The Holidays are full of some fun & fabulous parties. The ones we attend usually involve bringing an appetizer or dessert, bottle of wine, and usually gifts for gift exchanges as well. I found myself scrambling a bit for a few of these party preparations, so here are some things I am going to do for next year.
1) Stock up on Wine!
I like to bring a bottle of wine for the party hosts. My husband is more of the wine fan than I am, so I usually let him pick the varieties. He knows the good ones! I do not want to bring just an ok or cheap bottle of wine, but something nice. I do want to make sure that we are stocked up on wine for gifts well before the holiday rush begins. This means another item to look for deal on throughout the year! Our local Total Wine store often has coupons in the Sunday paper that will help offset the cost. Costco also will often have good deals, although this year I made the mistake of going there on the weekend before Christmas - Big Mistake! Also make sure to have enough wine bags/bows etc. to make the bottles festive.
2) Have Recipes & Appetizers Ready!
I have once again made the mistake this year of trying a new recipe the day of a potluck. This time it was a Mexican Rice Pudding (which I had never made) that I over cooked and ended up scorching a new stainless steel pot. It also stunk up the whole house! So, I really need to stick to my tried & true recipes. Have a few recipes on hand that are your favorites and fairly easy for you to throw together. if you want to try some new recipes be sure to test them out ahead of time. September is a great month to start testing recipes on your family. One of my favorite holiday appetizer recipes is Bacon Wrapped Ricotta Stuffed Dates. Always a hit! So I will stick to that one as an appetizer choice. I also like to stock up on frozen items to bring to potlucks, including thaw & serve desserts, quiche, and other appetizers. These are so handy & quick to prepare. This year I will be looking for some good sales to combine with my coupons throughout the year. Always check the expiration dates to make sure they will not go bad before the holidays. Sometimes you can find great frozen items on clearance but their expiration date is often just around the corner.
3) Have a Few Gifts Ready to Go!
We always end up going to a few parties with gift exchanges. The value range is typically around $20-$25. Go through the gifts you got this year. Did you receive a gift card you ate not sure what to spend it on? Or maybe you received a duplicate gift or a gift you are not too fond of, but it's general enough someone is bound to enjoy it? Wrap them up now for these parties! Simply put a tag on it indicating "Gift Exchange" and a post-it to remind you what's inside (and to remind you who gave it to you to avoid an awkward "Didn't you get that from me last year?!") & you're ready to go! Gift Cards are usually big hits. Costco offers gift cards usually at discounts. This year I bought $40 worth of Cold Stone Gift Cards for $28! So, if you want to go that route keep your eyes open around Fall for those deals. Keep an eye out for good deals throughout the year for these gifts and add a few line items to the Christmas Spreadsheet to account for them. It's a good idea to have a limit too, so you can control the clutter. If you typically go to 3-4 gatherings with gift exchanges, you may want to set a limit of 5 gifts to have on hand (10 if you bring one for you & your spouse). There are always "great deals" throughout the year and setting a limit will help curb the clutter, not to mention help keep your wallet full too!
So get ready to get your Holiday Party On in 2012!
No comments :
Post a Comment