The holidays are a time of gathering with friends and family, giving thanks for the ups and downs of year, and the exchange of gifts to show others our love through consideration of who they are and how much they mean to us.

One of the things I love about the holidays is that I can show others my love by serving them. Hot meals, attention to detail, and creating an environment that is warm and festive. When I decorated for our small family Christmas gathering, I received the highest compliment I could ever ask for, my three-year-old said, “Mommy, can we leave it like this? I want it like this all the time.”  It warms my heart to know that my kids notice when I’ve created something special. And my hope is that it goes into their memory banks and creates a life-long deposit of my love for them.

This shop was previously compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #StouffersHoliday #CollectiveBias. Here I’m sharing a 30 page printable pack of  Christmas Party Printables, my tips on holiday entertaining with STOUFFER’S® Family Size Entrées, and my Mozzarella, Cucumber and Tomato Salad Recipe.

If you’re planning a Christmas gathering – large or small, you’ll love these adorable Christmas decorations. The 30 page printable pack includes table scatter, name tags, napkin ring holders, party signs, straw toppers, candy cane stickers, and cupcake toppers. The cupcake toppers will allow you to create a cake display of Santa, his sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer. Keep reading to learn more about this intimate family Christmas party for our family and how you can download your Christmas party printables.

My hope is that these printables will make it easy for HappyandBlessedHome.com readers the to re-create this memorable Christmas party at home. As you can see from our family table, there aren’t any elaborate lights, or fancy sterling silver – it’s everyday plates, silverware and casserole dishes for our party.  Hosting an amazing Christmas meal can be as simple as featuring some of these Christmas printables (like the Santa and reindeer cupcake toppers) and allowing the food to be the star of the show. Decorating with food is easy with a little imagination. Here I’ll share my tips, along with my Mozzarella, Cucumber and Tomato Salad Recipe, to inspire you to create your own special holiday meal at home.

Ingredients for an  intimate family Christmas party

• 30 Page Printable Christmas Decorating Pack (at the bottom of this post) – print on white card stock and cut out the decorations you want to use.
• Serving trays – plates, candle holders, multi-tier serving trays, and enough placemats and place settings for the family
• Cupcakes – To create the Santa, sleigh and reindeer display (I purchased a dozen ready-made cupcakes)
• Candy Canes – for decorating (optional)
• Straws and napkins – also for decorating with the printables
• STOUFFER’S® Family Size Entrées, Lasagna with Meat Sauce
• STOUFFER’S® Family Size Entrées, Chicken Parmesan – large family size
• STOUFFER’S® Family Size Entrées, Stuffed Peppers

• 1 Loaf of bread, minced garlic, and butter to create garlic bread
• 1 Head of green leaf lettuce – for display decoration
• 1 Large ready-made salad bag
• Mozzarella, Cucumber and Tomato Salad Ingredients
  • 10 oz. Mozzarella cheese
  • 1 fresh large cucumber – thoroughly washed
  • 1 10 oz. package of grape tomatoes
  • 1/3 white onion
  • 1.5 ounces of olive oil
  • 2.5 ounces of red wine vinegar

Steps to host an  intimate family Christmas party

Step 1: Declutter, set the table and decorate. Our breakfast area is the hub of our home. Whether I’m planning a big party or a small intimate gathering, the first step is to declutter the space. My kids really noticed the party decorations and Christmas vingettes when I removed clutter from the area. Once excess things were moved out of the way, I was able to set the table and decorate the room.

Step 2: Print and decorate with the Christmas Party Printables. Since the cupcakes can be left out without my having to worry they will spoil, I used them as a sort of “placeard” and seat holder for family members. I think they offer a welcome greeting at each and every seat. Mrs. Clause held my place at the table while I prepared our family meal. I set her on top of a flat, white snowflake ornament, and added a candy cane decorated with a Christmas caroler to complete the look.

Step 3: Bake the STOUFFER’S® Family Size Entrées. Your next step is to bake the Lasagna with Meat Sauce, Chicken Parmesan, and Stuffed Peppers. Each of these dishes has a unique length of baking time. Check the box for directions and coordinate baking the items to ensure they’re all ready at the same time. I noticed a slight variation in temperature on the entrées. If you bake at the higher temperature, just decrease the length of time for baking by five minutes for every extra 25 degrees. It takes a little over an hour to bake everything. I used the time to make the Mozzarella, Cucumber and Tomato Salad, and clean the rest of the kitchen.

