See Jessica Hostess: Annual "Home for the Holidays" House Party
Every year since I moved to New York / graduated from college, I look forward to throwing my annual Home for the Holidays house party. I started doing this as an excuse to gather all my friends from high school and college into one house to see each other (and me!), play beer pong (hosted by my boyfriend) and make general merriment when everyone's home for winter break.
This year, I went all out with decorations, setting up a photobooth with the help of my photographer friend and learned how to make some delicious sangria for the occasion! I just wanted to share what I learned from my party hostessing and please share with me what you guys do to make your parties a success!
DECORATIONS
OrientalTrading.com is a great website with affordable decorations, favors, accessories, etc. I think I first learned about this website through student council in high school and also my former associate Veronica who loved to plan themed parties all the time!
For my party, I got sequined Santa hats, candy cane hats, peppermint ball decorations to put on my fireplace, piano and for people to hold and finally gingerbread, Christmas tree and Christmas light lollipops and ring pops to put in a jar (something I first saw at LA Korean bars like Gaam).
Although most people at the party (read: my guy friends) probably didn't notice them, I thought these decorations and little accents gave the party (and the party photos) a more festive feel and I am definitely going to do this again next year.
PHOTO BOOTH
The largest decoration item I bought was this cut-out Santa sleigh that I used as a centerpiece for the photo booth. My friend Benson Wu, provided all the magic though!
He brought his umbrella lights, tripod, DSLR camera and photo printer to my house and took awesome pictures of all of us throughout the night. Most people brought home their photos right away since he printed them out on the spot! Please do check out his work if you're looking for a special occasions photographer =)
I think I will remember this night forever because of these photos!
RED RED WINE (SANGRIA)
Lastly, I am quite proud of the sangria I made for the party -- it was my first time too! This recipe was inspired by my roommate Tiffany, who makes awesome sangria for our roommate dinners, Thanksgiving, and just random nights, as well as my friend Shelley who introduced me to sangria spiked with brandy (I never knew! Check out her awesome food/cooking blog).
[Beautiful photo on right from this blog because I forgot to take photos on mine =(]
I made 4 bottles of wine worth of this sangria and it kept disappearing faster than I could remake it! I think next year, I will make 6 bottles worth =P
Ingredients
2 bottles of wine (I used Barefoot Cellar's Pinot Noir that was $5 a bottle -- I think any inexpensive light red wine works best)
Half a bottle of 750 ml brandy (I used E&J VSOP)
1 large container of cranapple juice
1 large container of ginger ale
1 orange
1 apple
Handful of cherries
A few raspberries
Strawberries
1 lime
1 lemon
What to do
Cut up all the CITRUS fruits into thin slices and soaked it with the brandy in a big mixing bowl
Refrigerate it for a few hours, but most people suggest overnight (plan ahead!)
After taking out the brandy/fruit mix, squish the fruits to get the flavor out
Then add all the other fruits (apples, cherries, raspberries, strawberries)
Poured all these things (fruit + brandy) into a glass serving container (I used a large tall glass vase)
Add the red wine
Pour in cranapple juice and gingerale to taste
In this recipe, the juice and gingerale replaces the sugar that some people add instead. Add the gingerale right before serving so it's a little fizzy!
What do you guys think of these for a party? Please share any tips / faves from parties you've thrown or attended!
I hope you guys enjoyed this post since it's a little different than my traditional food/travel ones =)
DECORATIONS
For my party, I got sequined Santa hats, candy cane hats, peppermint ball decorations to put on my fireplace, piano and for people to hold and finally gingerbread, Christmas tree and Christmas light lollipops and ring pops to put in a jar (something I first saw at LA Korean bars like Gaam).
Although most people at the party (read: my guy friends) probably didn't notice them, I thought these decorations and little accents gave the party (and the party photos) a more festive feel and I am definitely going to do this again next year.
PHOTO BOOTH
The largest decoration item I bought was this cut-out Santa sleigh that I used as a centerpiece for the photo booth. My friend Benson Wu, provided all the magic though!
He brought his umbrella lights, tripod, DSLR camera and photo printer to my house and took awesome pictures of all of us throughout the night. Most people brought home their photos right away since he printed them out on the spot! Please do check out his work if you're looking for a special occasions photographer =)
I think I will remember this night forever because of these photos!
RED RED WINE (SANGRIA)
[Beautiful photo on right from this blog because I forgot to take photos on mine =(]
I made 4 bottles of wine worth of this sangria and it kept disappearing faster than I could remake it! I think next year, I will make 6 bottles worth =P
Ingredients
2 bottles of wine (I used Barefoot Cellar's Pinot Noir that was $5 a bottle -- I think any inexpensive light red wine works best)
Half a bottle of 750 ml brandy (I used E&J VSOP)
1 large container of cranapple juice
1 large container of ginger ale
1 orange
1 apple
Handful of cherries
A few raspberries
Strawberries
1 lime
1 lemon
What to do
Cut up all the CITRUS fruits into thin slices and soaked it with the brandy in a big mixing bowl
Refrigerate it for a few hours, but most people suggest overnight (plan ahead!)
After taking out the brandy/fruit mix, squish the fruits to get the flavor out
Then add all the other fruits (apples, cherries, raspberries, strawberries)
Poured all these things (fruit + brandy) into a glass serving container (I used a large tall glass vase)
Add the red wine
Pour in cranapple juice and gingerale to taste
In this recipe, the juice and gingerale replaces the sugar that some people add instead. Add the gingerale right before serving so it's a little fizzy!
What do you guys think of these for a party? Please share any tips / faves from parties you've thrown or attended!
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| Happy party planning! |