Holiday Party: 10+ Things to Bring Along

​​So you were invited to a holiday dinner or party and they told you not to bring anything - you have to right? YES, totally. If you downloaded our free holiday guide you got the scoop on how to tackle the holidays. 
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Still, when you are attending a holiday event hosted by someone else it’s always great manners to show up with something. If you are lucky enough that they told you what to bring then the weight of the decision is lifted, but unfortunately this usually this only happens at family events that your immediate family member is hosting. 

Here we are diving into our favorite examples of what to take with you when attending a holiday party - even if they tried to tell you not to bring anything. Even then it may be something generic like “a side” or a “dessert” and if you don’t have a go to yet that’s not  super easy to decide on. 
Don’t worry friend! We’ve got some ideas for you to look over. 

Homemade and easy to impress holiday recipes to take to a party

These are for our friends that enjoy being in the kitchen, but still want to keep it simple and easy. Holidays are typically jam packed and having a simple and quick go to will ensure you the best of both. 

• Gingersnaps and dip
• Cookies
• Pies (you can go homemade or store bought on this one)
• Cream cheese and jam with crackers
• Smoked cream cheese (THIS one! It’s so simple, but does take more time than most so be prepared to wait 2 - 2.5 hours). Choose your favorite seasoning (we prefer something a little sweet), cover it like crazy, score a design in the top and pop it in the smoker for 2 - 2.5 hours. 
• Mixed or glazed nuts: my dad makes a great candied mixed nut each holiday that has people lined up for. You can take an afternoon to make many batches and bam! You’re ready for all the holiday events on your calendar. 
• Cheese board (bonus if the board and cheese knives are part of a hostess gift they get to keep)
• Drink ingredients (sangria and hot cocoa are our go tos)
• Puppy chow or white trash mix
• Trifle: my go-to are a candy cane brownie or an angel foodcake with white chocolate mousse and raspberries

Our favorites and biggest recommendations are to choose something that can be saved for later if you were not asked to bring something. That gives your host/hostess a chance to choose if they’d like to set it out or if it looks too good to share and they want to save it for later. This includes the drink ingredients.
You can also find pies, cheese boards, mixed popcorn or nuts at local businesses and completely skip the kitchen yourself. ​

Hostess/Host gifts

My personal favorite is to combine something that can be shared/set out with a hostess/host gift. For example drink ingredients. Say you make a hot cocoa basket or tray: you put the hot cocoa mix, a cute pair of mugs, and 3 - 4 fun toppings all together with cute stir sticks or spoons and voila.

They have a gift or something festive to add to their spread. Other great go to ideas include:
- Succulent/house plant in planter
- Marble coasters
- Ornament with their initial
- Candle
- Wine decanter or glasses
- Beautiful vase, filled with flowers
- Gift box filled with small but nice items
- Personalized dish towels
- Texan gift basket with locally made BBQ sauce, salsa, etc.
- Basically anything from Buc-ees

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Resources

Grab the full Holiday Guide: 5 Ways We Tackle Family Holidays

Read on for more Holiday ideas HERE