It all looks so good. Alas, I just wasn't able to participate this weekend. DS came over Sunday to fix dinner for me, which was a good thing cause I was not feeling well. I was still not 100% yesterday, plus my DIL and grandson came over to sped the day yesterday. Well, I do have my priorities, and I'm afraid that playing with my GS that I don't get to see very often is way up there. So the appetizers will have to wait. Shelley, Nancy, Ann, your pictures are so scrumptious, as always. Marigene, Chase and LPink, your dishes sound so good. Funny, when I told DH about the appetizer party, he asked if something from the dessert chapter could count as an appetizer! Sally

Oweeee, my mouth is watering and I have already HAD breakfast! These menu ideas and traditional menus are awesome. It�s so interesting to see what everyone has for their traditional meals at this holiday! Since my family members are scattered all over the place in different locations, we are not having any type of traditional meal, and I�ve been in a sour mood because of this separation during the holidays. We will have only our youngest son here with his new wife visiting from Chicago, and she eats only vegetarian, so I�m trying to come up with menu ideas that will please her, as well as DH and son, who are big meat eaters. Will probably do some type of local fish, to please son who can�t find it in Chicago, and lots of yummy vegetable sides. Suggestions are always welcome! All your menus sound wonderful!

What a great post! We moved into our house in March of 2012 and we love to entertain. It is much easier in the warmer months since we have a large covered patio and the kids can play outside. However, we hosted our first large indoor gathering this past Christmas and it was very stressful!! So what were the lessons learned from this last party?? 1) Make rules for the children. -We found food in toy bins and stickiness from spilled juice on the playroom floor. Next time we will tell kids that food and drink are only allowed in the kitchen and dining room. -Designate one bathroom for the kids and put kid friendly towels in them. We have a beautiful powder room which got torn apart...scuffs on our beautiful vanity, stains on the nice towels, etc. Next time we will tell the kids to use the kids bathroom only. -LOCK doors! We did this for this party and it worked out great! We locked the toy room closet and left out several toys that were easy to put away. We also locked bedroom doors that we didn't want kids to go into. Closing a door is not enough! Kids usually end up opening closed doors out of curiosity or open them if they decide to play hide and seek! In our case this forces kids to stay in the play room area only with the kids bathroom close by. 2) Make sure you get RSVP's. We made WAY too much food so we ended up sending guests home with food. Even still a lot of food was wasted. I think it is always better to have too much food rather than not enough, but it was excessive in our case! 3) Clean as you go! We have double dishwashers so I could have easily cleaned up while talking to the ladies after dinner. Instead we all sat around and relaxed. The kids then had meltdowns and many were not able to stay and help clean up. My hubby got called into work at the end of the night and I was left with a major kitchen disaster at the end of the night! Yikes!! I think in the future I may hire a pair of high school gals to help keep the kids in order, help serve, and help clean up at the end of the night! Now for things that DID work out: -Preparing as much as I could the night before (e.g., setting the table, setting up beverages, putting out platters with sticky notes labeling what will go in them the next day, empty dishwashers, clean bathrooms and check toilet paper, etc) -Asking guests to bring something. I provided the main dishes and some appetizers. But then guests brought salad, side dishes, and dessert. We had designated areas for the appetizers/salad, main/side dishes, and dessert. So when the guests arrived we had them place the food in the appropriate area. I have learned to not have guests bring main dishes. We've run into problems in the past where people brought small dishes and there wasn't enough food to go around. -Self-serve beverage station. We get drinks for guests when they first arrive, then we make it easy for them to serve themselves for the rest of the night. We usually do beer, wine, and sometimes margaritas. Then we have a large self serve beverage jar that has water and lemon slices in it. And then juice for the kids. Juice boxes are a no-no because inevitably the kids squeeze too hard and the juice gets everywhere. At dessert time, we turn on a huge hot water dispenser and leave out a tray of different teas and chai. For the kids we leave out plastic cups and a Sharpie pen for parents to write their kids' names on the cups. Then for the adults I leave out wine and/or margarita glasses with charms on them (the charms are all different so guests can easily identify their charm/glass). I also leave out crystal clear plastic cups for adults to use if they want water. Depending on the size of the party, for hot drinks I will leave out either mugs or disposable hot cups. BTW, I also have crystal water goblets at each adult place setting. And I leave a crystal pitcher of water on the table at dinner time. -Having an adult table and a kids table. We had the adult table in the dining room and the kids table in the breakfast nook. This allowed us to have nice adult conversation without the kids interrupting us. We also had the kids eat first so adults could assist if needed. Makes for a more peaceful adult dinner time since the kids mostly played while we ate. -We did a gift exchange for the kids only. It was fun to watch kids open up a gift. -We took family pictures. We pulled each family to the fireplace area and took a family picture for them. I still have yet to email them out :) I have to admit, I was not crazy about doing an indoor party for that many adults and kids. Clean up was MUCH harder indoors. We may have to do a Christmas in July party this year so we can have the party outdoors!! Or have an adult only party at Christmas time. This post was edited by janealexa on Sat, Jan 5, 13 at 17:52

This corn & pecan dip has gotten raves on the Food Forum. Corn & Pecan Dip 2 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened ¼ c. lime juice 1 Tbsp ground cumin 1 Tbsp ground red chiles (I used 2 tsp cayenne and it was plenty hot) ½ tsp salt dash black pepper ¼ c vegetable oil 1 16-oz. can whole-kernel corn, drained 1 c. chopped pecans 1 small onion, diced (I like more) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except corn, pecans, and onion. Beat until smooth with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in corn, pecans, and onion. Serve with tortilla chips Or how about the classic spinach & artichoke dip? This recipe is from Southern Living. FLORENTINE ARTICHOKE DIP 1 (10-ounce) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed 2 (6 1/2-ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained & chopped 3 garlic cloves, finely minced 1/2 c. mayonnaise 12 oz cream cheese, softened 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 c. freshly shredded Parmesan cheese 1 1/2 c. French breadcrumbs, (homemade...see note) 2 Tbsp butter, melted DRAIN spinach; press between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Drain and chop artichoke hearts. Combine spinach, artichoke hearts, garlic, and next 4 ingredients, stirring well. SPOON into a lightly greased 11" x 7" baking dish. Combine breadcrumbs and butter; sprinkle over spinach mixture. BAKE uncovered at 375° for 25 minutes. Serve with assorted crackers, bagel chips, or breadsticks NOTE: To get 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, tear off a piece of baguette. Pulse in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Measure crumbs, tear off another chunk, and repeat procedure until you get 1 1/2 cups These toasts are excellent. Robust Onion Cheese Toast 1 cup mayonnaise 1 8-zs pkg cream cheese, softened 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled 2 Tbsp chopped parsley 2 Tbsp minced onion ½ teaspoon minced garlic ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce ½ teaspoon white pepper 1 loaf sliced cocktail rye bread Combine mayo, cream cheese, blue cheese, parsley, onion, garlic, pepper sauce and white pepper. Cover and chill for 2 hours to let flavors blend. Can be made up to 2 days in advance. Spread 2 teaspoons mixture on each slice of bread and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic and chill until ready to serve. To Serve: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover baking sheet and bake 10  15 minutes until toasts are puffy and slightly brown.