Ugly Sweater Holiday Party

UGLY SWEATER HOLIDAY PARTY

I kind of started a tradition among friends and then I guess they liked it so much that they kind of expected me to do it every year. It started as a Swag Swap gift exchange to clear out things accumulated during the year.  Last year I didn't do it because the one I did 2 years ago after the Ice Storm was extremely difficult and kind of burnt me out.  Last year a few of my friends got together at my friends place to do a gift exchange and that was nice.   This year I wasn't going to do it because I have had a bad financial year and it costs me a couple hundred dollars to do these parties with the food, decor and gift bags etc.  After deciding that I needed to do some de-cluttering after accumulating a lot of things after a year of food events and generally spending too much time moving things around my small space to make them fit.  Every time I have a party I spend a few days afterward trying to tuck things back into their place.  Because of blogging and my shopaholic tendencies I had accumulated so much stuff I didn't know what to do with and since this year more than others I couldn't afford to go out and buy my friends actual new gifts I decided to have a Not So Secret Santa Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.  Yeah I decided to hop on the Ugly Sweater bandwagon.  Comfy and fun.

Not so Secret because I was the Secret Santa giving gifts of things I didn't need anymore to my friends.  I asked them NOT to bring anything to exchange and told them I didn't want anything I had to store somewhere and the point of this party was to clear my space, get together with my friends all at the same time and give them gifts I can't go buy right now.  Most of the things were things like T-Shirts that aren't my size from events I attended.  Some of the housewares that I didn't have room to store or haven't used, homemade treats and some of my impulsive buys that never got used.  I gave one of my friends a small makeup case and a whole bunch of makeup I got as samples or stuff I never used and she was really excited about it.  For me the makeup kit was too small to use Professionally and I didn't have the space after re-organizing my makeup kit.  For her she was thrilled to try new makeup that she couldn't afford to buy.

One of my friends just moved into a new place so I gave her an orange serving tray and placemats and other stuff for her.  She is also a blogger and we always need new things to style out photos.  Turns out she didn't have a tray and I have like 4 so it will be used instead of moved around here.

What I did was wrap up different things and some had specific people that I thought would like it and a few things could go to a few different friends.   I passed out the gifts and gave them the option to trade for something else once if they didn't like it.  I got down to the last 3 girls and I couldn't decide who to give what to so I let them choose and then let the group decided if they could keep it.  It made it a bit more fun.   As it turns out nobody wanted to trade for anything else.  The only one that traded was one of my friends afterward wanted a candle holder instead of a large book box.   No problem.  The point is that I somehow managed to choose things I didn't need anymore that were new gifts for my friends.  Yes they all knew the plan.  They know I am not working steady and can't buy gifts and the fact that I had all kinds of food at the party and they didn't really have to do much made them pretty happy.

I only asked for them to bring a few things that they could choose if they wanted to bring something for the party like Wine, Pop and salads.

This was the first year that I was running behind and didn't have everything set up before my friends got there so I had one of my friends help set up a cheese and charcuterie board. I actually didn't have time to even take a photo of it but here's the board with some cheese.

I also had some entertaining food from winning a Sobey's gift basket and also St. Hubert Poutine bites that I had to blog about that I knew I couldn't eat by myself so I thought it was perfect for a party.

For the Food I made the Poutine bites which were what they call "insideoutpoutine".  They are mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese and gravy and coated in breadcrumbs.  All you have to do is heat them for about 15 min in the oven and serve.

Even my friend's 1 year old daughter tried one and I think she was a bit confused trying to figure out what it was.  She just started eating regular food so it's all new for her.  The tiny bites were huge in her little hands.

My friend somehow also managed to find time to bake the most amazing Gingerbread Bundt cake in a Jewish Star Mould. Unfortunately everyone was so stuffed that not everyone had room to try it but I did and loved it.

I had 3 bottles of BBQ sauce in my fridge so I decided to make meatballs and since I didn't have a lot of time I just bought some store bought ones.  Unfortunately not a big hit as they weren't very good.  Homemade is always best so next time I skip the meatballs.

