My husband and I kick-started the holiday season by throwing a little party with a couple of our closest friends last weekend. We love spending quality time with our friends during the holidays, but it can be difficult to get everyone together closer to Christmas. So, we figured we’d start a bit early, and with the help of the PC Insiders Collection it was a total breeze from start to finish!
If you’ve never heard of it before, the PC Insiders Collection is basically a lifesaver! It has pretty much every thing you ever needed to throw a party, from food products to home products too. I got a sneak peek at the PC Insiders Collection this year before the products were available in-store, and then I put them to the test at our holiday party, and they did not disappoint!
If you’re anything like me, you love entertaining. But, when it comes to holiday entertaining, the meals can be so time consuming to prepare (and don’t even get me started on the clean-up!). I like everything to be perfect, so I end up spending a lot of time in the kitchen – both before and even after our guests arrive. But thanks to the PC Insiders Collection, I was able to cut my kitchen time down so I could actually relax and celebrate with my friends. The collection literally had everything, complete with home products and food for our appies, main, and dessert!
In this easy holiday entertaining guide, I’ll walk you through how we used products from the PC Insiders Collection to throw this holiday party. You’ll definitely want to read if you plan to entertain this year, since this collection will make your life a whole lot easier!
The Décor
We live in a spacious loft, so it was important to set the mood. While I like to be festive, I don’t like to be over the top with the Christmas decorations. I went to my favourite flower shop at the St. Lawrence Market to have this holiday flower arrangement made. It was the focal point for the décor. We also strung some holiday lights, acorn and berry garlands, and put out a couple of cute cushions to make the space more comfortable and inviting.
Instead of having a sit-down dinner, we decided to keep it fairly informal by centering the party in our living room.
The Appetizers
We put out a really wide selection of appetizers to suit all tastes (I also didn’t mind snacking on a few (okay, a lot!) of these while putting the meal together either 😉 ).
Crostini
Alex was on crostini duty. So, using the PC Double Smoked Atlantic Salmon and the PC Soft Unripened Herbed Goats Milks Cheese, he made a crostini of smoked salmon on top of thinly sliced cucumber and radish, goat cheese, finished with a sprinkle of dill.
Charcuterie
IMO, no party is complete without charcuterie. So, I assembled two charcuterie boards using products from the PC Insiders Collection. The PC Splendido Antipasto Misto provided the meats (prosciutto, Coppa di Parma and mild Genoa salami) and we used two cheeses: the PC Aged 5 Years Canadian Cheddar Cheese and PC Smoke Flavoured Cheddar Cheese.
I included our favourite cornichons, green and black olives, dried apricots, and honey, ricotta cheese, and Dijon mustard on the charcuterie boards as spreads. We also picked up a couple different kinds of PC crackers – Wheat Roasted Red Pepper & Garlic and Parmesan Cheese & Garlic Swiss Sticks, which were a fan fave!
Hors d’oeuvres from the PC Insiders Collection
I loved the PC Asian Hors D’oeuvre Collection, Mini Chicken Empanadas, and Dry-Rubbed Hardwood-Smoked Chicken Wings, because they were all super low maintenance. I literally stuck them in the oven a short while before our friends arrived and in no time, they were golden brown and delicious! Easy and convenient, and wayyyy too easy to pop in your mouth. I think I lost count of how many chicken empanadas I had!
The Beverages
We usually like to have a good selection of red and white wine on-hand when we entertain. So, I was really excited to see the PC Set of 12 Stemless Glass Collection as part of the PC Insiders Collection! The glass collection came complete with stemless red and white wine glasses.
The Main Course
Since we had so many appies to nibble on, I knew I wanted to keep the main course light. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s leaving a holiday party uncomfortably full; and I find it way too hard to stop indulging when there’s plenty of food left around!
We served up the PC Gnocchi Potato Dumplings and the PC Shrimp & Scallops Au Gratin as a seafood option. It took me about 10 minutes to whip up the gnocchi in a simple marinara sauce. The PC Insiders Collection even came with a gorgeous, two-toned Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven! I can’t wait to use it again in the kitchen!
The Dessert
Last, but certainly not least, was our dessert. Now, I am no baker, so truthfully this is the part of the meal that I find most challenging! My solution? Cookies and cheesecake filled lollipops, all from PC! I displayed the PC CentreFulls Chocolatey Filling Double Chocolate Cookies on a cute cake stand and dressed the PC Candy Cane Cheesecake Lollipops up with some cute ribbon, and my job was finito!
Less time in the kitchen, meant more time with my friends and hubby! If you guys have never checked out the PC Insiders Collection, you really must. It’s my new BFF and I’m sure you’ll love it too!
*This post was done in partnership with President’s Choice, but as always, all opinions are my own.
