Entertaining, Planning and Hosting Tips

Hosting Holiday Parties –Hey friends I can hardly believe that this is the last ‘Let’s Look’ link-up for the year. It’s been so fun to be a part of this monthly link-up where we have explored so many interesting topics. I always enjoy reading these posts and collecting some great ideas along the way. Today I am joining Erika and Shay to talk about how we host holiday parties. This is a perfect topic for December because we are in full celebration, get-together and party mode. I have put together a bunch of tips for hosting holiday parties. Many of these tips have evolved from years of trial and error. I remember being a young mum and trying so hard to make everything perfect only to find myself hiding in the kitchen paralysed with anxiety because I was just so overwhelmed. (yes, this is totally true!!) Hosting Holiday Parties Keep It Simple This would have to be my number one tip for hosting holiday parties. I have learnt that it is totally ok not to cook everything from scratch…….outsource instead!! I honestly think that friends and family are just happy to be invited. They won’t even notice if you choose to serve premade salads or anything else that isn’t homemade for that matter. For last year’s Christmas Eve dinner, I bought some salads from a local deli. I also ordered some really delicious appetisers from a gourmet catering company. And outsourcing these two simple things just made everything so much easier. Accept Help Accepting any offers to bring a dish for a party is such a game-changer. Back in the day when I thought that I could and should do everything myself. I would decline any offers of help (what a goose!!). Now I am more than happy to let guests contribute. I am a huge fan of tradition and food always evokes so many amazing memories. So letting loved ones contribute to the meal is just so special. My wonderful uncle Bill always used to cook the turkey for our Christmas Eve dinner. He sadly passed away nine years ago but his wife (my aunty) kindly cooks the turkey every Christmas now. And the tradition of his amazing turkey recipe passed down from my grandmother (with the most divine stuffing) lives on! Make A Self Service Bar I find that it is so much easier to mingle with my family when I set up a self-service bar. My trick is to make sure I have a designated spot just for drinks with everything people might need. Such as plastic cups, wine glasses and even paper straws (because they look cute and festive). Another thing that I really like to add to the self-service bar is a big bowl of punch. I still have my mum’s punch bowl from the 1970s and it looks amazing when it is full of colourful delicious punch. I have a few great Christmas punch recipes here that you might like to try. Believe me when I tell you that a nice holiday punch will make your holiday party a smashing success. I always like to offer alcohol and non-alcohol punch choices. And I make labels to avoid any confusion! Create A Playlist You need a great variety of music for a fantastic holiday party. There are so many options when it comes to Christmas music. I like to create a playlist that has a nice selection of holiday hits. From the more mellow classic tunes to the more upbeat hits like Crazy Frog Christmas! Games!! This year my lovely cousin is hosting Christmas Eve at her house and she has asked me to be in charge of games. A few years ago I introduced some hilarious minute-to-win-it-style games and we had a blast. Honestly, we were screaming so loud that I’m surprised the neighbours didn’t call the police. So this year we are doing this again and I am in the middle of organising some games that we haven’t done before. Along with some favourite requests too. Stick To A Timeline Married to a chef means that I have been really lucky when it comes to sticking to a timeline for serving the food. My husband has these amazing skills where he can get food on the table hot and ready in a flash. Sadly, I don’t have these skills at all. Now that he works evenings and I host family dinners and holiday parties on my own a lot. I have to make sure that I write down a schedule of what needs to go in the oven and when. Then I have to make sure to stick to the plan so that we don’t eat at midnight!! Make Space In Your Home I love my home but I do wish that we had a better area for entertaining. We don’t so I have to always make sure that I maximise my space so that my guests feel comfortable. I will often move furniture around or store some in the converted garage. I wrote a post on How To Entertain In A Small Space where you can find some tips if you have a small place like mine. Give Guests A Gift To Take Home I love giving my guests a small gift to take home. It is never anything expensive or big. It’s just a little something to remember the fun time we had together. And I like to add a nice touch by making a personalised gift tag. These are a few tips that I have found to be helpful when it comes to hosting holiday parties. And so now I guess it’s a wrap for ‘Let’s Look 2022’! I hope that you all have an amazing time at your next holiday party. And if you are hosting then I hope that these tips will come in handy.  