I also made both Mac and Cheese and Vegetarian Lasagna the same time that morning.  Now I know how Chefs feel juggling dishes.  The Mac and Cheese was ok but the Lasagna turned out fantastic.  I used some no cook Molisano noodles that I haven't tried before and they were great.  I will buy them again for sure.  I mixed frozen spinach into ricotta cheese with grated parmesan and that was my veggie bonus layer.  The rest just tomato sauce and cheese.  I still have some left in my freezer.  Yes I always make too much food.  I never know what will turn out and what won't and who can eat what so I make more just in case.  I also wanted to have the leftover lasagna for myself because I don't make it often just for myself.  My friend lent me her Pro Catering Chafing dish that took up a lot of space on the counter but freed up my oven at least to make other things.

As part of a Gastropost Mission Challenge I had to make something with Walmart Canada's Brownie Mix and Wine Gums so kind of as late as I could make it I decided to make a Mocha Coconut Ugly Sweater Brownie Cake.  I had it at the party but didn't serve it up because I baked it too long and the bottom was a bit burnt so it was kind of dry.  Nobody was hungry anyway since I had so many other treats but it looked nice.

Along with the Ugly Sweater Cake I had an Ugly Sweater Contest where I encouraged my friends to dress very festive and I had a prize.  My friend Fabian won with his handmade sweater decor and his festive socks and slippers.  He was determined to win.

He won a Starbucks Ugly Sweater Gingerbread Men cookies, Dufflet's Cigar chocolates, Smores and chocolate crisps.  He was very happy as you can see. Oh and also a little ugly sweater ornament.

I made a whole assortment of sweet treats like Chocolate Chip cookies, chocolate covered apricots, Peppermint bark, Coconut macaroons, cinnamon roasted almonds and my friends mom's cookies, and there was lot's of chocolates too.

One of the things I made that I will make again was Ricardo's recipe for a Cheeseball.  It was so easy and it was so good.  Only a few ingredients,  Cream cheese, sharp cheese like cheddar, jalapeno and green onions.  It's all blended and rolled into crushed pecans.  I sampled it at a get together with Ricardo and liked it and I will make it again maybe next year and skip some of the other cheeses.

It was a lot of fun and for the first time I still had energy at the end of the party.  For me that's a successful party and my place wasn't a huge mess of wrapping paper everywhere this time.
As you can see some of my friends ditched their ugly sweaters before the party ended and I was the only one left wearing the Ugly sweater, although I was smart and most of it was just pinned on so I eventually took off the pins and just had a red cardigan and now it's just back to a regular sweater.

My place is all cleaned up again and feels a little less cluttered.  I want to encourage you to think outside the Shopping Mall and rethink Holiday gift giving.  Some of my friends did bring me gifts but mostly gift cards and a Starbucks mug and some other small things that will get used up.

I had to rethink my budget, and in the process helped the environment I think.  I want to make 2016 a year of less waste.  Less wasted money, food, stuff and time.  I hope I have inspired you to do the same or at least have an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party next year.

From me and my friends may you have a Very Happy Holiday and a Fantastic New Year!

HO! HO! HO!

Starving Foodie's top 10 Party Hosting Tips

My Top 10 Tips for Hosting a Party

I thought I would put together a list of my Top Tips for Entertaining that I have learned over the years hosting parties in my home and also things I learned attending other people's parties, blogger events and in studying Event Management at Humber College.

1. THEME
Pick a Theme or a reason to host a party.  People will ask and it will give them a better idea of what to expect.  Example:  I just had an Ugly Sweater Party (post to come).  That indicated that it was a relaxed party and people were encouraged to wear something festive and I even offered a prize for the best effort. And make a list.

2.  DECOR
Try and set the mood with the decor as much as you are able to.  Arrange the furniture if you can to let people sit or stand and have space to move around.  For the holidays I really like the battery pack LCD christmas lights.  Especially the white ones that are little and can be tucked into things to create sparkle and ambiance.  Might not be great for selfies but it's very festive and adds great ambiance.
Try and keep colors to a maximum of 3 main colors otherwise it looks like you just threw things you could find together.  Safe colors are always, silver, gold, white and red.  Red can be for the holidays and valentines day and even Halloween if you know what I mean.

