Holiday Open House Party

I love the holiday season because it’s all about parties!  Kick off this holiday season with an open house party. Open houses are very easy and low key, so they are super easy to host. Here are our suggestions for a holiday open house. This can be for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah or even Sunday football (that’s a holiday right?!).

Welcoming your guests - The best part of an open house is that you set aside a block of time, say 2-7 PM, and your guest can come at any time that works best for them. With guests coming at all sorts of different times you're not going to be able to greet everyone at the door. Have a sign directing traffic out front. It could be a welcome banner, or a handcrafted poster made by the kids. Another good idea is a sign for where to hang coats -

"Thank you for coming to our open house party,
if I am not here to greet you I am quite sorry!
Could you be a dear though and please deposit
Your coats/hats/gloves into this closet!"

As guests walk in you should also have a table set up with filled champagne glasses, a holiday punchbowl, or even a cooler with cold beer, depending on the formality fo your party. The idea is that they can walk in, grab a drink and and get ready to celebrate!

Open House Decorations - You can decorate for the nearest holiday with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah or Football decorations.  Just grab some tableware, like plates, napkins and cups, maybe a banner or two and some festive ceiling decorations.

Open House Menu - Keep the menu simple and easy.  Serve finger foods and dips that can sit on the buffet table without the need for heating and reheating.  This makes the hosting duties much easier! Here are a few favorites -

• Buffalo Chicken Dip - kept warm in a crock pot
• Chex Mix
• Cheese and crackers or vegges and dip always are a hit
  
• Antipasta platter or kabobs
• Candied Walnuts - this is my favorite recipe
  
• Party Meatballs - also good in a crock pot
  
• Don’t forget the holiday punch, or eggnog! 
• And you can never go wrong with lots of desserts (cookies, brownies, chocolate coved pretzels, mini creme brulee)
  

If you are going to dedicate your party to football, here are some good finger food and dip recipes for game day.

Open House Party Activities - Most of the fun will be in the mixing and mingling. You can also celebrate with your family and friends by playing some fun board games, or just turn the game on! Other fun options include doing a gift exchange, or decorating cookies, expecially if there are a lot of kids.  Since everyone is a little bit older in my family, we hold a ‘Secret Santa’ for Christmas, this would also be a good time to pick names!

Open House Party Favors - Always send your guests home with a little something extra like decorated cookies, leftovers, or even some personalized candy bars with a holiday greeting on it!

Happy Holidays!

Comments

[Graduation open house spokes person]

Great holiday Open House Ideas. I tried the candied walnuts and they were wonderful. My next experiment is to use pecans and cashews together. I will let you know how it turns out.

[Girls Birthday Parties]

Great ideas for the holidays. I will ear these in mind for this coming years celebrations. thanks