Christmas Cookie Challenge

 Christmas Cookie Challenge 

This is SO exciting!  My friend Kima of Kima's Konfections  is competing in Food Network's Christmas Cookie Challenge.   I had no idea she was doing this until she announced it in November.  She had to keep things all hush-hush.  I don't know how she did it.  I would be bursting at the seams wanting to tell someone.  I was so excited for her that as soon as I found out I invited my friends to a viewing party. As I type this on Sunday night the episode my friend is in hasn't aired yet. It airs on Monday, when this post goes live in the morning.  So if you're reading this now, be sure to come back after Monday to get the update. 

In preparation for the viewing party I got out my Wilton Cookie Cutter set, seen below and available on Amazon.   I looked up a sugar cookie recipe and decided on Semisweet Mike's. The almond scent filled the air as the cookies baked and made the kitchen smell so good.  I of course had to try one once they were done baking to make sure they baked ok. I haven't baked sugar cookies since we got our new oven.  The almond comes through lightly in the baked cookies and tastes delicious even without frosting.  I also used Semisweet Mike's royal icing recipe.  It turned out just like the pictures on his site.
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My plan for these cookies was to pipe an outline and then flood the cookies.  After outlining all the cookies I decided not to flood them.  Cookies are not something that I make. I'm a cupcake baker so I didn't want to throw too many techniques at myself at once.  Shoot, it took me longer then expected just to pipe the cookies the way I did.  I decided I would just pipe the frosting on and smooth it out with a toothpick.  Oh my goodness, I have mad respect for cookie artists.  Piping cookies is not as easy as I thought it would be.  You can see I smudged Santa's hat there.

I did the candy canes first and you can tell because the icing isn't as smooth.  The candy canes were my learning cookies for sure.  The Santa hat's turned out so much better.  My smoothing with the toothpick technique definitely improved.  Next time I want to try flooding.

Be sure to come back to see if Kima's Konfections won and more viewing party pics. I'll be updating this post the day after the episode airs. 

Christmas Ice Cream

Christmas Movie Night and Hot Cocoa Ice Cream

**Some products provided to me by Oriental Trading. I've been shopping at Oriental Trading for years and am excited to be working with them**

I am a sucker for limited edition holiday foods. So when I saw Dreyer's Frozen Hot Chocolate ice cream I HAD to try it.  I knew it would be perfect for a Christmas movie night.  

Get that fire roaring and make the house all cozy for your friends coming in from the cold. 

Instead of serving hot cocoa for my Christmas movie night I served up hot chocolate ice cream. 

Make your toppings more festive by wrapping them in holiday paper. I wrapped whipped cream, chocolate syrup and caramel syrup in snowflake paper.  By wrapping the toppings in snowflake paper it keeps the snowman theme going. 

Fill up these great sweater mugs from Oriental Trading with hot chocolate ice cream or any ice cream flavor you love. Than let your friends add their own toppings. 

After pouring on some chocolate syrup or caramel syrup and squirting on some whipped cream, your guests can top off their ice cream with peanuts, peppermint marshmallows or Christmas sprinkles. 

After you and your guests make your ice cream creation, pick a Christmas movie, get cozy and enjoy. 

Shop this party:

Tray, snowman and sweater mugs- Oriental Trading 

Marshmallows- Kraft Jet Puffed 

Christmas sprinkles- Wilton 

Snowman slippers- Old Navy 

Christmas Movie Night

What do you do when it snows all night and closes your work the next day?  You stay home, throw on some comfy fleece and watch Christmas movies all day.

It rarely snows in Portland, Oregon so when it does we get out and enjoy it.   I've always liked making mini snowmen over regular sized snowmen.  They're just so cute and easy to make.  As you can see these snowmen are having a little party.  Candyfetti™ from Sweetsindeed adds a little colour to this party. It's like confetti and every party needs confetti.

After playing in the snow it was time to warm up and relax with some Christmas movies.  December is such a busy month and it seems like there's never time to just relax. So a snow day makes for a great reason to just enjoy doing nothing.  These are just some of our favorite Christmas movies. We have the classics too.  Do you have a favorite Christmas movie? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Playing in the snow makes my hands cold so before we sat down to watch some movies I set up a little hot cocoa bar. 

I like to party up my hot cocoa with sprinkles, peppermint sticks, a dash of flavor and marshmallows. I like to make my hot cocoa look like it came from a fancy coffee shop.

I really like adding marshmallows to my hot cocoa and these marshmallow pops by Shari's Berries  are perfect. The little sprinkles remind me of a party and these pops melt right in the cocoa.

