Daily Dish: Holiday Parties & Home Tour

Published December 18, 2015 - The Daily Dish

Merry Christmas everyone!!! The Christmas season is my favorite times of the year, because it is the celebration of Jesus coming to earth! It is such an incredible time to share the light and love of Jesus with the world, and it seems to be a time when people are more open to receive it! This year is especially exciting for my family and I because my sister is expecting her first baby, (which is also the first baby in our family, and he just so happens to be due on Christmas day!)

Another reason I love the Christmas season so much is the warmth that it brings! The message of His love is everywhere, and there is just something about Christmas decorations that make everything feel like home...and of course my favorite place to experience that cozy feeling is my home! I thought it would be fun to share some of my holiday decor with you guys, as well as some pictures from our annual gingerbread house cometition!

I don't know about you, but does anyone else feel like Christmas time makes their home feel more like home!?! Maybe its the fact that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus coming to earth...Which is the moment in history that our hearts became closer to our real home!

But I also think the warm glow of Christmas lights certainly helps! :)

And there is just something about the smell of a Christmas tree!

Now onto the annual gingerbread competition party! If you have been following Dashing Dish for any length of time, you most likely have seen the judging that takes place on the Dashing Dish facebook wall every December. The theme changes from year to year, and I must say, I have some pretty creative friends, so it ends up being quite the friendly competition!

I look forward to throwing this party every year, because it not only brings everyone together, but it always gets everyone laughing and having a great time!

I also love hosting parties because well...Let's be honest, I love making food for family and friends to enjoy! :) This year I did a salad bar and a dessert/trifle bar!

I love serving salad bars for a crowd, because it allows everyone to create a meal that they enjoy, and it's pretty easy to prepare and serve since nothing needs to be warmed up ahead of time!

I have really gotten into trifle bars for parties, because it allows everyone to pick their own toppings, and I think there is something special about letting your guests create their own 'dream' dessert!

This year's annual gingerbread competition was a hit! We picked the theme, "Beach House" for our party, and everyone brought their A-game as usual! ;)

You may have seen that we posted this picture on the DD facebook page for you guys to judge, and we ended up getting over 500 comments, so thank you to all who judged! ;) The winner ended up being #5, which was my sister Sarah and her husband Phil's house!

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As usual, we had a wonderful night spending time with people that we love!

The winner won my homemade snow globe with a Target gift card inside!

These homemade snow globes have been one of my favorite gifts to make and give this Christmas! I also made them for my sisters favorite things party, and they actually won the prize for the most creative wrapping!

They are very easy and inexpensive to make, and if you are giving gift cards, this is a more personal and special way to present them! I got the cute jars from the dollar spot in target (they come in a set of 2 for $1.00), I found the trees from the wrapping isle in target (they were $3 for all 3), and bought some glitter for the snow (which cost around $3). The deer are optional, and can be found at any craft store!