Anatomy of a Christmas Party

I’m throwing a family Christmas get-together, and in the process have gone a liiittle Christmas crackers. Join me! Here’s what you need for Christmas fête:

1. Festive Holiday Gear (I got these Paperchase antlers at Borders)
2. Good Sparkling Wines Under $15 (see full post).
3. Gingerbread Cookies (see full post).
4 & 5. Holiday Movies & Music: After exhausting favorites like Rudolph, A Christmas Story, & Elf, we decided to try some new ones. Nick Picks Holiday was a nostalgic hit, Jingle All the Way was hilarious in a train-wreck way, and The Shop Around the Corner is just a classic. For music, Ralph Lauren Holiday Collection, Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, and Now That’s What I Call Christmas! are perennials; I also like Yule Be Miserable, the KT Tunstall Holiday Collection, & Bette Midler’s version of “Mele Kalikimaka.”
6. Food (see picture below).
7. Party Favors (chocolate-covered potato chips, mini-bottles of Freixenet, Burt’s Bees Lip Balm, & a desktop ping pong set).
8. Candles & Scents (these candles are all from Ikea; I also bought Harvest Apple candles from Target, but they had almost no scent, very disappointing. Williams Sonoma mulling spices, however, smell divine when boiled and are worth the money).
9. Games (We love Taboo, Cranium, & Apples to Apples; The Games Bible also had lots of fun ideas).