I am thrilled to be sharing this stunning Favorite Things Christmas Party by Jenny Keller of Jenny Cookies. Jenny is a super star baker, author and party planner. Her parties are always so well thought out but never overly fussy. I am in love with every single aspect of this Party. My absolute favorite detail has to be the Oh What Fun marque sign. Brilliant! I also love the naked cake, Christmas cookie, gingerbread house making and photo booth- perfect activities for any holiday party. Jenny strives to create one-of-a-kind celebrations, desserts and decor that will be remembered for years to come. Her guest will never forgot this party!
Jenny explains:
I filled the dessert table with holiday treats from my book, and added in some of our other favorite desserts like mini pies from the Snohomish Pie Company, Lady Yum macarons and Frost Donuts french crullers. If you are local and haven’t tried any of these, RUN. They’re amazing.
The cake was a buttercream filled naked vanilla cake topped with greens I cut from our property! After it was done, I dusted it lightly with edible glitter so it sparkled.
I am obsessed with hanging lit marquee lights hung over my dessert tables right now. Lollipop Lights makes the CUTEST lit signs in any color, size and font you could imagine. We had OH WHAT FUN made in emerald green and hung it from a wood backdrop made from old barn wood we had on our property. I LOVED IT! I think I’ll keep it up all month!
Christmas was the perfect season to throw the next Favorite Things party, but this time, it would be a couple’s party slash date night my husband and I would host together. We sent out fun Minted invitations to our close friends with all the party information and a list of ideas.
Favorite Things parties can work all kinds of ways. Basically you are inviting people to come to your party but they are bringing some of their favorite things to exchange. This is where each party could differ. You can ask people to bring any quantity and dollar value you want. It all depends on what your guests would be comfortable spending, BUT, remember they are bringing home the same value in items as they spent.
We asked our guests to think of THREE of their favorite things valued around $5, and bring 4 EACH of them. So they would bring 12 items total. They would be spending around $60 but taking $60 worth of items home. At first, some of the guys doubtful they could find anything they liked for $5. It is possible!! You just have to get a little creative. I was super impressed with what everyone came up with.
I had ordered THE most adorable Santa bags for each couple to take their goodies home in but unfortunately they didn’t make it in time for the party. Thank you black friday shoppers!! Sometimes it’s a bonus I am a hoarder because I had bought these fun “TOTES” bags about a couple months ago for (maybe) my daughter’s birthday goodie bags. They worked perfect for our guests to fill up. I’ll be mailing each guest their Santa bag once they arrive, so they’ll have it for Christmas morning!
My friends at Oh Goodie Designs made us custom OH WHAT FUN! gold deer head napkins, cups and drink stirs. Who doesn’t love a gold foiled napkin??
In between rounds we had a photobooth to capture all the date night fun made from a white backdrop and left over garland I had purchased at Costco for my staircase. I found the cute props at Target for $5. Super easy to re-create!
After our second round, we surprised our friends with a Couple’s Gingerbread Decorating Contest with Wilton‘s Gingerbread Kits. Surprise!! You have 20 minutes…GO!
We really should have had this video taped because IT. WAS. HILARIOUS. It was so funny overhearing each couple’s conversations as they were racing to get their house together. Talk about marriage building!! Some turned out really great..and some really awful.
We posted the completed houses on Instagram and asked people to vote for their favorite. We awarded our winner with a $75 gift card to our favorite donut shop FROST!
After the rush of gingerbread building, we had our last round of favorites and then settled around our fireplace with cozy blankets! I absolutely loved lighting all my candles in my outdoor lanterns and actually sitting down! I’m go go go all the time, it was nice to just RELAX!
As people started to leave, we couldn’t let them go without a party favor so we sent each couple with our favorite Balsam & Cedar Illume candles and Lady Yum macarons for the road.This party was my favorite party to date. It was the perfect amount and combination of friends. Laid back, fun, genuine friends. We had SO MUCH FUN that my husband announced it is going to be a new yearly tradition.
THANKS JENNY! Make sure to visit Jenny’ website- Jenny Cookie’s. She has more stunning photos from this party on her blog. Gorgeous photography as always from KCB Photography. You can still order her book for Christmas delivery. It is definitely on my list. If you would like to have your party feature, check out our submission page. Monday I will be sharing the full details of our holiday party. Have a great weekend!
XO,
Jenny
[…] birthday. Jenny is the ultimate party stylist. You may remember we shared Jenny’s Favorite Things Christmas Party a few weeks back. Jenny does the most incredible job creating a mood for each party. This […]