The book club Christmas party I hosted on Wednesday night was a moderate success, I think. My kitchen and dining room/living room combination were the two areas where everyone congregated, and it felt really crowded to me at the time. Looking back at the photos, though, it doesn't seem too bad.
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| The view from the den, looking over the bar into the kitchen. Poor Gregg; he went to so much trouble to make the 120 gallon planted aquarium in this room look good for the party, and no one went in there or noticed it. |
Here is some of the food I served. Not pictured are the crockpot meatballs, or hot cheese dip, or roasted nuts and assorted crackers and chips.
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| My friend Martina brought the Apple Pie. Aren't the cutouts on top gorgeous? The cake came from a local bakery: Cherry Pound Cake with Fudge Icing. |
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| My homemade Dark Chocolate Rum Balls. |
I'll admit that the whole thing flew by while I was distracted by being a hostess. Did I enjoy myself? Not really. It wasn't bad, mind you, only too crowded and too many people and things to focus on to relax and have a good time. Everyone came over almost at once, and left almost at once. I felt like a hurricane had blown through. I had to methodically clean the kitchen after everyone left just to decompress a bit, and I still had trouble getting to sleep that night. Half the number of people would have been just about right. I was overwhelmed by a dozen. This was me at the end of the night:
Your color palate is great! Too many walls are gray or white these days. Love deviled eggs, they look scrumptious. And I think one of the main reasons I stopped having dinner parties was because they weren't really that much fun for me. Everybody else had a good time, but me? too much work, not enough fun.
ReplyDeleteI can't take much credit for the color palate! It was that way when we moved in. The walls in most of the house are a light blue, but the kitchen is painted light green and the den is beige. We have gray countertops in the kitchen and gray tile in the main bathroom, because as you say gray is a popular color at the moment. I'm planning to paint this summer, but I doubt I change the colors very much.
DeleteMy husband loves deviled eggs, too. Boy are they a pain to make, though! I never seem to have easy-to-peel boiled eggs. I wish I knew a secret for it.
DeleteWell, as you may remember, after my last big homemade pizza and martini party when the last guest had departed I yelled, "Never again!"
ReplyDeletePretty much stuck to that, too.
I think you did a great job and I'm just so sorry you couldn't enjoy it but I sure do understand. I just hope you have enough leftovers for days and days...
It wasn't that I had a BAD time, it just went by in a whirl of activity and I couldn't relax. Next time I won't go to so much trouble beforehand. I'm due to host book club again in September next year.
DeleteEverything looks very pretty, the food And your house, but I can understand you, I feel exactly that way when I host and so it doesn't happen much here.
ReplyDeleteThank you Yael! I worked hard to make everything look nice, the decorations and the food. I also go to a lot of trouble for smaller groups of friends, but the truth is I much prefer smaller, more intimate gatherings.
DeleteYou have a beautiful home Jennifer and that food looks amazing. We were discussing 'entertaining' at my infamous dinner party last night and I was surprised to hear how many of us find the role of hostess quite daunting and we don't fully enjoy the occasion.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliments. I worked so hard to garnish all the food so that it looked pretty, and then almost no one noticed or remarked on it.
DeleteAlthough I will say, one guest, Sara, said, "Oh my gosh, Jennifer, the next time it's my turn to host can I just pay you to do the food? This all looks amazing!" That made me feel good!
Deletea smashing success. too bad you could not enjoy it. being a hostess is not an easy job. that's why I don't throw parties.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely NOT an easy job! Then I had two more super busy days at work afterwards. But now I'm on winter break and I have two full weeks off to relax! Yeah!!!
DeleteEverything looks lovely. People do tend to congregate in certain areas and then they're in the way when you need to do something. I once had about 100 people come and go during a holiday open house. Entertaining is exhausting.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Oh my gosh, I would NEVER EVER attempt to host 100 people during an open house! Not without professional help, anyway. That gives me the shivers just thinking of it!
DeleteI can think of nothing more tiring, especially the soiree you put on. Very nice. I can be the old grandma in the corner the next time you must do this.
ReplyDeleteJoanne, you would be welcome to come visit and join the festivities ANYTIME. We had one old grandma at this party, my friend Kathleen's 89 year old mother came with her! I talked to Kathleen yesterday and she told me that her mom loved our Christmas tree, especially all the bird ornaments. :)
DeleteWe had friends and family here yesterday afternoon.... at the end I felt like you; EXHAUSTED. Wonderful looking food!!
ReplyDeleteIt's so draining for those of us who fall on the introvert side of the spectrum, isn't it? Thanks for the compliment on the food!
DeleteI love the Christmas tree cheese platter! If I were to host a dinner or party this time of year, I would definitely nick your idea.
ReplyDeleteYour house, the food, the deco - it all looks beautiful, and that the food was not commented upon much does not mean people didn't notice. I bet they talked about it back home, and among each other.
I love being hostess, but my approach is very different; I am egocentric enough to assume people come to see ME, not for my food, and although I want to make everyone feel as welcome as they are to me, and at ease in my home, it is still my home first and foremost. Food preparations are very low key for my events, but fortunately, I can often count on my Mum and my sister to contribute.
You are the very first person to notice (or at least the only one who mentioned noticing) that the cheese platter was supposed to be a Christmas tree!! I think the shape ended up being a little bit off and I needed more rosemary stems on the side. I got the idea from Pinterest!
DeleteI would have been all over the deviled eggs and the starfruit - my favorites !
ReplyDeleteI made a backup tray of deviled eggs because my husband loves them so much, and I knew a couple of my friends would want to take some home to THEIR husbands! Men always seem to like them.
DeleteThe house and food look beautiful. The fruit/starfruit/cheese Christmas tree is a work of art. And my mouth is watering looking at those rum balls.
ReplyDeleteIf I had been the host I would have clapped my hands and said, "Ladies! Ladies! SHUT THE **** UP! We are all going next door to see Gregg's aquarium. It is bloody brilliant and here is Gregg's business card in case you are interested in getting your own aquarium set up. Now follow me!"
ReplyDeleteAmazing photos of a truly great event. The food! Wow.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks so amazing! I think people probably noticed the food, even if they didn't mention it. The rum balls look especially good. Bravo to you! And now, best of all, your book club hosting responsibilities are OVER! (For the time being.)
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