My husband and I have always been the entertaining type, so when we custom built our home, we knew we had to have an open space where we could have great get togethers with family and friends.
The holidays are the perfect time to entertain but this time it is not just about family, it is about friends who have become family.
We call ourselves the Grown Folk Crew. A group of long-time friends (with and without children), who are like-minded people, who love to spend time together, laugh, enjoy thought-provoking debates and just have a great time.
Rather than try to book a table at a restaurant and perhaps have our time limited, we decided to host a holiday party at our home without kiddies) to enjoy a bit of holiday cheer with each other. We try to have a gathering a few times a year.
For our holiday party, we decided to make it a little more formal than our normal get-togethers which have been quite casual to date.
Thanks to the Real Canadian Superstore, it was easy to find everything we needed for what we knew would be a magical evening with our friends.
It’s funny how different it was to shop for our party versus a regular grocery shopping trip. We were so used to the same routine. We could literally do our shop with our eyes closed. However, all of a sudden, we went off the beaten path and went down aisles we wouldn’t normally go through, and we saw products we have never seen!
We decided to categorize the items we needed into 3 must-have areas:
1) FOOD:
Obviously a great party cannot occur without great food! Hubby and I go to Real Canadian Superstore every single week for our regular groceries and other needs, so it was very exciting to grab items specifically with the party in mind.
I created a bit of a rough draft of a menu to include what a typical Christmas party would have: i.e. appetizers, salad/soup, main course and dessert. We knew we wanted to have the freshest produce and meat, so we bought our decor items earlier in the week and waited until closer to the end of the week to purchase our cheese, meats, veggies and fruits.
The one thing I enjoy about shopping at Real Canadian Superstore is that there is always an abundance of choice and we really get the best value, especially when buying for our family of 5 nevermind a party of 16!
Cheese, charcuterie and crackers OH MY! I could not believe the selection, as a matter of fact it was tough to choose.
Lots of great snacks for our guests to munch on until dinner could be served.
Real Canadian Superstore even carries everything you need to make fancy cocktails!
I’m pretty sure people were wondering why I was taking pictures of everything but if you were one of those people, now you know why! hahaha
I also loved the Meals to Go section for large salads and pastas – knowing that we would be cooking most of the menu, it was nice to have a few convenient and ready-made options as well. I even picked up “Free From” Roast chickens as one of the main courses!
After this particular shop, it was clear that we needed to not be so routine during our regular grocery shop because there are far more options than what we are used to eating. This shop allowed us to not only take our party to the next level but really made us see that we need to step out of our comfort zone and try new items without breaking the bank.
2) DECOR
Our theme is Gold and Silver. We already had the theme for our home last year, so for this get together, we just needed to build on it. Rather than just having the Christmas tree be the focal point, we picked up a few extra decor items to fill in the space such as above our fireplace, on the side tables where the food was to sit, and even our outdoor space!
It was great to see how many different items were available to satisfy any theme or party idea. I went in with certain items in my head and ended up changing my mind because there were way more unique offerings than what I thought would be on display.
3) DINNERWARE, BAKEWARE, TABLEWARE
The one thing that I knew we were lacking was a complete set of dinnerware and tableware for a formal setting. We picked up these gorgeous Canadiana dinnerware to set our table just right! From wine glasses, to bakeware, to cutlery, we got it all, and at great prices too!
The menu has been created, decor has been chosen and now all we have to do is wait for our guests.
I can’t wait to share the after party results with all of you!
They have such a great wide selection of products.
I love shopping at Superstore. They have some nice things
I love the holiday bake ware and tableware. Affordable and every year gets better.