Holidays, Kid Friendly Holiday Buffet
I hope you are having a wonderful December!
The highlight of our holiday celebration is the annual Christmas Eve lunch at our house
Eleven of our group of 24 are children 12 and under
so it’s all about kid friendly food and Santa Claus fun
The children sit at the dining room table and eat their lunch
while the adults mingle and nibble on appetizers
When the children were almost finished eating
Santa snuck in and started playing the piano…
The children quickly gathered at the music room door
and discovered Santa had arrived
Even though the older ones are pretty sure that Santa is our friend Leo,
they still have a moment when belief and magic are in their eyes
And CC and Charlie Brown were overjoyed!
I gave myself a present this year by making the menu extremely easy
The buffet is always set on the kitchen island
which is central to our house and patio
Below, from right to left, a plate of finger friendly fruit, red grapes and strawberries,
Strawberry Pecan Pimiento Cheese Ring {made a week ahead} with crackers
and a vegetable tray of celery, carrots, cucumber spears and cherry tomatoes
Next is the favorite BLT Wedge Salad Dip with a bowl of chips,
and a simple deli platter of sliced salamis and cheese cubes
The vegetable tray is purposely located in between the dip and the cheese ring so the vegetables can be dipped or spread if desired
I usually provide menu or place cards identifying the dishes,
and the one time I don’t,
everyone thought the BLT Wedge Dip was a salad
and was eating it with forks!!
The deli platter featured several kinds of sliced salami and cheese cubes
Not pictured were the Sausage Cornbread Balls which were made with a frozen Cornbread stuffing casserole I found at the grocery store. This eliminated the steps of making the cornbread and stuffing, so I only had to brown the sausage and mix it and the corn into the baked stuffing and roll it into balls.
I made the balls the day before and then warmed them in the oven with the Sister Shubert’s Sausage Rolls before the guests arrived. After baking everything was kept warm in a large crock pot
note: when keeping breads warm, line your slow cooker lid with paper towels to prevent the condensation from making them soggy
HHjr marinated the meat 24 hours
Teriyaki Tenderloin is a must at all our special events, you can see the recipe here
He grilled it mid morning, and let it rest for 30 minutes
{this allows the juices to be absorbed into the cooked meat}
After the meat rested, he sliced it into small pieces
and it was ready when the guests arrived
You can use the marinade for beef or pork tenderloin
They both hold well at room temperature
For dessert we had an assortment of Bundtinis
These are similar to cupcakes, easy to serve and can be frozen
Two weeks before Christmas I picked up 2 dozen
at the local Nothing But Bundts store
I wrapped the boxes with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer
They will thaw out in less than 1 hour
Parties and Entertaining doesn’t have to be complicated,
take some short cuts and enjoy!
For more tips on easy entertaining visit the links below:
Appetizer Tips and Keeping Things Hot
Champagne and Cupcake Dessert Buffet
🍾 🥳 🎉
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Meal Plan Monday Love Your Creativity What’s for Dinner?
Between Naps on the Porch, Make it Pretty Monday
Turn About Tuesday Celebrate Your Story, You’re the Star
All About Home/ Common Ground Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Tasty Tuesday Oh My Heartsie Girl Full Plate Thursday
Thursday Favorite Things Creatively Crafty Home Matters
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Jenna, what a fun and kid friendly party! The food looks perfect and what’s not to love about Sister Schubert sausage rolls! I loved seeing Santa at the piano and the children watching from the foyer, you could see their excitement! Do you play piano?
Happy Sunday!
Thank you Pam! No I don’t play, HH did…the piano is a family heirloom inherited from my Aunt, it’s a 1907 Steinway and it’s beautiful sound fills the entire house when it’s played. Our Santa friend plays it often, and the boys often accompany him on guitars. I am hoping one of my grands will play!
