A Christmas Story Holiday Recipes and Party

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HolidayMadeSimple #CollectiveBias

Every year since we got married we host an annual holiday party at our house. We always love having a theme for the party, something that’s fun and gets everyone in the holiday spirit. In 2011 we did Ugly Sweater, in 2012 we did Cocktail, in 2013 we did Festive Flannel, and this year we decided to throw a party inspired by the classic holiday film A Christmas Story. But sometimes the best laid plans don’t always go the way you want. Storms hit, you run out of daylight, people cancel last minute, and a particular set of Christmas cookies take you five hours to make. Thankfully, I had a NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Famous Fudge Kit in the pantry for a last minute dessert to help me make up some time!

This fudge kit is so easy, it literally takes 5 minutes to prep and then you just have to chill it, can’t beat it! I also thought it would be a clever dessert for the themed party too, if you’ve seen the movie than you’ll definitely remember the famous “Oh…fudge!” line. I simply added some pink frosting to the top of the fudge to make it look like Ralphie’s soap bar and used white frosting to pipe the quote on. Adorable and genius, I know! This fudge is often given as a gift, it’s creamy and has been loved by our family for generations. Treat yourself and others to its rich deliciousness with this complete kit this holiday season, it makes over 1½ pounds of fudge per batch. Seriously, you can’t beat it!

Now, about those cookies. I had picked up the film’s logo cookie cutter and a leg lamp cookie cutter. My mom gave me my Grammie’s Basic Christmas Cookie and Royal Icing recipe last week and I really wanted to use it for the party. Recipes are such a great way to hold on to those no longer with us, especially around the holidays.

• 3 tbsp Meringue Powder
• 1 lb. Confectioners’ Sugar
• 6 tbsp Warm Water

1. Add ingredients to a stand mixer, do not use a hand mixer, and beat for 15 minutes until still peaks form.
2. Add gel coloring for desired color and pipe onto cookies.

I did a small and simple dessert bar for the party and of course we had a leg lamp. I had great plans for the decor for this party, but sometimes you just gotta let go of the little things and enjoy the season.

On top of cocktails we did soda in glass bottles to get a vintage feel to keep with the theme.

And it wouldn’t be A Christmas Story themed party without Chinese takeout! This lightened our prep load a lot too, Matt just picked it up on the way home from work!

The Pink Nightmare and Ralphie made an appearance!

I think this was one of the funner parties we’ve thrown, it was very laid back and so nice to catch up with friends and family! We played some fun games, at lots of food and had a healthy amount of laughs! If you’re looking for some great holiday party games, visit my girl Britni over at Play.Party.Pin. for inspiration!