Christmas fun!

As I have mentioned before (and will continue to!) Christmas is my favorite. All of it, everything about it! The hubs (who loves Christmas as much as I do) and I wanted to host some of our family and have a fun Christmas get together with food and then going to see the Lights Before Christmas at the Riverbank Zoo. So, yesterday my parents came down and we did just that!

A yummy display of food!

We had so much fun, and it's always great to get to spend time with my parents. My dad and Jeffrey are like two peas in a pod trading jokes, and Aspen tried to play with Mia, my parents' 11 year-old Cavalier who could care less about anyone other than my mom, let alone a rambunctious puppy!

I made lots of finger food appetizers and desserts with a fun Christmas-y punch and stovetop hot chocolate to finish the night off! (Recipes and links at end)

Ham and Cheese Party Roll-ups

Mini Chicken and Waffles

Bacon-wrapped Lil' Smokies

Peppermint Marshmallows

Candy Cane Oreo Brownies

Posing by the giant Christmas tree at the Zoo

My adorable parents!

Here is a compilation of all of the recipes for the food, desserts, and drinks:

Savories
Bacon-wrapped Lil' Smokies (with a delicious brown sugar glaze! Sure to be a crowd pleaser)
Hot Ham & Cheese Roll-ups (my Dad's favorite)
Mini Chicken and Waffles - so simple! Just Mini Eggo waffles with a Chick-fil-A nugget sandwiched between with a toothpick! Serve with a drizzle of Maple Syrup.

Sweets
Puppy Chow
Gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting - recipe from The Cupcake Diaries by the girls of Georgetown Cupcake! This cookbook started my cupcake craze!
Candy Cane Oreo Brownies (I couldn't find the candy cane type Oreos but the Mint ones worked perfectly!)
Pretzel "Kisses"(Linked recipe used Hugs, but again, couldn't find so Kisses it was!)

Drinks
Cranberry Punch
Stovetop Hot Chocolate (so fast and east and makes the perfect cup of hot chocolate)
Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows (a show-stopper for sure)