Nancy, I read your request for advice, all the replies, and then read your original request again. I was a caterer for many years, and will say this: I would have the party at 7pm. You are already planning on having some hot and cold hors d'oeuvres - add a few more, and call it a "Cocktail Buffet". This denotes heavy hors d'oeuvres, and your guests will/should know it certainly doesn't mean a full meal, but substantial enough that they shouldn't have dinner before coming to your house. My suggestions: COLD: Meat & Cheese platter - roast beef, ham, turkey, sliced cheeses (opt.) - with a basket of small, sliced rolls and condiments on the side Cheese ball assortment (3) - with a variety of crackers - perhaps some fresh fruit around the edges of the cheese platter. Artichoke or Spinach dip - served in Hawaiian bread round, using cubes of the bread to dip with HOT: Seafood Dip - crabmeat or shrimp - with melbas for dipping Little Smokies in sauce made of Chili Sauce & Grape Jelly (folks love 'em, even after all these years) SWEETS: I would have one platter of brownies, lemon squares, and small sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon-sugar. You could have coffee set up by the dessert tray. ******* None of the above is too difficult to prepare, and would provide your guests with plenty of choices. As for the games/entertainment - I think nowadays people like to chit-chat rather than anything else. Have some nice music playing in the background, low enough to be able to have conversations. Good luck!

Thanks ladies! EJ, there are other pics just not forum friendly! LOL Karen, you are right, we are not that far away from each other. Yes, Justin has lost his baby fat and buffed up some. Gina and Ellen, Southern CA is sounding real good to me now. Cathy, the fountain was fun but not sure I would do it again. For a bunch of younger kids yes, even though the adults liked it too. I think a fondue would be better and you would not have to use so much chocolate. I used 14 cups of chips and 1 3/4 cups of oil. I tossed a bunch of chocolate the next day. The machine ran fine for about 4-5 hours and then it made some funny noise and started choking so to speak. We shut it down for awhile and then it ran fine for another hour or so. I think something may have got stuck in the auger??? I will say it wasn't as messy as I thought it might be. Yes, some drips on the counter but the floor and my rugs made it without a drop. Actually, the whole house survived very well. One small stain in the dining room but it cleaned up great. It's made by Rival and she said she picked it up at Big Lots. Thanks again everyone!! David

Wow - thanks again for all of your great suggestions. The party was last night and it was a huge success. "The best holiday party in years" according to quite a few Facebook posts!!! Since I am here on GW, I want to mention that everyone loved my kitchen. I'm sure some people might have just been trying to be polite, but really, I got so many wonderful comments, people mentioning specific things that they loved and people asking me for recommendations and advice! It was great. And the kitchen was absolutely the most popular room to be in. The bar area was hopping!! But eventually, things sort of spread out. I'm not the type of gal who has ever really had a "catered event" in my house, and certainly not anything of this size. I was really appreciating having a server/helper there - especially to keep things cleaned up over the course of the evening. It was weird though, 'cause I kept wanting to offer her drinks and food and I was definitely treating her like a guest! Everything fell in to place perfectly. Coat closet and coat tree fit the bill. The chimnea was blazing away. The crowds were spread out all though the house. People were saying all night how much more fun a house party is than something in a restaurant. I think I've already offered my house up again for the party next year! Thanks again for the advice. SQ

Kswl - Our kids did Irish dance but their instructor always made a point of differentiating the spelling between ceilidh and ceili. He said that Ceildhi is Scottish Gaelic while Ceili is Irish Gaelic. They both have the same pronunciation and meaning. I wonder if it might be a regional thing - we're just outside Philadelphia. We recently attended a small Feis to watch my niece and afterwards we thoroughly enjoyed the evening ceili - as the Irish would say it was great craic. And speaking of bagpipes - DD went to Columbia and one year I happened to take a day trip into the city to spend the afternoon with her and attend a Broadway matinee. How thrilling to find out that I had stumbled onto the Tartan Day Parade. That was in 2002 and Sean Connery was the Grand Marshall. This year's parade is on Saturday, April 11 and Graham McTavish (Outlander) has the honor. I'd love to go for the parade again. There's something about pipes and drums that stirs my soul. DS married a lass who was Scottish and all her relatives came to the wedding in their Prince Charlie jackets and Crawford tartans. Unfortunately the bagpiper who was to pipe the wedding party into the reception canceled at the last minute. The string quartet was lovely but nearly as exciting. It sounds like you have thought of everything. I hope your party is a huge success and that the weather cooperates too. Have you watched the documentary "Jig" - about the Irish Dancing World Championship?