Invite: So many sweater invitations are geared toward Ugly Christmas sweaters, but this party was in November, so I wanted to stay away from Christmas vibes. I found a sweater background, and added pink to it by switching some of the hearts to pink. I chose pink only because it matched the doll clothes I was using for other decorations. Besides a little PhotoShop editing, I stayed pretty simple with the invitation.
Decorations: I used a deep blue tablecloth that matched the invitation to cover the table and added some snowflake decorations I found 60% off at Hobby Lobby. By the way....60% off in the middle of November? The shelves were almost empty of Christmas decorations and it isn't even close to Christmas! Yikes!
I borrowed my younger daughter's American Girl doll sweaters and winter head gear to wrap around wine glasses to add some sweater decor. I also added a mini braided scarf that my older daughter made to weave throughout the centerpiece.
I folded pink paper napkins to look like sweaters. This was pretty easy. I found a tutorial on the Internet and it was easy to follow. It would have looked better with cloth instead of paper, but I didn't have cloth in any wintery colors.
For place cards, I made these sweater cap ornaments in various colors. They are really easy to make with just yarn and a piece cut from an empty toilet paper roll. I stuffed the inside with a tissue to make it poof a little. The names were next to each hat made to match the invitation.
I found a garland at Michaels that was made of bright colored yarns. It had all the colors of the party. I added it above the beverage table along with more snowflakes and lit candles.
I usually make my own creative wine labels for these dinners, but I decided to keep it easy and just use more of my daughter's doll sweaters. I added a yarn scarf to one. If you are doing an ugly Christmas sweater party, there are quite a few cute wine sweaters on Amazon.
For wine charms, I printed mini sweaters that I found from images online. Super easy. I just had to hand cut them and tape them to the wine stem.
Menu: Sweater Weather to me means warm comfort food, so that's what I made.
I started with a woven bread bowl to tie in the knitted sweater idea. I bought pre-made french bread dough and just used that to make it easy. The dough was sliced and then woven around a bowl that could go in the oven with aluminum foil wrapped around it and sprayed with cooking spray. It was brushed with egg wash, and then baked for about 30 minutes, rotating it regularly.
For the main mean, I made a Red Wine Beef Stew in the crockpot. I got the recipe from The Bewitchin' Kitchen here. I served it over parmesan cheese and garlic mashed potatoes. It was tasty and easy. I made it in the morning before I left for work, and then didn't have to do anything but make the mashed potatoes when I got home from work.
For dessert I made S'Mores Pies which were super easy. I bought individual graham cracker crusts, put half of a broken up Hershey bar in the bottom, and added marshmallows to the top. I baked them in the oven and just a quick broil to brown them. They were tasty, but not my favorite dessert. I don't think I would make them again. Just a regular roasting of s'mores over the fire would have been fun.
Favor: For a parting favor, I made my guests these travel mugs with a sweater and "It's all about Sweater Weather" on the front to match the image on the party invitation. I bought the travel coffee mugs from Michaels ($2 each). I already had scraps of the vinyl. These were time consuming to make since the letters were small, but they turned out cute.
I started with a woven bread bowl to tie in the knitted sweater idea. I bought pre-made french bread dough and just used that to make it easy. The dough was sliced and then woven around a bowl that could go in the oven with aluminum foil wrapped around it and sprayed with cooking spray. It was brushed with egg wash, and then baked for about 30 minutes, rotating it regularly.
There was some space between the woven bread because we thought it would expand a little, but it didn't very much. For this reason, I decided to use the glass bowl it had baked around to place inside to hold the salad. The salad was an Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette. I found the recipe at Thriving Home here. It had greens, Feta cheese, bacon, Honey Crisp apples, dried cranberries, and walnuts.
For the main mean, I made a Red Wine Beef Stew in the crockpot. I got the recipe from The Bewitchin' Kitchen here. I served it over parmesan cheese and garlic mashed potatoes. It was tasty and easy. I made it in the morning before I left for work, and then didn't have to do anything but make the mashed potatoes when I got home from work.
For dessert I made S'Mores Pies which were super easy. I bought individual graham cracker crusts, put half of a broken up Hershey bar in the bottom, and added marshmallows to the top. I baked them in the oven and just a quick broil to brown them. They were tasty, but not my favorite dessert. I don't think I would make them again. Just a regular roasting of s'mores over the fire would have been fun.
Favor: For a parting favor, I made my guests these travel mugs with a sweater and "It's all about Sweater Weather" on the front to match the image on the party invitation. I bought the travel coffee mugs from Michaels ($2 each). I already had scraps of the vinyl. These were time consuming to make since the letters were small, but they turned out cute.
I used the giant flower pot mug I made way back when I did a Friends theme to hold the hot chocolate packets that guests also took home with their party favor.
As usual, the girls and I had a great time catching up with each other. We had a few that had to cancel last minute due to the winter sickness that is going around lately, but those of us that were healthy enough to come enjoyed our time together.
