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Christmas Open House!What better time of year to get together with family and friends? We offer several different Holiday parties to choose from -
Christmas
Open House
Christmas Party Open House Invitations:Some people prefer to send out unique, homemade invitations. If you are one of those creative people, use a black felt-tip marker to print the details of the party on a bright red Glass Christmas ornament. These will need to be packaged in a small box and sent or hand delivered to make sure nothing gets broken!
Another adorable idea is to send a pair of woolly mittens out as an invitation. Attach a note with ribbon stating that guests should come and warm up with friends during this special season. Include a little fun into whatever invitation you choose by adding some confetti in the envelope, or a candy cane attached to the invitation.
Decorating the house for a Christmas Party Open House:
The great thing about entertaining in your home around the holidays is that you can show off all of your seasonal decorating that you have already done! Almost everyone does some form of decorating in their homes for the holidays, so just a few special touches can add big impact to the already festive atmosphere!
The most traditional and popular colors for the Christmas season are, of course, red and green. We suggest that with these colors, you choose a specific theme to center all of your party decorations around. Some of these themes would be:
North Pole Enchantment
Although it is not absolutely necessary, the most effective decorating would be done around one of these themes or a blended combination of two of them. We recommend that you try not to get carried away by using one or two items from each theme, even though it is tempting! You will have the biggest impact on your guests by keeping it simple and coordinated! Keeping that in mind, we have included suggestions for all of the above themes.
So, pick your favorite and go all out with it!
It is always a warm and inviting touch to have a fragrant candle burning or to simmer a few cinnamon sticks on the stove! And, don't forget to have mistletoe hanging from ceilings and doorways throughout your home to encourage lots of hugs and kisses!
Christmas Party Open House Food Ideas:
The sky is the limit when it comes to what is appropriate food to serve for your holiday open house. Again, the easiest and most simple way to entertain guests is with a buffet line.
A general rule is that everyone will not eat everything. People normally will eat more starches and meats than vegetables and anything fried will be the first to go! Going through a buffet line can make people feel the pressure of others behind them, so they move along quickly and won't take huge quantities the first time through.
Remember that you will much rather have leftovers than a sparse spread at your buffet line, but here is a guide for you when you are estimating your food quantities for your buffet.
For individual meats, fish, poultry: • 5 - 6 ounces per person • If the cuts of meat have bones in them, consider adding more weight per person.
For multiple meat meals and buffets:
For pasta dishes:
For vegetables:
For appetizers:
For desserts: Christmas Party Open House Beverages
Consider having a couple of the following seasonal beverages to fit the festive occasion:
Eggnog If you plan on setting up a basic bar, plan to have the following on hand
for every 10 adult guests:
Christmas Party Open House Decorating the Buffet table:
Usually during an open house you will serve the food buffet-style rather than offering a sit down dinner of any type. Even though you do not have a dining table, you can still decorate your buffet table with items that add elegance as well as glitz! To make your buffet table more interesting, consider creating different levels to set the multiple food dishes on. This is easy to achieve by using upside-down buckets, stacks of books, paint cans, and bricks set at various heights on your table. Cover the entire surface with a white sheet or tablecloth that reaches the floor on all sides. Cover that cloth again with our Gossamer or Sparkle Netting in a color of your choice. Gather up the second layer of fabric every few feet with Gossamer Streamers and evergreen sprigs. Add some 3-D Winter Magic Confetti around the table for added sparkle. Candles are a must on the buffet table as well as throughout your home. It is impossible to have too much candlelight this time of the year! Here are some of our favorites to multiply the Christmas spirit!
Gingerbread Men Candles
Another way to adorn your table is by placing several fresh sprigs of evergreens around the serving dishes and using a cute garland to weave around the entire surface.
Adding a strand of Twinkle Lights to the table along with a few small gift-wrapped boxes is another way to create a festive flair!
For your tableware, we suggest that you purchase the Plastic Coated Plates and Plastic Cutlery in red or green (if you do not have enough of your fine china for all your guests!)
Bunch your plastic cutlery together into easy-to-grab servings with red and green Curling Ribbon or Candy Cane Garland and place them all in a basket lined with snow (polyester fiberfill).
Christmas Party Open House Games/Activities:
The whole purpose of an open house is to let your busy guests come and go as they wish from a relaxed atmosphere within your home. Because of this, you probably will not want to have any planned activities that require a certain number of guests or demand a lengthy stay to complete.
Instead we suggest that you let the natural conversations and mingling occur as much as possible throughout the evening. You will definitely want to provide great food, a comfortable atmosphere, and some festive background music to add to the ambiance of the affair. Other than that, if you wish to provide a few extra memories to your evening, you may want to consider one or more of the following activities:
Purchase several small gifts as favors and beautifully wrap them up in your best wrapping paper. Place them in a basket and display them in a prominent spot in your home. Determine a "code" word that each guest must say during their conversations in order to receive one of the gifts. Choose something seasonal but tricky so it isn't obvious to everyone and then, as the host, keep your listening ears open to hand deliver a present to any guest that speaks the word! Have a few Christmas word puzzles laying around for your guests to pick up and test their clever minds! You can find many of these types of puzzles online at this website: www.holidaycrosswords.com
Set up a place in your home for picture taking. Place a few poinsettias near the fireplace, or place a chair next to the Christmas Tree for you to take some family pictures of your guests. People are always wanting just the right picture to send out in cards, or for gifts to give to family members - so be ready to provide just the right location for that unforgettable shot!
Place a large jar of Christmas candy on a table near the front door and have each guest write down how many pieces they think are in the jar. At the end of the party, whoever is still around and guessed the closest wins and gets to take home the jar of candy.
Christmas Party Open House Favors:
Although it is not necessary to present a token of appreciation to your guests at an open house, it is a nice gesture if you choose to! We have several favors that would be unique this holiday season and help make your guests feel privileged to be a part of your special hospitality!
Crackers are filled with a novelty gift, party hat, and a joke! These look great placed individually on a table setting or all in a group in a beautiful basket on a side table.
For the adults, check out the Elf Hats as favors that liven up the party a bit!
Choose any one of the many holiday candles to pass out as your guests leave your home. Tell them as they light the candle this holiday season to remember how much your friendship means to you.
Open House
Activities:
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