3.  BEVERAGES

I can't tell you how many parties I have gone to that have only had beer or wine.  I don't drink either and always appreciate it if people have bottled water or other beverages available.  I always like to have an assortment of Beer, wine and plain water and I like to do a fruit infused water and a juice.  I also have a whole assortment of flavours of tea.  I could make coffee but it seems like people prefer cold drinks with their food.
Set up a bar area where people are able to get refills on their drinks or water and also if you are busy greeting people or organizing the food they don't have to wait for you to serve them a drink.

4.  APPETIZERS
What I have learned over the years is that nobody shows up at the same time and you need to be able to have some food set up and ready for people to nibble on when they arrive and wait for all the guests to arrive.  I love a good cheeseboard but don't forget that there are a lot of people that are gluten intolerant, lactose intolerant or don't eat pork products for religious reasons.  So if you are going to set up cheese and charcuterie make sure you add some assorted nuts and dried fruits.
The cheese is best when it is softened for about a half an hour but don't leave soft cheeses out for a long time as they can develop bacteria very quickly.   Sometimes it's hard to judge.  The last time I had the cheeseboard ready and people didn't show up until an hour after the start time.  This time I didn't have time to set up all the cheese but got help from one of the guests to set the rest of it up.

5.  HOT/COLD FOOD SAFETY
After taking a food handlers course I learned how important it is to keep food at the proper temperature.  Don't leave your party food out for hours.  Try to not leave hot or cold food out for more than an hour.  You don't want to be that person that makes your guests sick from the food.
Take the food away and serve up the next course after no more than an hour.  For my Holiday party I borrowed a Pro Catering sized Chafing dish that could fit 2 large try inserts.  I had one with Mac and Cheese and one with Lasagna.  I also had a Crockpot that had meatballs and guests were able to return for seconds and the food was kept warm.  One thing I really dislike is where people cook it all in different stages and then just place it all on a table like a Potluck and half of the food is cold. Not only does it taste bad it's a food safety thing.

6.  SERVING DISHES/UTENSILS
Try and have all of your serving dishes and utensils ready for your food.  Also have some platters, bowls and serving spoons and knives handy in case people bring things that they need a dish for.  Case in point.  My friend brought a chickpea salad and needed a bowl.  Another friend brought a cake and it needed a serrated knife. Be prepared for unexpected dishes.  Lay out the appropriate utensil for the dish it is supposed to be used for.  Cheeseboard has special cheese knives and spreaders.  Casseroles require large spoons.  Bread, don't forget the serrated knife.  It's common sense but you would be surprised on how many people forget about this. It happens a lot more when you host a Potluck because most people just bring the food and don't think about the serving part.

7.  FOOD SELECTION
Try and see what dietary restrictions people have and try to accommodate as much as you can or inform them what the menu is so that they can bring something or are prepared in advance.
I like to make things from scratch but I always seem to run out of time to make all the stuff I want since I have limited space in bother my fridge and counter.  It's ok to use some store bought convenience items to simplify your prep and make your time management easier.

St. Hubert Poutine Bites

There are a lot of fun appetizers you can pick up that you can just heat up and serve.  At my Holiday Party I tried St. Hubert's new "Appy Hour" Poutine Bites, #insideoutpoutine, mashed potatoes with cheese and gravy inside them.  They were very quick to heat and serve and something different and bite sized.  Even my friends 1 year old was able to eat one.
Don't forget to have a variety of foods here too for the people with restricted diets.  But also you are not a restaurant and you don't have to make 20 different meals.  Just make sure you provide options if you can.

