Our Holiday Prep with Hometalk (and a Pesto Pasta Recipe)

I love Christmas time.  It's such a special time of year.

I love getting our home all dressed up for the holidays and spending time with good friends and family.  Making special treats to share.  The spirit of giving.  

I made Cake Pops for the first time this year.  They turned out wonderful.  I was excited to show them off and share them.  It's so gratifying to try a new recipe and sharing your successful results with others.

Some of the cake pops are being displayed in this gorgeous new Sadie Cake Plate and Cloche, from Wayfair.   Displaying them inside the cloche like this makes them the focal point of the room...and they look amazingly delicious.

Click on photo above for more about the cake pops I made

I'm looking forward to decorating this cloche with something new for each holiday  or season.  I've always wanted a beautiful cloche like this.  It has so many possibilities.

With Christmastime comes so much to do and prepare for.  It's nice to do some low-key entertaining and enjoy ourselves.  

Don't be so busy you forget to enjoy the warmth of the season with friends and family.

This year we have set our home up with several entertaining stations:

 A gourmet coffee station for the adults.

A hot cocoa station for the kiddos, complete with marshmallows and candy canes.  I'll keep this one out for the rest of winter.  It's such a hit in our house.  Call me a coffee-aholic, but that makes my boy a cocoa-aholic for sure!  :)

Of course the adults can have hot cocoa too if they want.

Or even water ;)

I like to put a pretty pitcher with ice water out so people can help themselves whenever they feel thirsty.

And a mini bar with wine and cocktails.  Please help yourself.

Just a few finishing details will bring the whole event together once you have stations set up and ready.

Layer the holiday decorations with the treats until it feels complete...

Cake Pops

Roasted Almonds

Pops of red

Have a batch of hot cocoa steaming in the pot before the guests arrive.

That way they can get right down to the fun stuff.

I like having a fun activity ready for the little kids to do when they get here.  Makes them feel special.  

I prepare a delicious pesto pasta salad ahead of time.  It is so easy to make and is always a huge hit whenever I make it. It tastes delicious cold or hot, and you can turn it into a main course just by adding grilled chicken breast to the pasta.

Click HERE for recipe

And another thing I like to do to keep things simple and stress-free when entertaining is to have a fresh fruit bowl and a veggie tray.

It's not about the time you spend preparing...it's about the time you spend enjoying the ones you love!

Now all we need are the guests to arrive.  :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

If you haven’t been to Hometalk, it’s a wonderful website celebrating projects and rooms from homeowners all over the country.  Members can share their home projects and get ideas, inspiration, and professional advice on anything home related.  

My party tips are being shared at Hometalk as well.

Hometalk and Wayfair partnered with some bloggers to celebrate the season with these beautiful cloches, like you see here in my post. Thanks to Wayfair for providing this beautiful cloche. I wasn’t compensated to write this post about my party.