Snacks are a must while watching movies and the classic assorted truffle box from Shari's Berries  has a little something for every one. These little truffles pop in your mouth just like popcorn.  I like that there is white chocolate included in the mix because I like white chocolate the best.  My man went for the dark chocolate.  Can you tell we were excited about the snow!

With Christmas a few weeks away there's still time to host a movie night.  The beauty of a Christmas movie night is they're so easy to do last minute.  You don't need to decorate because you already have Christmas decor up, you can stream movies if you don't own any and treats abound this time of year.

Shop this party:
Styling and photography by Fizzy Party
Little hat on the snowman: Fancy That PDX 
Candyfetti™: Sweets Indeed 
Gingerbread men Mugs: Crate and Barrel 
White cake plate: World Market 
HoHo platter: Michaels 
Marshmallow pops and chocolate truffles: Shari's Berries 

Christmas Cards and Cocktails

Let's face it, filling out Christmas cards can seem like they take FORever to fill out. You sit at the table all by yourself filling out the cards because it's always the women who fill out the cards. Not the men. Am I right?

This year why not make it fun!  Gather your girlfriends for a Christmas cards, cupcakes and cocktails night.  Filling out cards with friends is way more fun then doing it alone.  Your house is probably already decorated for Christmas so this mini party won't cut into your Christmas budget.

For this mini party we sat at my dining room table to fill out the cards.  I wanted to make the area festive and fun so I splashed the wall with red and white snowflakes and fun tassel garland.   The table was left pretty bare of decor so we had room to write our our cards.

When serving cocktails it's always a good idea to serve some food too.  If you're not serving a full meal, bread and dip is a good option.  It's easy to make, easy to eat while writing out cards, and everyone loves it. You could serve a couple different dips or just one like I did.  I chose Spinach Parmesan because it's just.so.good.

Have some craft supplies on the table in case you have some crafty friends who want to do more then just write in their cards.  Glitter glues, stickers, stamps and ribbon are just a few things you could have on the table.

I just love these little reindeer pull back toys from Oriental Trading.  They add festiveness to the table and your guests can take them home to their kids.  They make great stocking stuffers too. Stockings were always my favorite part of Christmas.  They're packed full of fun little items.

These reindeer plates and napkins fit the party perfectly.  Festive, fun and cocktail in hand these reindeer are ready to get those Christmas cards done and sent out early.  My friends loved the napkins the best.  We talked about how they'd be great for a New Years party too.  A reindeer theme works for New Years, with Christmas over the reindeer are ready to relax and ring in the New Year. See, it works!

Drink stirrers aren't always necessary, it depends on the drink, but they sure are fun.  These drinks didn't need stirrers but they looked fun and I like adding little details that match the theme of the party I'm throwing.

We had a lot of cards to fill out so a sugar break was a must.  If you don't feel like baking cupcakes you can pick up store bought ones like I did here and embellish them with candy sprinkles.

Cheers! to getting our cards done early and having fun doing it too.

Before your guests head home with all their finished Christmas cards be sure to give them their party favor.  I always like to send my guests home with a little something.  I filled festive boxes with cookies for my guests to enjoy later or to share with their family.

Are you ready to have more fun filling out your Christmas cards this year?

 Shop this party:
Styling, concept and photography by:  Fizzy Party 
Backdrop decor, plates, napkins, drink stirrers, pull back reindeer, candy canes, cookie boxes: Oriental Trading 
Mini trees and mini disco balls: Target 
Stamps, ink pads, stickers:  Michaels 
Cookies: Loft House 
Cards: Shutterfly 

Surrounded by Plaid Among the Trees

Welcome back to part two of Embracing the plaid trend this holiday season.  I took the Christmas party outdoors this year and instead of having a Christmas Open House  party we went and hunted for the perfect tree.

 Plaid is SO hot during the holiday season and can be found every where right now.  And it looks fabulous among all the trees at the tree farm.  Whether you cut down a tree or go faux a hot chocolate bar is a must and so easy to do.

Since we were out at a tree farm and there was just a small group of us I kept the hot cocoa bar simple.

I was blown away by the cookies Creating Awesomenessity  made.  When I placed my order I sent her my Pinterest inspiration board and this is what she created.  Aren't they just the cutest!!

Hot cocoa and donuts just go together and fueled us before the hunt.  Even with a little rain, these mini donuts were still delicious.

Party tip: Save yourself some time and stress and buy store bought or bakery cupcakes.   Liners that match your theme, sprinkles and cupcake toppers dress up store bought cupcakes and give them the wow factor.

