A chilly December evening spent with some well-respected influencers from food, fashion and music directing a story on how-to host, celebrate and live gentlemanly during the Holidays. Shot at the original Aska location in Brooklyn, chef Frederik Berselius did not disappoint with the menu, while my crew weaved amongst an intimate space, capturing the moments and aesthetic of seasonal merriment that comes with great company.

Photography: Andy Ryan

Cheers to good company, entertaining in style and great food.

You have to buy a ham. Period.

A holiday ham on a great big wooden cutting board, on a credenza or a kitchen island, is essential. You can never go wrong with a classic, bone-in smoke ham. What to love about ham is A) it’s ridiculously delicious, and B) it’s ridiculously easy to make. For the amount of effort to the amount of impact, you couldn’t ask for anything more. It come out looking gorgeous, the house smells delicious, so when people walk into your home, they’re immediately like “Oh my god.” They see it, they smell it, they’re sold.

You gotta have punch.

It’s the liquor equivalent of the porky awesomeness of ham. You need a nice punch bowl–you do not want to be putting this in your salad or mixing bowl. And ice is key–it’s the great amplifier. There are two choices, you can fill a large bowl with ice, and set the punch inside it, or you can make a decorative ice ring. To do that you fill a bundt pan with water, fill it with herbs, some pomegranate seeds, freeze it overnight, and float it in the punch bowl. It’ll look beautiful, it’s both form and function.

Always obsess over perfecting your lighting.

You don’t need to call in a set director from Broadway to have your home look good. Just go to the drug store and buy extension cords with dimmers on them–your life should be on a dimmer. Then scatter cheap votive candles around the space for some contrast. You don’t need high end lighting fixtures, you just need some dimmers and some cheap votive candles. One thing you do not want: scented candles. You want to walk in that house and you want to smell the ham or other food–you do not want to smell scented candles from the mall. Never, ever, ever. You should not theoretically be able to eat your scented candle–your scented candle should not smell like Cinnabon.

As a host, put some effort into your wardrobe.

There’s a fine line between overdressing and intimidating. You don’t want to overdress, and intimidate your guests, and make them feel bad for underdressing. “Festive” is the key word. Wear something you would not wear to work, or on a Saturday afternoon. Break out that velvet blazer, or the plaid pants, or the Belgian loafers. Throw in that pocket square. This is the season to wear this look, and you know what, everyone’s drunk and happy, and they’re going to like it.

Finally, if you can afford it, there’s no shame in hiring a little help.

A party is both hard work and a hell of a lot of fun, but you need someone to do that work. And you can’t play host and get done everything that needs to be done. Get a little help, whether it’s a serving person, or a bartender, or someone to help with the dishes. Most men think they can do everything by themselves, but they can’t.