Entertaining is definitely a passion of ours, but during the holidays we seriously ramp it up, even for us. Already on our hosting calendar for December is a Christmas brunch with Bob’s side of the family, a Christmas cocktail party with our neighbors, a potential gathering with Bob’s co-workers, and the usual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities. Add in any number of the impromptu get togethers we’re known for and it’s safe to say that this time of year I go into hostess mode for a month or more straight. That’s why today I’ve teamed up with the folks at Tyson® to share my top ten tips for easy last minute holiday entertaining! It’s my goal to help you feel empowered to entertain during the holidays, even if maybe you don’t typically throw parties or even consider yourself a host or hostess. So here I’m sharing my favorite ways to streamline prep work, inspiration for really simple recipes, and a bunch of “do ahead” and “last minute” ideas so you can hop off to the grocery store the night before or last minute and bring things together without a lot of stress.
Entertaining
Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, things are about to get decidedly merry around these parts! Tis the season for entertaining and I, for one, could not be happier to host family and friends as often as possible over the next several weeks. Today I’ve teamed up with 34 Degrees to share a few easy tips and inspiring ideas for hosting a simple yet super chic holiday cocktail party. I think this is truly the easiest way to entertain over the holidays and oftentimes the most fun, too! You won’t have to spend hours prepping, cooking and then cleaning the kitchen and with a stash of 34 Degrees crisps at the ready, you can serve up tasty gourmet bites in a flash. Plate them alongside a selection of delicious cocktails, crank your favorite holiday playlist and you’ve got a hip holiday party waiting to happen.
Wondering what to do with those leftovers? Make stuffing waffles from your leftover stuffing! They’re so easy to make and crazy delicious with loads of flavor and slightly crispy edges that you’ll totally love.
Last year my sister Ash and I sat down before the holidays and came up with The Sweetest Occasion’s first annual holiday wine guide featuring some of our favorite wines, all of which come in at under $25 a bottle. This year we’re back at it again, with an updated wine guide just in time for Thanksgiving! We kept a lot of our old standbys, but freshened up the list with some of the new wines we’ve discovered and grown to love over the last year. We have wines here for just about every holiday occasion whether it be for sipping while binge watching Christmas movies, gifting your mother in-law, mulling with citrus and spices or for pairing with your holiday dinners. Neither of us claims to be a sommelier, we just really love trying and discovering new wines, and we both fully believe that you can get a great bottle of wine for a great price. For what it’s worth, you could gift either of us any of these bottles and we’d be super happy campers! Do you have any favorites to add to the list? Chime in below so I can give them a try!
Ready or not, ’tis the season for celebrations and gatherings aplenty! Also known as, my very favorite time of year. From impromptu guests popping in for holiday cocktails to full fledged dinners complete with the in-laws, chances are your house sees more action over the last couple months of the year than the rest of the year combined. We entertain at least a couple times a month all year long and even for us the holiday season is bustling. To help you get you ready for all that merriment, today I’ve teamed up with BISSELL to share my tips for how to prep your home for the holidays! After years of always scrambling and feeling stressed when friends and family were set to arrive, I’ve finally settled on a handful of habits that make opening our home to loved ones feel so much more enjoyable. Have anything to add to the list? Chime in below – I always love new tips!
Back in late July you may recall that I hosted a party in our backyard with Sutter Home. At the time I shared a couple of the DIY projects, a sneak peek at the decor and the prettiest dinner party printables designed by my lovely friend Maddy of The Proper Type. Late last week the first of several videos was launched on Sutter Home’s Facebook page and I have to say, seeing that video really brought it home just how amazing an experience throwing this party was for me both personally and professionally. In a nutshell, we filled our backyard with a ton of family and friends, incredible food, an abundance of great wine and live music by John Driskell Hopkins, who is also a member of the Zac Brown Band. Then, an incredible production crew complete with director, videographers, photographers, art directors, sound guys and stylists took over our house for the day and after an early morning hair and makeup session the day kicked off and didn’t stop until the wee hours of the morning. I’ll be sharing all the other videos, recipes and photos with you as they roll out, but it would mean the world to me to have you take a few minutes to go watch the first video, or the appetizer video as Sutter Home has so cheekily dubbed it, and appropriately so. Getting to share my life’s passion in this way and on this kind of platform means so much to me it almost brings me to tears seeing it all come to life. Click through for loads of behind the scenes photos that Alice captured on what our friends, family and neighbors have affectionately come to refer to as Sutter Home Day!
