Originally, my NYE plans included a cuddly movie night with the BF and the Maisy and maybe a lovely homemade risotto with champagne. Not too shabby but not exactly anything extraordinary for this homebody. So when I got the text that my sister's soiree was cancelled due to a friend's illness and she asked to come over, I grabbed the opportunity to show off my hostessing skillz! I quickly invited all my friends (Mandy and Russel) and decided to ditch the usual fancy-night risotto and go Asian!
The menu:
Crockpot Chicken Curry (crockpots are the busy hostess's BFF),
baked vegetable eggrolls,
baked crab rangoon,
crunchy snack beans, and an Asian slaw that has been a family favorite for years! Also, there was plenty of champagne and plenty of leftover champagne! I love champagne. It makes a Monday feel special.
In my limited party experience, the key to a successful NYE party is to space out the food to ensure everyone (except sleepy Kristin who wakes up at 5:30 am on a normal day) makes it to midnight successfully. Also, twinkle lights (which in my case were draped over an exercise bike because it was close to an outlet and, let's face it, what screams New Year's better than rarely-used exercise equipment?), party hats (thanks Mandy!) and plenty of available games and movies. And the grand finale: a 300+ song NYE playlist that can run for 23 hours and includes the likes of Jimmy Buffet, Ke$ha, New Kids on the Block, the that Indian music from
Bend It Like Beckham.
The results? Not a bad last-minute, low-key party! The beans weren't great so I saved them for my own personal healthy snacking. The chicken curry was blah because I think I was expecting a Thai-milky curry and not an Indian-tomatoey curry (even though I cooked it myself). However, the slaw, rangoon and eggrolls KILLED IT! So good and so gone! (Totally worth the 2 hour frantic HEB Alon market search for sold-out Asian ingredients and the subsequent BFF visit to the Chinese market). The music was awesome; the
Surf's Up playing on Disney completely beat out all the movies I had on hand, and the Wii didn't make an appearance but Mandy's Apples to Apples is my new favorite board game! The only bad thing: no one was interested in my
Auld Lang Syne sing-along. Boo.
Also, Maisy scared of fireworks.
Quel surprise.
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| I know, I know. A little too MySpace... but I wanted to remember my outfit! I never dress up! |
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| Awesome game! Cocaine is addictive! |
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| For Mom. |
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| Mandy wants a dog. I can tell. |
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| The food was already delicioso but the platter makes it special :) |
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| Daphne's NYE- killing the snowman. Thankfully it was from the $1 bin. |
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| For me. Not good enough for guests. The texture was fine but the spices didn't cook fragrant- maybe add them mid/post cooking. |
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| I want a champagne chiller too! |
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| The hostess with the mostess! And me and Russel too ;) |
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| Daphne finally calmed down. Her brother and Roxy have apparently taught her to cry and beg vocally to have the tennis ball thrown. |
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| Family picture! |
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| The ambience. Set. |
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| Eggrolls....drool. I'm thinking they might be healthy because they are baked. Yes? |
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| Same for rangoon? LF cream cheese maybe? |
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| New trivets in use! Thanksgiving World Market explosion also in use! |
