Champagn Punch

Do you want to get the biggest bang for your champagne buck this New Years Eve?  Serving a Champagne Punch is a great way to control the budget and alcohol content, which will ensure everyone has a good time.  This recipe from Taste of Home combines several juice flavors with sprarkling wine for a light and refreshing toast!  Give it a try!

4 cups orange juice
1 cup ruby red grapefruit juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup lime juice
2 bottles (750 milliliters each) Champagne, chilled
Directions
In a 3-qt. pitcher, combine the juices. Refrigerate until chilled. Just before serving, stir in Champagne. Serve in Champagne glasses. Yield: 16 servings (3 quarts).

  Have a Happy and Safe New Years Eve!

New Years Day Brunch

Maybe you're not the stay-up-late & watch-the-ball-drop type on New Years Eve.  Maybe you'de rather go to bed at a decent hour and welcome the new year with a New Years Day Brunch.  Afterall, there will be football to watch and resolutions to start working on.  Cyd of The Sweetest Occasion set up this brunch bar that is a perfect help-yourself display.  Make it easy on yourself and serve pastries & muffins that you make yourself or buy from the bakery, fresh fruit, milk & juice.  For protein you can cook a whole pack of bacon at once in the oven, or serve a spiral ham. 

Offer small jars of jam as a sweet favor for your guests.  You can dress it up with a simple fabric topper tied with string or ribbon.  A pot of coffee and good friends or family, and you are all set to welcome 2011!

Silver & Gold New Years Eve

It's time to break out the blowers and noise makers again and ring in a new year.  I wanted to create an intimate dinner party with the idea of champagne bubbles & counting down the clock.  These are simple ideas you can implement - I didn't buy anything new for this table except the grocery items.  See all the specifics at the bottom.

Simple ideas you can use:

• I used a gold throw to cover the table.  It has a velvety texture and immediately brings a touch of elegance to the table.
• The centerpiece is a fishbowl vase filled with clear, gold, and white ball ornaments to mimic the effect of champagne bubbles.  Adding a clock and hour glass brings in the "countdown" idea.
• I added a single white flower to the center arrangement and embelished the tips with a little glitter glue & glitter.
• Each place is set with gold charger and clear plate.  I love using my clear glass plates as it allows me to do something interesting underneath.  In this case I designed the face of a clock to go along with the theme.
• Mini bottles of champagne are dressed up with a bottle tag and could be used as a favor or served with dinner.
• Offering take home favors is simple when you fill a silver cupcake wrapper with color-coordinated candies and wrap it up with a bow and tag.  I also thought a breakfast muffin would be appropriate for the guests to indulge in the morning after.  

I hope this gives you some ideas for your own New Years Eve dinner party - or any dinner party for that matter.  Cheers!

Your New Years Eve Bar

I still have cocktails on the brain!  This time it's a New Years Eve serve-yourself bar that I actually set up at the same time as my Christmas bar, but I wanted to show you how to change out a few elements to create a totally different look.

Once again I began by covering a card table with a TableVogue fitted cover and used a large canvas board as a simple backdrop.  To give it a glam look to coordinate with our Holiday Dining Table and Dessert Table, I used black accessories and silver serving pieces.  This is the time to pull out any of those precious silver trays or crystal decanters and put them to use.  Don't forget you can mix silver, silver plated, stainless, and pewter finishes together as I've done above, because they all have a similar look. 

For this display I used a single framed sign to display the juice selection and spicy nuts, instead of individual tags.  I also topped one of the decanters with a holiday stopper, and added a 'crystal' droplet to the side of the oversize glass holding the pecans.  These are the unexpected details that help make your party special and memorable.

Hope this inspires you to create your own stylish bar! 

New Years Eve Printables

I wanted to share a quick link with you to help you get ready for this year's New Years Eve festivities.  Operation Give Thanks is still in effect and Lindi of Love the Day has designed a new set of party printables for New Years Eve.  The idea is to use this free printable set as part of your party decor, and in return gather donations to be sent to Operation Shower to help provide group showers for wives of military men who are deployed.  In case you're unable to take up donations, any small contribution is appreciated in return for the use of the printables.

There's nothing better than partying for a good cause!

Merry Christmas From Celebrations At Home!

A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season to all of you! 

Thank you for your continued support, generous comments, and wonderful contributions.  Have a memorable and fun-filled day with your loved ones!

Cheers! 

Last Minute Christmas Tablescape

Have you been too busy shopping, baking, or preparing a Christmas menu to plan your Holiday dining table decor.  Luckily Mindy of Modern Mindy shared with us how to prepare a beautiful tablescape using things you already have: Christmas ornaments, wrapping paper, and votive candles!  She simply wrapped a couple of boxes with festive paper, and incorporated ball ornaments into glass vases, napkin rings, and even a hanging "chandelier."  Grouping votive candles together in the center of the table gives a bigger impact than lining them down the table individually.  A little bit of greenery cut fresh from your tree and you have a beautiful holiday tablescape.  I hope you'll give this last minute decorating a try.

Merry Christmas!

Sweet & Spicy Pecans

Nothing says Holiday nibbles to me, like a dish full of spicy nuts!  This recipe is perfect to have sitting around the house during a party or on Christmas day while you're waiting for your big meal.  It has just a hint of sweet and a hint of spice and has proven to be a tried and true recipe.  I like to have a small dish of nibbles on the bar too as you see here, and this is my go-to snack!  Try making these today - I bet you have all the ingredients in your kitchen already!

Spicy Pecans

2 egg whites

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons Smoke Paprika (or regular)

1 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

6 cups pecan halves

1/4 cup Plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Beat egg whites and salt with wire whisk until foamy.  Add sugar, paprika, red pepper, and Worcestershire sauce, beating well.  Stir in pecans and butter.  Spread on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil & sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until pecans are crisp, stirring every 10 minutes. 

Let cool and store in air tight container.

NOTE:  I like to add some almonds to my nut mixture, for example 4 cups pecans and 2 cups alomonds.  These are also delicious tossed in a salad!

Christmas Printable Activities For The Kids

I just wanted to quickly share with you this link for printable activities for the kids, from Kidopo.  These are more thank just coloring pages, there are tags, greeting cards, bookmarks, and more!

Above samples are a maze, "find the difference" picture page, cut & fold crafts, gift tags, and a bookmark.  Nice activities to keep the kids occupied while you're doing some of that holiday baking!  

A Christmas-y 2nd Birthday

This adorable Christmas-y 2nd birthday party was sent in by Katie of Katie Cassidy Photography.  You may remember her from her son's Halloween Birthday party here... ; )

I love the sophisticated design that is full of seasonal details without letting them overtake the occasion.

You may know by now my love for using "furniture" pieces as part of your party display.  I just adore the white cabinet used to display cupcakes in such a stylized way!  

More favorites from this party:  heart-shaped lollipops created using candy canes, and the chocolate dipped pretzels designed to look like Santa hats!...And don't get me started on the marshmallow bouquet!  So many cute ideas here.  You can see even more on Katies blog.  Merry Birthday! ; D