8.  PEOPLE
I have found that the best parties are all about the people and if they are like minded even if they have different backgrounds and ages.  Invite people you know but sprinkle in new people but make sure that you either introduce the new people to each other or let people know who the people are in advance and how you know them so that everyone feels comfortable.  Also if people can't respect your time and show up at the end of your party and expect everyone to accommodate them then it's your choice to not invite them to other parties.  Also if people like to be the centre of attention or dominate all conversations it sort of puts a damper on everyone feeling like they are participating.  It's challenging if they are friends and family but hopefully it will all work out if you get the mix right. And what about kids? Can you keep you space safe for them?

9.  KEEP IT CLEAR
This applies to 2 different areas.  Keep the details of your event clear.  With your start and end times, the location and how to get there.  TTC or Parking info if needed.  What to bring or wear if it is a themed event.
Also keep your space clear.  I have a small space and I try really hard to clear things away before the next courses now because it leaves a lot less of a pile up at the end of the night.  If you have space to store the dirty dishes and deal with them after the party or you can get rented dishes or hire help then that's great but if not consider disposable dishes and cutlery.  They are a lot nicer than they used to be and trust me you don't want to spend hours washing all the dishes and serving platters by hand after the party.  The older I get the more important this becomes.  People don't care that they had their food on a disposable plate if it's a nice one and the food is good.  People remember a mess and bad food and people they don't like but if you have a small gathering under 6 then go for it and you can do a sit down with all the proper place settings.  Consider the space and the amount of people and if you are going to be doing the cleanup all by yourself or you have a bunch of people to help.

10.  THE END OF THE PARTY
At the end of your event there are a couple of things that you need to keep in mind.
Are they ok to get home or are they intoxicated or extremely tired.  Consider a way of dealing with this.  If you are having a house party sometimes you have a lot of food left and some people would love to take some home.  Have ziploc bags, tupperware or aluminum foil at the ready in case they want to take something home.

This happens a lot with dessert because people are too full.
Make sure you say goodbye to everyone when they are leaving and thank them for coming.
A nice touch is if you have a small token gift for them to take when they leave.  I always forget because my friends come and go at different times.  I had candy canes and little baggies with tea on a small table in the hallway and still forgot but if everyone leaves at the same time it's a lot easier.  It never happens in my case and as one friend put it there is an "after party" of stragglers that will hang out after most of the people have left.

I could probably write a whole lot more things I have learned over the years but these are pretty important to making a party seem like it's a snap to host.  My friends have come to expect me to have a Holiday party and start to ask me about it  weeks before December.  Last year I skipped it because the year before I spent 2 weeks prepping and days afterward getting things back in order.  That's why I keep trying to change it up and find better ways so that I can enjoy the party too.

And yes the most important thing is that you are able to enjoy the party that you are hosting or what's the point of doing it.

I would love to go all out and do as much as I can and as much as my body will let me do.  I like to entertain when people enjoy it and appreciate the effort that goes into trying to create a great meal and a great party.  If people are ungrateful stop inviting them or just stop doing it.

I wasn't going to host a party this year but I had a reason to that made sense for me.

So I hope these tips are helpful.  I know it's a long one but I think these things are common sense until I see that people don't know how to do them.

One last tip from my guests comments.  If you bring beer or wine to a party or food you don't take it back with you unless the host tells you to take it.

And one last from me.  Don't bring the host things they don't have space for or don't need.  Find out what they need and bring that.

Go forth and Party and Enjoy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS and Don't drink and Drive.

*Disclaimer:  St.-Hubert's Poutine Bites were sponsored by Group St.-Hubert, Retail Division and I have been compensated for the product but the opinions expressed are my own.

Fondue Potluck Party Swag Swap

I had my 3rd Annual Holiday Party this past week and for the 1st
time I got really ambitious and decided to make it a Swag Swap Potluck Fondue Party.  I will probably never do all those things at one time again since I pretty much ran around my place getting bowls, plates and gifts organized and spent little time actually sitting down and enjoying the party.  Not exactly what I had planned.   So what did this ambitious party entail?  Well I asked everyone to bring something that they may have gotten as free Swag that they didn't need or maybe a gift they didn't want, but something they basically wanted to get rid of but was brand new.  I made sure I had extra stuff of my own so that people could choose from a lot of things and maybe swap for something they wanted when we did the gift choosing.  It worked out in the end but as usual people don't like to follow the rules.  A couple of people didn't bring things so it was a good thing that I had extra things.  So it worked out in the end but I am stuck with all the crappy things nobody wanted.   May donate them to charity or something.