One small tip: If you want your STOUFFER’S® Family Size Lasagna with Meat Sauce Entrée to look like the one I’ve featured in this post, place the frozen lasagna on a cookie sheet in the oven for five minutes at 400 degrees. This will be just enough time to defrost the sides of the lasagna. Put your oven mitts on before removing the lasagna from the oven. Then take a flat cookie sheet and place it on top of the lasagna pan and flip it — to take the frozen lasagna out of the pan. Remove the container.

Place your ceramic baking dish (it needs to be 8″ x 10″ or slightly larger) on top of the frozen lasagna upside down and then flip both to transfer the lasagna into the new baking dish. That’s it – voila’ – lasagna in a different baking dish! You’ll place the lasagna back in the oven and add the other STOUFFER’S® Entrées in accordance with the box directions for bake time.

Step 4: Make the Mozzarella, Cucumber and Tomato Salad. This salad is so simple, yet it tastes terrific with the STOUFFER’s Entrées

Mozzarella, Cucumber and Tomato Salad Ingredients

• 10 oz. Mozzarella cheese
• 1 fresh large cucumber – thoroughly washed
• 1 – 10 oz. package of grape tomatoes
• 1/3 white onion
• 1.5 ounces of olive oil
• 2.5 ounces of red wine vinegar

Directions to make the Mozzarella, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Chop the cucumber, onions, tomatoes, and cheese into bite-sized chunks (about 1/4″ to 1/2″ cubes). Combine everything in a decorative salad bowl. Mix the olive oil and red wine vinegar together until blended and then pour the mix over the veggie and cheese combination. Toss with a soft spatula until well combined.

You can refrigerate your salad until everything is ready to serve.

Step 5: Create the Side Dish Displays. I love to use green leaf lettuce to make simple serving trays even more appetizing. By wrapping the silver serving tray with green leaf lettuce I was able to create the perfect backdrop for the Chicken Parmesan and Stuffed Peppers entrées.  This is also the perfect time to bake your garlic bread. Just cut it open and spread on the butter and minced garlic evenly. Toast it in the oven on 300 degrees for ten minutes while you complete the side dish displays.

Decorating a two tier silver stand with green leaf lettuce takes an ordinary entrée and makes it look extraordinary.  Just a few simple steps and you can create a display tower of delicious food.

Step 6: Add the entrées to the table. The smell of hearty tomato sauce and melted cheese filled our home as I completed the assembly of our display dishes. I poured some salad into the salad bowls from a ready-made salad bag. My last step was to slice the garlic bread and add it to a serving dish. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference.

Our Santa and sleigh team made the perfect backdrop. The lasagna was divine.

Fresh tomatoes, cucumber, and mozzarella? Yes – please!

My small family intimate gathering featuring FREE Christmas Party Printables, Stouffer’s Italian Entrées, and my Mozzarella, Cucumber and Tomato Salad Recipe was a huge success. My boys loved it so much, I think they’ll be talking about our holiday meal until New Year’s Eve!

30 Pages of Christmas Party Printables

This 30 page pack of Christmas Party Printables is perfect for nearly any holiday party. It includes:

• “Merry Christmas” party banner
• Santa, his sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer cupcake toppers
• Candy cane decorations
• Merry Christmas party signs
• Name tags
• Thank you cards
• Christmas party invitations
• Napkin rings
• Straw toppers

To download your copy of the 3- Page Christmas Party Pack, just click the “Buy Now” button.

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Where to find STOUFFER’S® Family Size Entrées

You can find all of the groceries you need to recreate this party at Walmart. You can find the STOUFFER’S® Family Size Entrées in the freezer cases where family meals are sold. Shop more fun STOUFFER’S® Family Size Entrées ideas online at Walmart or check out the STOUFFER’S® Pinterest board for more fabulous entertaining and recipe ideas.

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What’s your favorite way to host family and friends?

What are your family’s holiday meal and memory-making traditions? Have any favorite recipes to share?  I’d love to hear about your favorite side dish recipe! Please leave a comment below and join the conversation. I love hearing from my readers.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

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Originally published December 2, 2015.