Our Annual Cookie Party {2014}

This year was the 13th year hosting our Christmas Cookie Party and I think the entire B family would say that this was the best party yet. I was a bad blogger and took very few decor/food/tablescape shots (so just trust me that it was festive), but rather tons of photos of those we love celebrating friendship & family in our home.

We started off the evening with antipasti, a cheese board, bruschetta, crudite, spinach dip and cocktail sausages (bc everyone LOVES those).  This year I paired Christmas cards with a festive banner reading "HOHOHO" to create the backdrop to the main bar where we featured eggnog, wine, candy cane champagne & mixed drinks.  Beer and soft drinks were set up on the wet bar and the kitchen desk housed kiddie cocktails for the littles.

When it came to decorating cookies, the dozen littles in attendance each found a set of reindeer antlers awaiting them along with a large assortment of sprinkles and candies to adorn their cookies. I always start with a plastic tablecloth add a wrapping paper runner, paper plates to decorate over & a fun mini-marshmallow runner to complete the look. When the party is over you just fold the mess up and toss it in the trash!

This year I baked around 130 sugar cookies and every last one was decorated that night (normally we have a few leftover that the kids can decorate on Christmas eve for Santa).  It was a joy to watch everyone participate & socialize. While the party carried on the buffet switched from appetizers to dinner with ham, sausage, meatballs, salad, and tiropita (cheese pie) filling the island counter.

As the hours passed we set the littles up to watch Home Alone in the basement while the adults congregated in the kitchen. We got to talking and somehow or another the marshmallow table runner turned into a challenge of building marshmallow towers. And from there you can guess...a full on marshmallow war broke out. Ladies and gentlemen there were over 10 full bags of mini-marshmallows thrown around our kitchen. When the littles came upstairs to check out all the commotion they could hardly believe their eyes and luck! 

Being the best group of friends ever, not only did everyone help clean up the mounds of marshmallows, but also wash dishes and do general party clean up. So very blessed we are to have fabulous friends in our lives.  As the clock inched toward midnight I realized we had yet to take our cookie party family photo. So here is the 2014 selfie-edition. We can not wait for next year!