Serving Up Holiday Cheer

This weekend my home hosted the annual Blogger Holiday Party sponsored by Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market.  The party gave local bloggers the opportunity to sample the new holiday menu from Fresh and Easy while mingling and learning more about fellow local bloggers.

Probably my favorite item from the new line of Fresh and Easy Holiday Appetizers were the Brie & Cranberry Pastry Puffs and the Mini Beef en Croutes.

Mini Beef en Croutes from Fresh and Easy Holiday Guide

The Sparkling Pumpkin Spiced Apple Cider was unique and delicious- a must-have for any holiday party this year!

If you live in California, Arizona or Nevada, you’re lucky to have one of these convenient neighborhood markets close by.  A representative from Fresh and Easy talked about the new Holiday Guide and menu with local bloggers and answered questions about the store.

A representative from Fresh and Easy talked about the new Holiday Appetizer line

Event guests were a group of talented local female bloggers who write about topics ranging from parenting, fashion, daily deals, local events and cooking.  At the party, bloggers enjoyed discussing their individual blogs, mingling.. and yes- tweeting.

Bloggers chat and enjoy holiday appetizers from Fresh and Easy

Heather from WhipperBerry.com discusses her blog with the group

That’s me discussing The Organized Cook

Fresh and Easy has an impressive wine collection; we sampled Pacific Coast Highway’s 2009 Pinot Grigio

Bloggers introduce themselves and discuss their blog

Stefanie from RockStarMomLV.com takes a moment to tweet (of course!- we’re bloggers!)

We sampled these holiday cookies from Fresh and Easy, which were obviously delicious because they were all gone by the end of the party!  I didn’t throw away these adorable boxes and my kids are using them to store their holiday figurines; they also would make an adorable storage box for Christmas music CD’s.

Vegas Bloggers got to take home a sampling of goodies from Fresh and Easy

To learn more about the new holiday menu from Fresh and Easy, check out the Fresh and Easy Holiday Guide:

Giving Back

I never miss the opportunity when having get-togethers over the holidays to do something for those in need in our community.  It’s so easy to coordinate a food or toy drive at any holiday party by simply asking that guests bring in an item to donate.

I want to thank each Vegas Blogger who brought in food items to donate to our local food bank, it felt really good delivering our boxes and bags of food to help local families in need.

Make It Fun

You can make a game out of your charity drive by offering up a prize to whomever brings the best or most items to donate.  For our Fresh and Easy Vegas Bloggers holiday party, the guest who brought the most food donations won an adorable apron from me; and our winner was Stefanie from RockStarMomLV.com– thanks Stefanie!

Looking for ways to help?  Finding a local food bank isn’t difficult; I found a church nearby with a food bank by simply responding to a sign on their billboard.

If you’re throwing a party, I’ve found that guests appreciate the opportunity to bring a donation- after all, it makes it easier for anyone who may have generosity in their hearts over the holidays, but not a lot of time.  A few years ago I threw a small party for my girlfriends and asked everyone to bring in a cosmetic, hair product or toiletry item which I then donated to Safe Nest, our local shelter for women escaping from domestic violence.

If you’re not sure of where to donate in your area, look to your local church, food bank, women’s shelter or children’s charity for ideas.  By simply making a call or looking online, your small act of kindness could me a world of difference to someone else.

Merry Christmas!