Holiday Party Planning - The Menus

I've been doing a lot of research when it comes to a retro cocktail party. I'm trying to be as authentic as I can possibly be with the menus. And when I say menus, I mean the hors d'oeuvres, the cocktails, and the desserts. I've used Pinterest and Google and I've received a ton of information back! And, I've used my parents as reference guides, although they weren't old enough to attend or throw a cocktail party in the 60s. 

As it turns out, I've been throwing a semi-retro party all these years. The only difference are things like deviled eggs and marinated olives. I generally reserve deviled eggs for BBQs and I've never really thought to serve marinated olives. And I love olives! The other interesting things I've discovered is molds of all kinds! It doesn't have to be a Jello mold, which I'm not unfamiliar with, but there are sold food molds. Apparently, my mom has a recipe for a shrimp mold which will make its way to the table this year. Speaking of food, here's what I plan to serve:

Meatballs

Mini Quiches

Deviled Eggs

Marinated Olives

Shrimp Mold

A specialty cheese on top of a Crostini drizzled with honey

Cheese Platter with Crackers

Sounds pretty delish, no? There's substance and there's lighter eats as well. You don't want to fill up and miss out on dessert!

My desserts are going to be pretty different this year. I generally go with the same baked goods every holiday. I will find time to make the chocolate chip cookies, the sugar cookie cutouts, and Seven Layer cookie. But for this party, I'm going old school. 

Fruitcake Cookies

Chocolate Fudge

White Fudge with Green and Red Candied Cherries

Pecan Tassies

Peppermint Bark

Brach's Old Fashioned Candies

Then there's the drink menu. If Sandra Lee has taught me one thing over the years, it's to serve a signature cocktail. And I always do! This year we will have two. I know I'm serving a Champagne Cocktail, but I need to test the others. I'm looking at a Sidecar Martini, an Old Fashioned, or a Manhattan. I'm leaning toward the Sidecar, sounds like something I would drink verses the others, but I'll let my parents to do some taste testing for the final vote.

And there you have it! I've finalized all of my menus and I'm set with the grocery list. I plan to start baking fudge tomorrow and a few other goodies before Friday. Fudge will stay the freshest longest. From there, I will just continue to follow the food portion of the checklist to have it all prepped before Saturday afternoon!

What are you serving up? Have you done as much research as myself or just going with what works? How much will be store bought verses homemade? I'm a little mix of both. It's so much easier to same yourself some time when throwing a party! 

Meet you back here tomorrow!

XO, 

Andrea