FUNCTION
Throwing a holiday party is a great way to gather all of your friends together. But
choosing a date for the occasion can be difficult, as many people travel out of town
or have previously planned engagements. Consider choosing a date in the first two weeks
of December, guaranteeing you more guests and less stress.
Above and beyond Christmas dinner and Hanukkah gatherings, there are plenty of reasons
to celebrate in December:
- Celebrate the first official day of winter with a solstice party. If you live in an area where it snows, go sledding, cross-country skiing or have a snowball fight
- Host a holiday movie party and serve popcorn, snowcaps, and other fun snacks. Indulge your guests with a great movie experience with such holiday favorites as "It's a Wonderful Life", "While You Were Sleeping," "Scrooge," or "The Grinch that Stole Christmas"
- Host a "trim-the-tree" party and sing Christmas carols
- Chances are you have friends with many different backgrounds. Have a holiday party that incorporates traditional foods of different holidays - Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah
AMBIANCE
Need a few ideas for inspiration? Read on, and discover possibilities.
- Line your driveway with lights. Fill fire-safe lunch-size paper bags (sold at drug stores during the Holiday season) with kitty litter or sand, and place a votive candle inside.
- Decorate your tree with color-coordinated ribbons or tie bows at the boughs of select branches.
- Spread shiny confetti (silver stars, green trees, gold bells) around the entertaining area
- Build a gingerbread house. Buy candy to decorate with detail, including lifesavers, gumdrops, mini candy canes, M&M's, sugarplums, and lots and lots of white frosting.
- Coordinate your table details, like china, napkin rings and centerpieces in a theme that would fit you and your guests’ preferences. Choose a red and green color theme for a traditional gathering, select a more contemporary look with silvers and grays, or go with something entirely different and opt for a peasant-style feast with rustic-style ceramics and boldly-colored details.
- "Decorate" your meal by choosing foods made with red bell peppers, red potatoes, beets, red apples and strawberries
- If you are hosting a cocktail party, choose a bold red theme instead of a traditional black
FEAST
- Enjoy traditional foods of Kwanzaa (sweet potatoes, collard greens, okra), Hanukkah (potato latkes, borscht, cheese and dairy) and Christmas (rack of lamb, baked ham, Christmas pudding). To set a holiday mood, invite your guests to share a story about an unusual or special family tradition.
- On the sweeter side, bake up a storm! Assign each guest an ingredient (e.g. M&M's, macadamia nuts, shredded coconut) and bake giant cookies that everybody shares. Serve eggnog and hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.
- Defrost with a warm cocktail bar that includes hot toddies, hot buttered rum, mulled wine, Irish cream coffee, or just serve hot cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream; use cinnamon and peppermint sticks as stirrers.