let me start this post by apologizing for the photo quality! i never understand how people get such amazing pictures of their parties held in the evening. i use a flash, they look washed out. i don't use a flash, they look yellow. ugh. i could not throw a party and not share it though:) so bare with me.

saturday ryan and i hosted our first annual white elephant party. i absolutely loved it and will definitely be having one every year. surprisingly, everyone was such a good sport and put effort into finding the most hilarious gifts.

i love a good champagne cocktail. and usually what ends up happening is i have to make them all night. so i got smart. i made a menu! we displayed 3 recipes for cocktails. the kir royale, the traditional champagne cocktail and a poinsettia.

striped paper straws, tinsel drink stirrers, fringe and a striped runner completed the look of our bar.

to adorn the table of sweets, i made some yarn poms and pinned them to the ceiling to create "snow".

luckily all of the desserts were devoured and i didn't have them in the house the next day:)

this year i wanted to go the easy route. i made cookie sandwiches with frosting in the middle, mini cinnamon rolls, dipped marshamallows, dipped pretzels and a few small jars of candy. OH, and the most delicious popcorn anyone had ever had. I used this recipe but took the chocolate out.

Happy Holidays!