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Showing posts with label party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label party. Show all posts

Christmas Link Party!

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It's Christmas season! Woo Hoo! And what better way to kick off this festive time but with a Christmas Link Up! I am partnering with some of my favorite bloggers to provide you  with 4 weeks of holiday ideas!

Week 1: Christmas trees
Week 2: Home Tour
Week 3: Gifts
Week 4: Holiday Food and Recipes

Your hosts:

I hope you'll visit a few of these blogs too!

Rules of the link up: 
1. Please link to a specific post on your blog, not your blog’s home page.You may link up to 3 posts per blog.

 2. Please leave a comment for your host, remember it's a party!

3. Please be sure to visit a couple of other blogs and leave comments.

 4. No Etsy stores, giveaways or other link parties allowed.

5. Please link with a text link or party button to your host.

6. By submitting a link, you’re giving us permission and granting us the right to feature your project and photos on this blog, website and on social media. We will always give proper credit and a link back to your post.

 7. Each week, a few of our favorites will be featured on our blogs. Features will also be pinned to our Christmas Link Up Pinterest Board for even more exposure! If you were featured, be sure to grab a button!

I can't wait to see what  you link up!!



How To Create A Pie Tasting Bar! Holiday Entertaining

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareTheJoyOfPie #CollectiveBias

Create a sweet pie bar complete with mini tasting servings of your favorite flavors and whipped topping!

 It is so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of the holidays, isn't it?  Shopping, wrapping, baking, planning...it is overwhelming at times. Slowing down on an afternoon with friends after a full day of shopping is the perfect way to savor the season and what better way to do that but with a sweet treat!  A pie tasting party is the perfect way to share the joy of pie!




I want my pie bar to be delicious but easy and affordable so buying my pies at Walmart makes sense.  I only ever buy Marie Callender's® Dessert Pies because I think they taste the best and the closest to homemade. There are so many varieties to choose from too!

 I found them in the frozen dessert section of the freezer aisles. I also scooped up a few cans of Reddi-Wip® whipped topping with which to crown my sweet tastings!


If you cannot keep your pies refrigerated on your pie bar I suggest choosing the non-cream pies such as the fruit or nut flavors. I chose Dutch Apple, Cherry Crunch, and Southern Pecan. Ok, fine..I bought a Razzleberry one too but that one is just for us! (Shhhhhh)


The next step is to create a pretty presentation. I want my guests to feel pampered and special after battling crowds!  One of my favorite tips for entertaining is to use good quality wrapping paper as a runner/table covering. It looks pretty, saves your tablecloths from stains, is affordable, and can be thrown away for easy clean up.


Next, after baking and cooling the pies, I cut them into squares instead of wedges. This allows me to easily slide pieces of pie into my cute little cups. I like to use clear cups so we can all see the gorgeous fruit and fillings.


pie-whipped cream-christmas-entertaining

 If you don't have a tiered dessert tray on which to serve your pie tastings you can place the cups onto pretty platters instead. I think it is helpful to label the flavors so everyone knows what they are tasting and can go back for their favorites easily.

pie-whipped cream-christmas-entertaining

Don't forget to provide a large can of Reddi-Wip® whipped topping!  It is the perfect complement to Marie Callender's® Dessert Pies.



pie-whipped cream-christmas-entertaining
pie-whipped cream-christmas-entertaining

In addition to the pie selection, be sure to include some festive beverages!  Eggnog with a flurry of cinnamon and glistening champagne are always holiday favorites.

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If you happen to have pie leftover the next day (but really, who has leftover pie?) I have a super easy recipe for you!  Cherry Crunch Pie Ice Cream!

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Cherry Crunch Pie Ice Cream

1 pint high quality vanilla ice cream
1/4 Marie Callender's Cherry Crunch Pie or about 1.5 cups

Directions:
1. Soften the vanilla ice cream in a large bowl or beat it in a stand mixture using the paddle attachment until soft.
2. Break up the pie into small pieces and stir it into the softened ice cream.
3. Spoon cherry crunch pie ice cream into an air tight container or in a dish covered with plastic wrap. Freeze until firm.

pie-whipped cream-christmas-entertaining

My daughters DEMOLISHED this ice cream!  It was so delicious and I am planning on using the Southern Pecan Pie next time.


