Friday, December 18, 2015

By Barbara Pronin Most of us like to socialize with friends and neighbors during the holiday season. But with shopping, wrapping and family gatherings heading up many to-do lists, it may not be easy to find time to socialize without throwing a big, glitzy party.

The consumer editors at Better Homes and Gardens Magazine suggest simple party ideas guaranteed to please you and your guests without much stress or fuss:

Afternoon craft party – Get together with women friends for a casual afternoon craft session. Provide candles and glitter, wreath wire and greenery, ribbon, pine cones and glue guns – or decorating supplies and a couple dozen bare naked sugar cookies – and spend a few hours crafting, decorating, socializing, and enjoying tea and cookies or wine and snacks as you prefer.

Cookie exchange – Invite a few friends and ask each one to bring six dozen cookies for trading – a dozen of my chocolate thumbprints for a dozen of your raspberry bars. Provide refreshments and holiday music and send everyone home with a great new selection of cookies.

Tree decorating – Ask friends and neighbors to drop in one evening for supper and a tree trimming party. Keep the menu simple – a pot of chili or stew, perhaps – and  enjoy the social hour enjoying a chore you would need to do in any case.

Brunch open house – Set out an array of your favorite finger-food brunch treats – such as scrambled egg wraps, bacon-wrapped mushrooms, homemade or store-bought cinnamon rolls – and send out the word that guests are invited between 11 am and 1 pm. With plenty of coffee and tea on tap, sitting down to chat with friends should be both easy and rewarding.

Snow day get-together – When the kids have an unexpected snow day, call one or two if your kids’ friends and invite them – and their parents – to join you for an afternoon of games and hot chocolate. It’s a fun and easy way to host an impromptu party with little or no preparation needed.

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