This past snowy Sunday, amid the holiday hustle and bustle, a few of my closest girlfriends gathered to share their favorite cookie recipes, a cute craft - and of course some cocktails (& cocoa too). With the holiday season at hand, the key to throwing this party (you can do it too - there's still time!) was keeping everything super simple.
Admittedly, I don't bake (or don't bake well, at least); I'm too much an experimental cook to be bogged down with measuring and rules! But I sure do have some great baker friends! So I lured them over with a cute craft, pumpkin martinis and Nutella hot cocoa to share their cookies with me!
Though only about half of the guests got to join in the fun because of the snow storm, and we missed our friends from York and DC, the party was intimate and tons of fun!
Making our owl ornaments. Front from left to right: Alys Truong, Vy Banh, Erica Keene, Jennifer Schaefer, Natalie Oster. Back: Hazel Heany in the corner, Nya Oster, Julie Mathers with Jemma, James (and Jackson not shown).
Because I can't (or won't) bake, my contribution to the cookie swap was the holiday edition French macarons from Rice & Noodles. (Pick some up for your hollidays in flavors like mint chocolate, pecan, gingerbread, red velvet, pumpkin and more.) Baker extraordinaire, Vy Banh was in attendance with a beautiful tray of profiteroles (along with her sister Alys Truong, the two own Rice & Noodles together with their husbands). Classic peanut butter cookies from my friend and neighbor Natalie Oster were a hit. And nut crescents by Tatjana Rothwein would've made Martha proud. There were of course, other classics like sugar and chocolate chip cookies - all sweet additions to a perfect snowy day.
This craft is easy enough for 2 years of age and up, with adult help. Create your own owl with items you have around your house
Create your own owl ornament out of toilet paper rolls and items you have around the house!
- Fold in the ends of toilet paper roll, smoothing semi circles to create ears and feet.
- Tie with string, ribbon or twine lengthwise, creating one knot on the head, and another looped knot to hang your ornament.
- Embellish with a strip of paper for the body, beak (we used triangle pieces of ribbon), eyes (we punched holes out of paper) and wings (we used felt and feathers).
The JDK Group's Pumpkin Pie Martini brought by my Style girl co-worker Erica Keene was a huge hit with the ladies!
This cranberry pistachio cheese ball recipe from the December issue of Better Homes & Gardens was super fast and easy! One 8 oz package of cream cheese, 16 oz of sharp cheddar and a spoonful of sour cream mixed up in the food processor, rolled in cranberries and pistachios (which I pulsed up in the blender ahead of time). Wrap in plastic wrap, form ball and refrigerate at least one hour. Easy, cheesy, yummy!