sure guests are fed! Also for Christmas cards, always use pictures! They are so much more fun to receive and they keep people updated. Tiny prints is awesome for this. No matter what as long as you are surrounded by the people you love and remember what the holidays are all about they are going to be joy-filled!