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You can find a ton of ideas to share the joy of pie, recipes, and print money savings coupons here .  What would your favorite pie flavored ice cream be?

You can stay in touch with ConAgra Foods on Facebook, Twitter: @ConAgraFoods, Instagram: @ConAgraFoods, and Pinterest,

Cheers!
Jenny

How To Host A Neighborhood Open House

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While certain stores are telling us it is Christmas time (I'm looking at you, um, every store) the truth is that it is fall and I am celebrating it by showing you, my lovely readers,  my pictures from a Halloween/Fall open house we hosted for our neighborhood. Open houses are a fantastic way to entertain because the times are fixed and YOU get to fix those times!

 

1. First I created a simple invitation/flyer. This was stuffed into everyone's mailbox in our neighborhood. I made sure to let our invitees know that they were not obligated to come at a specific time during that 2 hour window and they could stay as long as they liked. I also put that it would be held outside so people could dress appropriately. I did this quickly and could have lined it up perfectly blah blah blah but I didn't because life.  You will though.

fall-outdoor-neighborhood

2. Everyone knows the most important of every party (after your guests, right?) is the food!  Open houses need food that doesn't need to be piping hot, frozen, or eaten in a certain window of time since everyone will be eating at different times. Slow cookers are a must for anything hot you may decide to serve but I try to think of finger foods (no utensils!) that are both kid and adult friendly and need no preparation.This is not the time for Great Grandma's sardine souffle.

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apples-buffet-table


brownies-popcorn-cotton candy

snacks-brownies

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Placing food in its own one-serving container makes it easy for guests to eat, mingle, and play.

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Offer enough beverages that people have a choice but not a whole bar. I like to have two alcoholic options and two non-alcoholic options. This year we had a slow cooker of hot chocolate that could be "warmed up" with brandy or Irish cream if one was so inclined. This is easy entertaining so offering a whole fancy hot cocoa bar was not happening but a pretty dish of marshmallows is a must!

halloween-fall-hot chocolate

We also offered cold beer, water, and apple cider.  Tags on the straws on which guests can write their names ensures no cup mix ups.

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3. Games or an activity is a also a must if you are hosting a party with children. We put out a few lawn games such as ladder ball and bean bag tosses.  A fun party activity is tying donuts to the trees and the kids have to eat them without their hands. And when the donuts are gone they can just climb the tree, apparently.

party-games


or the kids can just eat the donuts like my sweet fox, Ellie.

4. Decorations can set a festive mood but don't need to be extravagant. I used a tablecloths I already had and I topped them with a yard of burlap. I grabbed a few decorations from my mantel and put them on the table too. I found the cute sparkly bat pics at the craft store and my decorations were done!  Jim moved our mums to the tables too but again, we already had those. No fuss stuff.

Pixie photobombed me. Stinker.

5. Lastly, as a host it is your job to mingle and bring people together who may not know each other. Remember to introduce people or to introduce yourself to new faces. You are obligated to make your guests as comfortable as possible! Walk around and ask if anyone needs a refill, invite guests to help themselves to food, play a game or two to get the kids started, and make room on your table for any offerings your guests may bring. 

decorated-cookies-desserts
My neighbor baked and decorated these cookies. Aren't they fab?


Open house entertaining is a carefree way to bring friends and family together!

Cheers!
Jenny


Tie-Dye Your Summer Birthday Party

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tie dye party kids art
You can find a "pin it" button by hovering over this picture!

Ellie's birthday is in June and I was wracking my brain trying to think of an idea for her birthday party. We have been through daisies, goldfish, butterflies, and Frozen. She adores painting and loves bright colors so when I found out about Tulip's One-Step Tie-Dye Kit I knew that a tie dye party was in order!




First Communion Party

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My sweet Molly made her First Holy Communion recently. It was a beautiful event and we had a small party after with close family and friends. The whole day was perfect and I thought I'd share a few pictures of the party decor. I didn't go nuts with a big dessert table. I'm kind of over all that. But we managed to add some girly touches to make it feel special.



