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Natural Holiday Party with DIY Elements // A Well Crafted Party
A Well Crafted Party

Natural Green and White Holiday Party + Free Printables

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12 Days of Christmas DIYs // A Well Crafted Party

This post is the first in my series of the 12 Days of Christmas DIYs for A Well Crafted Party. Check in each day for the next 12 Days for new DIY posts. There will be LOTS of free printables to boot! 

Natural Holiday Party with DIY Elements // A Well Crafted Party

Natural Green & White Holiday Party Styled Photoshoot

Each holiday I like to mix it up when it comes to decorations. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the type of person that has a set of decorations that I’ll use year after year. Don’t get me wrong… I keep all my decorations and I try to utilize many of them each year. I do however like to change color schemes, decor placement and gift wrap ideas throughout the year.

My good friend Suzannah from Create/Enjoy came to me with the idea of creating a very simple and natural holiday scene for a collaboration between our two blogs and the hardware and gardening store Orchard Supply Hardware. I was beyond thrilled to work on a new-to-me holiday style. Macey from Motormouth Studio was kind enough to photograph our styled shoot and her photos show how beautiful this simple dinner party showcases natural holiday elements.

Natural Holiday Party with DIY Elements // A Well Crafted Party Natural Holiday Party with DIY Elements // A Well Crafted Party Natural Holiday Party with DIY Elements // A Well Crafted Party

We stuck to a general colorscheme of black and white with the natural elements of green, red and brown woods to create this look. One of the best parts of using natural elments in your holiday decor is that you can incorporate a variety of colors and textures into your event. Orchard Supply in Tigard, Oregon helped us find just the right natural elements to create this look including gorgeous 15 foot natural garlands, small potted trees and a beautiful rosemary bush shaped into a christmas tree and in a clay pot. They also helped us create many of the DIYs that I’ll be featuring this with some painting & hardware supplies!

Suzannah even created a festive array of party appetizers just for this event! She’ll be sharing the paleo-approved, dairy & grain free appetizers on her blog soon. I’ll be sure to link to her recipes on this post as they go live!

Check out Suzannah’s post about this party here:

Free Printable Holiday Appetizer Menu // A Well Crafted Party Free Printable Holiday Menus // A Well Crafted Party

Natural Hand-Drawn Holiday Party Printables + DIY

I’ve really been into hand drawn elements in many of my parties lately. So, when we decided to go with a very natural look, I kept imagining hand-drawn pinecones on the menus. I created a printable set for this party and am offering it free to readers!

Free Printable Holiday Party // A Well Crafted Party

Directions: To use the printables click on the downloadable item and save to your computer. Print on white cardstock and cut out for use! I’ve uploaded both a PDF version with two items per page for you to print and hand write your menus/invitation information. I’ve also uploaded JPG version that you can open up in a photo editing program (such as Photoshop or PicMonkey.Com) and add your text in digitally.

Bookmark or Pin this post because I’ll be coming back to add in all of the fun DIY posts that came out of this photoshoot!

(Cool arrows on photos via Freepik)

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Baked Eggnog Custard Holiday Recipe // A Well Crafted Party
A Well Crafted Pantry

Holiday Recipe: Baked Eggnog Custard with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

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Baked Eggnog Custard Holiday Recipe // A Well Crafted Party

There is nothing quite like a great holiday dessert.

This dessert recipe is perfect for a holiday dinner for two— or you can make a larger batch and serve it at a holiday bash! I love how the baked custard creaminess of this dish makes me want to sit in front of a fire and cuddle up close to someone special. The eggnog, cinnamon, and molasses cookie crumble makes it taste like the holidays. I created this eggnog custard from a seriously delicious eggnog I found at Whole Foods Market called Traderspoint Creamery Grassfed Eggnog.

Eggnog custards are by no means an original idea. A simple google search will yield several delicious recipes. My recipe breaks down the process down to the simplest, easiest recipe that still yielded a delicious result. I upped the difficultly and the taste just a little with the custard toppings. But, if you are looking for a quick, easy dessert to wow your loved ones then this eggnog custard is a great base!

