Hello World! Welcome Friends! Holidays are very special times to receive family and friends into your home. It is a time of reunion with special loved ones and a celebration with those that we spend time with all year long. In our home, we love to try new things that make special memories each year. Yes, it is wonderful to reflect on memories of special times and activities from years gone by, but also a time to create new memories and try new things that will leave our guests talking all year long.
Each year for Thanksgiving, we host my family with aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes friends that may not be spending time with their own families. Sometimes it has been a year since we have spent time with some of them. For others, we see them every week. Whatever the situation of our family, it is important that all of them walk away with a memory that makes them reflect fondly on their time spent in our home celebrating the holidays.
One thing that I always include in my holiday family gathering is a festive punch. And no paper cups are allowed. Nothing says celebration like a crystal punch bowl and crystal punch glasses. I think this is one of those things that take us all back to special celebrations as we sip on a festive punch.
A second thing that I always include is appetizers or finger foods. Small bites are easy to enjoy while mingling and visiting with family and friends. This allows me time to prepare last minute details for dinner. I always include several different finger foods that have different flavors. One rule I follow is to always include vegetarian finger foods to satisfy my family members that prefer meatless foods.
I also include a dessert bar filled with mini desserts. I like to work on my deserts for several weeks in advance by preparing and freezing anything that can be prepared ahead of time. This cuts down on the work the day or week of our celebration. An all-time favorite is deserts that the guests can build themselves. I include fruit, chocolate, sprinkles, whip cream, syrup, and anything else that I can think of that would complement a dessert or drink. The children really enjoy this. Not to forget the adults, I always enjoy a coffee and drink bar for the adults. I always include Monin Flavored Syrups to drizzle over deserts or in our coffee. My favorite is Monin’s Caramel syrup.
Our Thanksgiving dinners are always a time of remembering fun events in the past. I include place cards for our seating arrangements so that everyone is able to visit with a family member that they may not see all the time. Included on the place card is a childhood photo of my guest or a photo from past holidays. I like to include a photo that features family gatherings so that we can enjoy the photo, but also reminisce about the event of where and when it was taken.
My home is prepared for the celebration with festive decorations of the season. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times to decorate. The colors are so vibrant and I just love displaying decorations that bring the outside fall colors indoors. Pumpkins are great for decorating and I love using things from nature and homemade decorations. The homemade decorations always make the holiday feel more personal. I gather twigs from outside to use on sideboards and other places around the house. I love to encourage my guests to really enjoy the decorations by hiding small surprises in the decorations. Before everyone arrives I write little notes telling them what they mean to me or reminiscing about a memorable time shared with them. I fold thee notes into small squares and write the name of the guest that it belongs to on the front. My guests always enjoy finding their little notes and reading what I’ve written for them. It’s a great way to tell your loved ones how much you care for them and that you love spending time with them.
At the end of our time together, we always have a photo shoot that documents our time together. This enables me to create a photo collage to send to each loved one in a Christmas card. It’s my way of saying thank you to each of them for spending a special time with me.
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Toodles,
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