Plan A Party With Appetizers and Drinks * Spotlight My Health

APPETIZERS AND DRINKS FOR YOUR PARTY

It’s time to party plan with appetizers and drinks. But first it’s Turkey Day and getting ready for that with all the food and drinks that go with this holiday. And then we get going toward Christmas and then New Year’s Eve. Lots of gatherings with friends and family.

It’s time for party planning and I have to admit that it’s one of my favorite times of the holiday season, if not the whole year. It could be my imagination, but people seem to be more cheerful and ya can’t help feeling more cheery after hearing all the Christmas music.

All the decorations, all the cleaning, all the food planning and prep and shopping, also comes to mind. And kinda makes me tired just thinking about it. But that being said, I totally believe things go much easier and smoother when you have a game plan figured out ahead of time.

And if nothing else, I’m a planner. I may not write my plan down, but I’ll certainly have one in my mind.

HOLIDAY SEASON

When getting ready for the biggest and busiest time of year–Christmas–I would definitely put this plan down on paper. With all the parties and gatherings you may be involved in, planning will keep you and your family on track.

I’d say the areas that need to be planned out are:

Cleaning
Meal menus
Party menus
Decorations
Shopping
Do ahead food prep
Gift wrapping and card addressing
Baking.

Once you know all the holiday parties and gatherings your family may be involved in, I suggest starting from the day you know your guests are coming, whether for the big day or you are planning a party, or both, then plan backwards. Plan for each big dinner, any gatherings you are having and meals for anytime you will have overnight guests. Be sure to give your self and family plenty of time to get everything done that you make lists for.

Determine what day your guests will arrive and mark your calendar.

After that, work backwards and mark your calendar on the day that you want all your preparations (mainly cleaning) completed.

Now continue working backwards and mark the following dates:

Day last minute food items need to be purchased

Day you can get all food items that you can easily store for when you can start making food ahead of time

When you can start cooking foods ahead of time, etc.

Punch Anyone?

Cool Ranch Pickle Chips
by Lena with delish.com

NOVEMBER CALENDAR ITEMS (don’t forget the appetizers and drinks)

Date to get Christmas cards by and to start addressing them

Make ahead cookie dough and freeze

Create a gift list, budget and start shopping

Check Christmas decorations, wrapping supplies and make list of things needed.

Some of the dates you will need to mark you may not be able to mark right away until some other things are figured out.

Whiskey Drink for parties and gatherings

Cranberry Cinnamon Whiskey Sour
by Ashley with Baker By Nature

PARTY FOOD AND DRINKS

So now, let’s figure out a few other things, like how much cleaning you want to do and when to decorate. I think that when to decorate is really an individual/family decision, so whatever time that may be, mark that day on your calendar. You may want to start cleaning the weekend before that.

cream cheese pretzel appetizersfor the party and gathering

Mini Bacon Ranch Cheese Balls
from The Thirsty Feast

Don’t forget to get the whole family involved. Younger kids can empty small trash cans, put their toys away and then you can keep them busy by making/coloring cards for relatives or friends that may visit. While they are doing that, your older ones can help get the cleaning done.

You may already have all the heavy-duty cleaning done from your fall cleaning. Make a quick list of the cleaning you want to do during the next couple of weeks and mark the list with the date(s) you already decided on your calendar.

My family and I usually get the big cleaning done the weekend before we decorate so we don’t have to do both in the same weekend. Again, this is family preference.

Cinnamon Apple Cider Mimosa
by Amy with DIY Candy

HOLIDAY PARTY AND GATHERING MENU PLANNING

Now onto the food. Biggest questions are what and how much. This is part two of my series on holiday planning and in this post, I’m going to chat about appetizers and drinks. In part one, I provided several breakfast dishes that could be made ahead of time and are absolutely delicious, not to mention easy. You can also find my guide for how much food and drink you will need for each guest.

This part of the series, I’m hoping to bombard you with some really good recipes to choose from to help you plan your various menus for the upcoming holidays to include appetizers and drinks. Bon Appetite!

Apple Pie Jello Shots
by Ann with Ann’s Entitled Life

I love all the colors this time of year and the drinks I’ve chosen have all the gorgeous colors of the season and will help make your table look extra inviting. And the picture for my featured appetizers and drinks make me want one of each. How about you?

Little Smokies Wrapped In Bacon
by Kitchen Gidget with Yummly

Check out Part One of “Time To Party” and get the free Party Serving Guide.

Tropical Rum Punch
by Amy with Living Locurto

Next post in this series will be TIME TO PARTY PLAN-PART THREE

Crab Cake Poppers
by Lauren at delish.com

I’d love to see some pics of your handy work from your own holiday parties and gatherings. Drop me a comment and include a pic or two of something you made or created this holiday seasons. Or do you have special appetizers and drinks that you are know for? It may help someone else.

Stay Awesome,