Christmas Party Fare

Guests had already arrived so my pictures were taken fast!

I spent this past week in preparation for our

annual Christmas Party. My youngest daughter

helped me bake and create all the treats

then my husband and she provided the entertainment

last night.

It is always fun to bring together family, friends,

Church members and neighbors to celebrate

this Christmas season.

Last year, I made Brown Sugar Brie en Croute

a recipe I found on  Jacqueline's blog, Purple Chocolate Home.

It was a hit.

This year I tried her Lemon Cheesecake ball

and her Chocolate Chip Pecan ball.

My husband really liked the Lemon cheese ball

and the younger folk really liked the Chocolate Chip Cheese ball.

I also made her Symphony fudge.

The menu included:

Bar-b-que meatballs

Bar-b-que ham cubes

Cubed cheese

Brocolli and baby carrots with dip

Grapes

Chips and salsa

Petit Fours

Pecan Tassies

Fudge

Truffles

Cream Puffs

Cheese balls (lemon and chocolate chip)

Brie en Croute

Nuts and Mints

Coffee

Percolator Wassail

Punch.

I make a very easy punch.

It is equal parts 

Sprite to White Grape-Cherry juice

(any white grape juice combination works nicely)

with dollops of Raspberry Sherbert added.

After the party I always make note of what was popular.

Always it is the meatballs and the Brie is popular.

The grapes and cheese cubes always disappear as well as

the cream puffs.

I placed the decorative sugared fruit in a bowl after clean-up

The best part of the celebration is the company – it was fun

to see them participate in the games and Christmas songs.

It is always fun to bring joy to someone’s heart.

I have so missed sharing and visiting as I have become accustomed

to. This week I plan to catch up on emails and to share all

the wonderful things that have been happening here!

I want to thank Jacqueline for sharing her wonderful recipes

that helped make our party a success!

So inspiring!

Pink Lemonade

&

Painted Cookies

My niece and nephew are visiting this week

and I thought we’d have a bit of fun for lunch today.

Before I began blogging, I would frequently visit one of my favorite cooking blogs, Once Upon a Plate .

Mari certainly has a flair for cooking, tablescaping and presentation!

I had used her cookie recipe and followed her guidelines before for Painted Cookies and will do so this time.

The table is set with a tablecloth I found at a Thrift Store – it is called Garden Silhouette Pink by Home

Accents for Macys!

I feel in love with the soft colors and the image on the package illustrating an outdoor setting with lemonade.

I found these napkins as well and had the makings

for a lovely, whimsical and fun table setting.

These plates, Pitcher, goblets, sherbet bowls

and bowls caught my eye as I walked up to a garage sale. 

They were a great deal and to my surprise, I found they were all plastic! How pretty and how fun!

This knife is from Martha Stewart. I love the bee at the hilt. It looks like it should be able to close up like a pocket knife.

My daughter, niece, nephew and I had fun making these cookies. My daughter and I had made them before, but this was a new experience for my niece and nephew! 

I loved seeing their creative minds work!

It was a little difficult for my nephew to wait to

eat the cookies; to allow me cook the cookies, ice the cookies, for them to decorate and for me to set the table before he could eat one. We laughed because we weren’t really sure if he’d end up liking them.

Well, he did!

The bees were the first to go!