Friendsmas Holiday Party!

This past weekend, Chris and I hosted a Friendsmas party! We had originally planned to host a Friendsgiving, but November was too jam-packed to get anything sorted, so we postponed the party until December and had a Christmas-themed party instead. We filled our apartment with friends and ate delicious food, indulged in sweet drinks, and shared lots of laughter.

What to drink at a Friendsmas holiday party | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

WHAT TO EAT AT FRIENDSMAS: POTLUCK DINNER

Chris and I made a ham and roasted maple bacon Brussels sprouts (one of my favorite side dishes!). Our friends brought an assortment of other dishes, which included bacon-wrapped and cream cheese-stuffed dates, teriyaki BBQ chicken, roasted potatoes, stuffing, a tomato bake, rolls, and lil' smokies. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture any photos before we dug in! It was all so yummy and filled us right up.

How to host a Friendsmas holiday party: Hot chocolate bar | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

How to host a Friendsmas holiday party: What to have on a hot chocolate bar | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

FRIENDSMAS HOT CHOCOLATE BAR!

After dinner, we continued to drink wine (of course), but Chris and I also supplied a hot chocolate bar! We made creamy hot chocolate in our crockpot, and our friends could choose from an assortment of goodies to finish their drinks: either caramel or whipped cream vodka (or both), candy canes, Pirouette chocolate cookies, soft caramel candies, and marshmallows. I didn't get to drink much of it before it disappeared. For some reason, I wasn't expecting it to go as quickly as it did! It would be super fun to make this again with my family and actually get more than a couple of sips of hot chocolate. ;) I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it! I had a lot of fun making the island display look pretty, as you can tell.

How to host a Friendsmas holiday party: White elephant gift exchange | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Friendsmas holiday party activity: White elephant gift exchange | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

FRIENDSMAS ACTIVITY: WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE

In addition to the food, we also had a white elephant gift exchange! On the bottom of each mug, Chris had taped a piece of paper with a number, and that's how we determined the order in which it would go. The gift exchange was hilarious. To start it off, the one child in attendance (a two-year-old) had first pick, and he miraculously picked the one appropriate gift, which ended up being a Mr. Potato Head toy. We were all in shock! How did he know?! Haha. Other gifts included candy, an adult coloring book, a candle and cute Christmas sign (what I bought and ended up stealing from someone else because I loved them so much!), Poo-Pourri, bubbles, a snowflake ornament made of salt, a stein with a polar bear head (Chris's gift, which was stolen three times!), and a unicorn head (stolen once)!

What to eat at a Friendsmas holiday party: Homemade sweet treats | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

How to host a Friendsmas holiday party: Cookie bag party favors | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

FRIENDSMAS PARTY FAVORS

We finished up the party with an assortment of sweet treats: apple pie, cookies, fudge, and oreo balls. As a parting gift, Chris and I put together little paper bags with homemade cookies. Chris made his favorite cream cheese sugar cookies, and I made peppermint crinkle cookies (so delicious and easy!). I modified mine to be dairy-free for one of my friends, which just involves substituting margarine for butter, Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut spread for Nutella, and buying chocolate with no milk. I also made gift tags out of my old blog business cards!

Our first Friendsmas was definitely a success, and I hope we have another party next year! :)