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Holidays

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Hosting season is upon us! For those who know me, know that this is my time to shine! 😉 From my Annual Halloween Party through to the New Year, I love to take every opportunity to host or join in on someone else’s amazing party. While I’m sure to pop in here with some holiday guest tips soon, today is all about the hosting. Those who are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, Friendsgiving get together, Holiday open house, or Christmas shin-dig, this post is for you. While these tips work well for the holiday season, they really are universal for any home entertaining throughout the year.

6 Essential Hosting Tips for the Holiday Entertainer on KATU Afternoon Live

6 Tips for the Holiday Hostess

  • Invest in neutral serving dishes and service ware that can be used for many different occasions. While beautiful decorative platters absolutely wow, storing them year round can be a pain. While I do have a small collection of holiday-specific items, when it comes to service ware I try to keep it neutral. I collect white or dark wood platters so that they’ll coordinate together no matter the event. I also have sets of tongs and serving utensils in a simple metal so that it goes with everything.

Entertaining Essentials for Serviceware Affiliate Links: 1) Oval Serving Platters 14.5 Inches, 2) Large Serving Bowls – Set of 2 3) Large Serving Platter Set of 3, 4) Classic White Serving Platters – Set of 4, 5) Large Solid Acacia Wood Serving Trays – Set of 3 , 6) Acacia Wood Cutting Board, 7) Acacia Wood Octagon Serving Trays – Set of 3, 8) Mango Wood Serving Platter – Set of 3 , 9) 3-Tier Rectangle Plate Set with Metal Stand, 10) 3 Tier Serving Stand Oval Porcelain Serving Bowl Set, 11) Acacia Wood Cupcake Stand, 12) Acacia Wood Tiered Tray , 13) Serving Utensils Set, 14) Drink Dispensers

  • As the saying goes, you feast first with your eyes! When hosting a buffet, setting up a dessert spread, or prepping a beverage station for guests, avoid the school cafeteria look of everything lined up side by side and instead layer items in with varying heights and depths. While you can absolutely find wonderful serving dishes that are tiered and ready to bring height to your table, they too can be difficult to store when not in use. I often hide sturdy cardboard boxes filled with heavy items or books under the table linens to create the desired height I’m looking for. It adds the interest you’re looking for with no extra cost. The best part about this trick is that it is more customizable than one-size platters.
  • Prep. I can’t say that enough. Even people who throw parties as often as I can get behind on the day of a party. (Thank you to my amazing friends who always pull through and pitch in moments before parties begin!) When hosting a large gathering it is imperative to scale down your day-of plans by either prepping days or weeks before the party or going the store-bought or restaurant-catered route.
    • Before party prep. Many food items can be cooked in advance, frozen or refrigerated, and reheated on the day. This is especially true of many holiday favorites such as green bean casserole, mac and cheese, or sweet potato casserole. When doing something like this, avoid putting on the toppings in the first preparation of the meal. Get everything done and frozen and then heat up nearly til done before adding the topping and finishing it off. It will keep the dish looking and tasting freshly made. Some items can be done a few days in advance and simply refrigerated such as baking pies or making cranberry sauce. Prep doesn’t stop at the food though. Setting the table, serving platters and all, leading up to the event will save precious moments on the day.
    • Don’t fear store-bought! I love preparing home-made dishes for the people I love. I love cooking! However, when planning a large gathering, I generally will choose one to three items that I will focus on to whip up myself and then allow myself shortcuts on other items.
    • The big trick to making store-bought or restaurant-catered feel like it belongs at your special event is plating the items on your own dishes and garnishing them! Store bought pie? Add some cheesecloth or a beautiful napkin around it with some twine to cover the metal tin. Cupcakes? Add an extra cupcake liner! Putting out store bought vegetable platter and dip? Put the dip into a bowl and add the vegetables to your platter, maybe add some sprigs of parsley!
Free Printable Downloads: Thanksgiving Menu – Fillable, Thank You Leftover Tags, & Thanksgiving Food Label Tags | Print on cardstock in full color and cut to borders. Hole punch where marked on tags. Use a PDF reader to fill the text in the fillable Menu.
  • Of course if we are using our neutral serviceware then we will want to put some holiday spirt in somehow. I like to add in my own special holiday twist with linens, printables, home decor items found around the house, and the season’s bounty! In the Fall I’ll pick up extra squash varieties and use them for decor, they’ll make great soups later in the season. Add in some beautiful fall leaves and branches from the yard. In the winter I’ll grab pomegranates and cranberries for pops of red and rosemary or garlands for pops of green.
  • While some may scoff at this next tip as an extra step that may not be necessary, I think it is the one tip I love the most. Guests may have a variety of dietary restrictions or even preferences that would make it helpful to know what they are about to consume. When serving a plated meal I like to add a menu, but when it is a buffet I like to add printable table tents to highlight dishes and main ingredients. This saves me from needing to repeat myself over and over again throughout the evening listing off what items are. It also helps guests feel more comfortable choosing items they know they’ll enjoy or be able to eat.
    • One of my favorite things to do at a potluck with friends and family who enjoy cooking is to ask them to send me their recipe (or send recipe cards to them) so I can create recipe cards for the dishes. I’ll set them alongside the dishes so people can see what is in the meal, but then if they really liked a dish they can take home the recipe to recreate it!
  • Big holiday dinners with family and friends wouldn’t quite be complete without leftovers brought out to enjoy the next day. Give your guests the ultimate gift by providing to go containers for them to fill with their favorites and take home to enjoy. It’s a favor for them and for yourself, because then you have less to deal with in your own fridge! 

