Holiday Entertaining

Get ready for the holiday party season with easy appetizer recipes, tips on setting a pretty table and more.

Holiday Party Pointers

9 Quick Appetizer Recipes
Tide your party guests over while whetting their appetites, with these easy predinner nibbles.

Appetizers, Cocktails, and More

12 Affordable Wines for Thanksgiving
What goes well with turkey? Here, a dozen easy-to-find bottles—all $15 or less—that are worthy of your feast.

Fresh Ways to Dress Up a Table
Sixteen ideas that add unexpected fun and color.

Holiday Cookie Exchange Checklist

You bake one kind of cookie, you end up with a flavorful assortment to last through the holidays―that’s the idea behind a cookie exchange. Here’s how to organize one.

• Invite friends. Remember, you’ll be baking enough cookies for every guest to take home, so don’t invite the entire neighborhood. Shoot for eight to 10 friends who like to bake and who will have fun spending an evening together.
• Determine how much everyone will make. Typically, guests bake a dozen cookies for every attendee. But a half dozen would work if the party is large (say, more than 10 participants) or if you just want a sampling of treats, not enough to feed an army over the holidays.
• Set ground rules. Yes, it’s a party, but if you slave over homemade rugelach, you may not be happy when a friend shows up with slice-and-bake. Let guests know what the parameters are—such as, cookies should be made from scratch and holiday-themed.

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