Holiday Cocktail Recipes

One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to have friends and family over for a dinner party. Don't get me wrong, the meal is very important, but a fun, and special touch that I like to include is a custom cocktail. I serve a different one every year and many of my guests look forward to getting a new drink recipe every time they come over! Here are a few of my favorites! Cheers!

Stella Grande

Ingredients:

1 ½ ounce Ice SKYY Citrus Vodka
½ ounce Campari
½ ounce Cinzano Bianco Vermouth
1 ½ ounce freshly squeezed orange juice

Candy Garnish

Directions:

Pour ingredients over ice into a shaker.
Shake and strain in a chilled martini glass.

Garnish with crushed candy cane or crushed cherry or apple Jolly Ranchers for a festive touch! Add a mini candy cane as a stir stick!

Cinnamon Toast

Ingredients:

1 1/4 ounce(s) Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

6 ounce(s) hot apple cider

1 tablespoon(s) sugar

1 tablespoon(s) cinnamon

Directions:

Add hot apple cider and Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum to a glass rimmed with sugar and cinnamon.

Frosty Cocktail

Ingredients:

1 shot vodka (recommended: Blue Ice)
1 shot blue fruit- and cognac liqueur (recommended: Envy)
1/2 shot orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Cointreau)
1 cup ice cubes

Directions:

Add all ingredients to blender and blend on high until smooth. Pour into rocks glasses and serve with straw.

Recipes from Food 2, Delish, and Food Network.

Martini Glasses

I love these fab martini glasses from Red Envelope. The glasses are designed to sit, between sips, in ice filled glass cubes. Perfect for keeping any cocktail ice-cold all night long! So cute and a great conversation starter for any event! You could even add an LED light in the bottom of the glass cube for some light-up fun! Find them here.

Pumpkin Pie Popsicle

I spotted a great pumpkin pie feature over on The Shabby Nest the other day. (The recipe originally came from Damaris from Kitchen Corners.) What a great idea for the kids on Thanksgiving day or even as a cool snack to serve the day after! Pumpkin Pie Popsicles!

Ummm.....yes please!


PUMPKIN PIE POPSICLES:
1 cup Libby's Pumpkin Pie mix
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 cup crushed graham crackers

1.In a blender mix the heavy cream with sugar and cinnamon in high speed for 30 seconds. Place inside a large gallon sized plastic bag.

2.Mix The cup of Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix with the milk in a blender in high speed for 30 seconds. Place in a separate gallon sized plastic bag.

3.Cut a small hole on one tip of the plastic bag that has the pumpkin mix. This will help you pour the mixture into your popsicle molds.

4.Pour the pumpkin mixture into the Popsicle molds 3/4 full.

5.When the pumpkin mixture has frozen, add the whip cream mixture by cutting a small hole on the plastic bag and pouring it until the Popsicle mold is completely full.

6.Sprinkle crushed graham crackers on top of the whip cream and freeze.

7.Serve when popsicles are completely frozen.

Tennis Party

Another party that I was recently wowed from was featured over at P is for Party. The party was hosted as a fun event to celebrate the completion of the host's tennis court, with their close friends. I know!! I asked myself the same question....why don't I have friends like that?! And if you haven't asked yourself that question yet, you will after looking through all of the pics! They really are amazing! Make sure to head over to Christi's blog to see all of the other amazing details from this fab event!

Fruit & Veggie Snack Bar

I thought I would share some great inspiration from some great events I have seen around the blogosphere lately. Today, I wanted to feature a great (and healthy!) idea from Esther Kim of My Bride Story. Such a creative alternative from the dessert tables you see all over the place now, this Fruit & Veggie snack bar is so chic in it's styling and the snacks offered look amazing, and tasty too! And I ADORE the use of the various veggies as floral elements throughout the table. Amazing and gorgeous!

Kid's Thanksgiving Desserts: Pumpkin Pie Pops

I think these make the most perfect dessert for kid's on Thanksgiving! Most little kids won't eat a whole slice of pumpkin pie by themselves, so why not make little bites for them...and to make them even more fun, put them on a stick! I'm sure some of the adults will sneak a few of these behind your back too, so watch out!