Ingredients for the baked eggnog custard

 

Baked Eggnog Custard with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and a Ginger Molasses Cookie Crumble

Serves 2 — Approximately 1 hour (though, most of that is oven and cooling time)

Ingredients:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup Traderspoint Creamery Grassfed Nog
  • Dash of Salt
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (1 for the custard and 2 for the whipped cream)
  • 2 4oz ceramic oven-safe dishes
  • 1 ginger mollasses cookie crumbled
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • One baking dish with at least 1 inch sides

eggnog custard

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg, 1 tablespoon of sugar, a dash of salt, and eggnog. Pour the mixture in to the two ceramic dishes.
  3. Put the two ceramic dishes in the deep baking dish. Fill the baking dish with water so that the water comes up halfway along the sides of the ceramic dishes.
  4. Bake the dishes for approximately 40 minutes. The tops of the custards will puff and brown.
  5. While baking the dishes, make your cinnamon whipped cream. Using a handheld or table top mixer, whip the heavy cream until it begins to have stiff peaks. Add in the remaining sugar (2 tablespoons), cinnamon, and vanilla, and mix. Be careful to not over beat your whipped cream or it will begin to clump.
  6. After the custards are out of the oven, let cool, top with whipped cream and the cookie crumble.

Only top the custards with toppings right before serving. Serve at room temperature for a thinner custard. Or, chill in fridge for a few hours for a thicker custard. Both are delicious!

Check out these other great eggnog custard recipes that I’ve tried and liked:

  • Baked Eggnog Custards by The Kitchn — larger yield than my recipe and has alcohol in it! YUM.
  • Real Simple’s Eggnog Custard doesn’t have eggnog in it, but the flavor is amazing and rich.

 

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Christmas

Giveaway: Macy’s Holiday Parade in Portland

7 Comments Christmas
Photo from Macy's Portland Parade
Photo from Macy’s Portland Parade

Did you know Portland had a Macy’s Parade? Well, they do! The day AFTER Thanksgiving… you know the day, Black Friday, Macy’s brings the fun from NYC to the streets of Portland. All the fun of you don’t even have to get out on Thanksgiving Day!

When I was a child I was in pageants. As a tiny beauty queen I was usually in parades rather than getting to watch the parade on the side lines. One of our family stories is something that my grandmother told over and over again.

She used to say that after I spent the morning smiling and waiving from an elaborate parade float, I was upset to hear that the parade was over.

“Did you enjoy the parade?” she asked.

“No,” I’d complain, “I didn’t get to see it!”

Photo from previous Macy's Portland Parade

Years later I learned to appreciate both the opportunity to be in a parade and to watch the parade. But, because of that story, I’m excited to see what my son think’s of his very first parade. Really makes me wish my grandmother were here to see his face too.

I typically avoid going out on Black Friday. Sure, the sales are AMAZING. But, crowds and I do NOT get along. However, my son is now 2 1/2 and the idea of him experiencing his very first parade is just too good of an incentive. I can’t wait to see how his eyes light up when local bands march through, floats ride by, and as he see’s Santa.

Photo from previous Macy's Portland Parade
Photo from previous Macy’s Portland Parade

Portland’s Macy’s Holiday Parade

The Portland Macy’s Parade takes begins at 9 AM on Davis Street, makes it’s way down Broadway, turning at Alder, making its way down 4th Avenue, and finishing on Flanders Street one hour later.

The 2013 Portland My Macy’s Holiday Parade will feature 25 inflatable floats, local middle and high school marching bands, nearly 650 costumed characters and much more! A new red “Believe” Santa’s Mailbox float and Yes Virginia costumed characters have been added to the line-up this year. (If you haven’t heard of the red Believe Mailbox, and the Yes, Virginia campaign, then hop on over to Macy’s website to read about their commitment to give to the Make a Wish Foundation.)

The parade will conclude shortly after Santa dashes in his sleigh past Macy’s, heading directly from the North Pole to his Portland holiday post in Macy’s Santa-land, which opens at 11:00 AM. Santa-land is open November 29 through December 24 on Level A of the downtown store.

Win a Chance to Sit VIP at the 2013 Macy’s Holiday Parade in Downtown Portland on November 29!

Winners get the opportunity to sit VIP at the Macy’s Holiday Parade– in the perfect position to see all the action! And, I’ll be there with my family to celebrate alongside you! I have a limited amount of VIP seats to award.

*Winners must be able to attend the parade in Portland on November 29. The prize is only for the VIP tickets and does not include any additional expenses. Please read the guidelines in the Rafflecopter below and enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Not in the Portland area? Well, no worries, you can still watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade (or attend if you live in NYC!) on NBC from 9AM to Noon EST. Or, follow along via twitter at #macysparade! And, I’d still love to know…

What is your favorite Holiday Parade memory?

 

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