Entertaining During the Holiday Break

If you’re a parent like me, entertaining others may be the last thing on your to-do list, and it may fill you with anxiety to think about piling people into your home when your kids get out of school. But entertaining doesn’t have to be stressful, and it can truly become a joy…take it from me! Yes, I love decorating and hostessing, but I know not everyone does, and I’ve learned some tips and tricks over the years for creating a place of rest amid the holiday hustle. Here are some ideas for creating memories with your loved ones this season (hint: they don’t have to always be in your house!)

Source: Pexels.com

-Host a gingerbread decorating party: This one is super simple, although it sounds complicated. Each guest or family brings their own house. The houses can be home-made if they are feeling crafty, or they can find a pre-made one somewhere like Trader Joes or even Target for about $10. One great tip is if you don’t plan to eat your house after you decorate it, you can also hot glue the sides together for maximum hold! This is helpful for little ones who are decorating and who aren’t quite as careful with the glueing. Obviously if you plan to eat your house, be sure to use something like Royal icing to construct it. We do this every year, and I provide all the decorations, such as frosting bags, candy, and other fun little items to make the houses festive. It’s a great way to bring everyone together, and to see all the different designs! 

-Walk through a local town to look at lights: This one is the simplest idea of all because you don’t even have to clean your house (wink, wink!). Each year, we do this with friends and family in Ashland, Oregon. We get our favorite hot drink (cocoa), and do a tour of all the prettiest lights in the city. Afterwards, you could host a dessert bar, or simply bid your loved ones goodbye after the tour! Be sure to dress in warm layers. If you want to take it up a notch, use google to locate light trolleys, where you can ride around a city with ease!

-Keep it simple: These days, instagram and Pinterest can make hosting a holiday gathering feel daunting. But a meaningful night doesn’t have to include hand-written placecards. If you are unable or not wanting to cook a huge meal, considering getting take-out, putting it out on a beautiful set table, and tossing all the containers afterwards. With pretty dishes and a houseful of people you love, no one will care that you didn’t do the cooking, truly! You could do a rotisserie chicken from the store, with a heaping salad and a fresh loaf of bread, and make it as beautiful as a home-cooked meal. Pretty dishes and serving platters can amp up something store-bought to something truly memorable. 

-Host a day to give back: It can be easy as parents to get caught up in the gift lists and to-do’s, but I know I always try to encourage my kids to focus on others who are less fortunate. I don’t do a perfect job, but it’s important to our family values. Consider hosting a night to pack up gifts for foster children, to volunteer in a shelter or soup kitchen, or to do gift wrapping for the elderly or those who may not be able to do it themselves. This is a really nice way to connect with the people that mean the most to you, and do something truly worthwhile. 

Holiday Baking with Peggy Porschen

You may remember me writing about my favorite bakery, right in the heart of London. I wrote about it in THIS POST about Europe, and her amazing confections always make me festive around the holidays! I dream of being as incredible as her in the decorating/baking department, and each year, I love making these delicious cookies with my children. Baking holds special memories for me, and I hope it also creates new ones for my girls! (All images via Peggy Porschen website, 2017)

Sugar cookie recipe
via Peggy Proschen's cookbook, "Cookies"

Makes about 25 medium-sized or 12 large cookies

• 200g unsalted soft butter 
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten 
• 400g plain flour, plus more for dusting

Optional flavours

• For vanilla cookies, add seeds from 1 vanilla pod 
• For lemon cookies, add finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• For orange cookies, add finely grated zest of 1 orange 
• For chocolate cookies, replace 50g of the plain flour with 50g cocoa powder

1. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and chosen flavouring until well mixed and just becoming creamy in texture. Don’t overwork, or the cookies will spread during baking.
2. Beat in the egg until well combined. Add the flour and mix on low speed until a dough forms. Gather it into a ball, wrap it in cling film and chill it for at least 1 hour.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it briefly. Using marzipan spacers, roll it out to an even thickness.
4. Use cookie cutters to cut out the desired shapes and, using a palette knife, lay these on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Chill again for about 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 180C/160Cfan/350F/gas 4.
5. Bake for 6–10 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown at the edges. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Wrapped in foil or cling film, they will keep well in a cool dry place for up to a month.

Tip Always bake equally sized cookies together to make sure they cook in the same time. If you mix different sizes, the smaller ones are already cooked when the larger ones are still raw in the middle.

Royal Icing Recipe via Peggy Porschen's
"Pretty Party Cakes" cookbook

• 25g merriwhite (dried egg white powder)

• 1kg icing sugar, sifted

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Equipment
• Sieve

Kitchen Aid / electric mixer
spoon
sealable plastic container
j-cloth
Method

Mix the merriwhite with 150ml water and pass through a sieve to get rid of any lumps.
Place the icing sugar in the clean bowl of an electric mixer, add about three-quarters of the merriwhite mixture and the lemon juice, and start mixing on low speed.
Once the sugar and the merriwhite are well combined, check the consistency. If the sides of the bowl still look dry and crumbly, add some more merriwhite until the icing looks almost smooth but not wet.
Keep mixing for about 4-5 minutes, until it has reached stiff-peak consistency.
Spoon into a plastic container, cover with a clean damp j-cloth and the lid. Store at room temperature.
Royal Icing Consistencies

Simply thin down your basic royal icing with water, a little bit at a time, mixing with a palette knife, until you have the right consistency. Keep your icing covered with cling film or a damp cloth when not using it, to stop it from drying out.

Stiff-peak consistency: for piping sugar flowers and leaves
Soft-peak consistency: for piping lines, dots and borders
Runny consistency: for filling in the centres of spaces