Do you guys know that sherbet party punch that shows up a lot at baby and bridal showers? It’s usually served up in a big punch bowl and is made with things like fruit punch and 7UP® with scoops of sherbet floating on top. The idea is that it’s delicious, non-alcoholic and you get little bits of sherbet with each sip. It’s frothy, super summery and really refreshingly fun! Have you ever had it before? It is seriously some kind of delicious and I love that it’s such a simple concept, but sure enough you’ll always look over mid-party to find an empty punch bowl. Kids love it because it’s sweet and tasty. Adults love it because it somehow makes you feel like a kid again. That’s entirely what inspired these party punch sherbet floats! When I’m having friends over, whether it be for a dinner party or evening spent on the back patio, I love serving up something fun and slightly unexpected. Then you can keep everything else simple and they’ll still experience a taste of that wow factor that makes them feel a little special, and that’s my favorite thing in the entire world. Today I’m teaming up with 7UP to share how I made these easy but totally wow-worthy floats! (Be sure to scroll down for the step-by-step recipe video, too!)
We had a whirlwind of a weekend, hosting two parties and inviting a combined total of over 60 people through the house over the last two days. This morning it is dark and stormy, and I rolled out of bed a solid hour later than usual. I guess 48 hours of intense back-to-back entertaining will do that to you! When we’re throwing parties my rule of thumb is to keep the food simple, but also a touch unexpected and fun. It makes people feel special and gets them really excited to try something new. This strawberry feta bruschetta recipe perfectly fits that bill! It’s a departure from the tomato-based classic, but it’s equally, if not more, delicious. Plus, strawberries and feta always taste amazing together. In terms of prep, it’s also very easy! If you can dice up berries, you can feel confident serving this bruschetta at your next get together.
I remember on my inaugural trip to Europe as a young teenager being completely confused by Europeans and their penchant for room temperature beverages. Or rather, being confused by their confusion with our love for icy cold beverages. I have a serious love affair with ice. The frostier the drink the better! The fancy ice cube craze running wild these days? I am so completely into it. Not only does it look so incredibly pretty, but you’re also left with a million or more flavor combinations for taking your summer lemonade and your favorite fruity cocktails to the next level. I personally like my ice cubes with fruit and herbs for even just sipping water throughout the day, but latte ice cubes and flower ice cubes and anything else you can freeze into a cube sounds pretty amazing, too! Here are 10 ideas to get you started…
June is one of my favorite months of the year, probably due to associating it with the start of summer vacation as a kid. Even now as an adult, many years past even my college or grad school days, I still love the start of summer! There’s an energy and lightness that comes along with the summer solstice that begs to be celebrated, which is why today I’m joining up with my pals at Dr. Oetker Virtuoso to share this sangria recipe. Appropriately enough, I’ve dubbed it a sparkling summer solstice sangria, and loaded it up with mango and raspberries so it’s super fruity and delicious, but not overly sweet. Paired with your favorite Virtuoso pizza, it makes for the perfect casual summer cocktail hour on the back patio or front porch.
I’ve always been a fan of a really really great baby shower (you can find loads of baby shower ideas in the archives), but I’m especially into them at the moment since my sister is currently 20 weeks pregnant with her first baby. And with a seventeen month old toddler baby of my own, I feel like my own shower was just yesterday so, the long and short? Yes. Bring on all the baby shower stuff. When the ladies of Social Design & Events sent over this incredibly beautiful baby shower planned for one of their very own, Emily Sapp, I could not wait to share with you. Inspired by Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams video, their shared loved for plants, greenery and charcuterie (with photos by Leah Barry Photography), the ladies planned one of the loveliest baby showers I’ve seen in a long time.
With Easter coming up next week, I’m admittedly in full-on brunch mode. Actually, because I consider any day ending in y a perfect reason to do brunch, Easter may well not have anything to do with it, but regardless, brunch has been on my mind a lot lately. So, too, is the promise of warmer days in the coming months, all of which has converged to inspire this trio of homemade lemonade recipes! Made with Truvia Natural Sweetener, they’re a delicious reduced sugar alternative to the traditional, and completely worthy of serving your family alongside Easter brunch.