Holiday Hosting With Style

I have hosted quite a lot over the past few months (more on that in another post), so much so that I thought I’d share some of my hosting tips for you all to keep for next year, or adapt to other seasons when we, hopefully, can do some of it outside in warmer weather. 

I am a really sentimental person and am fortunate to have amassed quite a nice collection of family pieces that come in quite handy when hosting, but that we also use on a daily basis and double as beautiful display pieces. I can’t even think of the last time I purchased something to use when hosting a crowd because my family has been gifting me these useful and beautiful items since I was a teenager. Boy am I glad I never thought to follow trends and replace these heirlooms with whatever has been “in” at the time.

One of my favorite things to snack on and serve is a well-stocked charcuterie platter. In addition to making many sizes of these to fit the amount of guests we host, I’ve also enjoyed making individual charcuterie coupes, and I can tell you that they have been a hit.

I have these beautiful sterling champagne coupes that serve infinite purposes, from the obvious, to holding mousse or pudding (bonus that the silver chills nicely and you can keep them on a tray in the fridge and pull out right before serving), holding an assortment of charcuterie bamboo skewers or festive and gourmet popcorn. The uses are endless, and their presentation is elevated and festive.

Last night, on New Year’s Eve, I lined up a row of them on our bar for each adult and made a platter for the teenagers and a platter of charcuterie cocktail picks for the adults to grab.

I find the success here is threefold: you can snack for awhile without needing to return to the food table; they add unique visual interest to a setting; and it’s easier to hold one of these than it is to balance a plate with a utensil sliding around as you move.

I filled mine with items of varying size, texture, and color, which is, generally, a key to successful design no matter the medium. Long flatbread crackers provide height, and wooden bamboo skewers are easy to find and easy to use. I mix a variety of cornichons in both savory and sweet/hot, picked pearl onions, a variety of olives, cubes and chunks of cheddar, Sartori, mimolette, and a Swiss or Gruyere with raspberries and blueberries. In the bottom of the coupe are a pile of roasted and salted pecans, shelled pistachios and sweet and hot roasted almonds. Adding a few crackers somewhere in the mix adds stability. 

On Christmas my daughter filled our green and 24kt gold Italian crystal coupes with chocolate mousse she made. Topped with a wafer cookie, they were a beautiful and indulgent dessert.

I collect crystal and love using this burgundy crystal shallow bowl/platter hybrid from Romania for caprese skewers, which are so easy to make with mini mozzarella balls in oil, cherry tomatoes, a basil leaf, and garnished with a quick glaze of balsamic. I use this one for its taste and convenience. This is also so perfect in the summer. Bonus if you grow your own cherry tomatoes like me and you can make these anytime. I loved how the red, white and green were extra festive for us last night.

I made a quick, easy and delicious punch for the teens by mixing the seasonal Cranberry Ginger Ale with no pulp orange juice. In order to make it easier to dispense from my beverage dispenser, I stacked two sterling monogrammed trivets atop each other and it gave a nice sparkle to this little side table drink station.

I have a huge silver-plate bowl that my husband filled with snow and which housed a few bottles of wine, a bottle of champagne, some bottled water and sparkling water. This is a great, versatile item I was gifted quite a long time ago and which looks a lot classier than a plastic cooler. 

I love Revere bowls. Basically anything of this aesthetic is a win for me. My mother has gifted me several sterling and silver-plate Revere bowls in various sizes over the years and I find them incredibly handy for serving and display. I used one of my larger ones last evening and filled it with a snack mix for the kids. Next to it I kept a few of these helpful Kraft paper snack cups Kraft paper snack cups. I was happy to have my antique Tiffany & Co. serving piece that perfectly scooped the mix.

I got the recipe from Krissy Downey.

In a large pot, melt 1 cup of peanut butter and 1 bag of butterscotch morsels. To that, add 1 box of Kix cereal, 1 box of plain Cheerios, and 1 box of Life  cereal. Mix well and spread out on a large sheet of parchment paper. Flatten the mix and add 1 bag of white chocolate morsels, 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels, and a few handfuls of red and green m and m’s. Let this cool for a few hours, break it up, and put it in a bowl or snack bags.

On the kids’ dessert table I also put a mini indoor s’mores kit my daughter got from her Secret Santa. It was a cute addition, but took painfully long to toast the marshmallows, so I’d maybe find one with an actual flame or make one with a sterno heater next time, just be sure to keep away from drapes and fabric.