Christmas Eve

I really love entertaining. I don't have a magazine home, or magazine furniture and can't afford magazine presentations for feasts but I really enjoy the process, the challenge of using limited resources and the fun of having guests. After two years of offering to host Christmas Eve, my mom finally gave in (thanks entirely, I believe, to her bum leg) and let me have it at our house this year. And I am SO glad we did. It was a lot of work but so worth it. Especially since I got red roses and white tulips out of the deal.

Dangle fresh flowers in front of me and I am liable to do pretty much anything.



And it all went by without a hitch! Because so many people (and children) were coming, I knew I had to make it as organized as possible beforehand.

I took ALL the toys upstairs to the childrens' room so we grownups could mingle without being drowned out with the sound of playing or stubbing toes on an entire box of blocks scattered.

I set up two tables and arranged all the highchairs and boosterseats. I made placecards for all the seating which added not only charm, but was a HUGE help in getting everyone seated quickly and without question. Awesome. Never going without placecards again~ placecards and I, we are BFF.

The only thing I ran out of time to do was fold napkins. I really like folding napkins and wanted to dress up the disposable Chinet we used. (Hey, I don't have a dishwasher, okay?!?) I realized that a little after I started eating. oops.



I bought a bouquet of red roses and a bunch of white tulips and knew it would never be enough flowers, but that is what I was able to do. So I bought a bag of cranberries and poured them into the vases. The cranberries held the flowers right where I put them, so I was able to stretch two bunches of flowers into four different vases and do so beautifully.


I made as much food as I could ahead of time. On the menu:

For starters:

• Bruschetta
• Apricot-topped Brie
• Candy Platters

Others brought seafood stuffed shells, Buffalo Chicken Dip, cake and truffles among other things.

For Dinner:

• Apple Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
• Caramelized Onion Tart
• Butternut Squash with candied pecans
• Christmas Salad
  
• Applesauce

(Recipes are forthcoming, as soon as I make them again during the day to get photos worth sharing...) oh man, was it good stuff.

Looks like two Browns will have to be moved to the childrens' table next year.... :-)

It was a full house and a fun night!


My oldest brother stayed after everyone left and we put the children to bed and then relaxed and visited~ that was SO nice. And my younger (but still older than me) brother baked us a cherry pie as our Christmas gift! Two of the highlights of my night.