Holiday party tips and a fun scented candle giveaway!

BySusan Myers on cooking

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! Candle wax is available in a wide range of options, from plant-based waxes to colours, and each has it’s own characteristics depending on your desired outcome.

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:

  • Search for event venues Raleigh call Baucom House.
  • 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.
  • If you’re looking for event spaces to hold your event, then you may check out party rentals Las Vegas.

 

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

I am an artist, crafter and humor writer living in Atlanta, GA. I attended the Atlanta College of Art, and have a background in fine arts, graphic design, and photography. I like to specialize in vintage and recycled crafts such as quilling, Ukrainian Egg Dying, batik and quilting.

50 Comments

  1. I”d love to try the fresh and clean set

  2. Jackie Porath says:

    I would like the Christmas tree scented candles. Thanks.

  3. Jackie Porath says:

    I love Suzy’s blog and look forward to seeing it. I always learn something new and clever.

  4. I would like to try the Christmas tree.

  5. It’s a hard choice but I think Fall Harvest would be my first choice followed by Winter Wonderland and Happy Holidays. I’m curious as to what to what First Snow smells like.

  6. Christina Moore says:

    I would love to try the ‘Happy Holidays’ set!

  7. Christmas Tree fragrance would be my choice!

  8. Christmas Tree Fragrance would be my choice. Thanks for asking!

  9. amanda whitley says:

    i would love to try them all but mostly the happy holidays set

  10. Peggy Johnson says:

    I would like to try the Vacation collection

  11. valerie sobus says:

    the winter wonderland set sounds best to me….mostly because i can only imagine how heavenly the hot cocoa candle smells!

  12. Patricia B says:

    I have it narrowed down to Romance or Spa Day…. I’m gonna have to try those Swedish Spice Cookies! Yum! Love ya’

  13. I would love the fifty shades of gray especially the jasmine.

  15. I would love the 50 shades of gray especially the jasmine.

  16. I would love to win any of the sets, but the clean linen, lemongrass smells would probably be a year round favorite. But it is always great to have those wonderful X-Mas scents during the holidays. Thanks for the opportunity to enter into this giveaway. I have found that soy candles are the very best!

  17. I think the Christmas Tree Collection would make my house smell fresh and clean like Christmas all year long.

  18. I would love the Winter Wonderland Collection

  19. jessica dow says:

    Spa day

  20. What a great giveaway! If I was the lucky winner, I would love to receive the Christmas Tree fragrance.

  21. I love everything about Autumn, so I would love to try the Fall Harvest set!

  22. I would like to win the Spa set but doesn’t seem to take my entry. I do not have twitter either.

  23. I would like to try the Vacation set.

  24. Patricia Worthington says:

    I would enjoy the Winter Wonderland Collection. They all sound so comfy and warm. I have never tried the Soy candles but love candles to burn during the day as well as at night. These would work wonderful in my home because of the scents. They all sound wonderful. Just like a soft scent candle.

  25. I have some trouble understanding why Christmas has been turned into a competition. Gathering together with family and friends is supposed to be an exercise in love, making it about impressing everyone with fancy food, fancy decor and prizes just stresses people out, makes them grumpy and hurts them if they don’t get it just right.

    Take the family out en mass and serve soup to the homeless, find a neighbour family in need and invite them all over to partake in your family’s traditions or spend time in an animal shelter caring for those lost and forgotten creatures with no love in their lives. Let’s all get back to the real meaning of the season and teach the next generation to care more for others than they do for their own comforts. I’m sure no one will ever forget it.

  26. Oh my they all sound so wonderful. I am a foodie so the candycane or gingerbread sound yummy to me.

  27. Tough choice but I would have to go for the fresh and clean linen, lemongrass, etc.

  28. Wow, they all sound so yummy. I live in Oregon, so High As A Kite iand Coffe Shop intrigue me. I love fall, so Fall Harvest sounds good, too. Winter Wonderland would be great right now. But if I had to choose just one, I’d pick Happy Holidays. You have so many great ideas. Thank you.

  29. 50 Shades of Grey. I’m sure I’m one of those shades 😉

  30. Sandra H. says:

    Coffee Shop set sounds intriguing. Thanks for the chance to win.

    FYI: The link took me directly to Amazon not their web site.

  31. I would like to try the Happy Holidays – Christmas Tree, Candy Cane, Gingerbread.

  32. The Happy Holiday Candle Set sounds Wonderful and the Romance Set sounds perfect, also!!!
    What a Wonderful Giveaway!!! Thank-You so much for the chance!! 🙂
    Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

  33. freebird7100 says:

    I would love the coffee shop. good enough to drink 😉

  34. Happy Holidays or Winter Wonderland sound great!

  36. Wow I love harvest spice, hubby loves apple spice and mom loves vanilla so if I was to win. We would have to see whos on the naughty list and whos on the nice list. Naturally Santa knows for sure whos gonna win!!!Good luck to all and
    Merry Christmas!

  37. I can’t decide between the Fall Harvest and the Romance. I love the smell of dark chocolate and of roses; the champagne is just a bonus. But, then I’m always in the mood for pumpkin and cranberries, and you can’t smell autumn leaves anymore because of all the burning restrictions. Probably the Fall Harvest, because if I smell dark chocolate, I’ll want to be eating dark chocolate.

  38. The cup cake tree looks delightful. Except, I’d end up eating all of it myself.

  39. Happy Holidays for sure

  40. Happy Holidays

  41. Debi Hebard says:

    Winter Wonderland would be awesome.

  42. Debbie Phillips says:

    I am torn between coffee shop and vacation. Hawaiian scents bring back some good memories, but coffee scents make me feel cozy and relaxed.

  43. Marilyn Logan says:

    I would love to have the Happy Holidays set. I love the smell of this season with the baking, cooking, trees, and other wonderful smells to delight the senses.

  44. HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!! TY

  45. Winter wonderland for me please!! After the holidays i have to test out the coffee set. they all sound wonderful

  46. Pat Kichinko says:

    Happy Holidays or Fall Harvest would be my choice! They ALL sound terrific!

  47. Rosalind B. says:

    I would love to try the Happy Holidays set.

  48. the pinwheel cookies look great

  49. Candy Cane

  50. I would love to try winter wonderland

Comments are closed.