We're in full-blown holiday mode at The Party Planning Committee, and we've been dreaming of beautiful and elaborate Christmas spreads!
One of our favourite parts of holiday parties are dessert buffets. This year, we'd love to create a "twelve days of Christmas" table!
First: the lyrics, so we're all on the same page...Wikipedia tells us that there are several variations that have been sung over the years, but the one that we're most familiar with is:
12 drummers drumming
11 pipers piping
10 lords-a-leaping
9 ladies dancing
8 maids-a-milking
7 swans-a-swimming
6 geese-a-laying
5 golden rings
4 colly birds
3 french hens
2 turtle doves
and a partridge in a pear tree!
(Funny note: we thought it was 4 "calling" birds, but apparently a colly bird is actually a name for the common blackbird!)
Here's what we envision: treats laid out in a pyramid (Christmas tree) shape on a long buffet or dining table according to number and theme.
Depending on how many guests there are, you may need to 'cluster' the goodies so that you have more than 78 (12+11+10+9+...) treats. (Another side bar: plan on 4-5 appetizers and 1-2 small dessert bites per person per hour for a cocktail party.)
Now for the good part! Some of these may seem like a bit of a stretch from the lyrics, but you can make it easy for your guests to understand by putting signs beside each line of treats, or create a fun guessing game for those who don't remember all of the lyrics!
So as to minimize prep time, we've tried to mix home made and store bought goodies. It's always a good idea to think about this when planning a menu - how much time do you have to spend in the kitchen vs. with your guests, and how much of your menu can you prepare in advance?
Recipes/how-to for many of the pictures shown can be found by visiting our Pinterest page at www.pinterest.com/theppcottawa.
12 drummers drumming:
Gorgeous sugar cookies, stacked and decorated with edible silver balls and baker's twine:
One of our favourite parts of holiday parties are dessert buffets. This year, we'd love to create a "twelve days of Christmas" table!
First: the lyrics, so we're all on the same page...Wikipedia tells us that there are several variations that have been sung over the years, but the one that we're most familiar with is:
12 drummers drumming
11 pipers piping
10 lords-a-leaping
9 ladies dancing
8 maids-a-milking
7 swans-a-swimming
6 geese-a-laying
5 golden rings
4 colly birds
3 french hens
2 turtle doves
and a partridge in a pear tree!
(Funny note: we thought it was 4 "calling" birds, but apparently a colly bird is actually a name for the common blackbird!)
Here's what we envision: treats laid out in a pyramid (Christmas tree) shape on a long buffet or dining table according to number and theme.
Depending on how many guests there are, you may need to 'cluster' the goodies so that you have more than 78 (12+11+10+9+...) treats. (Another side bar: plan on 4-5 appetizers and 1-2 small dessert bites per person per hour for a cocktail party.)
Now for the good part! Some of these may seem like a bit of a stretch from the lyrics, but you can make it easy for your guests to understand by putting signs beside each line of treats, or create a fun guessing game for those who don't remember all of the lyrics!
So as to minimize prep time, we've tried to mix home made and store bought goodies. It's always a good idea to think about this when planning a menu - how much time do you have to spend in the kitchen vs. with your guests, and how much of your menu can you prepare in advance?
Recipes/how-to for many of the pictures shown can be found by visiting our Pinterest page at www.pinterest.com/theppcottawa.
12 drummers drumming:
Gorgeous sugar cookies, stacked and decorated with edible silver balls and baker's twine:
OR, "drum" stick cookies!
11 pipers piping:
Flute-like chocolate cookie sticks (buy these at Costco!)
Flute-like chocolate cookie sticks (buy these at Costco!)
10 lords-a-leaping:
This was a tough one! In the end, we chose these gorgeous Finnish pinwheels because they remind us of movement and busy legs jumping around!
This was a tough one! In the end, we chose these gorgeous Finnish pinwheels because they remind us of movement and busy legs jumping around!
9 ladies dancing:
Lady fingers!
Lady fingers!
8 maids-a-milking;
Strawberry- or mint chocolate-flavoured milk in glass jars, with stripey straws!
Strawberry- or mint chocolate-flavoured milk in glass jars, with stripey straws!
7 swans-a-swimming:
Cream puff swans. Make a simple version using a round pastry base, and cutting wings and a neck from castoff rounds.
Cream puff swans. Make a simple version using a round pastry base, and cutting wings and a neck from castoff rounds.
6 geese-a-laying:
We assume that the geese are laying eggs and we couldn't just choose one idea! Stick Cadbury mini eggs onto cookies as they're almost done baking, make mini bacon and egg candies (yellow m&m and pretzels on a white chocolate round), or scoops of mango sorbet in egg shells (use halved Kinder eggs to cheat!).
We assume that the geese are laying eggs and we couldn't just choose one idea! Stick Cadbury mini eggs onto cookies as they're almost done baking, make mini bacon and egg candies (yellow m&m and pretzels on a white chocolate round), or scoops of mango sorbet in egg shells (use halved Kinder eggs to cheat!).
5 golden rings:
Orange yogurt mini bundt cakes (or buy crullers!)
Orange yogurt mini bundt cakes (or buy crullers!)
4 colly birds:
We love these blackbird cupcake toppers! They would be super easy to DIY (especially if you have a Cricut!)
We love these blackbird cupcake toppers! They would be super easy to DIY (especially if you have a Cricut!)
3 french hens:
These hen cookies are too cute to pass up!
These hen cookies are too cute to pass up!
2 turtle doves:
Use turtle chocolates and add fondant 'wings'!
Use turtle chocolates and add fondant 'wings'!
and a partridge in a pear tree!
We've been dying to try these mini pear pies!
We've been dying to try these mini pear pies!
What variations can you come up with?
Love,
Ashley, Jen and Alessandra
Love,
Ashley, Jen and Alessandra