As for the food.  Doing a Potluck party sounds like it would make your life easier but it can sometimes be a challenge.  It was in this case because I had a list of what I wanted people to bring but most people brought what they wanted to bring.   A couple of friends called on the day of and in one case in the middle of the party to see what I needed but there were 4 bags of chips,  not on the list,  and 2 containers of pineapples.   Because a few people were late it meant that I had to spend more time in the kitchen during the party trying to organize the ingredients that they bought that needed to be cut and washed and put into containers for the fondue.

If you do a Potluck party I would suggest that you tell your guest to bring their food in containers that are ready to just be placed on the table and don't need to be washed and cut up or placed into another container.   Also make sure it doesn't need to be heated up in the oven or on the stove unless you check with the host prior because the host may have other items that are being served that need to be heated up which will make it difficult to get all the food organized at the same time.  

My party invite was from 4pm to 8pm.  No one arrived before 4:30 and then staggered in at a 15-20 minute interval.   That meant I had to keep stopping what I was doing while getting the food ready to keep answering my phone to let people into the building.    If there is a start time I feel that it is rude to show up an hour or more later when it's a Potluck party when people are waiting for the food you bring before everyone can eat at the party.   A few of my guests had to work or had meetings so they informed me that they might be late but everyone arrived at least a half an hour to a couple of hours after the start time of the party.

I have a very small kitchen so with all the extra serving platters and containers that were brought into my place and the cooking utensils used to heat things my kitchen filled up pretty quickly.   Luckily one of my friends offered to help do some dishes in the middle of the party to clear some space and another friend offered to help her.   It still took me another 45 minutes to wash the rest of the dishes the next day and I used paper plates and plastic cups and cutlery to save on the washing up.

Fondue Parties are really fun because they are interactive but be prepared for a lot of prepping of individual ingredients and a little extra washing up afterwards.

I also made some Ikea meatballs which were fabulous but also contributed to the extra clean up with the baking tray, the large pot they were put into and the little pot the sauce was made in.  But those were really worth it and none were left behind.

And on top of that I made a Turkey Chili as per a request of one of my friends.   I think he didn't think there would be enough food to fill you up with only fondue.   Not true at one of my parties.   That went over well and I would do that again because it was easy to prep it in advance and just let it sit warming in a Crockpot and ready to serve.   But don't forget that it will require extra bowls and spoons to serve.

All the little details that need to be thought of for a smooth party include the following:

1. Enough Plates, cutlery, cups and bowls for any and extra guests.
2. Somewhere to put all the garbage. ( my mistake was having a recycling bag that ended up as a garbage bag)
3. Serving platters and utensils ready and organized for anyone bringing something unexpected.
4. Lot's of ice to keep drinks chilled.
5. Have space to be able to clear up the dishes and be ready to clean up accidental spills.

I had 3 Fondue Pots going at my party with one for cheese, one for Spinach Dip and one for Chocolate.  I had to do them in stages to be able to handle heating them up and having space to serve them.

Add the extra crock pot and pot of meatballs on the stove and you have a bit of a hosting juggling act.

Oh and did I forget to mention that before the chocolate fondue I had to organize the Swag Swap exchange.

It was an exhausting party for me (the host) but my guests had a really great time.

It was a challenge to keep all the balls or fondue pots in the air at the same time but I think it was worth it.
But the next party will be a massive One Pot dish with a side salad and some cheese and crackers.  

Keep it Simple and you will have a lot more fun as a Host.   Take it from me the Party Over Achiever.

I was so pooped the next day that I spent most of the day resting.

Holiday Entertaining with Style and Ease

  

It seems like everyone is either Hosting or Attending a Holiday Party during December.  It's the Holiday Season where we try and spend time with friends, family and even co-workers.   The Holiday Party Season doesn't have to be exhausting if you pace yourself, get organized and simplify.

