Tips for Hosting an Unforgettable Holiday Party

I love decorating for Christmas. I also love hosting holiday parties. So when my friends at Crate & Barrel asked me to partner with them to share my tips on how to host an unforgettable holiday party, I was all in! Spoiler alert! Crate & Barrel knocked it out of the park this year with their holiday decor which made it so easy for me create the cozy and inviting space I was hoping for.

Every year I try to switch things up a little with the decor. Thank goodness that my husband and boys so graciously allows me to switch things up without complaint. This year I went with a simple theme incorporating greens, woods, whites, brass accents with hints of coral and pops of red.

The dining room is one of the rooms I focus on most because that’s where a majority of the time is spent when hosting a holiday party.

Before I wrote this post, I polled some of my close friends and family and asked them what makes a holiday party unforgettable/fun. The results are in and I am sharing them with you. Without further adieu, let’s dive in!

Tip 1: Make your home feel cozy.

Creating cozy spaces will make your home feel inviting and make your guests more comfortable. Think chunky blankets, warm tones, ample seating, and a roaring fireplace. It’s ok if you don’t have a real fireplace, faux fireplaces work just as good (minus the fire). I hung large chunky knit stockings from the mantle and enclosed the faux fireplace with two trees. Bonus, our house smells like a pine forest!

It’s pretty bright in our dining room, so to make the space feel more cozy I added warm accents such as a tree wrapped in twinkle lights, LED ceramic trees from Crate & Barrel, and a large wreath with pops of red. I didn’t want the space to be bare, but I also didn’t want it to look cluttered.

Another way to make a space feel cozy, background noise. Some of my friends that I polled said that they like to listen to Christmas music when at a holiday party. One way to do this, is play the music from your tv. Pro tip, make the screensaver on your tv a fireplace.

Tip 2: Create a Festive table setting.

It doesn’t take a lot of work to create a beautiful table setting. If you don’t have enough matching dinnerware to accommodate all the guests, mix and match. I like to mix and match our dinnerware and incorporate pops of color with the napkins. THESE dark green linen napkins from Crate & Barrel are honestly my favorite napkins of ever. I might be biased since I have a slight obsession with green. The color really is more beautiful in person and is the perfect festive touch to tie the table setting and centerpiece together.

Don’t forget to include drinkware. Wine (or alcohol in general) and holiday parties are basically synonymous, so I used that as an excuse to use my favorite French wine glasses from Crate & Barrel.

Last but not least, the centerpiece. If you want to create a space that will encourage conversation, create a simple centerpiece that isn’t tall. Being able to see the person sitting across from you is key.

You don’t want a massive floral centerpiece blocking your view. Especially if you are entertaining family and friends that you don’t get to see often. For this centerpiece I used fresh cedar, pine cones, and brass poinsettia candlestick holders with taper candles. All the Christmas feels. To recreate this centerpiece, place the candlestick holders on the table, weave the fresh cedar between them all the way down the center of the table, then lay pine cones on top of the cedar. Super easy!

Tip 3: It’s the little things (literally).

To go that extra mile for a dinner party, make your guests individual treats like these mini bread loaves. I simply wrapped each loaf with parchment paper, topped with fresh rosemary, then secured the rosemary to the loaves with bakers twine.

You could also do personalized place cards, make miniature clay ornaments LIKE THESE to tie around the dinner napkins, or do a fun napkin fold like a Christmas tree. Any of these suggestions will make the table setting that much more special for your guests.

Tip 4: Good food.

You can’t really have a holiday party if you don’t serve food, right? Right! When I polled my friends and family on what makes a great holiday party, their opinions varied with the exception of one thing. “Good food”.

With Thanksgiving still in our rearview mirror, I steered clear of Turkey and all the traditional Thanksgiving food. I wanted to make something a little less traditional. So of course I recruited my executive chef husband to help me come up with a good meal. I mean being the wife of a chef has its perks and having easy access to someone that knows how to make good food is at the top of that list! With his help, we decided on seafood soup. It is so good and filling, but won’t leave you feeling uncomfortably full. Did I mention it was good?

