January 27, 2014

 

Chinese New Year- Year of the Horse

The last two years I've had a few friends over to celebrate Chinese New Year.  See the other two parties here and here.  I keep this party small, inviting three friends to fill my four seat table. I decorate the table only and if you'll notice, I reuse some of my decorations. Nothing wrong with reusing.
2014 is the Year of the Horse and my friend Karen, who loves horses helped with the table décor. She brought over her horses from China.
When hosting a party, always check if your friends have something that you could use for décor. Friends like to help out and you can add some items to your party without having to spend more money. You'll find that your friends want to be involved with the party and help if they can.


For drinks I mixed orange juice, sparkling water and ginger ale. I had found this recipe in a Sandra Lee magazine. You just mix equal parts of all three ingredients. My friends noticed the small touch and enjoyed the bamboo paper straws I used to tie into the theme.  Thank you to my friend Tara who sent these to me. You can read her adventures of a city girl moved to Montana here.    
Red envelopes filled with money are traditional at Chinese New Year.  I filled mine with a lottery ticket, hoping my friends would win a little money. I picked these because they had Chinese New Year colours of red and gold.
For food I did a combination of homemade and take-out.  For homemade I did  Spring Rolls and Pot Stickers. The spring rolls weren't a big hit. I over cooked the veggies a little, oops, so they were a little mushy. And one of my friends admitted to me, she's not a veggie lover. The pot stickers however were delicious. They were easy to make and my guests really enjoyed them. The recipe makes a lot but you can freeze them :) 
Take-out rounded out the rest of the food. Why stress yourself out by making everything homemade. Kristina brought some take-out too.

Gold take-out containers served as party favors filled with Pineapple Tart Cookies.
Cookies were wrapped in red foil and I added a caramel Lindor truffle for a touch of gold.
Pineapple Tart cookies and Almond Cookies were served for dessert. My guests and husband really like the almond cookies. My guests thought the pineapple tart cookies had a nice taste. I found them to be a little dry and wished they had more filling.  These cookies were a little labor intensive.



A big thank you to my guests Karen for bringing her horses, Kristina for bringing some take-out, and Tara for sending me those great straws.
I hope you throw a mini Chinese New Year party too.  Never under estimate the FuN of a small party.

2015 will be the Year of the Sheep

9 comments :

  1. Another great year celebration! I still have a few of the favors from the Year of the Dragon. :) I'm glad you had a use for the straws, too.

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    1. We missed you this year TheMistressT. I know it would be a lot to ask of you to drive all the way from Montana to come celebrate with us. Everyone said Hi!

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  2. What cute ideas! I love the idea of giving lottery tickets to celebrate the holiday. What a sweet gift idea!

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    1. Thank you Natalie. My guests thought the lottery tickets were a fun idea. Both of them are still working so looks like neither one won big but they're still fun.

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  3. Oh! Fabulous! I'm taking the liberty of sharing on my own blog.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the post Virginia. I ask that if you share on your blog you give proper credit. Thank you.

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  4. Another FAB party makes me want to come next year!!!!!

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  5. Another FAB Party makes me wish I had been their!!!

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