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that you have all had a fantastic week and are excited that it’s the weekend. I know that I sure am. This week was all about Halloween and other fun things. As usual, I am happy to be linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday Favourites post. Thanks so much for stopping by today and letting me share with you a few favourite moments from my week. Halloween! Monday we celebrated Halloween with my family and we had a blast! I finished work at 3.40 pm and I was out of the preschool in a flash because my aunty was picking me up at 4 pm from my house. We were all meeting at my cousin’s house to go trick-or-treating. I had just enough time to throw on my costume and finish sorting out a few treat bags for my favourite trick-or-treaters. Then I hung out a sign on my door saying we were out and left a cauldron full of candy. Sam and my other cousins joined us a bit later because they had work and school commitments. Sam actually finished his very last school exam ever on Monday afternoon. Now he is a free man until uni starts next year and he couldn’t be happier! My cousin lives about 25 minutes’ drive away from me. I was so surprised to see heaps of families out and about in costumes trick or treating. This never happens in my suburb where we only ever get a handful of trick-or-treaters knocking on our door. We had so much fun walking around in costume while my two youngest cousins knocked on doors and collected so many lollies! Afterwards, we went back to my cousins for dinner. It was hands down the best Halloween that I have ever had! Test Results On Wednesday I finally got my results about my thyroid nodules and everything is ok. Not great because they are all still there and one has grown a bit BUT the doctor said not to worry and he didn’t send me for any more tests. I can get another ultrasound in two years if I want to….phew!! I am so glad that is all behind me and now I want to stop hyper-focusing on them! To celebrate good test results my husband took me out to dinner. It was such a sunny evening! The food was delicious and the view was amazing. CPR Training I can’t say that after-work CPR training was a favourite this week. But I am happy that it’s over and done with for another year! Cottage Pie I made one of our favourite dinners on Thursday night. This yummy and filling cottage pie was perfect for a cold night. Yes, that’s right it’s supposed to be spring but it felt more like winter on Thursday. We were rugged up in thick coats all day because it was freezing and so windy…hmph! Blog Posts I seem to be in a better rhythm with posting blogs more regularly. I have really enjoyed participating in some fun link-ups. And I am getting much better at actually writing out a monthly blog schedule that I have been following. Here are some posts from this week in case you missed them. Monday- I recapped my weekend on the ‘Hello Monday’ link-up Wednesday- ‘Currently‘ link-up Thursday- I shared a lamb shank in red wine sauce recipe on Encouraging Hearts And Home Link-up   It really was a great week. But all the excitement of Halloween and the relief of getting my test results has left me feeling pretty exhausted. We haven’t had a busy weekend in quite a while. But this weekend we have a few fun things planned. My lovely family is coming over for dinner on Saturday night. And then on Sunday my husband’s swim club is having a BBQ after their races. I don’t swim but I do eat like a champ! So I am excited to be joining them this season as a social member. I hope that you all have the best weekend! Happy Friday!  

