Suburban Bash: Holiday Progressive

This weekend was our neighborhood's Holiday Progressive dinner. They've been doing this for many, many years but since this was our first year I jumped at the chance to serve the dinner course. Then, when there wasn't anyone to host dessert I said I'd do that too. Then, I said, "Why don't you all just move into my house for a week! I'll buy you Christmas presents and fill your stockings too!"

Because that's how happy we are to be living here.

I asked veteran neighbors what the downfall of hosting dinner and dessert would be and they said, "Well, if you're the last house, people usually stay for a longer time."

Which is funny to me because Logan is always the last one to leave a party, usually after the hosts go to bed and turn out all the lights. So this would be perfect for us.

I love having parties and since moving we don't entertain more than we used to, but the act of doing it is a lot more pleasant. There are lots of ways to make your party smoother and less stressful, some you can afford (using paper napkins instead of cloth) and others you can not (hiring a caterer, wait staff, bartender and a separate venue). But after thinking about this for a while I think the only way to have a really fun party is to enjoy the process of throwing a party.

Logan and I both happen to love throwing parties, I like parties because I grew up in a house where I was ashamed to have people over. It was often dirty and smelled of smoke. Also there was that man who was more than likely drunk in the living room. Embarrassing. Having people to my home and making it warm and welcoming and feeling at ease with the chaos and mess of it all is my way of appreciating all we have.

Logan likes parties because he loves wearing a lampshade on his head and mixing cocktails which put people into jolly comatose states.

Here's how we made this party work, complete with pictures.    

At Ordering Disorder I asked for a recipe to serve around 20 people. Dawn came up with this stew from Cooks Illustrated. I ended up buying the meat at Costco (using a friend's membership, don't tell) to save money and the mortification of walking up to the meat counter and asking for 14 pounds of beef. I also had to purchase eight pounds of onions, which at Costco is entirely appropriate. In fact if you buy anything less than eight pounds of onions they point and laugh.

We made a trial batch of the stew on Friday night and as I filled a large dutch oven to the top with onions, Logan and I had a sudden thought, "What if that comment came from someone who actually hates me and wants me to serve a disgusting stew to our neighbors?"

We quickly did a scan of our cookbooks and found a nearly identical recipe called Belgian Beer Stew, and it turned out delicious, so Dawn was not attempting to sabotage my dinner. Thank you Dawn!

At our old house we hung our recipes on the magnetic hood over the range. In this house, we can't do that so we stuck it to the microwave with a little tape while we cooked. This is a surprisingly handy way to cook.

We also cooked the stew in batches so I pre-measured all the ingredients putting them in little dishes for Logan to throw into the pans. This worked pretty well and kept the mess and chaos to a minimum.

We served the stew over noodles and I made a gruyere baked macaroni and cheese for our vegetarian neighbors. Our whole meal, for just under 20 people, cost around $70 including bread and a huge pile of carrots we roasted in a little olive oil. I am not a good food blogger because I do not have pictures of the final product. If I could afford to have every party catered I would do it in a second, I excel at creating an atmosphere not cooking.

And here it is: The Atmosphere.

I moved our sofa, table and chair out of the living room and set up three borrowed tables in the room. I pulled together the chairs from my house and a couple neighbors. I borrowed white tablecloths from a  friend, rented dishes and flatware from a party rental place. I used 18 votives we have left from our wedding.  I bought the vases (low cylinders) from Michael's for $2.97 a piece and the hydrangea came from Costco for $9 a bunch. I used two bunches and had enough left over for a vase on the dessert table. I used some cranberries left in our fridge from Thanksgiving to give some color and hold the stems in place. I also added a long red ribbon as a runner down the middle of the table. Here's what it looked like at night.

And here is what it looked like full of happy people, including me....asleep.

We also had custom stir sticks made with S's on them. We like the S because it's the initial of our last name, but it also stands for lots of other great words. Like 'Sloshed'.

Logan also designed a logo for the party because nothing says 'Suburbs' like a logo for your holiday dinner party.

PS: We don't live on Blankwood Street.

After dinner we had dessert and ended up playing a game in the den. The game is called Hot Seat but a few of the neighbors and I screened the questions before playing. We removed a few cards with questions like, "Which person in the room would you like to see in sexy lingerie?" Also, "What's your preferred breast size?"

My hugs are awkward enough, I don't need to talk about anything having to do with sexuality with my neighbors. I mean, I love those guys but not in that way.

Although, judging by my face in this picture of me playing this game, we must have left in a really inappropriate question.

We spent the better part of yesterday cleaning up and making our dining room back into a dining room and our living room back into living room. By noon it looked like this.

Which means one thing, it's time for another party.

(You can see all the pictures in a set here. I think you should have a party.)

Comments

[bigpikchur.blogspot.com]

WOW! What a great looking party! Thanks for sharing all those handy tips. I loved your table decor the most, it looked adorable! Speaking of parties, this year I've vowed to go against all tradition and suggest that my friends & I skip the usual cookie exchange. In it's place, I came up with a much better idea: WINE EXCHANGE, though it might be more fitting to call it a "WINE POURING PARTY". Everyone should feel free to steal this idea, but extend an invite, would you?!
Jules
House of Jules

[Spandrel Studios]

You set a really gorgeous table! Hydrangeas are my favorite flower. Who knew you could pair them with cranberries?!

And the custom-logo cocktail napkins? Tres chic.

[CityMama™]

beautiful photos...just beautiful.

[susantoo]

We had progressive dinners freqently in our old(sob)dream neighborhood. We had 2 couples host each course at one house so one family cleaned and had it and the other did the food;it was really fun. I am living in hell now,I am glad you enjoyed your party!

[Andrea]

"Having people to my home and making it warm and welcoming and feeling at ease with the chaos and mess of it all is my way of appreciating all we have."