Jenna, the excitement on the children’s faces when they see Santa is precious! Your food looks delicious. We have lunch on Christmas Day with my parents, but in the evening we go to my in-laws for finger foods. Everyone loves finger foods, and they are the perfect thing to have after all the heavy meals of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I’m going to have to try the BLT dip the next time I have a party. That sounds yummy, and everyone loves bacon! Happy Sunday!!!
Thank you Shannon, I love to entertain with appetizers and finger food…your Christmas sounds perfect with a formal lunch and then another gathering with finger food later…I am always so exhausted by Christmas night, that sounds perfect!
What fun for all the children! To see their excitement …is what it all about!
The food looked delicious!
Happy New Year to You and Yours!!
Thank you Nancy, Happy New Year!
Hi Jenna! I came across your blog at the “Love Your Creativity” blog party. Wow! You did an amazing job with the Christmas Eve party for children and adults. What a thrill to have Santa there too…playing the piano even! I am pinning some of your recipes. Do you live in Alabama? I noticed your Alabama crockpot. I live in Montgomery.
Hi Kitty! Yes, I live in Birmingham, Santa is actually a good friend that is a musician…he plays fiddle, guitar, piano, and sings…great entertainment when he’s around! thanks for visiting!
I love the happy faces on the kiddos when discovering Santa. Jenna, I think Christmas at your house is just about perfect. Your kid friendly buffet is fabulous and I’m sure the adults were sneaking tidbits there as well. I’m saving this post, I love it!
Weren’t they cute?? The buffet was so simple, but it was colorful and festive…thank you Emily!
This looks perfect. What fun for the kids (and their families!) I love the Santa photos. And you’re right — sometimes shortcuts are the best!
This was the first Christmas I wasn’t totally exhausted because I kept my part so simple…yes, Santa was a big hit, but it’s getting harder to amaze the children as they get older 🙂
I love the children’s faces when discovering Santa. Your kid friendly buffet looks fabulous. Please tell me what the favorites were amongst the children so I know what to feed Xavier next year 🙂 He seemed to enjoy the tater tots dipped in ranch dressing. A Happy and Healthy 2020 to you my dear friend.
Thank you Deb! The kids were so busy they really didn’t eat much…it was 70 and sunny so they were running around outside most of the time! They always love the pigs in a blanket {or sausage rolls} and fruit. I can’t believe we’re almost beginning 2020! Happy New Year!
I know at least one adult who fits better into the kid category when it comes to food! The buffet looked great, and that picture of the kids’ various reactions to Santa’s presence is priceless! You can actually see the excitement/belief, the doubt, and the disbelief in the various faces! Happy New Year, Jenna!
Thanks Rita, keeping it simple kept me from being exhausted! The children are always so well behaved and this year the weather was sunny and warm so they were running around outside, everyone had a lot of fun and not much to clean up!
It sounds like the perfect celebration, I’m sure the kids all love it. I love the photo of all of them.,,their faces say it all.
Thank you Karen, Happy New Year!
Jenna, Such Christmas Joy! Oh to feel the wonder and excitement of Santa, I love how your captured it on on CC’s and Charlie Brown’s faces! Hosting and feeding everyone is a labor of love even with shortcuts and kid-friendly food. Hope you’re enjoying a little R&R at the coast before the big game tomorrow. ♥
Weren’t they adorable? Shortcuts and the easy menu made things so easy, and for the first time in forever I decided not to dash away to the coast right after Christmas, and have been enjoying the last few days of 2019…we are hosting another big gathering for watching football tomorrow! Happy 2020 Mary, thank you for being a loyal follower and always an inspiration!
What a perfect idea….! Happy New Year
Thank you!! Happy New Year!
What a fun party, Jenna!!! I’m glad that you made it easy on yourself, so that you could enjoy yourself, too.
Thanks Kitty, for the first time I wasn’t totally exhausted after this party!
What a great party for the little ones and looks like they were having so much fun with Santa! Thanks so much for sharing with us on Full Plate Thursday,465 and hope you are having a great week!
Miz Helen
Santa is a big hit every year!