Pumpkin Pie Pops

Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts (14.1 oz. box)
Pumpkin filling (any type of pumpkin pie filling can be used that you prefer: pumpkin butter, custard, cooked pie filling, pudding, etc.)
Sugar
Nutmeg, grated
popsicle sticks

Unroll the pie crust and cut out mini crusts with 2 1/2" round biscuit cutter. Place one round crust on baking sheet and place popsicle stick down on the round about halfway up. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling in middle of each round crust, and spread around a little, but keep the filling away from the edges. Place the other round on top of the first and seal the edges by pressing down with a fork all the way around. (I actually poked pie vents in the top of each too.) Mix some fresh grated nutmeg and sugar together and then sprinkle on top of the mini pies. Place the baking sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until edges are browned. Makes 12-16 pops.



Recipe and pictures from Munchkin Munchies.

Christmas Crafts - Glitter Trees

I am always up for new Christmas Craft ideas and this one is great and not to mention, simple! This idea comes from the fabulous girls over at Eighteen 25. I love the thought of adding a little bling to your mantle, or anywhere, this year! And the possibilities and color choices are endless! I'm racking my brain to think of all of the other things I want to make sparkle! Find all of the directions and photos here.

Pumpkin Recipe

Pumpkin is the one ingredient that reminds me of Fall....the season, the holidays, even the weather. My family made this recipe a few weeks ago and it just oozes of Fall flavors. It's so warm and the fact that it is super yummy doesn't hurt either! Plus, it's really easy to boot! I dare you to try it! Guaranteed you don't make just one batch!



Pumpkin Crunch

1 Package Yellow Cake Mix (I use butter recipe yellow)
1 Can (15oz) Solid Pack Pumpkin
1 Can (12oz) Evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 Cup Melted Butter or Margarine
Whipped Topping (cool whip or fresh whip cream)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and cinnamon. Pour into pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture. Top with pecans and drizzle melted butter over pecans. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown. Cool & Serve. Top with whipped topping.

Whipped Cream Frosting:

1 - (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Prepare frosting while cake is cooling. In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, whip cream cheese until light. Add in whipping cream and continue to whip until fully combined and thickening. Add powdered sugar and cinnamon and whip until smooth.

To Serve: Scoop out a slice of the pumpkin crunch and top with a dollop of the cream cheese frosting, or frost the entire pumpkin crunch with the frosting.

You can find a picture tutorial over at Mommy's Kitchen.

Give Thanks

I love these clever Thanksgiving ideas for your guests this year, that I found over at Pepper Design! Both are a great way to give thanks to your guests! Why not send them all home with some Thanksgiving leftovers in some super cute little to-go boxes?! Just purchase some regular cardboard boxes from a local paper supply store or bakery, get some great ribbon, and make some personalized holiday labels! As easy as 1, 2, 3! You can find some really great "leftovers" labels here, or you can get some great ones from The Tom Kat Studio here. You can get as creative and decorative as you want! So cute and so easy!

And if you want to save all of those yummy Thanksgiving leftovers for yourself, why not send guests home with a Spiced Cider favor instead?! Perfect for guests to enjoy later that night! Just pick up a basic Chinese takeout box (from the same paper supply store you got your to-go boxes from), some raffia, cinnamon sticks, and some Cider drink mix from the store, and attach a cute little recipe card! Too cute!

Plush Pals

I must be new to the scene because I have never seen these before! How adorable are these plush cupcake toppers?! You can find them over at Gifts Define, a cute little shop that has all sorts of great stuff, and quite the variety of these little guys! Great for party favors or sooooo many other different ideas......my mind is already racing for how I could incorporate them into one of my upcoming events! Too cute!

Pink Perfection

Get ready for pink overload! This Vintage Barbie Birthday party, styled by Wendy over at Black Dress Red Wagon, is adorable! She planned the party for her daughter's 7th Birthday, and thought that a vintage Barbie theme would be perfect, although her daughter had no idea what vintage meant! (How cute!) The invites are darling, the gems around the silverware are cleaver, and those pipe cleaner rings are such a great idea! Pink Perfection! You can also check out all of Wendy's other great project ideas over at her blog The Shabby Nest.

A Table to Give Thanks.....

I am just loving this great Thanksgiving table scape created by Amanda, featured over at Catch My Party. The little details are so great! I mean, how fab are those fabric pieces strung from the chandelier?! So creative! She used all of the printables from Shindig Parties To Go, which have some great items for great prices btw! This collection is on sale at the moment too! Love this table!

Clip it Up!

