Was it the Best Christmas Party Ever?

Saturday night was a much smaller party than we have ever had in years. So was it the best Christmas party ever? Read more and find out.

Thanks for joining me for Sunday morning coffee. I know it is Monday but after preparing for our party for a week I needed one day to hang on the couch, watch some golf, and wear my jammies all day long. It was glorious. So I am sharing SMC a day late. And today I am sharing all about our Christmas party (including all of my recipes) and whether or not it was the best Christmas party ever.

Volume 42

A Little Bit About Me

Our Christmas Party was on Saturday night and it was wonderful.

Why? We had the chance to visit with family and friends.

Plus, see those three guys in the photo above? I am so proud of these amazing young men (our sons). They are Andrew, Michael, and Matt, and they loved the party.

Which, of course, makes me very happy.

I know they will kill me for this, but Michael and Matt are single.

Just saying.

Also, in case you are wondering, those are embroidered Christmas trees on Michael’s pants. And he borrowed them from his father. Hehe.

I love this photo too. Andrew is our oldest, and this is his amazing and wonderful wife, Charlotte.

I am not sure how this happened, but there are no photos of Dave or myself at the party. Oops!

Christmas Party Decorations

Our home was definitely decked out for Christmas and I was so proud of how everything looked. I have been decorating our home with “Christmas party decorations” on my mind. It’s been a long process but I really do love how it looked.

Many of you already know that I cook all of the food for our Christmas party. It’s a huge task and usually takes me about 10 days. This year, with everything happening in the world, we decided to have a much smaller party. So we invited a lot fewer people to the party.

I will be honest and I was afraid that it might feel like no one was at our party. But that was not the case, It was just more intimate and we were able to spread out throughout our home. It was wonderful.

It would be too hard to say that that this was the best Christmas Party ever but it sure was close. I was much more relaxed and although I still cooked a lot of food, the amount of food needed was so much less. Which meant the party prep was a lot easier too.

And that was nice.

Our kitchen did not look like this during the party because there was a lot of food prep happening here. But it was fun!

Watch Me Live!

I love having the chance to talk with all of you about all of the things that I love. I am now sharing a few Amazon Live broadcasts every week and they are so much fun!

Here are my latest seven! Just tap on the links to take a peek.

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We went to the Los Angeles flower market on early Thursday morning to buy all of the fresh flowers and some Christmas greens to decorate our home.

Here are all of the flowers that we bought.

All of the arrangements were cranberry red and white with lots of greens.

We made five floral arrangements and this amazing Hanging Centerpiece that sat on our family room table. Click the link to find out how to make one of these hanging centerpieces.

The family room looked so festive on Saturday night!

Pillow covers and table decor give you Christmas decor in a snap!

Christmas Party Food Ideas Buffet

I am so bad about taking photos whenever we have a party. I am always having too much fun with family and friends and I forget! This photo of the dining room was taken just as the food was getting added to the dining room table.

These pesto stuffed mushrooms were delicious. Here they were ready to go into the oven!

The Menu

The food for the party is heavy hors-d’oeuvres and there is enough food so that it is dinner and dessert! This year’s menu was pared down so I picked my favorites from years past.

Appetizers

Here are some prep and finished photos of the appetizers.

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Appetizers

Spicy Grilled Shrimp Cocktail

Smoked Turkey with Cranberry Orange Muffins

Grilled Cheese Paninis with Pear and Fig Jelly

BLT Tomatoes

Skewered Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Skewered Flank Steak with Peanut Sauce

Crab Cakes with Lemon Dill Sauce

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Hawaiian Rolls

Whipped Sweet Potato Tarts

Brie Cups with Pomegranates

Seared Ahi in Sesame wonton cups with Maple Soy Sauce

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms

Desserts

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Desserts

Mint Chocolate Cookies

Peanut Butter Fudge

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Coconut Joy Bars

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

The Color Coded Spreadsheet

The infamous color-coded spreadsheet is what I use to plan all of the food for our party. I have used this spreadsheet for years. I created it because I found that there was way too much stress trying to get all of the items completed in time for the party. Once I had all of the tasks written down and scheduled, the pressure was gone.

Because this year’s party was so much smaller, I cut the number of items on the menu by about one-third. I list each item on the spreadsheet and then I break down the tasks that have to be completed. Then I color coded them based on the day they needed to be done.

I also list tasks such as visiting the flower mart, creating the floral arrangements, and setting up our home.

I know that as long as everything is done by the day it is listed, then I will be ready for the party.

Normally I am cooking for 200. This year I cooked for about 25% of the usual number of guests so the cooking was a lot easier!

One last thing. About ten years ago I got smart and hired a staff to come in on the day of the party to cook/serve/clean everything during the party. Oh my gosh! This was the smartest thing ever as now I can enjoy our party!

The Recipes

You can find the Christmas Party recipes here. This list is actually the larger menu so some of the items you might not recognize. But they are all really delicious.

Shop This Look

Baking at Christmas time is my favorite! Whether you are a master baker or a brand new baker, I am sharing some of my favorite baking tools. Sweet deals for making sweets!

Reflections on the Week

Last week was so much fun! I shared a beautiful pink Christmas table, homemade wrapping paper, and a new vintage ornament DIY pillow. Plus, I shared some of my favorite Christmas cookies ever, a fun holiday gift to make your home smarter, and an amazing Christmas hanging centerpiece.

I hope you enjoyed all of these very fun holiday ideas.

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Good Things From Martha

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What’s Ahead for the Week

Hmmm. What is ahead for this week? I am a bit behind on deciding this as I have been so focused on the party.

What would you like to see on my blog this week?

I would love to know!

Catch up on Sunday Morning Coffee

• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 41 – Two Weeks From Today
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 40 – Pink Christmas Decorations
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 39 – Christmas is Coming
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 38 – It’s the Holiday Season
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 37 – Classic Antiques or Unique Vintage?
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 36 – How Well Do You Know Me?
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 35 – Happy Anniversary
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 34 – Happy Labor Day Weekend
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 33 – Fall Flower Arrangements
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 32 – Happy Fall
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 31 – When the Seasons Change
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 30 – Late Summer Dinner on the Beach
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 29 – Repurposed Decor
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 28 – Summer Fun Outdoor Partyy
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 27 – How to Use a Soft Summer Color Palette
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 26 – Endelss Summer Nights
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 25 – Summer Decor Finds
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 24 – Summer Decor Tips
• Sunday morning Coffee Volume 23 – Beach House Renovations
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 22 – Happy Sunday Morning Coffee
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 21 – Easy Home Ideas
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 20 – Thirty Summer Days
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 19 – Summer is Almost Here
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 18 – The Carriage House is Done
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 17 – Sharing Joy and Thankfulness
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 16 – Summer Entertaining
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 15 – Projects at Home
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 14 – How to Get Ready for Summer Days
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 13 – The Best DIY Projects
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 12 – Just Do It Yourself
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 11 – Creative Inspiration
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 10 – Inside the Life of a Blogger
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 9 – Live Your Best Life
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 8 – Living Green
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 7 – Why I Love to Entertain
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 6 – February is All About Living Beautifully
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 5 – Our Beach House in Ventura, CA
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 4 – The Story of My 100 Year Old Home
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 3 – I Think I Might Be Martha’s Biggest Fan
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 2 – A Tribute to My Mom
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 1 – How Chip and Joanna Influenced My Life

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