Fiesta!

Saturday evening, I hosted our umpteenth annual xmas bash.  Every year it gets a little bit better and this one was pretty fantastic.  Our house looked like a mini winter wonderland and our front porch was lit up with strands of lights with my new sparkling Christmas panda bear.  Yay!  About fifty or more of our close friends and our siblings gathered together to chat, catch up, laugh, reminisce, and you know

what's coming.  EAT!  And drink.  HA!

My awesome, 5 gallon jug of sangria was a huge hit.  The crowd was loving it and it went like hotcakes.  I had to whip up a second batch on a whim. People came with every beer and wine you can think of.  Everyone was so generous.  They brought tons of vino and other gifts for the hostess with the mostess.  ME!  It was fab.  :)

 For food, we had tons of candy and nuts, mi madre's meatballs and crab/cheese triangles, rolls, my delish kielbasa, a new lil weiner recipe which I posted last week, buffalo chicken dip, celery, and chips by the bff, pigs in a blanket made by the hubs, cheese, crackers, and pepperoni, shrimp and cocktail sauce, antipasto calzone made by an amigo.  Pretty sure that sums it up.  And it all was delightful. 

My buddies were nice enough to offer to make some delectable desserts.  One gal brought homemade lemon squares.  OMG.  Scrumptious.  Another made some blonde brownies which were  really good and another chica made my fave, 7 layer bars.  And this year, I actually got to enjoy one.  Long story.  Others brought some fresh cookies from the supermarket and another great pal made bread pudding.  YUMMY!  There was also Oreo chocolate balls.  Exactly what they sound like and oh so addictive.  And I ordered a cute gingerbread Edible Arrangement as a centerpiece.  Healthy and festive. 

One dude was nice enough to share his Twizzler cake balls made especially for him by Vancey Cakes (find it on facebook).  Talk about talent!  And the cakes are so moist and the frosting is so creamy.   The creations are amazing.  She made an interesting two flavor birthday cake for one of our mutual friends.  It involved camouflage, a pond, a dead duck and lots and lots of scrumptousness. 

Our guests ate, drank, and were merry.  It was a fabulous way to kick off the holiday season.  This year we were even blessed with fireworks.  YUP.  Good times, great friends, drinks, and FOOD.