Dress up your hot cocoa with fun sprinkles and mini donuts and prepare for the hunt.

Load up your thermos with hot cocoa to keep you warm as you walk the tree farm looking for the perfect tree.

Have a little fun at the tree farm by bringing props to help your friends know that you've found the one.

Walking around a tree farm to find the perfect tree can work up a thirst. Depending on how long it takes you to find the perfect tree.  Some people can pull up to a tree farm and pick out their tree within 5 minutes. Others need to take their time and walk all over the farm to be sure they don't leave the perfect one behind.

Not all people like root beer but I do and thought it would be fun to create some tags to match the party theme. Root Deer anyone?  :) hee hee

Are you inspired?  I hope so!! If you are, shop this party here ⇩⇩

Styling, concept, and photography by Fizzy Party
Plaid pillow: Shutterfly 
Location: Sleighbells Gift Shop and Tree Farm 
Graphics: Small Moments 
White fur table runner: TJ Maxx
Plaid table linen: Joann Fabric and Craft 
Gold glitter box, truck with trees, glitter deer and black straws: Michaels
Buffalo check cups, mini wood trees, little trees and fur pillow: Target 
Tree and truck paper and felt banner: Inkberry 
Red cake plate: World Market 
Retro thermos: Suddenly Surrounded by Taxidermy
Cookies: Creating Awesomenessity 
Cupcake toppers: Fancy and Fold
Mini donuts: Green Mountain Mini Baked 
Green sugar, Mini candy cane sprinkles, holly sprinkles: Wilton 

Oh Snap! Sweets Christmas Party

Oh Snap!  It's party time! December means Christmas Open House parties and when I saw this invitation I had this years theme.  I filled the cute invitation with  fun custom confetti from The Confetti Bar . If you pop over to Instagram and type in #FizzyPartyOhSnap you'll see lots of party fun.

With that sweet little gingerbread man on the invitation hinting of what was to come at the party I didn't disappoint my guests.   My fav, gummy sweets by Sweets Indeed  were served with happy little gingerbread men on them. It was super hard not to eat these before the guests arrived.  Seriously guys, I have a major gummy candy addiction.  Candifetti, the newest addition to the Sweets Indeed family added colour to the bottom of the jar.

Gingerhead Cookies  did a great job creating cookies based off the invitation. How cute is that gingerbread man!

Sno-Ball fight! Fancy and Fold's gingerbread man toppers are the perfect accent to the Sno-Ball cakes. They were as close to snow as we've received this year.

Marshmallow pops by Sparkling Sweets Boutique.  These are fun to dip into your hot cocoa. Hot cocoa is a must for December parties. It warms everyone up when the weather outside is chilly.

Cute cupcake toppers by Edible Details add whimsy to cupcakes and your table.  Add some festive fun by sitting the cupcakes on top peppermint sticks.  Your guests might sneak one to add to their hot cocoa and that's ok.  Peppermint in hot cocoa is so nummy.

Delicious cookies by Gingerhead Cookies and gingerbread mini donuts by Green Mountain Mini Baked kept guests sweet tooth's satisfied. Don't you just love those plates, they're from Create Ur Plate.   They match the them perfectly. Oh Snap! someone ate my leg!

Comfy squishy pillows and a cozy blanket helped the guests relax and enjoy the afternoon with friends. All stress about the holiday's was forgotten for a few hours.

I always send my guests home with a Thank You and party favor.  I love that these thank you cards carry the theme to the back of the card as well.

Guests were sent home with gingerbread sugar scrubs sporting a custom label from Small Moments. This scrub makes your shower smell sooo good and your skin so incredibly soft.  I used A Pumpkin and a Princess's recipe.   I used dark brown sugar which works just as well as light brown.

If you liked this Christmas party you might also like:

Christmas Open House Goodies

Elf Christmas Open House party 

Vendors:

Fizzy Party - Styling, photography, tulle poms
The Confetti Bar - Custom confetti
Sweets Indeed - Candy Kabobs and Candifetti
Gingerhead Cookies - Cookies
Fancy & Fold - Gingerbread man cupcake toppers
Ten 23 Designs - Wood hashtag and wood gingerbread man backdrop
Sparkling Sweets Boutique - Marshmallow pops
Edible Details - Cupcake toppers
Green Mountain Mini Baked - Gingerbread mini donuts
Create Ur Plate - Plates
Small Moments - Custom label for sugar scrub
Tiny Prints - Invitations, thank you notes, pillows, and blanket