My husband did the majority of the work concocting the recipe, so I have to give him most of the credit. I did write the recipe as he pulled the dish together though. That counts, right? Tip: if you like spicy add some Siracha. It’s amazing!

The recipe for the seafood soup is located at the bottom of this post.

Serve the soup in a festive Staub cherry red French oven like this for extra hosting points! Click HERE for details on the French oven. The pot is beautiful and kept the soup hot.

Tip 5: Gift exchange.

Don’t let the “adulting” fool you. Adults love to do gift exchanges just as much as kids do! To make your holiday party extra fun (without spending a lot of money), do a cookie or homemade gift exchange. I put together this hot cocoa gift box with homemade cocoa in a mini mason jar, the cutest holiday mug that I scored at Crate & Barrel, and lots of cookies. CLICK HERE for details on the mug.

When you send out the invitations add that there will be a handmade gift exchange. Lay the ground rules and set a spending limit. Provide all the information in the invitation to give your guests as much time in advance as possible. Encourage your guests to be creative. I especially think this is a fantastic idea for a girlfriends holiday party.

Tip: Depending on your guests, you might want to specify that the gift needs to be unisex appropriate.

And that’s a wrap! Whew. That was a lot. I hope you found this post helpful as we head into the holiday season. A big thank you to Crate & Barrel for helping me create an unforgettable holiday party.

Until next time friends. Happy Holidays!

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Seafood Stew Recipe

Ingredients
2 leeks 
1 large white onion 
5 garlic cloves
8 medium vine ripe tomatoes
6 fresh bay leaves 
80 ounces seafood stock – 2 1/2 containers
4 tbsp vegetable oil 
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup fresh tarragon 
2 heaping tbsp fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces fresh cod – chunked
1/2 lb bay scallops
1/2 lb mussels  
1/2 lb shrimp

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

Note: this recipe serves 4-6 people.

Cut the leek into half moons. Dice the onion – extra small. Thinly slice the garlic cloves. Cut the tomatoes into large chunks. 

Add the oil to a large stockpot and turn to medium-high heat.

Tip: Sautée on medium heat. The goal is to cook the vegetables down to bring out the flavors instead of focusing on caramelizing them. 

Add the leeks, onions, and garlic to the stockpot and sautée until caramelized. About 2 minutes.

Turn the burner to low heat and add the tomato chunks and fresh bay leaves to the stockpot. Allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes. Make sure that you are watching to prevent scorching. This is why you should be cooking on low heat. It should resemble a watered down tomato paste.  

Remove the bay leaves and add the seafood stock. 

Cover the stockpot and bring to a boil, then immediately turn to low heat to simmer. 

Tear and pull the fresh herbs off the stems. Add to stockpot and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. We did not measure the salt and pepper. We just added a pinch at a time until we were happy with the taste.

The best part of this recipe is that you can use whatever fish you want. I would recommend using at least one fish and two types of shellfish. We used: cod, mussels, bay scallops, and raw shrimp (peeled and deveined). 

Tip: As my husband says, you want to add the seafood in cooking order. That means in the order of which the time it takes to cook. Add the fish first, then shellfish.

Cut the cod into large chunks. Add to the stockpot and allow to simmer for 2 minutes. Then add the bay scallops. Allow to cook for additional 1-2 minutes. Then add the mussels. Another 1-2 minutes. Then lastly, the shrimp. Allow to simmer for about 3-5 minutes once all seafood is added.

Serve and enjoy.

Tip: Serve with a French baguette or a type of crusted bread. 

We served the seafood stew with mini loaves of bread wrapped in parchment paper squares , rosemary sprig, then tied with twine. I thought it was a cute idea to give everyone their own miniature loaf.