This last weekend we hosted our 4th annual holiday dessert party! We have loved that this little party has grown into a well anticipated event! You can see years one, two, and three in the archives!
The theme of the party is that each guest is asked to bring a dessert to enter into the dessert tasting competition. This is not mandatory but most of our friends and family get into the competitive spirit! Every one votes and one winner is crowned champion of the year...including a fun little prize we always put together. As for me, I cover the regular food to balance out all of the sugar!
I set up a small tablescape of candles, pine cones, and trees on our dining table leaving plenty of room for all the desserts.
Our dining room was already decked out for the holidays.
Tucked under the tree is a poinsettia and prize for the dessert party winner.
I finished up our white tree in the living room with more of a simple theme of our ornaments and more paper snowflakes. I played off of the dining room decor with paper chains and a wreath hanging in the window. It is like the more playful simplified version of our dining room. We collect ornaments whenever we travel so I like to still have a tree just for nostalgia sake.
A few more little white trees add some mood lighting to our colorful living space.
I normally have our nativity on this side table, but I moved some things around to make the space more kid friendly with a simple pine cone.
The nativity traded spots for our shelf in the corner out of little fingers way. I am not so much concerned about our stuff being touched but want to alleviate any extra stress for the parents. I want them to enjoy the party as well and not feel like they have to be watching their kids 100% of the time.
In the kitchen were cold and hot drinks. My paper whites have already grown so much. They add just enough life and decor to our kitchen table that is constantly covered with something.
I set up coffee and hot water as well as all the fixings.
In the bathroom is a simple poinsettia. I have hung a wreath or plugged a little tree in here in the past but this year was about using less. I am quite happy with it.
And here we are pre-party. I was on top of things this year. House was ready, food was hot, drinks were out, and we still had fifteen minutes to spare before the party to take a few pictures. We usually take photos afterwards so I was grateful to be fresh faced and not half asleep for our photos this year. Seeing these photos remind me just how blessed I am. A wonderful home, husband, and soon to be full house. I am thankful for so much.
And my kind parents who are always willing to be bossed around with setup and clean up.
We used our buffet to serve up food.
And as everyone arrived the food and festivity began!
Back to the living room...I put out all of my nephew's toys and we put on a kid friendly movie designating this downstairs space the kid zone. We had more kids than we ever have had in our house and having a place just for them worked perfectly.
By the end of the night, the kids all huddled around the electronics. How cute are they!?
I have a few more things to share about the night...the food I served and recipes as well as the recipe of the dessert winner this year! Be sure to check back in this week to see it all!
