Staying home for the holidays may be JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) of travel snags and family dramas. Dial up the family for a holiday toast or bake cookies together. Here’s some cool ideas for making Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Hanukkah and Christmas merry and bright.
Cater The Meal: Order from your local grocers for a meal to go or sides/appetizers/desserts. Publix, Winn-Dixie, Fresh Market can help make it easy peasy. Shaner’s Land & Sea Market, Bayway Country Store and Butcher Shop, Mazzaro’s Italian Market, Pipo’s, Bellair Market and Bayou Market & Café provide platters and dishes ready to heat and serve. Go Italian with a baked pasta dish from Gennaro’s to accompany your ham orturkey and pick up flowers for the table from Lou’s Florist. Ask Siri to play your favorite tunes and enjoy the party.
Host A Potluck: Have a plan and a theme, assign a dish or décor, and let it go (no control freaking). Break the meal into categories (appetizers, sides, entrée, bread, desserts) and make sure you know what your small group of socially distant guests may be allergic to (or won’t eat/vegan/gluten-free) and be sure to have them bring what they want. For those who don’t like to cook, suggest bringing the snacks, or elbow grease to clean up. Touch base in advance and have a few dishes on hand just in case something falls thru. Set up the bar and the buffet and if you can, entertain al fresco. Easiest of all potlucks is a brunch, where a pre-made frittata, muffins, mimosas and a Bloody Mary station with all the fixings make Sunday funday any day.
The Holiday Table: Rosemary sprig place cards, a rustic country garden table set with oversized glass vases filled with white flowers and surrounded by pine cones, firefly bunch lights in an oversized glass bowl…all of these ideas and more can be found on Pinterest and easily executed by your trusty elves (kids). One year, we decided to do a luau Christmas, serving up a pig roast to go with the deep-fried turkey in SoCal and a Santa-themed Aloha shirt (even better than an ugly sweater contest). Be whimsical. If your family adores rubber ducks, mix them into your holiday table décor.
Holiday Party Tips: Make is simple, make it fun. Your vibe will be the party vibe, best served with aromatic décor and seasonal tunes. An appetizer party is best, because you can prep or pick up ahead, and focus on mingling.
Edible Gifts: In addition to wine and
candles, a favorite hostess gift is snacks and baked desserts. We love Sway-rey and Wandering Whisk for their holiday confections (order ahead), Karma Juice Bar for healthy sips, La Casa del Pane for homemade breaks and focaccia, Salty Sisters gourmet popcorn, Kilwin’s truffles and fudge, Rocket Fizz and The Candy Kitchen for goofy sweets and vintage treats and House of Sweets. For the cook, herbs and spices from Savory Spice Shop and The Spice & Tea Exchange are always welcome and be sure to browse Gulfport’s new Stella’s shop next to the restaurant.
Holiday Décor: Your local museum gift shops and crafts galleries, including places like Shapiro’s purvey unique holiday lighting and decorations. Of the chains, you can always pick up inexpensive tableware and cute decorations at The Dollar Tree, Home Goods, Tuesday Morning, TJMaxx, Marshall’s and antique/vintage shops. The Corey Market on Sunday, downtown pop-up markets and Vintage Marche make it easy to theme up your holiday splash. Or do it yourself with crafty ideas from Pinterest or ETSY items. Robert’s Christmas World is the closest you’ll come to Santa’s North Pole.
HOLIDAY RECIPES
Parmesan Chive Chips
- 5 oz. package potato chips
- 1/4 c. finely grated Parmesan
- 1/4 c. chopped chives
Directions: Spread potato chips on rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350°F just until warm. Immediately toss with finely grated Parmesan and chopped chives.
Pigs In A Blanket
- 12-oz package cocktail franks
- 2 tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough
- 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. caraway seeds
- Mustard, for serving
Directions: Heat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with parchment. Unroll dough and brush with mustard. Cut each triangle in half lengthwise to create 2 skinnier triangles. Place 1 frank on each wide end of dough, then roll up and arrange on prepared sheet in two concentric circles, making sure dough on both circles touches. Beat egg with 1 Tbsp water, brush over dough and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Serve with mustard.
Arugula Pesto Crostini
- 2 c. baby arugula
- 1/3 c. grated Parmesan
- 1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
Directions: In food processor, pulse arugula, Parmesan, pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Try it on crostini: Spread toasted bread with ricotta; top with pesto, pine nuts and lemon zest.
