{Parties} Christmas Cookies & Crafts

My Christmas Cookies & Crafts party was a success! Thankfully everything came together at the last minute. Here are the party details:

Brunch was served first and included a veggie quiche, fresh fruit & berries, scones, and cranberry juice. After brunch, we moved onto dessert, which was the cookie bar {above}.

Cookie Bar :: Even though I threw this display together in the wee hours of the night the day before the party, I still had a great time watching it all come together. Aside from the two small runners you see, every decoration on this buffet was something I already owned. I've found that you can put together a great tablescape/dessert display/etc with items just found around the house. No need to go out and spend tons of money on decorations...

SHOPPING GUIDE :: {All items purchased over the course of the last five years}
Runners {shower curtain}, red&white Christmas balls & spikey decorations ~ Target
Round, red tealight holders, green Xmas tree & silver tree with lights ~ Pier One
Wreath ~ Bath & Body Works
White cake stands & rectangular platter ~ Home Goods/Crate & Barrel


This wreath was probably my favorite thing about the entire display. I've had it for many years, and every year I pull it out at Christmas time. I've used it in a different way every year and this year, instead of hanging it on a door or using it as a centerpiece, I attached it to the mirror that sits atop my buffet. Then I created a "Merry Merry" banner and flanked the wreath on the top and bottom with it.


Candy canes are super festive, look cute, and are a great way to inexpensively decorate a holiday table set-up. I quickly put some in a glass container with some fun red and green decorations.

Notice the polka dot gable boxes that I used to package the peppermint bark for my neighbors? I had a few extras and used those as "to-go" boxes for my guests. We had a lot of left-over cookies, so these little boxes allowed me to easily {and stylishly} send my guests home with some sweets.


What would a cookie bar be without some milk to wash them down? The mini milk bottles are simply Starbucks frappachino bottles sans lables and rinsed out. Aren't they cute? And the old fashioned red striped straws were purchased from Etsy seller, Skylar's Party.


Speaking of cookies, these little chocolate candy cane blossoms were delicious! My friend Patty gave me this recipe, and they were easy to make and YUM!


One end of my dining room table served as a spot for us girls to eat our brunch {the other end was transformed into Jack's craft station ~ see below}. This runner, which you probably recognize from the dessert display, was a shower curtain I purchased at Target. It was inexpensive enough that I didn't feel guilty cutting it. I was able to create two small runners for the cookie bar and one larger runner for the table.

I find a ton of inspiration from fabrics and lately shower curtains have been catching my eye. If you can find them at a reasonable price at stores like Target and TJ Maxx, you can get multiple uses out of them.


This was Jack's craft station. Every time I go to JoAnns or hit up the Dollar Spot at Target, I stock up on fun crafty items, so I had plenty of fun stuff to choose from for Jack. I filled little tubs and cartons with the supplies.


We made snowman ornaments. Jack was hard at work here making his...haha.


My sis, mom, me and our babies/grandbabies before brunch. My sister-in-law, Jane, joined us for brunch too {not pictured}. All in all, it wasn't about the cookies or the crafts or the food or the presents or the party details. It was about spending some quality girl time with family, which is just what we did.

HAVE A BLESSED DAY TOMORROW ~ MERRY CHRISTMAS!