Hey friends Happy Halloween and hello Monday! I hope that you all had a great weekend and I’m very happy to be back here today joining Holly and Sarah for today’s Hello Monday post. We enjoyed a fun weekend that went by way too fast as usual! Saturday I was so excited to see the sun shining brightly on Saturday. I went out onto my verandah and noticed that this beautiful plant that my wonderful bestie gave me is starting to bloom! See the pretty red flowers. It makes me happy to see lovely flowers in the front garden. The coriander and basil that I planted in September are still alive! Believe me, if you know what a terrible gardener I am, you will know this is a huge achievement. I think that the coriander might be going to seed! I made a tomato, roast capsicum, boconcini and basil (from my pot plant) salad for lunch on Saturday. Then in the afternoon, I got stuck into folding some laundry and I decided to throw these socks away. I haven’t found their matching pair in ages and I don’t need this kind of negativity in my life 😂 .So I threw them out! I bet that now I have done that, the matching socks will turn up!! In the evening I went to see the Australian Fleetwood Mac tribute show with a couple of friends. Poor Steve had to work which is a shame because he loves their music. It was a fun night and my friend and I were on the dance floor the whole time. Before the show, we had a quick dinner. Oh my goodness it was probably up there with one of the worst meals I have ever had. All I ordered was a cheeseburger and fries. I think a cardboard box with tomato sauce would have tasted better! My friend’s husband had a very chewy steak. Needless to say, we won’t be ever going back there again! But we did have a very fun time and it was nice to get out on a Saturday night. I haven’t done that in a while! Sunday My lovely friend invited me to her daughter’s first birthday party and I had the best time. She did such an amazing job with the decorations and activities for the kids. I think she has such a gift for planning children’s parties and I am always in awe of her attention to detail. Gorgeous party bags. So much delicious food! Craft stations for the kids. I remember hosting parties for my kids when they were little and it was fun but so exhausting! It was much easier when they got a bit older and we could have parties at venues like laser tag and bowling. It’s Halloween! I guess that wraps up my weekend. It’s a short and sweet post today because I’m off to join my cousin, her kids and the rest of the family. We are trick-or-treating together for the first time. I am really excited and it should be a fun night even though storms are predicted. I’ll be back later on in the week to tell you all about it Happy Monday and Happy Halloween!                                                                                          

Hi, friends I’m happy to be joining Erika and Shay for this month’s edition of Let’s Look. It feels like only yesterday we were looking at how we organise our closets! And now we are already in the second week of October talking about Halloween and ‘How We Select Halloween Costumes.’ I have to admit that when I saw the topic I was a bit stumped and I thought to myself. Well, this will be my shortest post ever. And the reason for this is that here in Australia Halloween is no way near as popular as it is in other parts of the world. Reasons Why Halloween Isn’t Mainstream In Australia I think that there are three main reasons why Australians haven’t totally embraced celebrating Halloween Halloween has supernatural themes like ghosts, spooks and magic. So this puts many people off. The idea of encouraging children to go to strangers’ homes asking for sweets is seen as unsafe. It’s seen as a tradition that originates in America. So Aussies don’t feel inclined to celebrate it. But every year it seems to be gaining more popularity and now more Australians are having parties and decorating their homes. Some parents are now also letting their kids dress up in Halloween costumes and go trick-or-treating. Here in Sydney where I live there are a few suburbs that really go all out when it comes to celebrating Halloween. But they are not common and so they can be hard to find. So if you want to find a good area to go trick or treating in Sydney. The best thing to do is google “places near me to trick or treat”. This is the easiest way to find where to go because in general, most suburbs are very quiet on Halloween night. I only ever get a handful of kids knocking on my door. Our street isn’t really into celebrating Halloween. How We Select Halloween Costumes I guess the simple answer to how we select Halloween costumes is………we select them at the very last minute! I quickly threw together a Halloween party at my house last year. This was the first time that we had ever dressed up and we simply used things that we already had and came up with some simple costumes. For example, my younger son used to practice Taekwondo so he dressed up as The Karate Kid. He just wore his uniform and I printed and stapled a Miyagi logo on his headband. I dressed up as a dead doll. And my older son was supposed to be the kid from the Disney movie ‘Coco’. Except we used really cheap face paint which cracked and peeled off after 5 minutes. He looked more like a ghoul so he just went with it. I had a kid’s crown from a previous party. So I made a sash out of an old happy birthday banner to go with it and my mum was Miss Universe. The rest of my family also came up with some very simple and clever Halloween costumes too. There was a Jedi, Wally from ‘Where’s Wally’, one of the guys from ‘The Three Amigos’ a glamour queen and a harlequin clown. This was the first time that we had ever really celebrated Halloween as a family. We went all out that night with a big dinner, a fun Halloween cake and Halloween costumes. It was such a great night! You can read all about it here. Halloween 2022 Costumes Inspired by last year’s fun. This year we are planning an even bigger Halloween night. Because for the first time ever we are all going to dress up in Halloween costumes and go trick or treating as one big family. We will be with our two youngest cousins who are 10 and 12. So we figure that if we have some kids with us then it will be perfectly acceptable to get dressed up too! Furthermore, we already have our costumes so we are all fully prepared this time. Earlier this year my cousin Terry had a super fun surprise birthday party. The theme was Star Wars so we all have the costumes that we wore on the night. And it’s a perfect opportunity to wear them again. I used to feel conflicted about whether or not to celebrate Halloween but I’m not anymore. Now I see it as a great night to get together with my family. I am so excited to dress up and I know that we are all really looking forward to a fantastic night together.  

Hey everyone it’s so good to be a part of this month’s Not Just A Mom link-up. Today we are going to talk about ‘How We Host’. I love having people over to my house but life and lack of energy after a long working week can sometimes get in the way. I have found seasons in my life when we have hosted dinner parties and get-togethers regularly. At the moment we are not really in that season. Except for when it’s my turn to host our fun monthly family dinners. But I am sure that eventually, we will go back to hosting more frequently. So for today’s post, I thought that it would be fun to share some hosting tips that I have found very useful when I have people over. JUST DO IT! Even though my house is small and the whole layout of my place is kind of awkward for entertaining. I don’t let that put me off because there are so many ways to get creative and make any space work. I did a post on How To Entertain In A Small Space it has some simple hosting tips that you might find helpful if you live in a small place as I do. So I always keep in mind that at the end of the day friends and family really don’t care what my house looks like or whether it’s big or small. I’m pretty certain that they are more than happy to be invited over to spend time sharing a meal and just being together. When it comes to hosting I stick to the Nike slogan and JUST DO IT! START WITH A GREAT CHEESE BOARD Have a cheese board for when your guests arrive. This is the one thing that I always make sure that I have ready. Gathering around a board made up of cheese, nuts, cold meats and dried fruit makes everyone happy! It’s the most perfect way to start off the gathering and it is probably number one on my list of hosting tips. I then offer drinks and I can swoosh off into the kitchen to organise the final touches. I know that everyone is entertained and enjoying drinks and cheese while I get everything ready to go. MAKE IT SIMPLE Don’t stress! Try and make everything as simple as possible so that you can enjoy the moment too! I know that when I host I want to be part of the fun conversations and laughs too. There is no way that I want to be stuck in the kitchen stressing because believe me I have been there and done that before and it was no fun! FOOD I guarantee that everyone loves and appreciates any kind of food. As my family has grown to include partners with food intolerances I try and cater for everyone while still remembering to keep the menu simple. One of the most helpful hosting tips is to have maybe one or two dishes that include meat, a big salad as well as a couple of vegetarian/gluten and dairy-free dishes. For sides, I will always have plain rice (for my little cousin Ella) and bread rolls or garlic bread. Easy peasy!! USE DISPOSABLE PRODUCTS There are so many biodegradable plates and cutlery available now. So this is a great option. Don’t let the horror of piles of dishes after the fun event put you off from hosting. OUTSOURCE The perfectionist in me always wants to do everything!! But this is not always possible. So now I have learnt that it’s totally ok to outsource. When it’s my turn to host our monthly family dinners. I try and make my life easier and look at what I can buy that is ready-made. So I have been buying premade salads and it has made things so much easier. I am also not a great dessert maker so I will always buy dessert. Don’t stress about making everything yourself from scratch. Outsource and enjoy!! ACCEPT HELP If someone offers to bring something then go ahead and let them. It’s totally ok to accept help and people are more than happy to contribute. I have to remember that I am not up for the hostess of the year award and accepting help is perfectly ok!! HAVE A FUN PLAYLIST Make a fun playlist that includes some mellow music as well as some fun upbeat music. You never know if your gathering might end up turning into a dance party or a crazy fun karaoke night! So it’s a good idea to be prepared! SMALL GIFTS FOR YOUR GUESTS A fun thing that I like to do when I host dinner parties is to give my guests a small gift to take home. It’s never anything expensive or fancy. In the past, I have wrapped up things like chocolates, iced cookies, and personalised mini Nutella jars. I make sure to present it nicely by making up some cute gift tags to go with it.     These are a few of my hosting tips! Thanks so much for stopping by to have a read. I really hope that you have a great day.

How To Entertain in In A Small Space– If you live in a small house or apartment don’t let this stop you from opening your home to your friends and family for a fun dinner party or casual get-together. Here are some simple tips you can follow so you can entertain in a small space and create special memories with your loved ones during these holidays. REDUCE YOUR CLUTTER Before you think of anything else consider reducing your clutter as a number one priority. When you have something fun to look forward to like entertaining. Then even the task of decluttering will feel less daunting. Your small space will feel and look bigger if you minimise your clutter. Take the opportunity to get rid of things you no longer need. Try and find a place where you could move things to, for example, a garage or basement. Temporarily store things like appliances, non-essential decor, or small clunky furniture. MAKE GOOD USE OF ALL YOUR AVAILABLE SURFACES When you live in a small home then every bit of space or surface is very important. If you clear your kitchen countertops then you can use this area as a buffet space. Empty bookshelves can be used to hold cheese platters or can even be a drinks station. Similarly with coffee tables, once they are cleared they make perfect spaces for snacks, dips, or charcuterie boards. Coffee tables can even be used as an alternative to a dining room table. THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT YOUR MENU It’s a great idea to start planning your menu as early as possible. Consider things like the amount of fridge space you have. Don’t be afraid to ask or accept any offers of bringing food. Guests are more than happy to contribute when it comes to food or drinks. This not only reduces the amount of work for you but also means that you are not taking up valuable fridge space storing numerous ingredients. Another good idea is to buy ready-made things like salads, sushi platters, or even entree platters. In addition, you don’t have to be a superhero in the kitchen. It’s probably best to stick to cooking dishes you are familiar with as you don’t need the added stress of experimenting with any new, fancy or complicated food. You want the dinner party to be a fun time for you and your guests. MAKE A BIG BOWL OF PUNCH Instead of offering a variety of drink options why not go ahead and make one big bowl of punch instead. There are so many fun recipes for a delicious and colourful looking punch to suit any occasion. Those big 1970 style punch bowls will add a really cool retro vibe to your next gathering. Or if you prefer, you can also serve your punch in a tall fancy pitcher! ALLOCATE A PLACE FOR COATS AND BAGS Consider investing in a coat rack or stand and placing it close to your entryway. This is a much better alternative than having guests place their belongings on valuable seating space. MINIMISE TABLE DECOR Avoid large and overwhelming centerpieces instead try a few smaller decorative pieces. Like a small bunch of fresh flowers. Then you can add cute details like votive candles or even candles of various sizes. This not only looks really nice it also creates a nice ambience. CREATE A COMFORTABLE AND INVITING MOOD Small soft glowing candles arranged around the room will always create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Avoid harsh overhead lighting and use a combination of candles and lamps instead as this will create a much more relaxing atmosphere. Small spaces can very easily get quite hot when it is full of people. Just be aware of this and keep guests cool with open windows, fans, or air conditioning. Also, try and remember to turn the oven off at least an hour before guests arrive. This will prevent your small home from feeling uncomfortably hot. Once the heat is trapped inside a small space it is difficult to cool it down, especially when it is full of people. Play some fun music you know your guests will enjoy. Remember to keep the music at a comfortable noise level so people don’t feel like they need to shout to be heard when they are talking. MAXIMIZE SEATING AND TABLE ARRANGEMENTS If you really want to have a sit-down dinner then just be mindful when it comes to the number of guests you invite. It might be best to keep numbers lower if you have your heart set on a sit-down dinner party. If you have a smaller home this might mean that you don’t have a large dining table. You could always invest in some sturdy fold-up tables. These are great to have and they don’t take up a lot of room to store. If not then consider setting up different areas around your small space where guests can sit comfortably when they are eating. For example, you could use a coffee table and guests could sit on the sofa. A desk could also be easily transformed into a table by covering it with a table cloth. For a super relaxed dinner party don’t be afraid to use large pillows, ottomans, or poufs. They may not be fancy but they can make great seating. GET CREATIVE It’s necessary to be as creative as possible when planning to entertain in a small space and sometimes you might need to improvise. You could do things like filling the laundry sink with ice to keep your drinks cold. Don’t be afraid to rearrange your furniture to make space for your guests. Push tables together to make room for a sit-down dinner. Use things like tiered platters when you serve the food to your guests.  This will hold a variety of dishes without taking up too much valuable table space. RELAX AND ENJOY! Remember to enjoy yourself and spend time with your guests. If you are confident and relaxed then your guests