Invite: The invitation was made on PhotoShop with the iconic pose of Will Farrell's character. I used Christmas colors for the invite, but I also pulled in a bright blue for some added fun. Two popular lines from the movie made it onto the invite -- "The best way to spread holiday cheer is by singing loud for all to hear" and "cotton-headed ninny-muggins!"
Decor: I stayed fairly simple with my decor and didn't spend much money. I started with a red tablecloth and red square paper plates. I added a piece of bright green cardstock under each of the plates just to give it a pop of color. One thing I didn't do, but you could do is make these square plates into Etch-a-Sketches as these make several appearances in the movie.
For the centerpiece, I designed some signs using quotes from the movie and added items that are Elf-related. One of Buddy's famous lines in the movie talks about the 4 Main Food groups for elves: Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corn, and Syrup. Next to the DVD case for the movie I had candy corns and candy canes. Next to this, I created a label for a bottle of syrup. For candy, I had a vase with red and green M&Ms.
How cute are these elf place cards? Can't take credit for this idea as I found the template on Pinterest, but I just love them! It takes come time to cut them out but once they are cut, they are easy to assemble. I made the faces larger just to make them more silly, but you could make them whatever size you want.
I folded the napkins to look like Buddy's elf hat. The yellow stripe and red feather I used my Cricut to cut out of cardstock. I didn't glue them on. I just set them on top.
I always have a lot of fun coming up with creative labels for my wine. I wanted to incorporate the Etch-a-Sketch somewhere in my decor for the party, so I decided to put one on my white wine label. I found a line-drawing image of a wine bottle and glass and used Photoshop to remove the background so that it was only the lines. I used a sketch font to make it look like it could have been done on an etch a sketch. The label for the red wine, I just took a Buddy's quote about smiling and just switching it to wine.
For wine charms, I used these present tags and shrunk them down a bit. They all have sayings from the movie.
Menu: I had a good time creating the menu for this dinner. I basically tried to take quotes from the movie and pair them with something that was tasty. I started with an appetizer that was SO EASY and SO AMAZING! The quote is when Buddy first meets the mall Santa Claus and chastises him for smelling like beef and cheese and not like Santa. The appetizer had very simple ingredients: sliced baguette, thinly sliced roast beef, Garlic & Herb Allouette Cheese spread, and cut chives. Yum!
Next we had a spinach salad. This was a simple spinach salad with shaved Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts. A homemade lemon/olive oil dressing topped it off. I chose to make a salad with nuts to go along with Buddy's "Son of a Nut-cracker!" quote.
For the main dish, we had my grandmother's recipe for spaghetti. Serve it with a side of maple syrup to fit even more with the movie.
I loved these candy candy bread sticks. They weren't too difficult to make, but they can't be made ahead so only plan to do them if you don't mind being in the kitchen for a small part of your party. You can find the recipe here. I did not use Asiago cheese, but chose to use Parmesan cheese instead. They were tasty and so festive.
One of my favorite lines in the movie Elf is when Buddy sees the sign on the coffee shop that says "World's Best Cup of Coffee" and proceeds to go inside to congratulate them. I had to find a way to incorporate that line, so I decided to have a coffee themed dessert. And why not serve it in a coffee cup for added fun! The dessert was a no bake coffee cheesecake. They take almost no time to make and have a lot of flavor. I found the recipe here.
Added Decor: Just for fun, I made other signs with quotes from the movie. "So Good News. I saw a Dog today" went next to the window my dogs always look through during dinner parties. The "Have you seen these toilets? They're Ginormous!" went in the guest bathroom!
I also made a hat out of felt for our Elf on the Shelf. The kids look for him every morning, so I left him a hat so he could fit into the decor!
This isn't a very good photo, but my daughter cut out a ton of snowflakes and a paper chain to decorate just like Buddy does to the house in the movie. These snowflakes were over the dinner table. Others, along with the paper chain, were at the entry door.
Favor: I wanted to purchase Etch-a-Sketch key chains for my guests, but they were a bit out of my price range, so went with something simple. I bought cute glass jars with lids at Michaels and filled them with maple syrup. I added a candy cane and a simple tag. The guests got two of the 4 food groups! For the tag, I used another quote from the movie.
All in all, another fun monthly dinner with friends!
Happy Holidays!
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