Another very easy treat. Cut tops off of strawberries. Toss these and then cut the tip off but keep these. Pipe whipped cream and place cap back on top of this. Place two dots of whipped cream to make buttons. Then top the cap with whipped cream to make a puff on Santa’s hat. With the tip of a toothpick touch the whipped cream with a dot of black food coloring. Serve.
Have everyone bring what it takes to make ‘their signature’ drink…. along with a favorite appetizer with enough for everyone. Great experience and great conversation starters. Challenge guests to make a special one-of-a-kind drink if they don’t already have one – and allow people who don’t drink to bring in a special non-alcoholic ‘signature’ drink so they can feel incorporated into the festivities.
Forget the front door. These bite-size wreaths — whimsical enough to appeal to the smallest (and finickiest) guests — are meant to deck your plate (although they’re unlikely to stay there for very long). To make them, spread mini bagel halves with cream cheese (plain or tinted green with herbs or food coloring), then sprinkle on red, yellow, and green bell-pepper confetti.
The pine in this case is pineapple, and laden with colorful fruit kabob branches, it’s one holiday centerpiece almost too good to eat. To assemble one, cut off the top and about 1 inch of the bottom (for stability) of a large pineapple. On 4 to 5 inch bamboo skewers (you’ll need about 50), thread 3 to 5 pieces of assorted fresh fruits — melon chunks, grapes, strawberries, and the like — leaving an inch or so of skewer to stick into the pineapple; if your skewers are too long, you can easily cut them to size with the cutting blades of a pair of pliers. As you finish each skewer, insert it at a slight downward angle into the pineapple, starting at the bottom. Top with a skewered slice of star fruit or a star carved from the extra pineapple. Once the branches are eaten, don’t forget to slice up the tree trunk!
Country & Victorian Times 