I for one am excited about the holiday hosting season, and I hope that with these tips you can get excited as well.

What are your best tips for hosting during the holiday season? I’d love to know! Share in the comments below!

It’s St. Patrick’s Day Week! I am part Irish, though… not a large part, but for some reason that small bit and the fact that I love the color green has put this holiday in a special place in my heart. So today, for the Quote of the Week I selected an Irish Blessing. “May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours wherever you may roam.” And, may you stop by the blog every Monday (or my Instagram) to grab some free downloadable inspiration!

I am (like many of you) hunkering down to do my part in flattening the curve of Coronavirus in the United States. At this time I am so very thankful for my community of friends who have been checking in on me and my family. Friends who have offered to pick up something from the grocery store when they are out so we don’t also need to go out. Friends who have sent engaging materials and resources for our kids who are stuck home while we are working.

This year, though I am not prepping for a St. Patrick’s Day get together, this Irish Blessing seems even more appropriate.

Quote of the Week Downloads: An Irish Blessing

These are free downloads for you to enjoy, share, use. These are not meant for resale. You may use them on your social media platforms or your blogs with credit back to me. I would so appreciate you tagging me @JenniBost on Instagram or Twitter and /AWellCraftedParty on Facebook!

To use:

  1. Click on the desired link below to open the image in your browser. Right click and download to your computer (or hold down and click save to save on your device).
  2. To use the desktop organizers open your computer’s system preferences to use as desktop background. (Mac Instructions or PC Instructions)
  3. To use on Instagram, save the images on your device and then upload to share on Instagram. Please tag @JenniBost to provide credit.
  4. If you are analog like me download the printable PDF To Do List to use this week! Print in full color, fit to print. Or, if you use GoodNotes, download the PDF and import it into your GoodNotes app for a fun new digital planner background. (Tips on how to utilize PDFs on GoodNote.)

Quote of the Week Downloads – Irish Blessing

I hope you enjoy these new downloads and will join me each week as I share more. May you have a beautiful week and filled with friends, fun, and lots of green!

A splash of paint, a dash of gin, and a gaggle of your favorite friends and you have a recipe for a super fun ladies night in. Host a painting night (also known as a Sip & Paint) with your favorite gal pals and give the gift of a fun evening in and a party favor that’ll decorate their homes! Read on to see my recent Galentine’s Day version of a painting party along with some tips to host your own!

This party certainly doesn’t have to be done as a Valentine’s Day celebration. However, since this party happened to be near the day of hearts and love… I decorated the party space to reflect that. I kept it mostly simple using graphic black, white, and pink elements. Xs and Os and hearts helped move the theme from the painting space to the bar and food space.

How to Host a Painting Party

The supplies for a painting party can be as simple as a painting surface and some acrylic paint. Fingers make great brushes! However, if you want to keep it a bit more clean, paint brushes are a good addition. To keep costs down you can even just grab the essential colors of paint (black, white, red, yellow, and blue) and let guests mix their own combinations.

I knew I’d be hosting more than one of these events, so I picked up some easels, larger boxes of paint ranging colors, prepped canvases, and paint brushes. The below links are to the actual items I got for my painting party and are affiliate links which means I get a small payment if you make a purchase (at no additional cost to you).

Painting Party Supplies (affiliate links):

Tips for Painting

I really love the idea of going to one of those Paint and Sip venues with friends. I’ve been several times and always have a good time. However, one of the things I don’t like about it is I’m often left with a piece of art that I probably wouldn’t have chosen to decorate my house with if not for the cost of the party. So, when I host a painting party… I sorta let everyone do their own thing. I love how creative everyone gets!

