Don’t shy away from hosting because of the effort involved. We’re here to help show you how to Freezer Cook Your Holiday Party!
Throwing a party is no joke. We just warmed our new home with a holiday party, and I feel like it took a week of prep plus a week of recovery to pull it off! That being said, it is always worth it to create those special memories with friends and family.
We love food, and food takes a central point at any gathering, but there are a lot of other things to consider when you throw a party. So we did a test run to walk you through the process. When we were all together for our Once a Month Meals retreat last month, we threw a party at Tricia’s house. (Let me just say, it was a blast to shop, plan, decorate, and cook with these dear ladies!) We also wanted to be able to share with all of you how you could throw a simple, festive gathering featuring the Appetizer Freezer Recipes Vol. 1. This freezer-friendly mini-meal plan is a great tool to help make life easy for you as you plan your holiday gatherings!
Set a realistic budget
Let’s face facts. It isn’t easy entertaining, and it isn’t cheap either. Don’t let that hold you back! You can create a festive atmosphere with surprisingly little money. The great thing about holiday parties is that your decorations can do double duty. You probably have some sort of budget for holiday decorations already. Keep that in mind and purchase items that you can use throughout the season, not just the night of your party.
We set a budget of $250, but you can decide on more or less depending on the size and style of your party. We used our budget to purchase serving-ware, Christmas decor for centerpieces, candles, and fresh greenery. Below are a few tips for your shopping trip.
- Shop your own house first! I mean really, how many boxes of Christmas decorations do you have in your attic? See what you already have that may work for your theme. You may have some old ornaments that match your color scheme or some special plates and cups that you don’t use year-round because they are Christmasy. Pull them out – this is the perfect occasion! Tricia had a wide variety of white serving dishes that she uses year-round, but we used them since they went with our color scheme of green and white.
- Shop sales. It was early November when we were shopping, but rest assured, we found plenty of holiday items for sale on the shelf. We took advantage of the 50% off all Christmas items at Hobby Lobby. This is where we found our candles and the fun Christmas trees. You can also do well at discount stores like Marshall’s. We picked up the candle holders and some fun filler pieces for an amazing price here.
- Don’t forget about thrift stores. This may be something you have to work at over time unless you live near a fantastic thrift store as Tricia does. We had an amazing selection of house-ware items from which to choose, but we still went to two stores. We picked up some unique vases and serving dishes to complement what we already had.
Keep the theme simple
Pinterest is your best friend. For real. You can search for something like “simple Christmas decor,” or “green and white Christmas” and you will have a wealth of inspiration. Looking at ideas can help you to narrow down the look that you want instead of just putting out every piece of Christmas decor you own.
We chose white and green with silver accents. We were going for a natural look, so we used a lot of fresh greenery instead of buying green decorations. We added fresh fruit like pears and cranberries and we used lots of white candles, white and silver serving dishes, and white table cloths. We also found some great mercury glass pieces since that is trending right now.
Whatever you choose, keep it simple. You don’t want to have to spend hours DIYing if you don’t have the time. Although if that is your thing, go for it early since you don’t want to be frustrated at the last minute if things aren’t coming together.
Over the years, I’ve learned that low lighting, lots of candles, and fresh greenery goes a LONG way in making a house look and smell homey and festive. And when you have pretty food on the table, it doubles as decoration!
Notice below, our wine cork label holders. We ran out of room on the table and needed a way to lift up the labels so they would be seen. Lisa, filled with inspiration and creativity as always, found some wine corks that were headed for the trash and recycled them by cutting a notch in them for the card. Even when you plan well you can have last-minute crises come up. Just go with the flow and look around at what you have. You just might be inspired!
Choose make-ahead dishes for the menu
So you were probably expecting this one. Pick a day in advance of your party, blast the Christmas music, and get your once a month cooking on. On party day, all you have to do is thaw and reheat some (not all) of your dishes. You can make it absolutely simple and use the Appetizer Freezer Recipes Vol. 1. No pouring over recipes, choosing, debating – just shop, cook, label, and freeze these 5 recipes. But if you want a more customized meal plan you can do some swapping with our Membership. Look for “snacks” under the Meal Type filter. You may also want to check out some of these resources for sweets and drinks.
- Dessert Freezer Recipes Vol. 2
- Paleo Dessert Freezer Recipes Vol. 1
- Cranberry Amaretto Cocktail
- Skinny Cocktails and Mocktails
Ask for help
Don’t try to stress and do it all yourself. That is the surest way to burn out and not enjoy the festivities. There were at least ten of us involved in throwing this party. Tricia handled invites and provided the location (she also provided her husband, who did lots of pre-party cleaning and fire building!).
Lisa and I (Kim) were in charge of decorations, and everyone else pitched in with food prep, plating, and of course welcoming guests. We had the special circumstance of all flying or driving in from different cities and planning the party in about 48 hours, but for you, it might mean making a “honey-do” list, enlisting roommates or older children to help with straightening up, or maybe asking guests to contribute to food or drinks.
Get someone to help you out with the cooking part of the party too. In my opinion, a big cooking day is always more fun with a buddy. One fun way to involve your guests could be to hand out a recipe card for each of the recipes on the mini-meal plan and let your guests see how incredible freezer cooking can be. What an amazing Christmas gift!