With entertaining season officially upon us—weddings, brunches, BBQs, graduation parties and more!—we knew it was time to step up our party planning game. We needed to call in an expert who can inspire guests by showing how easy (and fun!) it can be to create beautiful gatherings—no matter their skill level. Enter entertaining guru, Camille Styles!

As the founder of her namesake lifestyle blog and author of “Camille Styles Entertaining,” the Austin, Texas-based mother of two is an entertaining pro. She started her career in event planning and has grown her blog into a destination for entertaining and style enthusiasts around the world. And now, she’s bringing her expertise to Target guests through oodles of fun content (videos, photo shoots, blog posts and more!) centered on stylish entertaining that anyone (yes, anyone!) can easily tackle.

To kick off the start of spring, Target hosted a floral-filled, global-inspired brunch earlier this week where Camille was on-hand to offer up tips and tricks for springtime entertaining.

We sat down with the style maven to chat about her new role as our entertaining expert, her hostess philosophy and her top tips for hosting a fun-filled gathering—just in time for Easter! Get to know Camille, below:

What’s your philosophy when it comes to entertaining?
I’m a huge believer that great style and beautiful design should be available to everyone, and to me, that’s what the Target brand is all about. I can’t wait to collaborate with the Target team to show readers how to create gatherings that reflect their personal style using Target’s products—combined with tips on keeping it stress-free so they can actually enjoy the party right along with their guests! We’ll be creating videos and photo galleries paired with expert advice on hosting everyday gatherings and holidays through every season.

Why do you like shopping at Target?
I love that I can find well-designed options across all categories—from entertaining basics like classic white plates and the perfect set of wine glasses, to fun accents like a pair of brass candlesticks and colorful cloth napkins that'll add the “wow” factor to my table. Every couple of months, I take a trip around the home décor section and choose a few pieces that’ll transition my entertaining style into the new season without breaking my budget. 

What are some of your most tried-and-true entertaining tips?

1. Pick a palette: For maximum impact with minimal effort, choose a color palette and stick to it throughout every element of the decor, from the entrance to the cocktail to the table centerpiece. Determining your color palette before you begin to shop for decorations will help you achieve a well-edited selection of pieces that you'll look forward to unpacking year-after-year.
2. Start with the menu: I love to let the season inspire what food I’m going to serve. Springtime is brimming with beautiful fruits and vegetables, so those ingredients will make appearances on my spring menus and inspire a farm-to-table vibe with my décor, too.
3. Serve food family-style: Not only is it an easy way to serve large groups, but I love the abundant look of a table overflowing with food and guests interacting as they pass the platters around.
4. Bring nature in: I like to bring organic elements into a tabletop design—flowers, greenery, fruit and berries feel abundant on the table, especially when paired with a colorful runner, stoneware plates and woven napkins.
5. Put guests to work: Get guests involved by setting up something interactive, like a self-serve cocktail bar, build-your-own taco table or yogurt parfait station.

What are some of your favorite spring entertaining/home products from Target?
I love all the new global-inspired pieces from the Threshold collection. Since my home has a lot of neutrals, these are the types of fun pieces I like to incorporate to jazz things up with the seasons! There are so many great throw pillows, I can’t even choose: these fringe-y ones and these vibrant, striped ones have just the right amount of free-spirit style that’s so in right now. Globe string lights are my favorite way to add a little magic to backyard dinner parties, and I love that these will add a pop of color. I’m obsessed with these natural chargers, which will give my simple white dishes a cool, earthy vibe. And I’m dying to get a couple of these accent chairs for my back patio.

Speaking of spring…do you have any big Easter party plans?
Since I have a four-year-old, Phoebe, and two-year-old, Henry, it’s all about the egg hunts this year! We’ll get together with both sets of grandparents for a midday Easter brunch with a glazed ham, my mom’s homemade biscuits and I’ll likely mix up a big pitcher of mimosas with fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.

What’s one entertaining myth you’d like to clear up?
It's a myth that more effort equals a better party. I see so many hosts trying to incorporate too many little details that can easily get lost in the mix. Keep it streamlined and remember that as long as there’s delicious food, killer cocktails and great music, it’s going to be a good party.

Stay tuned for more inspiration from Target’s new entertaining expert and shop the new spring home collections in store and online at Target.com!

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