Tis the season for Holiday Entertaining –
What’s better than a night filled with food and friends?
Every holiday season we gather with 10 of our closest friends for a Christmas dinner.
It’s so nice to take a break from all the hustle and bustle and enjoy an adult night out.
We rotate houses every year and this year the party is at my house. I love hosting and I am excited to entertain in my new kitchen and dining room.
My goal was to create a festive atmosphere and most importantly, a memorable night.
I lined the staircase with tea lights in glass vases which created a nice peacefulness when entering the house.
A mix of traditional, spiritual and fun holiday music played. Celine Dion’s, These are Special Times, Josh Groban’s, Noel and Jimmy Buffett’s Christmas Island are a few of my favorite albums this time of year.
I set my round table for 10 with a red pedestal bowl in the middle filled with funky ornaments for each guest to take home. My hope is that everyone will remember this night next year when putting the ornament on their tree.
Our guests arrived in festive, holiday attire. I welcome everyone with a flute filled with Kir Royale which is a concoction of raspberry liquor and champagne with raspberries floating on top. It’s a nice change from ordinary champagne and it also looks dazzling.
My girlfriends insisted on bringing something to the party so I asked them to bring their favorite appetizer. We had an array of everyone’s signature plates:
Appetizer Menu:
Pigs in a blanket
Brie and cheddar cheese with crackers and grapes
Meatballs in tomato/Vidalia onion dressing
Mexican dip with tortilla chips
We mingled in the kitchen and nibbled on appetizers until it was time to sit for dinner.
I usually find it difficult to balance socializing and cooking at the same time, but this year I prepared everything in advance so I really just had to keep an eye on the oven timer.
Before dinner, our good friend, Paul, toasted the group and wished health and happiness for the New Year.
I really enjoy the formality of a sit down dinner. It’s a nice feeling of togetherness and I love how everyone can engage in the same conversation.
Dinner Menu:
Cesar Salad with corn bread croutons
Dinner roll
Beef Tenderloin
Roasted medley of vegetables
Mashed potato bake
New York Style Cheesecake
Much to my delight, the meal was delicious. Everyone was stuffed but, of course, saved room for dessert. We began the final course with my all time favorite dessert drink that I discovered while studying abroad in Spain. It’s called Chupito de Bailey’s which is a chocolate shot glass filled with Bailey’s liquor and topped with whipped cream. Yum!
After dessert we took the party into the living room where a roaring fire created the perfect ambience on this cold night. We had a gift swap and ended up playing one of the games from the swap, 80’s Scene it? The DVD game. We shared a lot of laughs reminiscing about music, fashion and movies since we are all children of the 80’s.
Speaking of children, we wrapped up around midnight since everyone had babysitters to get home to.
As tough as it is to plan, prepare and pull off a holiday party during the busiest of times, I’m so glad we make the effort and do it. After all, the gift of friendship is one of the greatest gifts of all. Why not take the time to celebrate that gift?
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