Not everyone loves to paint like I do and some people majorly underestimate their skill. So, the below tips are how I encourage people to paint.

  1. Stick with abstract. Unless you are great at drawing…abstract is where it is at.
  2. Pick colors that go with your home decor already.
  3. Search for artwork in that color scheme to inspire your painting. For instance, if you decorate in blue and yellow do a Pinterest or Google search for “abstract art blue and yellow” and see what comes up!
  4. Don’t try to copy. Look a the shapes and brush strokes on the art pieces you are drawn to and imitate that, but don’t hold yourself back.
  5. Stop throughout your painting to let paint dry and to step back and see how it is shaping up. If you feel stumped…. turn your artwork on its side or upside down and see if that inspires you.
  6. Don’t be afraid of white space. Seriously… sometimes less is so much more!

The Extras… Food & Drink

I hosted this party during the dinner hour so I wanted to provide some hearty snacks that could substitute as a meal, but was also able to sit out a bit so people could snack throughout the painting process.

Ladies Night Menu:

  • Romaine Lettuce and Spring Greens Dressed in Vegan Caesar Dressing and gluten free croutons with sides of Parmesan cheese and grilled chicken for those who wished to add them.
  • Tuscan White Bean Italian Salad (a hit!)
  • A charcuterie platter featuring Trader Joe’s Gormet Deli Selection (3 types of meats), unexpected cheddar, goat cheese stuffed peppers, blue cheese, fontina cheese, apples, strawberries, crackers, and gluten free baguette slices.
  • A vegetable platter featuring carrots, cucumbers, radishes, cherry tomatoes, hummus, and spinach dip.
  • A sweets platter with cream puffs, eclairs, macarons (from Trader Joe’s), meringues (from Trader Joe’s), berries, and candies.

Belly Up to the Bar at Ladies Night

I think the beverages are always my favorite part of parties. If you look through my blog you’ll notice that I have more beverage recipes than anything else. They are such a FUN way to give a little something extra to a party. I always make sure there are a selection of fun non-alcoholic beverages at every party including water. For this party I served some cucumber water along with a selection of Bubly sparkling waters and sparkling grapefruit juice. I also had a bar with the makings for martinis and gin & tonics.

Martini Bar Ingredients:

  • Coupe Martini glasses (affiliate link)
  • Shaker & Jigger (affiliate link)
  • Ice
  • Vodka (yes, you can totally use gin, but I’m a vodka martini gal)
  • Dry vermouth (store that in the fridge!)
  • Olive Juice
  • Olives
  • Lemon Twists (Citrus Peeler – affiliate link)

Make sure you add the directions for making a martini so your guests can make their own.

A Gin Dependent Woman Gin & Tonic Bar Ingredients:

  • Glassware – I used rocks glasses (affiliate link)because I like them, but traditionally high ball glasses (affiliate link) are used.
  • Ice
  • Cocktail spoon (affiliate link)
  • Jigger (affiliate link)
  • Gin
  • Tonic Water
  • Sparkling Grapefruit Juice
  • Blood Orange simple syrup
  • Citrus (lime, lemon, grapefruit, blood oranges)
  • Herbs (Thyme & Rosemary– though, basil would be a great addition!)
  • Cucumber slices
  • Strawberries

Make sure you add directions to this as well and add in some ideas for combinations!

Gin & Tonic Bar Directions:

  1. Fill glass with ice
  2. Add 1.25 oz of Gin to glass
  3. Add in your mixers – squeeze citrus, crush herbs, mash berries/cucumber, etc.
  4. Add in any simple syrup or juice (half an ounce or less)
  5. Top with tonic water

Suggested combos:

  • Strawberries, thyme, grapefruit slices, grapefruit juice, gin, & tonic.
  • Lime, cucumber, gin, & tonic.
  • Blood orange simple syrup, rosemary, blood orange slices, gin & tonic.

We had a fantastic time at this painting party and plan to make crafting/painting parties a regular occurrence after this event. Honestly, I think an event like this would be great for a birthday party or shower as well. Wouldn’t it be awesome to host a painting party baby shower and have the guests paint abstract paintings in the colors of the nursery? Or, perhaps a wedding shower where guests paint paintings for the couple’s home together or for the wedding tables! The ideas are endless.

Have a great painting party!

Would you go to a painting party? Share in the comments what would draw you to a party like this or what else would make it a great event!

I’d love that if this idea inspires you that you share it with me by tagging me on Instagram or Twitter (@JenniBost).