Holiday Entertaining: Easy Cupcake Decorating (Christmas)

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Here's another holiday entertaining post!  

 A few years ago I made cupcakes for Christmas and decorated them to look like little cups of hot chocolate. They were so cute and I thought they would be fun to serve at a party we hosted last weekend for a group of friends. But alas, when I went to put on the candy cane "handles" it turned out I didn't have them as I thought I did. What to do?


Our Christmas Entertaining (So far!) and Cookie Exchange

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We have been entertaining more than usual lately. The Christmas mood has hit us and we've been able to spend two weekends with friends, both near and far!  I thought I'd share some pictures of the decor and food from those events and maybe you will be inspired to do a little holiday entertaining yourself!

Today's pictures are from a cookie exchange I hosted with some of my mom friends from our town. We each prepared 2 dozen of the same cookie and then we left with 2 dozen different cookies!  I served the Cranberry Champagne Cocktail, eggnog, some Prosecco salami with provolone cheese, chocolates, cookies of course, and a yummy spinach dip.  Now mind you, these are not staged photos and you'll see imperfections!




Holiday Drink: Cranberry Champagne Cocktail

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Hi friends!  I hosted a small cookie exchange this weekend with some friends and I thought it would be fun to serve a pretty and festive Christmas cocktail!  And I thought a cranberry drink with champagne would be perfect!




Easter Paper Favor Bags

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Today I'm sharing a cute Easter craft for paper favor bags at Live Creatively Inspired. I hope you'll come visit me there!



Also, I'm receiving so many wonderful comments and questions from you all!  I love reading them and I get so sad when I'm unable to respond because a commenter is either annonymous or a no-reply commenter. If you check your settings and find you are either of these, that is why I can't contact you back. I'd really like to! Thanks to everyone who stops by to read this blog and to comment on it as well!

Cheers!
Jenny

Ellie's Butterfly Birthday Party

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Last week my sweet Ellie turned 3. She asked for a butterfly birthday party to celebrate so that's what we did!  I will admit that I wasn't up to a big crazy decorated party. I didn't want to spend days making garlands and poufs, icing 47 different types of cakes and desserts, and I was adamant that I wasn't going to be spray painting anything to make the perfect dessert tablescape.

Anyway, here are few pics of our little lady and her butterfly party!
She is spunky, surprising, beautiful, and growing so quickly that I can hardly believe it. 
butterfly birthday

Butterfly Birthday

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Ellie turns 3 this weekend and she decided she wanted a butterfly birthday party to celebrate!  We invited our families and good friends to enjoy the (hopefully) sunny weather with us at a birthday barbecue. 

Ellie's Goldfish Birthday Party

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We had a blast yesterday at Ellie's goldfish themed party!  The weather was incredible here in Jersey and we spent the whole time out on the deck or playing football and Frisbee. The kids got a chance to run through the sprinkler too. It was a great day and, while I'm not sure Ellie knew it was a party in her honor, she seemed to enjoy herself!  Here are a few pictures.  I'm a little disappointed that I didn't take better ones. I thought they were great and then when I loaded them up they were fuzzy or the color was off. I'm the worst photographer!  I need a teacher.

The candy and dessert table


 


Those twirly sticks are cream filled cookies. Found those at Dollar Tree. Aren't they cute?


My nieces and nephews have come to expect soda in glass bottles at our parties now. How can I disappoint?











These cupcake decorations were my favorite part. I love the little fish stickers!  It's impossible to find goldfish specific stickers so these were the best I could find.


Not sure if the grill was working, we opted for a good ole 6 ft. hero.



I covered a regular party hat with scrapbook paper, a crepe paper ruffle and pom pom and a smaller version of the cupcake decorations.  I'm hooked on embellished party hats now!


The birthday girl!  She wore a light blue bloomer-blouse set that had red and orange fish embroidered on it. She looked adorable!







I know y'all are wondering why we put the food table in front of the air conditioning unit?  Well, it was the only shady spot at the time the sandwich was delivered and you know, no one likes sweaty cheese.

Cheers!
Jenny