Ever since I was a single twenty-something living on Excelsior Boulevard in a little one bedroom apartment with greige wall-to-wall carpeting I’ve been hosting an annual holiday party. Sometimes the soiree was a dressy affair, and other times it was a casual jeans and boots bash. When Mac Daddy and I started our lives together he quickly adopted my holiday party tradition, and we now host an annual Christmas Eve open house. I’m not one for numbers but I think this year marks our 14th annual Christmas Eve fete.
Ever since we moved to North Carolina we find ourselves outdoors for the party, so the combination of holiday spirits and the patio fireplace warm us. It’s turned into a casual family affair where the children get fired up and run amok while the grown ups get a chance to unwind and sit a spell before the present wrapping marathon that marks Christmas Eve for parents of Santa believers. We eat and gab and laugh and josh around and embrace the overall festive notes of the season. It’s a time to surround ourselves with the people who have made our world a little brighter. I recommend that everyone wears their elastic waist buffet pants and calls a cab to get home safely. There is much merriment indeed.
As I write this post, Mac Daddy, Bird, and Deal are outside sweeping the patio and chopping wood for tomorrow’s festivities. I have cases of prosecco and red wine underfoot and the trappings of a champagne bar lined up for my guests. Juice boxes are already in the cooler, and lemon scented water is on tap. The scent of rosemary spiced nuts mingles with the pungent gorgonzola cheese ball I just made (a recipe from my friend Gina‘s new cookbook Taste This! The Delicious Sequel). There are cookies to plate and tables to dress, dips to make and floors to sweep. If I find the gumption I might even try to get crafty and paint some pine cones gold to liven up the great outdoors.
But first, I make the punch. Rather, first, I make the decorative ice to chill the punch. And yes, I own a punch bowl, replete with the little hooks that dangle dainty cups off the side. My friend Christy was going to sell it in a yard sale (I know, crazy, right?), but I snapped it up.
Party Punch
3 liters cranberry juice
1 liter sparkling limeade
1 liter ginger ale
2 thinly sliced oranges
1 thinly sliced lime
Handful of cranberries
Vodka (1 ounce per cup or to taste)
Pour the cranberry juice, limeade, and ginger ale into a punch bowl. Add the frozen cranberry juice to keep it cool. Plop in the sliced orange and lime slices and a small handful of cranberries. Give it a stir. I serve the punch for the under 21 crowd and provide a bottle of chilled vodka for my of-age guests who want to imbibe some Christmas spirits.
Merry Christmas!
I’m hoping that my 5:00 Fridays book will be published in time to be the perfect holiday gift next year. If only Santa had some pull with agents or publishers… Ho Ho Ahem…
You set the scene for your party so well, I feel like I’m there! I too am working on an annual tradition (mine involves girlfriends bringing over their “unwanteds” so we can swap! I snagged a leather purse, sox for the kid and a scarf this year).
I got a punchbowl at a thrift store and it was a hit this year! But I didn’t have your recipe! 🙁 Next year.