Holiday Hosting

This past Monday night, Dustin and I hosted a small dinner party for a few friends. We wanted to do something small to celebrate the holidays and quite frankly, I had some great dishes I wanted to use! Ha, it's the truth. Last year my mother gave me the Juliska Holiday Plate set from The Plaid Giraffe and they were screaming from my cabinet "use me!"

Since the set only comes with four plates, I mixed in other salad plates that I received last year and adore. Plus, we had 11 people and I only have eight dinner plates, so some of the place settings used a pottery dinner plate (which Dustin assured me the guys would appreciate more anyways).

Honestly, I loved having the different mixing and matching on the table! To avoid people fighting over who to sit by (ok, fighting is dramatic, more like awkwardly deciding), I took an idea from the wonderful Sugar and Cloth for ribbon candy place cards. I didn't have time to hand paint them, but used a brush stroke Sharpie to give them a more relaxed feel. I love ribbon candy, but never know what to do with it, so this was perfect.

The best part about holiday hosting, is that you get to show off the Christmas decorations you work so hard to put up! Plus, your house is already decorated and you don't have to stress about making things besides your table look pretty. This year we went with a live tree and fresh garland - my new favorite. I love the smells and quite frankly, you can find pretty reasonable deals on things if you shop around. We purchased our fresh greenery and tree from Dillons (thank you to our friend, Jake, for picking up the tree with his truck!). For ornaments, I used the Radko ornaments my mother gave me from our childhood, as well as some vintage small ones I found on eBay. Lights, we love to mix and match for a festive effect.  On the greenery, we scored some amazing vintage ornaments from a little shop down the road, The Uncommon Market. Stockings are from my childhood and Santa was scored in my friend Hailey's small town at an adorable drug store, Clark Pharmacy.

In case you are wondering, what we feasted on, here is the menu. Since we were cooking for 11 people, we wanted to keep it simple. I also had help from the guests, which was so very nice of them! Hailey made the salad, Rachel made the sugar cookies, Ashley & Amy both brought the necessity - wine, and Anne made a festive sangria. Best guests ever!

To make you really hungry (and thirsty), here are some pictures...

Overall, it was a great Monday night - who knew Mondays would be so perfect for hosting? Most people are around and you get Sunday to prep. Plus, people love to have something to look forward to on a Monday. I wish we could have hosted a lot more friends, but that's the tricky thing about dinner parties. Luckily, we figured out how to put the extra leaves in the table! Maybe in a future house, we can have a giant dining room with a big table to host twenty...and then maybe I'll be able to afford a caterer :)

Amy, Hailey, Rachel, me, Ashley and Anne - fabulous dinner guests!

Hopefully you enjoyed all of our holiday details rolled up into one large post. Most importantly, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Have a wonderful time celebrating wherever you are and do somethings festive and kind!

Shopping details:
Dishes (Annie Glass, Anna Weatherly & Juliska) - The Plaid Giraffe
Striped Napkins - Kate Spade
White Napkins & Napkin Rings - The Plaid Giraffe
MacKenzie Platters - The Plaid Giraffe
Dresser - Pottery Barn Kids

Lots of Love,