Tag Archives: holiday party

The Easy Holiday Party

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20837992_SHoliday parties may be fun to attend, but do you find the idea of throwing one a challenge? Here are a few simple approaches to make your holiday party easy and fun for everyone, including you.

Go small: Don’t feel obligated to invite everyone you know. Select four to six of your favorite people and invite them for dinner. No need to decorate beyond what you normally do, and you can even order take-out for the meal. Remember, the goal is to get together and have fun.

Use a restaurant: Invite people to your favorite neighborhood restaurant, letting them know that appetizers and the first couple of drinks are on you. If you want, arrange a private room or reserve a preferred table. Choose a weekday so your group can stay as long as they like.

Semi-cater: Warehouse club stores and many grocery stores offer frozen appetizers and pre-prepared or customized party trays. Make your selection, balancing sweet and savory, indulgent and healthful, so there is something for everyone’s taste.

Ask friends to help: See if a couple of your close friends will come early to help you prep and set everything up for the party. They can also watch for empty cookie trays or veggie dips that need a refill. This gives you some time to enjoy your guests as well as managing the party itself.

Choose a theme: Focus the food on a couple of things such as wine and cheese or holiday cookies. Plan a project such as decorating the tree or going caroling. Build a gathering around a favorite holiday movie or television special and provide food that fits the movie’s approach. Keep it simple and it will be fun.

Above all, remember that the holidays are about coming together to enjoy each other’s company. Don’t worry about “getting it right.” Instead, plan a party that you will enjoy, and chances are your friends will enjoy it too.

Planning a Simple New Year’s Eve Celebration

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You don’t have to spend a lot of money or invite a crowd of people to have a fun New Year’s Eve party. Here are a few suggestions to make your evening special.

Choose guests strategically: Invite a handful of your favorite people. Two or three couples or a few close friends makes a nice gathering. Smaller groups give everyone more of an opportunity to relax and interact.

Focus on little foods: Pick up a half-dozen frozen appetizers at your grocery or warehouse store. Options range from mini-tacos to bacon-wrapped scallops, depending upon your budget and preferences. You may want to add a couple of interesting cheeses with several types of crackers. Plan to stagger the treats throughout the evening. You may want to end with holiday cookies or serve a dessert. Include some hearty choices so people don’t miss having a regular dinner.

Plan a little decadence: Consider having one luxury item such as shrimp cocktail or scallops, and pick up a few particularly tempting dessert choices such as the items shown in the photo to the right. Bring some bling to your table with bright gold and silver beads or confetti. Pick up a nice bottle of sparkling wine for midnight and include the option of sparkling juice for those who don’t drink.

Plan for fun: Horns, hats, noisemakers, sparklers can all make midnight more entertaining. Have people write their resolutions for 2013 on small pieces of paper and put them all in a box or bowl. You can then pull them out to read one-by-one and have people guess whose resolution each one is.

Have fun yourself: Plan ahead so that food and drink are easy enough that you can spend most of your time with your guests rather than fixing things. By keeping things simple, you all can have a lovely time.