A wine and chocolate tasting is a wonderful, unusual party for Christmas, Hannukah, or Kwanzaa. Check out our basic How to Plan a Wine and Chocolate Party and Wine and Chocolate Party Shopping Tips, and add these holiday touches:
- At this hectic time of year, people often rush from work to errands to parties, and may even be fitting in more than one party in an evening. Put a pot of soup on for guests who haven't had time to eat.
- Mark wine glasses, especially if there are more guests at the party than you usually squeeze into your home. Pick up a grab bag of ribbon remnants at the craft store and tie bows on the stems of the glasses, slip seasonal charms onto old-fashioned keychains, or just write names right onto the bowls of the glasses with washable markers.
- Add to the festive feeling by asking people to bring a wrapped white elephant from home for a White Elephant Exchange. Whether you know this game as Yankee Swap, Dirty Santa, or Rob Your Neighbor, it makes a fun end to the evening. Set all the wrapped gifts in a central place. The first player chooses one and opens it. The next player can take the open gift, or a new, unopened one. Continue around the group in this way. Remember, once a gift has been chosen three times by any player, it is "retired" and can't be stolen again. The sillier the gifts, the more fun the game.
- Have something non-alcoholic to offer guests -- sparkling water and juices are perfect.
- Do you stress out about holiday entertaining, worrying that your decorations won't measure up to the magazine pictures? Give that up right now! When you have fun, your guests will have fun, too.
