Hosting Holiday Parties without Sacrificing your Standards

I LOVE hosting parties, because inviting everyone I know over to my house to share holidays truly makes me happy. I want to be with my friends and family and I want them here. However, as you can imagine … we have pretty high standards in the Koehler Mansion (no – it’s not really a mansion. We just like to call it that.) I can’t wrap my head around the idea of serving the people I truly care about a bunch of bad-for-you foods. I love them! Why would I do anything to hurt them? So I don’t. I don’t serve anything during the party that I wouldn’t serve to my own family and it’s not hard at all.

How is that done? Easy breezy. We fill our buffet tables with: lean (non-fried) meats, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, baked chips and light desserts. I serve tons of water, stick with Tropicana Pure Premium (which is 100% pure Florida orange juice – nothing added) for the folks who want juice and allow adults to bring alcoholic beverages of their choosing. I don’t douse anything in oil, butter, heavy cheeses, creamy sauces or any other sort of fats. It’s all completely unnecessary! Have you tried this Lowfat Zucchini and Spaghetti Squash Lasagna? It’s truly amazing. Or this Sizzled Citrus Shrimp? To die for! For dessert, we choose fun things to serve like my Famous Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies or these Orange Muffins. If you’re totally adamant about serving alcohol, know what you’re getting in to first, and then consider some skinny versions instead.

Now that we’ve got the consumables out of the way, this is how I make holidays FUN! Try and keep in mind that people have headed to your home for a good time. Let’s show them a good time! If you served high-fat indulgent food in a boring environment, everyone would leave early. It’s the happy times they came for, so make THAT your priority.

Play some music – we normally go for funky and loud – but you can just choose whatever you like. Just make it festive.
Give folks something to do! Dancing, chilling by the fire, karaoke or charades will do.
Set up seating arrangements which encourage folks to gather together.
Ensure everything is prepared in advance, so YOU can actually spend some time engaging with your guests – also making sure they’re all comfy and happy too.

Holidays are for celebrating fun, family, friends and/or faith. Focus on that! We eat year-round, so remind yourself that you don’t have to make it your world. Hold to your high standards and have a wonderful time!

This post is sponsored by Tropicana. I’m an ambassador for this brand because, in my book, it’s 100% goodness. They put absolutely nothing in their fancy Tropicana Pure Premium containers other than oranges. And best of all, those sweet and bright orange balls of perfection come exclusively from my home state of Florida. We love each other for real! I drink Tropicana, cook and bake with Tropicana and am so very proud to work with Tropicana.