Kitschy Christmas Party

This weekend we threw a Christmas Party for friends and colleagues.  I wanted the party to be kitschy and fun, but still tasteful and of course the food had to be delicious!  I knew I wanted to incorporate chalkboard decorations of some kind, so I made my own chalkboard wine glasses and chalkboard Christmas tree place cards to identify the hors d'oeuvres.  If you are interested in creating your own, I posted the instructions here.  The wine glasses were a hit!  Everyone enjoyed writing their names or other phrases on them and I know it helped me locate my glass on multiple occasions!  Crate and Barrel has a soapstone chalk for $1.50 here that was perfect for the event, because it didn't leave any dust or residue on our guests hands.

I found a few other decorations that I thought would be perfect, including the "HoHoHo" sign and some decorative plastic martini glasses, both from a local store, Tweed.  Other decorations included red, white and green Christmas tree ornaments in a glass vase, simple floral arrangements, red tablecloths and a green and white chevron print table runner and sparkly ornaments hanging from the chandelier.

For the menu, we served: Shrimp Cocktail, King Crab Bites in Phyllo Cups, Heated Spinach and Artichoke Dip with crispy French Baguette, Cheese Board with Manchego, Brie and Aged White Cheddar, Hummus with pita and cucumbers, Three Cheese Mini Macaroni and Cheese Bites, Pistachio Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting and Mini Cheesecakes with Strawberry topping.

The party was a complete success.  Everyone had a great time and I think the kitschy decorations really set a fun tone and mood for the party. 

The Bar

DIY Chalkboard Wine Glasses with Soapstone Chalk from Crate and Barrel

The centerpiece

Mini Pistachio Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting (and the DIY Chalkboard Place Setting)

Mini Cheesecakes with Strawberry Topping

The delicious hors d'oeuvres

Three Cheese Mini Mac N' Cheese 

The hors d'oeuvres table

More hors d'oeuvres

Chalkboard Wine Glasses and Chalkboard Christmas Tree Place Settings DIY

I wanted to throw a kitschy and fun Christmas Party this year and I knew that I wanted to incorporate chalkboard paint somehow, so I decided to make my own chalkboard wine glasses and chalkboard place settings to identify the hors d'oeuvres. 

Chalkboard Wine Glasses

I found the wine glasses at Dollar General (can't beat that) and bought a can of Rust-Oleum Chalkboard paint from Home Depot.  I used a business card to determine how big I wanted the chalkboard to be and cut it to the size that I wanted.  Then I used painters tape to mark the section. One thing I learned the hard way was to not overlap the tape.  The paint seeped through on the corners where the tape overlapped, so I had to scrape it off.  Not a big deal, but took a little time to remove it from 16 wine glasses.

Apply painters tape to glasses



It will take multiple layers of paint and you need to make sure not to put it on too thick, otherwise, the paint will drip.



After applying the last coat of paint and letting dry a little, remove the tape.  Scrape off any drips with finger nail or scraper (once the paint is completely dry).

Color chalk on chalkboard, wipe off and voila, they are ready to use!



The wine glasses were a hit at the party!  I think this is so much better than wine charms.  People could write whatever they wanted on their glass and I know it helped me find my wine glass on multiple occasions!  I found soapstone chalk for $1.50 at Crate and Barrel, that worked beautifully and didn't leave chalk dust on my guests hands.

Chalkboard Place Settings

I found wooden Christmas Tree cut outs that I thought would be perfect to create my own Chalkboard place settings.  I bought two different sets; one from Hobby Lobby and the other from A.C. Moore. Both were under 40 cents each.  I ended up using the A.C. Moore shapes because I liked the star or top. 

This is the set from Hobby Lobby, 4 for $1.47



I used two coats of chalkboard spray paint
 

Once completely dry, color chalk all over the trees and wipe off with cloth or paper towel (directions listed on paint)

Then I tied a bow on top with a red and white ribbon
 

I used the Crate and Barrel Soapstone Chalk to write the name of each of the hors d'oeuvres and placed them in place card holders