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Hey party peeps! THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING! LET’S STAY AWAKE FOR IT! I don’t know about you, but November 1st is the day that I switch gears and go into hyper-drive as I start to create lists of all the things I need to do before Christmas. This year is no different. I’m already planning way ahead of time for my upcoming Christmas Eve Dinner Party! Last year, I waited until the last minute for mostly everything—and the stress that came with that—NO THANKS! This year, I’m determined to get a head start and—with my Keurig and Starbucks by my side—I will be sure to get it all done in record time so that I can actually ENJOY and RELAX this holiday season! WHO’S WITH ME? Today I’m going to share with you my ideas on how me and my family will CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH STARBUCKS!
HOST A CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER PARTY!
As you guys know we recently moved from California to the midwest where I’m now close to my Dad, my youngest sister and her family. Normally, I host Christmas dinner but this year, I’m going to try something different. I’m going to host a Christmas Eve Dinner Party instead. We used to do this when we lived in California. I loved having friends and family over for dinner and then after the party was over, we’d stay up late wrapping presents for the kiddos.
GIRLFRIEND TIP: There was always a pot of coffee brewing to keep us going for those last few hours of wrapping. It really was one of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve! Thinking of how happy the kids will be the next morning RIPPING OPEN all of the gifts we just METICULOUSLY wrapped…Yup, that sounded sarcastic! As a mom of 5, I gave up meticulously wrapping gifts a long time ago…in fact, I’ve gone so far as to remove lots of toys from their packaging and display them around the Christmas tree instead of driving myself crazy the next morning spending hours cutting toys out of their packages while my kids are dying to play with them. You guys know I’m right!
Ready to get planning this LOW-STRESS dinner party? Let’s go!
USE THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS YOU ALREADY HAVE TO DECORATE YOUR PARTY!
The best part about hosting a party at Christmas time is that your house is already decorated for the holidays so you really don’t have much to do except move the decorations from all over your house into a few central locations to create party stations (I like to call them “bars”). For my dinner party I’m going to create a Santa’s Cookies & Milk Bar, Dessert Bar, Favor Bar and a few Coffee Bars!
GIRLFRIEND TIP: Stock up on all-white serving trays, bowls and platters during the year. They match any party’s theme and colors and you don’t have to buy anything when getting ready for your holiday parties!
SETUP COFFEE BARS!
What better way to end your dinner party than with a self-serve Holiday Dessert & Coffee Bar! Let’s face it…we parents will be up late wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve, so why not include a Coffee & Dessert Bar to end your Christmas Eve Dinner Party to give that extra little boost we need to get through the night. Your guests will THANK YOU! I like to offer coffee to my guests 3 ways…fresh-brewed Hot, Iced or Blended. Super easy. Just setup a self-serve station on your kitchen counters—no need for extra tables. That way your blender and coffee machine can stay close to the electrical outlets and don’t we all end up hanging out in the kitchen at parties anyway? Place different flavored creamers, sugar, whipped cream and toppings on your coffee bars and let guests make their own coffee drinks…their way.
Iced Coffee
I brew coffee when I first serve dinner and place it in a carafe so that it reaches room temperature while my guests eat dinner. I like to prepare iced coffee with room temperature coffee so it gets really cold and the ice stays frozen longer. Fill the glasses with ice or you can leave out an ice bucket filled with ice so guests can fill their own glasses with ice and pour the coffee to fill the glass. I like to offer flavored creamers here too so guests can add yummy flavors to their iced coffee to their desired taste.
Blended Coffee
Who doesn’t like a frozen treat like this. Simply pour some of the freshly brewed coffee into the blender with half & half and lots of ice. I also put out flavored creamers so that guests can make their own flavored blended coffee drink and top with whipped cream and toppings such as crushed cookies or caramel drizzle. I strategically place this coffee bar on my counter closest to the sink so guests can rinse the blender pitcher in between each drink.
Fresh-Brewed Hot Coffee
How cute are the K-cups displayed in the shape of a Christmas tree! Be sure to leave an extra box out so there is more on hand if you run out. I like to offer a variety of flavored creamers. There are so many holiday flavored creamers out now to choose from like Egg Nog, Pumpkin Spice and even a Sugar Cookie one!
