Great Menus for Christmas Parties

Our first party each year is usually held on the 1st or 2nd Saturday night in December and is a party for about 40 of our friends.

I keep my menu fairly simple. I have been making cookies, rye bread pizzas and crab puffs in the weeks prior to December and now I am ready to serve them at the party.

The Red Pepper Jelly spread you see on the menu is a very simple recipe. I take 8 oz of cream cheese and blend in two teaspoons of red pepper jelly. I serve this with an assortment of crackers. It is always a hit at the parties and people can't believe how simple it is to make.

My meatballs are also a very simple recipe. I buy a large bag of premade meatballs at the grocery store and heat them according to the package directions in the microwave. I do this about 2 hours prior to the party and then I put them in a crockpot and pour a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce over them. I set the crockpot on low and they will be ready to eat by the time the party starts. I make sure I have a small dish with red and green toothpicks setting next to the crockpot for easy serving.

For my nut and candy dishes, I like to mix various nuts with red and green M&M's. This year I've also made the chex mix using the recipe on the cereal package and adding red and green M&M's and raisins.

On Christmas Day we host the festivities for both sides of our family. In the morning my husband's family comes over for a Christmas Brunch. We enjoy a hearty brunch buffet before we gather around the tree to exchange presents.

In the late afternoon my side of the family arrives. This time I serve a heavy appetizer buffet. My sister also brings a few goodies to add to the buffet.