Holiday Dinner Season Is Here! – Home Edition

Is it just us or is everyone we know binge watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. on Netflix this year? Well, even if you aren’t a fan, you might be familiar with the cosy settings of Monica’s apartment where a significant part of the sitcom was filmed. There is just something about the space that sends us right into the mood of hosting holiday dinner, especially during this time of the year when it gets chillier and with Christmas and the New Year just round the corner.

We know we know, you might think we have all already spent too much time at home since March but here at The Wed Mag, we all agree hosting a cosy holiday dinner at home is just the most apt if not the best (and safest) way to finish the year. With the crowd outside these days, we can bet your bottom dollar you wouldn’t regret celebrating at home with that few close friends who battled through 2020 with you!

After a weary journey through the year, we only wanted what’s the easiest and hosting CAN be easy. Don’t believe it? We threw a little holiday party with the team, all to show you how easy and fuss-free it is for the perfect yet safe party! Here are the 3 steps:

Craft Your Menu

Decide whether to cook or to cater

The answer is clear for us but we aren’t going to stop all the Master Chefs who have it in them to whip up a spread. So here are some of our novice tip if you’re cooking:

• Craft out your menu and recipes. If that’s too much work, our local friendly supermarket, Giant, has pre-planned menus you can reference here and here.
• Make a to-buy grocery list. We may not be the best cooks but we know you don’t want to be frantically looking for ingredients at the very last moment.
• Leave yourself ample time for preparation. Again, we know more time is better than no time.

If like us you’re catering, we’re lucky we’re spoilt for choice. There are tons of caterers out there who have customised their menus for such times, with loads of festive cheer! So what you have to do is simply:

• Determine how much food is needed. For instance, our team isn’t big on desserts (it’s odd we know) so all we need is a wholesome meal without all the frills.
• Understand your guests’ palate. Our team has very different tastes in food so the only way for us is Fusion.
• Consider add-ons separately. If you are more a baker than a cook, then devote your time to bake the perfect dessert and cater the actual meal! Or if your squad has a separate tummy for champagne rather than sweets, then stock up on the sparkling wine instead.
• Choose a suitable caterer and make the order.

Our team settled on Grain’s Party Boxes (and separately bought/brought a whole load of champagne)!

We have always been a fan of Grain and we love these Party Boxes because they were meant for intimate celebration at a time like this. The set came looking picture perfect without any need to separately plate them on our end. (Phew, this truly made our work a whole lot easier because we wanted to snap pictures of them to accompany this write up! Consider this a bonus for your gram!)

We had the 5 pax party box which comes with choices of 5 mains, 2 sides and 2 desserts. Each dish came in a box labeled with clear information and details of the dish which was extremely thoughtful and cute. (Besides the 5 pax party box, you can select 7 pax or 10 pax party boxes according to your party size.)

We don’t think we need to describe how they taste like because if you know you know. Otherwise you’re totally missing out! (Same goes to those who didn’t/aren’t watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S., just kidding!) But really, we love how creative and tasty the entire set is because some of us who never liked Thunder Tea Rice came to love it. The Tobiko Dill Aburi Salmon and Truffled-up Capellini al Funghi are also the must try because they were empty within minutes!

Think Décor

Never underestimate how much of a difference a nicely set up dining table can make

Put Together Easy Centrepieces

Set the mood at home by sprucing up a little. We took a short little trip to our local florist and selected some easy-to-handle florals. We then trimmed and housed them in vases we found around the house as well as empty used bottles. Just like that, they made the perfect and easy centerpieces for the table.

All About the Paper Goods

People like to know what they are eating and menus are the best way to convey interesting dish names and add some colour to the table setting. There are apps and websites such as Canva that make creating your menus as easy as 1-2-3, and that is precisely what we did! We even had time to make place cards for everyone – fancy isn’t it?

Music and Programme

Because it’s time to celebrate!

Tunes Tunes Tunes

To set the festive mood, music is a must! Throw some Christmas tunes in the background and you will find everyone humming to it once in a while. And that is what this is all about isn’t it? – A sense of familiarity and harmony after a very strange year.

Celebration and Games

Let’s just take a moment to recognize how we’ve all survived 2020. It definitely calls for a celebration! Pop some champagne, drink a whole lot of it and play some games. Go crazy with gift exchange white elephant style and drink more champagne! The party really doesn’t have to end until one of you declares it so!

See, easy peasy right? You don’t need a Monica in you to pull up the perfect party. We are sure with the above steps comes loads of festive cheers and laughter! Happy Holidays from The Wed Mag Team! Share with us how your Holiday Dinner was like!

^{Feature image – Photo courtesy of Canva Pro}