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ornament exchange Christmas party
I hosted my fifth annual ornament exchange party. I thought it was my third but it was actually my fifth because a few years ago I decided to add all my friends to the mix of my church girlfriends because my gf Michelle told me to! It was one of the best decisions and it’s great to have bigger parties and one party instead of a lot of small ones.
A few things – read this post about how I make it fun and unique by doing two different things regarding an ornament exchange. If you want to know now to summarize: (1) I have wrapped ornaments in color categories so at least people can pick what color they’d like if they don’t steal from someone and instead pick from the new pile, and (2), instead of drawing numbers because that’s boring, I have everyone write down a fun fact about themselves. Ideal if it’s around 15 people or under it takes an hour. It makes for a fun evening of just laughing so hard about silly stories and facts.
Local places to buy a unique ornament (my guests really try!)
- Found Arcadia
- Scottsdale Marketplace
- Antique Gatherings (for vintage)
- AJ’s grocery store (I heard!)
- Scottsdale Bible Church (coffee shop)
- Merchant Square, Chandler
Here are some details from the party!
I found these cupcake picks at Home Goods and I had extra after putting them in the cake desserts from Whole Foods so I put them on the risotto balls and tarts for decor. I figured use them all so you don’t have to worry about another party to use them! I hate having leftover plates or napkins from a party, just recycle them and start over or try to use them all up!
The red coupe glasses are from my collaboration with Pottery Barn for the Lunar New Year. I kept them and was happy to put them to use again. This is the season for red – Christmas, Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day!
Food was provided by Jennifer’s Catering located at The Market by Jennifer. I have eaten there during the day when it’s open and they offer catering services – and they were at my good friend Brittany‘s baby shower. Her mom always hires Jennifer and I was so impressed – a staff can come and serve as well and Jennifer cooks in the kitchen. This was not the case or need for my 14 person ornament exchange party, but you can order and pick up which is what we did. It is not just beautiful but tastes delicious which is so important!
I’ll explain what was on the catering menu in just a second.
This was the provided menu by Jennifer’s Catering:
Honey Glazed Crispy Beef Cubes (GF): Seared beef tenderloin cubes marinated in honey & tamari seared rare. Finished with wasabi aioli and sesame seed
Chicken Souvlaki Satays (GF): Garlic, oregano, rosemary, lemon, sweet paprika, and white wine marinated chicken breasts satays with pickled cucumbers and gremolata
Heirloom Tomato and Triple Crème Tartlet (V): Miniature roasted cherry tomato and brie tart sprinkled with fresh thyme, EVOO, and reduced balsamic
Risotto Aranchi with Prosciutto (Available V): Crispy Arborio rice balls filled with fresh mozzarella with shaved prosciutto, lemon aioli and chives
Can we talk about these chargers by Williams-Sonoma that also doubles as a serving platter!? They are under $40 each, incredibly heavy and no need to polish them since they are stainless-steel! I love something that can be two in one and save storage space!
This year I did something new and made premade mixed drinks – minus the bubbly of choice! I wrote down what the parts were in the mixtures so people could mix it up with more egg nog liquor or champagne or non-alcoholic champagne. I also had in the bucket sparking apple cider, a Christmas Sparkling wine I got from World Market, and Pellegrino. The premixed pitchers with labels had:
- Egg nog and milk: 2 parts egg nog, 1 part milk (to add egg nog liquor from Trader Joe’s)
- Cranberry Juice + Gin: 2 parts cranberry juice, 1 part gin (add champagne or non alcoholic champagne)
I also had guests garnish their drinks – so glitter sugar cubes, cranberries, honey, and sugar. I will say if you don’t do the sugar rim yet, don’t put cranberries in the glass because it will dump out. I use honey in one bowl and a chunky brown sugar from Trader Joe’s. You can find that sugar anywhere it starts with a T I forgot the name but it’s pretty much a light brown chunky sugar.
Having an open bar like this was great for my friends to mingle, try something new and I told them if it didn’t taste good, just dump it and start over!
Real quick, this is the back of the over the rod on my kitchen island. I hide this mess behind some ginger jars and it kind of distracts from the kitchen cabinets, as my friend Amber pointed out :) It’s the focal point of the entertaining spaces.
Napkins and festive plates from Home Goods or Scottsdale Marketplace. The most popular paper plate choice? The bowls! They were a hit last year too with the menu I served.
This time the bowl made sense because I had friends take a to-go plate after the party of sweets. It’s something that my close friends are used to, I’m always trying to have them take things with them on the way out because there’s no way I’m going to eat that by myself! And I like they take it back to their kids so I look like a great auntie, haha! But anyway that’s the ritual, before you leave, take a bowl of something with you — I do have proper to go boxes but they are quite huge so honestly the bowls were probably a good size. I forgot the treat bags I bought from Hobby Lobby that had a zip. I’m going to have to leave them out for next year.
Aren’t some of these photos by Lauren so 90s nostalgia? I love it! I feel like I’m looking through an old Martha Stewart cookbook, if I may flatter myself at tiny bit and assume my party can even pass as a Martha presentation. Lauren took our photos in Oregon that’s on our Christmas card which I still need to share! Sorry I’m so into holiday mode now! Anyway, I love that she has some motion blur, she creates such a good mood and feels in her photography. Grateful to have these.
I appreciated her doing with camera and taking photos and some videos for me because I was so busy hosting! At the end of the night I had a handful of photos and I wasn’t sure if they were good and she sent me some and I was thankful! If you can do that for your hosts, definitely do it with video and photos, or offer if you aren’t sure if they need it!
I took a few photos myself with my big old camera and flash. These are very Zara Home a few years ago and I kinda like it! My suggestion is if food has a topping or cream, have it on the plate with the item so people know to use it. Having it on the side will be overlooked and it will be missed out!
Missing two in the group photo because they had to leave right away, but so glad Brenna reminded me of a group photo! Thankful for relationships, for friends who say yes and for sharing their personal fun facts and just being great people.
If you want to see more of our house, you can watch my Homeworthy Christmas episode, or visit this post for a photo tour and links! I hope you are enjoying this holiday season with your loved ones. Host something – and remember it doesn’t have to be over the top like mine. I’ve hosted for 20+ years, even in college and it was just creating an excuse to get together. People just want an invitation to gather. Don’t wait to be invited, invite!
Eileen Young
Totally elegant!