
‘Tis the season for cinnamon bun pecan pie, green bean casserole and Thanksgiving-themed cocktails. So many cocktails. Whether you’re a lover of eggnog or you’d rather sip on a clementine whiskey smash, it’s time to get your bar cart in shape for a season of holiday toasts. This week’s edition of Decor Resolutions will show you how to give your bar cart an elegant makeover, fit for your Friendsgiving party. Scroll down to see how we’d style a bar cart for a boho-chic space, minimalist abode and preppy home.
Dark red accessories are a fun addition to any fall-themed bar cart. Drape a felt leaf garland over the cart, set up a mini tree and add cork candlesticks for a rustic touch. Brighten up the vignette with red wine glasses, light up some candles, then get ready to brew up a batch of sangria.
Jamali Garden Multicolor Felt Fall Leaves Garland ($6), Kate Aspen Copper Leaf Bottle Opener ($31, set of 12), Villeroy & Boch Boston Water Goblet ($32), Fitz and Floyd Daphne Gold Wine Decanter ($88), 100 Candles Burgundy 12-Inch Taper Candle ($1), Juliska Quinta Natural Cork Candlestick ($39), Target Harvest Tabletop Tree With Felt Leaves ($12), CB2 Dolce Vita Copper Bar Cart ($299), Threshold Natural Acacia Coaster With Gold Metal ($10, set of four), Spritz “Hello Fall” Cocktail Beverage Napkins ($3, set of 20)
HOW TO DECORATE A MINIMALIST THANKSGIVING BAR CART
Toast the night away with a seriously sleek minimal bar cart. Start things off with a banner above your bar cart that’ll remind your guests to give thanks for your mixology skills. Jazz up a lucite bar cart with a marble serving tray, smokey gray glasses and a gold cocktail shaker.
CB2 Teal Taper Candle ($2), H&M Metal Candlestick ($25), Threshold Metal Letter Garland “Give Thanks” ($10), CB2 Stainless Steel Gold Mini Cocktail Shaker ($12), H&M Bottle Stopper ($7), CB2 Balance Wine Glass ($5), Oliver Bonas Black Marble Trivet Stand ($41), CB2 Gold Straws ($10), Duval Rectangular Glass 2-Shelf Bronze Brass Bar Cart ($555), West Elm Cassiopeia Glassware ($30, set of six)
HOW TO DECORATE A PREPPY THANKSGIVING BAR CART
Buh-bye, orange and brown: This Thanksgiving is *all* about those pastels and metallics, and there’s no better place to rock some pink and gold than on your bar cart. Bring in color with iridescent wine glasses, hot pink candles and a snazzy tray full of gold-dipped tumblers. Finish off the look with confetti cocktail napkins and a glittery leaf garland.
Spritz Wooden Leaves Garland ($5), Oliver Bonas Gold Confetti Decanter ($31), Zodax Fez Cut Wine Glassware ($239, set of 12), H&M Bottle Stopper ($7), Z Gallerie Largo Rectangular Tray ($40), Brit + Co for Cheeky Multicolor Confetti Paper Napkins ($4, set of 36), Lulu & Georgia Zelia Bar Cart ($318), H&M Metal Tea Light Holder ($7), Party Swizzle Hot Pink Taper Candles ($2), Tapio Wine Glasses ($47, set of four)
Need some more ideas on how to deck out your bar cart? Follow us on Pinterest for more holiday decor ideas and cocktail recipes.
Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures