There is something so beautiful about red, white and blue. The color combination always stands out and feels so festive. I am an army brat as they say, and these colors mean a lot to me and even more to my whole family. As you know, if you have been following along, we are wrapping up the bar project and so hosting July 4th might actually happen.

I love having people over but this last Christmas Eve I put together a party with a few of the tips I am going to share with you and let me tell you, they were a game changer. Two things, that for me make hosting a challenge, are being in the kitchen the whole event prepping, cooking, cleaning, and trying to make sure my guests don’t have an oopsies and drop food or anything on something that will not be easy to clean. So here we go…some helpful tips, tricks and links to have a fun, less stressful party.

Tip One: Prep the plates before. If your guest list isn’t too large and you are doing light appetizers, create little plates that have everything already served up. Above I used these gorgeous 7 inch dessert plates by Sweese. There is nothing more elegant to me than a round white plate for dishing up just about anything and these really are simple and pretty. Then people can grab and go, they aren’t hovering in one area, and if you use paper plates, they can discard easily and you can enjoy the party too.

Tip Two: This is still a pre-prep idea but instead of having it all together, you can create small grab and go appetizer cups. Above I used these brown paper cups and they are perfect, pretty and neutral that you can use them for any theme or event. On Christmas Eve I dished out salad with a fork pre-prepped in them. Above I did a light charcuterie idea with Town House Crackers poured in the bottom, Babybel cheese with a star cut out of the wax, and 2 or 3 blueberries skewered on these pretty toothpicks with the cheese round. I mean how adorable did these turn out? The star cookie cutter I ordered off of amazon and I can wait to use it again in the fall to make the kid’s lunches a bit more fun.

Tip Three: Anything dipped is a fan favorite. Dipping strawberries, cookies, chocolates or really anything and then adding a themed sprinkle on top will always elevate your table scape. So lets chat for a second about melting chocolates or any candy melt. The melting instructions will always say you can use the microwave but I have tried and failed enough to know that BEST way to melt chocolate is in a glass heat safe bowl and then place over a pot of bowling water. Once the water comes to a boil I allow for about half of the candy to melt. Then I turn off the heat and just allow the steam and heated candy to melt the rest. I stir continually until all the candy is melted and then dip right from there so it stays hot. I use wax paper to set the items on and pour the sprinkles on. Let them set for a bit. Chocolate takes longer to set than the candy melts so give yourself ample time. These would be easy to prep the day before and a GREAT way to get the kids involved too. I placed my little Sanders Candy chocolates in Ghirardelli chocolate and did red, white and blue sprinkles. For my table scape I placed these in little baskets that people can share or grab for themselves.

So there you go! A few tips that help prep for the weekend festiities nut really for any party you might host now or later. When friends come over, I want to hang out and enjoy them, these little ideas help make a party beautiful, fun and keep me out of the kitchen.

Cheers!

Jess