Tehre are people who think cheese needs refrigeration. It doesn't. It will get more well aged and if there are mold spoors around it will get moldy....but it won't "spoil" in the sense that it will grow bacteria and make you sick. It's a CYA maneuver....like the wool sweater that says dry clean only. Do you refrigerate a cake that contains milk? or rolls made with egg yolks? How about a danish with a cream cheese filling? Or those wedding mints made with cream cheese? If you leave a cream cheese frosting out in a very warm room it may get too soft and sink into the cake....the way a butter cream will do. By the way....do you refrigerate a buttercream frosted cake? That contains dairy. How about chocolate truffle candy?

I agree, the soup will freeze just fine. After all, people freeze cheesecake, and that's OK. Cream cheese can be kind of "curdled" or crumbly after freezing, thawing in the refrigerator helps the texture sometimes, but it's still not like fresh. Melt the stuff, though, and it's fine. Annie

The mayo would be my hesitation to freeze. Some recipes would freeze better than others me thinks. I would probably prep some of the parts ahead in kit form. Maybe grate the cheese now and portion in 1 lb zip lock getting all the air out. You could even add the spice and pepper. Chives and/or another herb would add nice color and flavor. Assemble the night before the first event and fridge them. (i think you have three balls to make?) The no-freeze lists are fine, even the first one posted if you read the copy. It was mentioned to not expect fresh when thawed, but perfectly edible to cook with. I recently roasted a half dozen red peppers and a few dozen halapenos, chopped/sliced, then froze in small useful portions. A bag of limes i juiced and froze in ice cube trays. Meyer lemons i freeze whole and grate a bit as needed... Many things freeze fine if used in cooking or cubed fruit going straight into a smoothy. Saran is a nice tight way to seal something like a cheese ball to keep its shape and get all the air out but it should be further sealed in something heavier like a freezer thick zip-lock. Or foil. Or freezer wrap, parchment. I use to make something i called an AntHill. Lined a small half dome soup bowl with saran, then line it with paper thin provolone from my deli. Lay in some nice herb leaves, chives, basil, parsley, thin slivers of sundried tomatoes...then another layer of thin prov...a layer of nutty pesto, then my cheese ball filling...usually white cheddar, cream cheese and some spice. Fold over the excess saran and chill overnight. Flipped over and un-molded it had a nice see-through design of herbs. Sprinkled with a trail of toasted black sesame seeds for the ants. It was my holiday go-to dish for a few years. Easy to travel to parties. Something like that, kept cold in a ceramic bowl in a chilly part of the fridge, i would be fine making it 4-5 days in advance. I would not freeze it for NewYears if i made it today. But i would shop for the ingredients and have them ready to make a day or two in advance. Cheese grated, herbs washed, and ready for assembly the night before.

Maggie, If I was going to give one to someone a few days after they were baked, I'd freeze them first.They freeze beautifully. I wait until they are cold and then I wrap them well in plastic wrap and then into either freezer bags or I wrap them in foil and freeze. To defrost I just leave them on the counter. Damn, I wish I had one in the freezer now. It would make a wonderful breakfast today. Ann