I seriously love the holidays. Spending time with family and friends makes my heart so happy, especially because we live so far away the rest of the year. I absolutely love entertaining guests but because I'm staying with my parents here in Ohio, I need easy meals on hand. No one likes a freeloader and I certainly don't want to burden my parents!
It's been a challenge keeping my kids entertained here; they're seriously into everything! Grabbing and touching things left and right and getting bored easily. So, I decided to throw a little get together, complete with dinner and cookie decorating.
I headed to Walmart to pick up my supplies; paper products (to avoid hours doing dishes), quick and easy food options (more time to spend with family), and cookie decorating supplies! My mom keeps her table set like this so all I had to do was set each place setting :)
I bought a container of cookie cutters and let the guests choose which ones they wanted to make! And the Nestle® Toll House® Rolled & Ready Sugar Cookie Dough Sheets were SO easy... much easier than spending hours making it from scratch, rolling it out, etc.
I served Stouffer's Family Size Lasagna with Meat Sauce, breadsticks, and salad. And then of course we had cookies for dessert. I wanted to keep the main dish simple since I didn't have time to prepare a super big feast. Someone even complimented me on my lasagna making abilities. I'll just let them think I whipped it up in my spare time ;)
Not everyone loves sugar cookies and let's be honest, it's always better to have a selection! We snacked on these Nestle® Toll House® Dark Chocolate Peppermint Refrigerated Cooke Dough cookies while we decorated the other ones.
I loved seeing everyone's creations; Christmas trees, snowmen, bells, and even The Grinch! We used sprinkles, Nestle® Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, and frosting :)
I picked up these cute little cookie bags for my family to take their creations home in. Well, whatever wasn't eaten anyways. And with the leftover dough and bags, I plan to make little gifts for Christmas. The kids had a blast and I think the adults had just as good of a time.
To recap, here are a few tips that make entertaining from home or away easier:
-Keep your table set at all times so you're ready to entertain at any minute!-Use paper products; there are so many options that can still make your party "classy" -Keep your freezer stocked with Stouffer's entrees; delicious and easy! -Skip the homemade cookie dough when you're in a bind and save yourself the time and headache.-Cookie decorating is something to keep your guests busy AND it's edible! Keep supplies stocked.
There's nothing better than a full house during the holidays. Catching up, reminiscing, and creating new memories in the process. And since I'm not able to host parties in my own home, these easy meals and shortcuts made my life ten times easier :)
How do you host parties while away from home? Do you travel or stay home during the holidays?