COMPLIMENT YOUR COFFEE WITH A HOLIDAY DESSERT BAR!
To keep this low-stress, I will serve ready-to-eat desserts. Target has a wide variety of yummy desserts in their bakery section that go from container to platter in just minutes. I’ll take that shortcut!
KIDS PACK UP COOKIES FOR SANTA AT THE MILK & COOKIES BAR!
One less thing for parents to remember when they get home on Christmas Eve! Have the kids decorate their own take-home box and fill them with cookies for Santa. I also put out a big milk jug that the kids use to fill their own mini milk jugs to leave with the cookies for Santa. This table also doubles as a dessert for the kiddos after dinner.
GIRLFRIEND TIP: Yup, you guessed it. No baking here! Low stress is the central theme for this party, so I simply picked up containers of cookies from my local Target’s bakery and set them out on white serving trays that I already had in my party stash. Parents…be sure to pick up some of your favorite cookies…since we know who will really be eating these! SHHHHHH!
GIVE THE GIFT OF STARBUCKS!
Most of my friends and family are coffee drinkers so I love to give Starbucks’ Holiday Blend as Christmas gifts. They sell out fast, so I grab lots of them as soon as I see them out. This year, I found them early in the coffee aisle at Target and grabbed a variety of Holiday Blend in bags as well as K-cups. They will make perfect take-home party favors for the adults for my Christmas Eve dinner party! I also scored and found the new Starbucks Hot Cocoa which would be great for the kids to take home too. Then I got to thinking…what would make for a unique and useful party favor for a Christmas Eve Dinner Party? Check out this Christmas Morning Breakfast Pack that each family will take home full of fresh baked goods, a pack of Starbucks Holiday Blend coffee for the Moms & Dads and a box of Starbucks Hot Cocoa for the kids! PERFECT! Christmas morning breakfast is all taken care of…your guests will LOVE that!
GIRLFRIEND TIP: Want to be a rock star hostess? Place a few rolls of wrapping paper out by the favor table and encourage your guests to take one home just in case they run out of wrapping paper in the middle of the night! Am I the only one this happens to? I think NOT! Your guests will think you’re a total rock star for thinking of absolutely EVERYTHING!
Get a headstart on planning your next Holiday Dinner Party! Head to your local Starbucks and get a $5 Starbucks Card e-gift when you purchase 3 or more qualifying Starbucks products. I love the free gift card offers during the holiday season—they make great stocking stuffers!
WANT MORE HOLIDAY INSPIRATION
CLICK HERE to check out my Christmas Pinterest board for LOTS of Christmas and Holiday inspiration and ideas.
Follow Soiree Event Design’s board Christmas Inspiration on Pinterest.
WHAT DOES YOUR FAMILY DO ON CHRISTMAS EVE?
Cheers!
Tonya
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– Styling & Photography: Soiree Event Design
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Your pictures are really gorgeous.
And now I’m so inspired to host parties for the holidays. I LOVE Starbucks. Just got my first “red cup” yesterday.
This is SO my kind of party. I’m happy to celebrate any holiday with Starbucks!
I am a huge Starbuck fan. I go every wednesday while son is in guitar lessons. So excited to get my first red cup this week.
While I am a Dunkin Donuts girl, I know so many people that LOVE Starbucks and will love these items 🙂
Wow what a great job you did on decorating! I know a lot of people in my family would love this! I might have to try out a little of them myself! Thanks for the idea.
Those are all great ideas. I’ve got to get some of those Starbucks coffee packs. Those are the coolest!
I have a cookie exchange each year and set up a hot cocoa/ coffee bar but all the ladies go for the wine !!
Your photos are stunning! I love the idea of the milk and cookies bar!
I always buy some of my gifts from Starbucks. Most of my friends are coffee drinkers and they always appreciate this kind of gifts.
I just love all of these tips. That cookies and milk bar is genius, and I love the Christmas morning breakfast favors too.I can’t believe the holidays are here so soon. #client
Great ideas! The cookie and milk bar is my favorite
As a mother of 5 adult children I remember those late gift wrapping nights and I feel your pain girl! We added a little something extra to our coffee to keep us going! This would be a great party for even a relaxing Christmas Eve. You always have great ideas along with a gorgeous presentation. Looking forward to seeing all of your holiday parties..
Wow, such stunning photos! This would be a great celebration at the work place. I’d love some Starbucks Kcups for sure!
I love the tip about buying white platters and serving plates. Perfect for any party color combo!
This is so cute! I love all of the sparkly reds! I really need to try out that coffee.
Oh I would love to have some right now. I miss having coffee once in a while.
I love Starbucks. I usually buy some of the K-cups every year for myself! Great pictures!!
I definitely need to try out their holiday blend. My daughter is obsessed with Starbucks.
I saw this and I immediately thought “Starbucks Gift Card”. These are all such great tips especially the one about hosting a Christmas Eve Party
Christmas is my favourite time of year! Like you said, we are up late Christmas eve “waiting for santa” so a pot of coffee is a must first thing Christmas morning!! Your coffee bar looks amazing!
Great pictures. My hubby is a real coffee fan and loves Starbucks. They just opened one near his work and he was there on day one. I would definitely get him this.
I’m not a coffee drinker but my husband is . He enjoys Starbucks specially during the Holidays.
I’m a big Starbucks fan and I’m loving your coffee bar. I never would have thought of it. Those cookies would not last very long at my house.
Well… now all I want is Starbucks. Mmmm. I love this set up so much!
We do not celebrate Christmas but I like the way you set up the coffee and coffee bar to enable people to get a nice treat with all the trimmings.
Celebrate holiday with Starbucks? I am in because I love coffee. I go to Starbuck store once a week 🙂
This is such a fun party theme to embrace. I really like Starbucks anything and so nobody in my family could ever go wrong by picking out anything Starbucks to put my name on this season! The aroma and the flavors never fail to excite and never ever disappoint!
We bought Starbucks things such as these last year to use as stocking stuffers. Our daughter loved the coffee cup we got her.
Those Christmas decors and accessories really look adorable and very fitting to the holiday theme. I love Starbucks regular coffee and their Holiday blends.
Great tips!! I LOVE Starbucks and I got my first Red Cup today!! I was so excited haha! I love giving Starbucks gift cards, etc as presents for the holidays – its such a great idea! I really love those sparkly, snowflake straws in your gorgeous pictures too! Thanks for sharing!
xo Adriana – Daily Dose of Design
I love having a Christmas present wrapping party with my friends. Coffee is a great way to get us through the late hours since we can only do it after the kids are asleep!
A Christmas present wrapping party sounds like fun. I think adding Starbucks to the equation sounds like a blast!
I know some really huge Starbucks fans. They would def. be happy with anything Starbuck-y for the holidays (lol at my new word). 😉
I have been on a Starbucks kick lately and I think these are all great gift ideas for the Starbucks lover in your life. I see some things I need to get!!
These are all great ideas for a parties and holiday gifts. I love coffee so the coffee bar is an amazing ideal party for me. Thanks for sharing.
What a great idea! A coffee bar for kids and a hot chocolate bar for adults would pair really well with festivities for the holidays! I love Starbucks!
I most definitely snagged my holiday blend and my first Red Cup on Sunday!
What a beautiful party and Starbucks is a perfect theme for this time of year. I love the Starbucks at home products!
Cute party – Starbucks always has some of the neatest holiday products. Not to mention the best tasting holiday drinks.
Your posts are always so awesome! I love the entire set up and since I love Christmas this really gets me excited for the holidays.
I have just started thinking about the holidays, but not planning at all. HOwever, my husband may be working th eholidays so then thee’s not going to be a Christmas dinner for us. I love these tips for one though.
I seldom drink coffee, but that’s a wonderful way to celebrate Starbucks. You’ve everything beautifully set up, too!
What a beautiful holiday dessert bar. Thanks for the idea. I definitely love it because I am an absolute coffee addict.
A coffee bar is a great party idea. Our friends do not drink a lot so a coffee bar would be perfect.
I love that coffee bar! What a great idea. This would be a wonderful setting for my family during the holidays. I don’t really drink coffee, but many of my family members do.
I absolutely love the idea of a coffee bar at holiday parties – or any party for that matter! It’s relatively simple but so festive and the perfect way to round out an afternoon or evening.
That is an amazing setup! I would go to any Starbucks party.