Holiday ideas are always welcome this time of year. Sure, you have plenty of your own family traditions and those are truly the heart of every celebration. But here a few other ideas that you may want to try to add fun and sparkle to your holidays.
Charcuterie Board
Charcuterie Boards are popular now because they are so good, easy to prepare and fun to eat! The ideas for your spread are endless, but for the holidays, how about a wreath charcuterie board! Follow the rule of 3-3-3…three meats, three cheeses, three starches. Fill the gaps with fruits, veggies and nuts. Add your garnish… greens and berries from you yard. There are lots of ideas for making your charcuterie board unique and fun.
Stock Your Freezer
Make ahead meatballs. Make bite-size meatballs (or buy them ready made) and store them in the freezer. You can also make your sauce ahead and freeze it, too. Put them in your slow cooker an hour or so ahead of time and you are on go. SAUCE RECIPE: Try something different…in your slow cooker. Add 1 bottle of chili sauce and about a cup of grape jelly (taste and add more if you like). Heat until melted and add your meatballs. You can also substitute cocktail wienies for meatballs. Here are some other great sauce recipes from Country Living.
Pigs-in-a-blanket. Who doesn’t love a pig-in-a-blanket served with a side of spicy mustard. Roll them up head of time (use canned biscuit or croissant for your wrap), stash in a freezer bag and heat just before guests arrive. Simple, easy and satisfying!
Make Ahead Dips
Besides using your freezer here are some ideas for make-ahead dips and appetizers for your company! Some of our favorites are Spinach Dip, Seven Layer Taco Dip (either hot or cold – click on link and choose your dip!!), Artichoke Dip, Buffalo Chicken Dip.
Put out an assortment of crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, breadsticks, pretzel crisps or pretzel sticks, or cut a baguette into “dipable” pieces.
Set the Mood
Light your candles or turn on your Scentsy. Diffusers with essential oils (great ones from Porseme) are so popular now, too. Peppermint, cinnamon/cinnamon apple, balsam and fir, chocolate cocoa, or marshmellow fireside aromas are good choices for the holiday season. Or choose the one that brings back your childhood memories!
Create your music playlist ahead of time so it is ready to go when family or friends arrive. Some cable or streaming services have a channel devoted to certain genres of music. Find the holiday channel and forget about it. You are sure to hear some old favorites and some new ones, too.
Holiday Traditions
It’s time to begin creating holiday traditions if you don’t already have some. If you do, maybe you want to add a few more to make this special family time even more special. Here are some great ideas to help kickstart the memories!
Caroling – What better way to celebrate the holidays than by caroling around the neighborhood. And what a special gift for your neighbors. Decide on a few favorites that everyone knows and go from house to house!
Sing-along – If caroling just isn’t your thing, write out the lyrics to some favorite carols and have a sing-along. One of our favorites is assigning parts and doing The Twelve Days of Christmas – what fun!
Open one Christmas Eve Gift – Something small, but fun for everyone – especially the kids!
Games – Have a game night. Christmas charades or holiday quizzes or any game your family likes to play.
Holiday Jammies and a family photo – Get everyone ready, set the timer and take the photo. We use it every year on our family calendar!
Ornament hide and seek – Buy some fun ornaments and well, hide them and have everyone seek! Hang them on the tree every year! Make sure one of them is a pickle ornament and follow the old German tradition of the finder receiving either a reward or good fortune for the next year.
Read The Night Before Christmas – This famous poem by Clement Clarke Moore was originally called “A Visit From St.Nicholas” (read and print the full text here). It is a great way to get children ready for bed!
Final Thoughts
Christmas will soon be over and it will be time to think of the New Year 2022. When you take down the decorations – its time to call ColaTown Painting. Update the interior of your home with beautiful new colors or scan the hundreds of colors from Sherwin Williams select the ones that say home to you! As the weather warms, trust us to paint your exterior and thoroughly enjoy your nest!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!
Call Britt now for your free, no-obligation estimate 803-603-6486
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