Holiday party tips and a fun scented candle giveaway!

This post and giveaway is sponsored by Old Factory Scented Candles!  All opinions are my own.

So…the family is all meeting at your house this year for the annual Christmas gathering?  You knew it was coming.  You’ve been dreading the preparation for this event all year.  You see, the issue is that you totally need to up the ante.  Last year, Aunt Ethel had the holiday dinner at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Uncle Waldo won $300 dollars at the penny slots and your cousin Fred came back married to some dance hall girl.

How do you beat that?

Well you are in luck.  I have some great party tips, recipes, and even a scented candle giveaway to make your house that much more special.  Aunt Ethel will truly be impressed…

christmas crafts and party ideas

First let’s talk about the giveaway, because it is the season for giving, right?  Old Factory Scented Soy Wax Candles are made of the highest quality natural soy wax and are hand poured in the USA.  Each set of candles contains three different complimentary scents. The candles burn clean for up to 20 hours.  And they have lots of fun sets to choose from!

I had the pleasure of trying out the Winter Wonderland collection.  It had the scents of Fresh Snow, Hot Cocoa, and Roasted Chestnut.  My favorite?  Well, the Hot Cocoa of course!  But they were all wonderful.  Scented candles are one of my guilty pleasures.

Would you like a chance to win a set of your very own?  See the bottom of this post for details!

christmas crafts and party ideas

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies Recipe

So let’s talk about planning for a crowd.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

  • Choose recipes that work well for larger groups
  • Converting a smaller recipe by doubling or tripling the batch does not always work out. Try to go with food that can easily be made in large quantities.
  • Vegetarians are important too!  There is always someone in the crowd that does not eat meat. And oftentimes ethnic and religious preferences need to be considered too. Always be sure to offer at least a few vegetable dishes.

christmas crafts and party ideas

Mini Cupcake Holiday Tree

Keep it Simple!

Choose recipes with fewer ingredients and those that do not take tons of time to make.

How much should you make?

A good rule of thumb is to use these quantity suggestions:

PER PERSON:

24 oz. of soft drinks or water, 3-4 oz. ice, 1-2 slices of bread, 1 cup of salad greens, 1/2 cup fruit or pasta salad, 4-6 oz. meat, fish or poultry, 2 hotdogs, 1 portion of dessert.

Now multiply that by how many you are expecting, and you will have an idea of how much food to make!

christmas crafts and party ideas

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

How to keep your party organized:

  • Assign family members a to-do list.  Assign someone to help shop, someone to help set up, cook helpers, and clean-up.
  • Set deadlines.
  • Put someone in charge of charcoal, paper goods, ice, utensils, and other non-food items.  (Get the guys to participate!)
  • Plan a good communication system.  Maybe an email or newsletter.

Swedish Spice Cookies

Make your gathering fun!

  • Go pot-luck!  Assign a dish to each family member.  Be sure to assign one so that you don’t end up with 50 apple pies…
  • Create a buffet!  You can even assign different family member their own tables.  Let them create their own interesting food displays!

So, need a bit of ambiance for that party?

How about a giveaway?

Visit the website at Old Factory Scented Soy Wax Candles  and leave a comment below telling us which set of candles you would love to try! (If you page down to the bottom of the page, they have a list of all their sets).  If you have Twitter, you can add an optional entry by “following” the Sitcom’s Twitter page.   Contest ends on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at midnight EST.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway