admin | 10:57 am | October 30, 2008 | Celebrations.com
s year’s presidential election is fast approaching and it’s a tight race! Just as you’d gather with friends to watch a suspenseful sports match, why not make a party of watching the election night results. After you and your party guests have made the time to vote, throw a get-together and read on for election party ideas:
-Recycle old Independence Day party decor, dishware and utensils. Red, white and blue anything will do!
-Serve snack foods you’d put out for a television of movie party - popcorn, chips and dip, salsa and finger foods.
-Mix up some themed drinks (recipes below)!
-For more election party food ideas, decorate cookies, cupcakes or a cake with a patriotic theme - red, white and blue icing.
-Whip up a playlist of the presidential candidates’ favorite songs:
“Raisin McCain” by John Rich
“Yes, I can” by Will.i.am
“City of Blinding Lights” by U2
“Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys
“Barracuda”, by Heart
“Touch the Sky”, by Kanye West
Since election day is on a weekday and everyone needs to make time to vote as well, keep the party planning as no-fuss as possible.
Election Party Cocktails:
Barack on the Rocks
Ingredients
- 2 Oz Citrus Vodka
- 1 Oz Blue Curacao
- 1 Whole 1/2 juice from lime
Steps
- Combine all ingredients into shaker.
- Shake and pour into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.
- Garnish with a slice of pear
McCain Straight Up
Ingredients
- 2 Oz Respado Tequila
- 1/4 Oz simple syrup
- 6 Whole fresh Pomegranate seeds and juice
- 1 Oz passion fruit juice
- 1 Mint leaf for Garnish
Steps
- Muddle Pomegranate in base of shaker
- Add other ingredients; shake with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.
dianaheather | 10:10 am | October 29, 2008 | Celebrations.com
When entertaining this Thanksgiving, consider serving a special sampling of cocktails that commemorate the season and enhance the flavors of Thanksgiving dinner. Sage, a common spice in Thanksgiving stuffing, also makes for a great flavor in mojitos. Hazelnut, a wintry flavor, adds a delicious touch to cider. Check out these delicious ideas for Thanksgiving cocktails.
Sage Mojito
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 mint leaves
- 2 sage leaves
- 1 sage sprig (for garnish)
- 1 oz. syrup (recipe below)
- 2 oz. light rum
- Club Soda
Directions
- To Make Syrup: combine equal amounts of sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat until boiling and sugar has dissolved. Cool and transfer into a cruet or bottle.
- Add juice, mint, sage and syrup into a tall glass. Crush mint and sage using a muddler. Fill cocktail glass with crushed ice and add rum. Fill remainder of glass with club soda and stir. Garnish with a sage sprig.
Hazelnut Cider
Ingredients
- 1 gallon apple cider
- 2 pears, cut into wedges
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- Franjelico Liqueur
Directions
- Place cider, pears, cinnamon sticks and ginger in a large pot. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the cinnamon sticks.
- Serve cider in the pot over a low flame so guests can serve themselves a hot drink.
- Set a bottle of Franjelico nearby for adults to enhance their drinks.
dianaheather | 9:59 am | | Celebrations.com
What could be more beautiful that decorating with Fall leaves for Thanksgiving? Welcome Thanksgiving dinner guests to your home with a wreath on your front door. Using either real leaves of faux leaves, Thanksgiving wreaths are a fun and easy project and a great way to get the kids involved in the planning of Thanksgiving.
Materials:
- Aleene’s Tacky Glue
- Styrofoam wreath form
- real or faux Fall leaves
- inexpensive foam brush
Directions:
- Brush glue over the entire styrofoam wreath form.
- Layer the leaves around wreath in concentric tiers. Brush on glue as needed between layers.
- Allow glue to dry completely.
dianaheather | 3:49 pm | October 28, 2008 | Celebrations.com
It’s the time of year to start planning your Thanksgiving dinner menu. Thankgsiving dinner wouldn’t be complete without delicious dessert. Here’s a pecan tart recipe so you can add a touch of sweet to your Thanksgiving dinner:
Pecan Tart
- 1/2 Cup light brown sugar
- 1 Tsp vanilla extract
- 4 Tbsp Wild Turkey or Bourbon
- 8 oz. bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 Nine-inch frozen pie crust, thawed and brushed with melted butter
- 2 Tbsp unbleached flour
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 Cup light corn syrup
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups pecan halves, lightly toasted in oven for a few minutes
- 1/4 Cup melted unsalted butter
Steps
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In large bowl, sift together sugar and flour. In another bowl, add rest of the ingredients. Mix well.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Pour into crust and bake one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
dianaheather | 3:06 pm | | Celebrations.com
Sometimes it seems that your Thanksgiving dinner menu should be a no-brainer, right? Turkey is a given but what about side dishes? Here are a couple of creative side dish recipe ideas:
Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta
- 1.5 pounds of Brussel sprouts,
- 1/5 pound pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tsp chopped parsley
- 1 tsp chopped thyme
- Boil salted water in a large pot.
- Trim the Brussel sprouts and cut off any yellow leaves. Drop the trimmed sprouts in the boiling water for 4 minutes.
- Immediately place the drained sprouts in cold water.
- In a saute pan, place the cubed pancetta. Saute about 10 min, until crispy.
- Removed the pancetta but reserve some of the fat in the pan. Blot the pancetta on paper towels.
- Add the cooled Brussel sprouts to the saute pan and cook for 5 minutes.
- Place the pancetta back in the saute pan with the Brussel sprouts. Add thyme and parsley.
Haricots Verts in Olive Oil
- 2 lbs haricots verts, trimmed and cleaned
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Coarse sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
- In medium pot, place beans and oil.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes, until tender.
- Remove the haricots verts from the oil and place them on warm serving plate. Drizzle olive oil on top. Season with sea salt and pepper.
dianaheather | 11:36 am | | Celebrations.com
Christmas is celebrated in so many different ways in so many different parts of the world. Learning about different Christmas traditions is a great way to celebrate the holiday and to perhaps add to your own family’s annual traditions.
Did you know that Christmas in Australia occurs during one of the hottest times of their year? It’s summer in December! Instead of evergreen trees, Christmas is celebrated with a “Christmas Bush” and is adorned with red leaves.
In Germany, children leave their Christmas wish lists on their windowsills with a spoonful of sugar to entice Saint Nicholas.
In Italy, Italians gather at the Vatican to received blessings from the Pope on Christmas Day.
In the Ukraine, the youngest child of the family must watch for the first star to appear after before the family dinner can commence.
Check back soon for more Christmas traditions from around the world.
dianaheather | 3:08 pm | October 27, 2008 | Celebrations.com
Homemade Christmas candy makes for a thoughtful and inexpensive party treat or gift idea. Read on for delicious Christmas candy recipes. This toffee recipe is served best in a sweet crust.
Terrific Toffee
- 2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
- 1/4 cup tightly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
Steps
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the wafer crumbs, brown sugar and butter in a mixing bowl.
- Press into an ungreased 13″ x 9″. x 2″ baking pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Pour in topping (see recipe below).
Topping
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
Steps
- In a saucepan, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 1 minute. Pour evenly over crust.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand for 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand until chocolate is melted. Spread evenly over top; sprinkle with nuts.
- Cool completely before cutting and serving.
dianaheather | 12:55 pm | | Celebrations.com
A great way to make an easy cake is to bake a batch of cupcakes and assemble a cupcake cake. Because you can set up the cupcakes in a variety of shapes, the decorating possibilities seem endless! This Christmas tree inspired Christmas craft is easy for kids too. All you need is a batch of 2 dozen cupcakes and some frosting and food coloring.
- Bake any cupcake recipe. You can even use the boxed kind!
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing, about 2 hours.
- Use white icing - homemade or a store-bought can.
- Color about 75% of the frosting green, using food coloring.
- Color the rest of the frosting assorted colors of blue, yellow, brown (for the tree trunk) and red (for ornaments and bows).
- Make a triangle shape for the tree. I suggest 6 cupcakes for the base, then 5, 4 and so on to make a triangle.
- Ice the cupcakes in the triangle formation with the green icing. Use a decorator’s frosting tool with a decorative tip for a professional and polished look.
- Use two cupcakes in chocolate and place under the tree to form the base.
- Assemble four cupcakes in a square shape on either side of the tree base. These are “gifts.” Ice one of the squares yellow and the other blue.
- Use the rest of the frosting colors and the red icing to draw on ribbons, bows and ornaments.
- Draw a star with the yellow frosting on the uppermost cupcake.
dianaheather | 10:52 am | | Celebrations.com
Christmas caroling, a Christmas tradition dating back over 100 years in England, also makes for a great Christmas party idea. Have your guests gather at your house for an hour or so to enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres before heading out to entertain your neighbors with songs and Christmas cheer. Set the scene for a great night by serving festive drinks such as hot chocolate, eggnog and wassail. Ask guests to dress in red and distribute Santa hats before leaving so that everyone around town knows you’re party of a caroling group. Use tamborines and jingle bells. Print your song list and song lyrics in red or green folders so that everyone can follow along in their own, personal songbook. It makes a great party favor too!
The most sensible time to go caroling is between 7pm and 9pm, so as to avoid disturbing anyone during bedtime. Try to only serenade the homes of people you know.
Use caution when crossing streets. Be sure every child has a grownup looking after them. Pass out some flashlights or battery operated candles for safety.
admin | 3:19 pm | October 24, 2008 | Celebrations.com
istmas candy is a delicious treat to give as gifts or party favors. Believe it or not, many recipes are easier than baking cookies and they’re a delicious surprise when everyone else is busy with homemade cookies.
Here are a couple Christmas recipes which are easy to follow and contain easy-to-find ingredients.
Sweet Candy Drops
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 cup water, hot
Steps:
- In 2 quart saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt.
- Cook and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil.
- Cook until it forms a hard ball without stirring.
- Wipe crystals from the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush.
- Remove from heat.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk egg whites until peaks form.
- Pour the warm syrup over beaten egg whites while beating with electric mixer.
- Beat for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until mixture becomes stiff.
- Drop separate spoonfuls onto wax paper. Cool.
- Store at room temperature.
Sweet & Salty Treat
Ingredients:
- 20 mini pretzels
- 20 pecan halves
- 20 chocolate covered caramels
Steps:
- Heat oven to 300 degrees
- Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- On top of each of the pretzels, place a caramel candy.
- Bake the sheet of pretzels and caramel for 4 minutes.
- With caramel still warm and melty, top each with a pecan half.
- Cool and store in cool area, covered.
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