I am loving this idea that I found over at The Inspired Room. This idea is great for any of the holiday potlucks or cookie exchanges you might have coming up. You know that whenever there is a great recipe at a get-together everyone wants a copy of the recipe, and most of the time you never end up getting it! So what a cute idea to pre-print out your recipe's on cute seasonal cards, like the ones shown above, and clip them to a strand of pretty ribbon! Not only can everyone grab their very own copy when they leave, but it also adds a decorative element to the party! You could also package up each guest's cards for them with more embellished ribbon or in a cute package for a cute and fun favor idea too!

A SUPER Halloween Event!

First off, let me start this post by saying...bear with me! There are a lot of pictures in this post! Now that I've warned you I can get to the fun stuff. As most of you know by now, my husband and I throw a Halloween party for our friends every year. And each year, we choose a different theme. For 2010, we decided on Comic Book Superheroes and Super Villains. It turned out great and everyone went all out with their costumes! If you remember, from an earlier post, we mailed out Comic Book invitations to let guests know what the theme for this year was, as well as the date and other party info. The event was held at an old, empty warehouse, that I figured represented a secret lair perfectly! It was two levels. On the first floor we placed all of the tables for the guests, the DJ, a photo booth by All Events Photo Booths, a Marble Slab Creamery Ice Cream Sundae bar, the bar, and Sliders catered by Ruby Tuesday. The second floor was more of a lounge space, with couches and additional seating, a S more's bar, and an Oxygen bar from Utah Oxygen Lounge. We had about 120 guests in attendance.

When guests arrived, they were greeted by the place card board, letting them know which table they were seated at.

Each table (there were 15 total) was themed to a different comic book character, either a hero or a villain. Each table also featured little items, surrounding each character centerpiece, that represented that character's life or story.

Each place setting also had menu cards, listing all of the topping choices for the Slider bar, as well as a comic book cover place mat, from actual comic books, featuring that table's character.

We also made and painted posters, that hung on the walls, representing some additional comic book characters.

We made some toxic barrels, because let's face it.....you can't have a Comic Book party without them! You can also see the puzzle of wolverine that we assembled and taped down to the floor, that guests had to walk on to get to the second floor.

There was also a photo booth set up during the entire event, for guests to go and capture some funny and great moments. It took unlimited prints all night for guests to take home as favors, and I ended up with over 500 pictures! ( I think that means the photo booth was a success!) I should have some of the photo booth pics up later this week, so you can see some of the costumes!

These superhero and villain quotes were showcased on the walls leading guests upstairs. There were also more on the walls in the space on the second floor.

Upstairs, guests could relax in the lounge space, while waiting in line for the oxygen bar. We also made the sound effect pillows. Also, you can't tell from these pictures, but the balloons we also had for the event, had little LED lights in them that flashed too!

The bar was also glowing in various colors throughout the night. And Wolverine greeted guests as they ordered!

Guests had a few different drink choices. The cocktails were served in Erlenmeyer flasks and beakers with glowing straws and also Mistystix, little drink stirrers that you can put dry ice pellets in that make your cocktails fog! I previously posted about them here.

For the non-alcoholic guests, we also rented a Coca-Cola fountain where guests could serve themselves, in glowing glasses as well, of course!

Test tube shots and Jello Injectors were hand passed to the crowd of guests.

For dinner, guests grabbed beef sliders in Super Slider City, a slider bar where guests could customize their burgers with whatever toppings they liked!

Various flavors of chips in chip cones were also served in comic book page wrappers as well as individual containers of either Super Spud Salad or Mighty Macaroni Salad!

We also had a sundae bar catered by Marble Slab creamery, where guests could choose between 6 different flavors of ice cream and any toppings they wanted! Yum! They served over 100 servings that night!

We also didn't want our Superhero guests to have any problems so we arranged little care baskets in the bathrooms, for both men & women, in case any emergency arose! And of course, we had to make custom bathroom signs for Super Ladies and Super Gents!

Overall, the party turned out SUPER! Can't wait until next year's theme!

And stay tuned later this week to see some of the great costumes!

Most of the decorations were made by us but I have to give a huge shout out and thank you to a few people that helped!

First off, thank you Heather at Chickabug! She always listens to my crazy ideas and requests and makes them happen! Heather created all of the food labels, and the fantastic menu cards on each of the tables!

And also a thank you to Sunshine from Simply Sweetness, who made the macaroni and potato salad labels!