Disclaimer: I received product from JC Penney in exchange for this post but all opinions and ideas are my own.
Hey party people!
Have you heard?
Have you checked it out?
JC Penney is not your momma’s JC Penney anymore! They are on top of the latest fashion, trends & the most popular color schemes. Not only do they have great home decor items, appliances & fashion…they have an awesome party and craft collection! Don’t belive me? Check out this holiday/Christmas party I put together with items from JC Penney’s MarthaCelebrations collection.
The holidays & Christmas aren’t always filled solely with huge parties. Holiday & Christmas parties are often filled with small get-togethers: the neighbors, the friends that want to exchange gifts, the family members stopping by after a Christmas performance, etc.
This is where the items from the MarthaCelebrations collection really came in handy.
I was able to turn our little bar car into a mini party station, perfect for hosting an inimate gathering.
And what holiday gathering is complete without hot chocolate? I spruced my hot chocolate up with whipped topping, crushed peppermint pieces & chocolate straws for garnish. Set up a hot chocolate bar with these simple offerings & let your guests customize their cup.
Along with hot chocolate, I decided to serve a couple treats in MarthaCelebration’s footed candy dishes. I used the small & the large candy dish.
This was perfect because I worry about food getting stale or yucky being left out for awhile. Once a guest chose their treat, they could put the lid back on & it preserved the freshness through the entire gathering.
These crackle cookies were a hit & it’s thanks to Martha Stewart’s recipe here.
Along with the crackle cookies, I served one of the easiest recipes ever…peppermint bark. It is “oh so delicious” too!
If you think you’re the worst baker in the world…you can still make peppermint bark!
Crush a half to three-fourth pack of candy canes in a ziploc bag. Melt a package of white almond bark in the microwave in 30 second incremements, stirring after each, until it is completely melted. Mix in the crushed candy canes. On a cookie sheet covered in wax/parchment paper, pour the chocolate & candy cane mix on top & spread it until it’s about 1/4″ thick. Let dry then crack the bark into bite-sized pieces.
Budget-Friendly Party Tip: Serve cookies that are easily handled & skip the plate. Just put out napkins.
If you don’t want to get stuck with a lot of sweet leftovers, set out cute to-go boxes so they can take a treat for later.
Budget-Friendly Party Tip: Create festive decor with empty boxes wrapped & tied with some ribbon. This not only allows you to bring in coordinating colors, it gives you elements of height.
The focal point of my whole party was this beautiful battery-operated tree by MarthaHoliday! **P.S. Right now it’s on sale for almost 50% off!
This tree got my heart! I fell in love with the beautiful white branches, the elegant silver base, the ease of putting it together (yes!), and the fact that I didn’t need an outlet any where near it! It really is gorgeous & I’m looking forward to using this for parties & in my own home decor for years to come.
To decorate it, I simply found a pretty red-striped ribbon to use as garland (and a bow as a tree topper) and added some mini ornaments I got for this Christmas luncheon last year.
While the white tree was the main event, the red honeycomb pom poms helped balance everything out.
The entire hanging decoration kit comes with two additional ribbon puff’s that were beautiful but I’ve got other plans for them.
Do you see the red & white border around the top of the cart? That was also from Martha Celebrations. It’s actually a gorgeous streamer but I wanted to use it to break up the bottom & the top of the bar cart. There is so much you can do with the streamer. You can use it as a garland on a tree, wrap it around greenery for your stair post, use it like ribbon around a present, or even use it on your front door to make it look like a wrapped present.
All of this, you can find online from JC Penney & you can get free shipping over $49 until Monday ( Dec 2nd 2013). Make your holiday entertaining easy with JC Penney & Martha Stewart Celebrations!
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Can’t wait to show you the fun things in store next week.
p.s. This is YOUR official invite to the party… join in on the Parties for Pennies Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram & Bloglovin!
Disclosure: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”