Sunday, January 25, 2015

"Drive the Cold Winter Away" Party

In an effort to do a bit more hosting (we love to have people over, but we can get lazy), my husband and I decided to have a holiday party.  This was supposed to be before Christmas Tiki Party, but we were overruled by the flu.

So we had threw the party this weekend, calling it a "Drive the Cold Winter Away" Island Party.  I decided not to be fancy with the food, though part of me struggled with the pride aspect of showing off.  Pinterest contains a bunch of ideas such as islands with palm trees made of cheese cubes; I cut the cheese in nice little chunks and set them on a bamboo cutting board.  Pinterest also had ideas such as palm trees made of pineapple and kiwi; I cut pineapple and kiwi and put them in a bright red melamine bowl.  My husband made his wonderful chili, which is not necessarily something you'd find on an island, but it will drive the cold away and open one's sinuses.  We had a hot cocoa bar with Triple Sec, Peppermint Schnapps, and Tia Maria (coffee liquor) for those who like it adult-style, and for those who like it kid-style, the bar contained marshmallows, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, whipped cream, and crushed candy canes.

I did one fancy thing, if you call it that.  I made a pineapple lantern.  I found the idea on Pinterest, but I found a video on how to make it on YouTube.  It wasn't hard, though it was messy.  My daughter put the flower on top.



A few tips for those, like us, who don't entertain often:

1. Know what the people you invite really like to drink.  I bought a bunch of stuff for mixed drinks (margaritas, daiquiris, etc.), but only two people wanted those.  And I was one of those two.  My husband, when he told me his invitees like to drink, neglected to specify what kind of drinks; everyone wanted beer. It's a good thing alcohol takes a long time to go bad because what I bought will not be used much for months.  Keep water on hand, too, for those who don't want the calories of other beverages.  I made a cucumber and lemon infused water for those who wanted to stay hydrated.

2. A hot cocoa bar works well for kids.  Adults, other than my mother who loves hot cocoa, aren't all that interested.

3. Do as much prep as you can ahead of time.  I got the fruit, vegetables, cheese, and other things already early in the day and put them in the fridge.  My daughter and I decorated a few hours before, but we kept it really simple for easy clean-up and for not being overwhelming for the guests.

4. If you make it an event where kids can come, which we did, have a place for them to play unfettered.  We sent the whole pack to our kids' rooms, and all of them had an absolute blast.  At least the happy-sounding shrieks and roars from above seemed to indicate good times were being had.  The messes made were insignificant in comparison to the fun.

5. The simple deserts went fast.  I made an Aldi brand box mix brownie that was scarfed up.  The homemade pound cake, though my husband's favorite, had a lot of leftovers.  Not that he minds, of course.

This was an enjoyable experience, and one we'll probably repeat in the future.  I'm hoping everyone had a good time and either met someone new or got to know someone better through this.