If you are Hosting a Holiday Party there are ways to make your life a little easier and more fun to spend time with your guests.

I have started a Holiday Tradition Party and this is the third year that I have Hosted an after Christmas Get Together Open House Party.

This year I am making it a lot easier on my time and expenses by having it be a Potluck Party.  To make it even easier I have chosen a theme of a Fondue Potluck Party.  I will supply the Chocolate and Cheese Fondue, my home and all of the tableware and platters and some basic drinks.   I will have a pitcher of flavoured water, a bottle of white wine, a bottle of red wine, a bottle of cranberry juice, a carton of orange juice and some soft drinks.   Setting up a fully self serve bar for people to mix and choose whatever the like to drink.

I have asked my guests to bring the dipping foods or foods that go well with the chocolate and cheese fondue's.

I will set up my Cheese Fondue and plates, platters and skewers ready for my guests to add their offerings for dunking into the decadent cheese fondue.  If guests arrive at different times there will always be new choices for dipping.

I will have the chocolate fondue ready to heat up and serve once the cheese fondue has gotten down to the last crunchy bits at the bottom of the fondue pot.

Then it's time for dessert.  The glorious Chocolate Fondue.  Decadent, delicious and satisfying and guests have fun interacting and selecting what their favourite dippers are.

For the past couple of years I have had little gifts ready for a fun gift exchange where people would choose a gift from a various selection of things and would have 1 opportunity to trade their gift.
This year since I am not working I have requested that my guests bring 1 Eco Friendly..ie.no wrapping paper and also something that they haven't bought but something that they may have gotten as a gift and have no use for or something they may have bought and never used or something they may have received at an event..ie..Swag..(Stuff we all get) something a lot of my friends get because they attend lots of charity events, film festivals and trade shows.   At the end of the year you end up collecting a whole bunch of things you don't need.   This is a way to clear your house of things you don't need and pass them on to someone that might have a use for it.   What's old is new when you trade something you don't need for something you don't have already.

You end your year by releasing all of the things that become clutter in your space and start your year with only things you like or need.   Hopefully if it all works.

Just to be safe I will add a few things of my own so that people can trade once if they don't like what they have chosen.   The last couple of years I had a mix of stuff I had from Swag, little things I picked up and stuff I didn't need anymore.    I still have things I don't need anymore or have no space for... like a couple of framed pictures that I have taken.  No more wall space, so I will add those to the gifts just in case someone forgets to bring something or people bring things nobody wants.   I will donate any of the left over items to Value Village so it can go for Charity.   Thus cleaning up my space and my friends space and passing it on to people that may need those items.

Will see how it goes this year.   If the Potluck, Eco Swap party works well then maybe I will make it an annual tradition.   Either way it's a good excuse to just have an Easy Get Together with friends.

I have hosted what I look as the in between party...  the days in between Christmas and New Years where most people are exhausted from rushing to parties and working and getting ready to ring in the New Year.   Hosting the in between party is more of a stress free party because a lot of people have time off and are shopped out, exhausted and don't want to rush around but they have nothing to do and don't want to have to impress anyone.   A potluck party where people only have to think about bringing  something like a baguette or fruit and something laying around the house and they don't even have to dress to impress.   You just have to grab a couple of things and go... and just chill out with friends.

Because I have asked for it to be a little more Eco Friendly... Reuse, recycle and skip the gift wrapping by putting it in a reusable container or a reusable bag...  this makes it a whole lot easier because you know everyone else is doing the same thing.   Good for the Environment, good for your stress levels.

Hopefully an event to recharge and get ready to ring in the New Year.

I will post photos and another post after the event to let you know how it turned out.

Some Suggestions for Dippers that guests can bring:

Baguette
Grapes
Cherry Tomatoes
Mini bananas
pound cake
Pears
Pineapple
Clementines
Marshmallows
Lady Fingers
Figs
Dried Apricots

anything that has a low water content...  chocolate will seize when you add water so skip the watermelon.