A little impromptu neighborhood unChristmas Christmas party ❤️
As you celebrate this season, I hope you truly gather, eat, drink, and be merry. As mamas, we are the host, the organizer, the planner, the worriers and I really wanted to just be able to relax and enjoy our time together.
Some top #kacaumamahack (s) for having a good stress-free time:
1. Lay/set up everything the night before.
When you can put on some music, light some candles, take your time and just enjoy the process of it. It’s one of my favorite parts of having a party : mixing and matching, imagining, dreaming. It’s the theater girl in me, I love the journey. Instead of freaking out and throwing stuff together the day of the party, I can just take my time and the best part is, I had meetings the whole day with only about 30 mins of when I got home to when guests would arrive and it was so simple because I already knew where everything went, where, and just had to put it out. I cut, washed, prepped all the fruits and veggie sticks the night before too.
2. Take shortcuts!
A little plating will take you a long way. I literally bought all the snacks and desserts from Marks and Spencer 🙌🙌🙌 and just took it out of the packages and served it on boards and platters! 😂
The lovely cheese board kit came from the always amazing KEJU and Wishful.my which also included the prettiest little drink jar that I repurposed as decor instead!
For mains, I ordered the most delicious vegetarian mac and cheese (sooooo good!!!), chicken mac and cheese, as well as some really yummy roast chicken sets (includes veggies!) from Dignity for Children Foundation - an organization that supports continuous education for the underprivileged and refugee communities as well as providing them jobs and skills. It really was so very good and Ella Grace’s face lit up completely when she realized it was her favorite chicken w her favorite sauce from her favorite cafe! (Eat x Dignity!)
3. Cleaners day before and after
Book the cleaners to come the day before so you don’t have to worry about cleaning and having everything spic and span for the guests as well as the day after so you’re not stressing about sticky floors, a million dishes, and cleaning up!
4. Minimal clean-up
Not the most zero waste option but we also opted for disposable plates and cutlery. We tried to go a little greener w biodegradable products made from palm leaves. The best option would be to use real plates and cutlery but I will be very honest, mama was tired.
5. GATHER
Last but not least, enjoy yourself. When the guests come, walk away from the table. Get everyone a drink then sit down and hang out. Listen to their stories, be present. Enjoy your time together. Open up the table and let the kids destroy the house and have fun. It’s their party too.
If anything breaks, it’s replaceable. If kids have a tantrum, they have a voice too. Show your tribe the shit room you’ve stuffed all the mess into, wear something comfortable, sit and eat and break bread together.
That’s the heart of gathering with your tribe. The highlight REAL. The loving. The seeing.
We love you mama, enjoy this season. ❤️
Ps. Tomorrow, I’ll share all my secrets on prepping your child for the party so everyone has a good time..littles included!