Oddly enough, this sentence was *life-changing* for me!

I usually refer to myself as "the hostess with the least" (you know, instead of the one with the "mostest"), because my house is a cluttery mess & I'm socially awkward, LOL!

But maybe I need to say "chuck it" and just throw a damn party already & have some fun!

[Melissa Summers]

Yes! That was something else I wanted to say. It breaks my heart to think of people living in these great places and not wanting people in their homes because it could get dirty. Or because they'll have to do work. Or because they're embarrassed of where they live.

I just want to be proud of where I live and I want people be happy in my home.

[Molly Chase]

The beef stew from Cook's Illustrated was the Belgian beef stew with onions and beer, right? That is one of my most favorite things to make for a crowd.

I'm starting a food blog in January. That carbonnade flammande is going to be one of my first recipes, I think. That gruyere baked mac and cheese sounds really good too; if you wanted to send that recipe to me I'd put it up too.

[NoPasaNada]

I'm having a party this weekend. It will not be nearly as adult looking but there will be lots of people who are sloshed/comatose.

I think by the end of it I will have had fun but right now I'm envious of your lovely dinner party. It looks so very grown up.

[Sta]

Party looks like something out of a magazine. You should be a party planner! Nothing like hydrangeas to make things look sophisticated.

Also... Maybe I live on your street? I live on a "Blank"wood in the same burb. Now I sound like a stalker, but seeing those napkins made me think. My street ends at the field behind a certain former high school.

[carrie]

I live in one of those totally groovy neighborhoods where we have dinner parties and cocktail hour and all kinds of fun. We host the holiday party, which we did last night. Thankfully everyone else's house is also as small as ours so they don't mind squeezing in. Our cat would eat any fresh flowers before the guests arrived so I always resort to using glass ball ornaments in vases. Oh, and I'm totally jealous that you have a logo. We need a logo for our neighborhood. Logan should get right on that for me. :)

[Genie]

I'm so glad you're back and writing at this site more! All these recent entries make me smile because you sound so damn content. Your party looks like a total success and I look forward to hearing more about future festivities.

[Molly]

Beautiful party, stunning photos. Truly looks like something out of a magazine!

[sneakyg]

I get hives when I have to host a kid birthday party because I worry that my goodie bags will be lame or my snacks will be insufficient, so I'm in awe of anyone who can have a real, grown-up party and make it look beautiful and effortless. Well done, you.

[Sisyphus]

I want to have a party now. We never have parties. This is lame of us.

Part of me thinks that we are kind of like the Summers family from a couple of years ago -- stuck in this neighborhood and not sure how to get out.

Well, we may be stuck for now, but we should still be having parties while we're here.

[Xdm]

Wow. We do A LOT of entertaining (remember I'm married to a gay event planner) and man am I impressed! Not only am I stealing the red ribbon/votive thing from you I think I'll try that stew as well.

[MemeGRL]

First time I found your site but won't be the last. Love especially the swizzle sticks and napkins, though my adoration of hydrangeas isn't far behind.
Can't wait to be inspired again soon. Thanks & happy holidays.

[Shannon]

Yes, but what did you serve for dessert??
:)

[V1ntageJenn]

We are hosting a holiday party this weekend and I have never thought of posting a recipe up on something like that. I'm so going to do that from now on (and the hydrangeas - pretty!) - Thanks for the tip!

[kb]

Great post, with great ideas. Even Apartment Therapy: Chicago mentioned it!
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/entertaining/from-suburban-bliss-holiday-progressive-dinner-038893

[Steve J]

Great party - although, really, there is no better way of getting to know your neighbors than a few inappropriate questions!

Your table was beautiful and everyone was smiling. What more can you ask for?

winescorecard.com

[Dawn]

I was so excited to read about how wonderfully the party turned out, and the atmosphere you created was stunning. The hydrangeas with cranberries are beautiful, and I am totally stealing the idea for the Christmas Eve gathering at our house.

Also, I am so glad that the Carbonnade Flammanade turned out so well for you. As I said, Cook's Illustrated is such a wonderful source because their recipes are truly no-fail. The added bonus of being able to make the dish well in advance, then just heating it on the stove as you join your guests in some cocktails, was one of the biggest reasons I recommended it. Besides, as I said, it is just plain out fun to say Carbonnade Flammande, especially with a couple of drinks thickening your tongue.

I can totally understand that you might think that someone would sabotage your party, and am glad that I proved to be trustworthy, and please know that I would have done the exact same thing with the research. Otherwise, you may have ended up with the trifle that Rachel made on "Friends" with the beef, strawberries, and whipped cream.

BTW, I was having trouble commenting on your post about the Chicago trip, so I sent you some info to your e-mail listed here, just so you know.

Congrats on the mention in Apartment Therapy too! Happy Holidays, Summers family!!

[merseydotes]

I looked at those napkins, not realizing that the red bar had been added in post, and I thought, 'They named they whole party for Wood?' Yes, I am that smart.

I have had that carbonnade flammanade from Cooks Illustrated in my recipe file for about a year and a half and have never made it. Now I'm going to have to give it a try.

[Hetty]

You know, I also grew up in a house where I would have cheerfully shot myself rather than have my friends over. We didn't have a drunk in the house but my mom had a galloping case of OCD and saved EVERYTHING -- meaning that one could barely navigate any room in the house because of the towering piles of "important stuff" everywhere. Which we were emphatically NOT allowed to throw out. So I hear ya. My husband and I also love to entertain, though it tends to be of the potluck and extremely informal variety. But you have inspired me! I think we will have to have some kind of party for the new year and do it up brown. I love the Costco hydrangeas! Great idea. Thanks for your tips list!! :)

[housecubeusa]

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