cocktails and holiday pajamas...
…two of my favorite things! I hosted a little holiday cocktail party and the theme was “wear your Christmas PJs!” We had the very best time.
In early 2021, a sweet (now) friend in my neighborhood decided to host a front yard hangout for a bunch female neighbors. This was pre-vaccines, so we all gathered cautiously and sat in a big spacious circle and started chatting and instantly hit it off.
Now this women’s wine group is in its 2nd year! I love it so much. We gather whenever we feel like it, usually on someone’s back patio on a random Tuesday night when one of us just really needs a glass of merlot and a chat with some girlfriends. Sometimes 2 or 3 people show up, and sometimes it’s a whole crowd.
And for this holiday party, I invited the entire group…and it was SO much fun!
All prepped and ready to go. Nate was sweet and took the boys out to dinner and then did their bedtime so I could get ready to host.
I had a few little goodies out to munch on (above) but then everyone brought something to share. Y’all, we had SO much delicious food! I didn’t snap a picture of it all, but it was quite the spread.
Some holiday soaps and our family Christmas cards to send home with all the guests.
And I brought out my vintage punch bowl set for the egg nog! One of my friends here in Austin shared her famous eggnog recipe with me, and it’s a whole experience.
One of my friends asked what type of alcohol I use in this eggnog recipe.
“Is it rum?” she asked.
“Yes, and vodka, bourbon, sweet sherry…” Ha!
My goal for 2023: host more girlfriend get togethers! This was so easy and SO much fun.
We all had so much fun chatting and eating and drinking and enjoying a kid-free night together.
I’ll be honest: I love the idea of hosting a holiday party, but in the past I’ve often let myself become overwhelmed by the idea of hosting a holiday party, so I just wouldn’t do it.
I was talking to Nate about it, and I told him how I wish I could do it, but it just seems like something I’m not good at. And I started talking out loud about all of the reasons I couldn’t do it (who exactly do I invite, and what if everyone is busy during this crazy holiday season, and it will be too much work to prep, and what will I do with the boys while I’m getting ready, and yada yada…) and I quickly realized that all of those were lame excuses.
So this year I decided this year that I would just do it, and it turns out it’s so much easier than I thought. I guess my brain likes to overcomplicate things sometimes, but really all it took was a quick Evite, a bunch of holiday goodies from Trader Joe’s (your girl made zero homemade things except for that epic eggnog!) and a bunch of women who are desperate for some girlfriend time this holiday seasons (aka all of the moms…haha!)
Anyway, here’s the push you might need to host that little girlfriend gathering. If you’ve been on the fence…just go for it!
Thanks for stopping by! I’ll chat with you tomorrow!
PS: on living in the suburbs in Austin, and Milo’s cute little bedroom in our new house.
