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Give forward this holiday season with a Holiday Funfetti Waffle Party ~ A great way to celebrate with friends and family.
For years I have thrown a holiday party to celebrate the season with friends. As a busy single mom it wasn’t always possible for us to travel to see my family in the midwest. The party is a traditional that began when I was in the Army, back when it was tough getting leave this time of year. All of the soldiers who weren’t able to go home would gather together and have a big holiday blowout.
Holiday Funfetti Waffle Party #waffle #party #bakeinthefun
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My annual party is what eventually brought Paul and I together. We hadn’t seen each other in years but like a lot of people were friends on social media. I posted on my Facebook page the night of the party that anyone was welcome to celebrate with us. He saw my post and joined us for a fun night of friends, games and great food. We are have rarely been apart since that night 3 years ago!
Now the party has taken on a new meaning, but it is still a time to share our good blessings with the ones we care about. It is a reminder how lucky we are to have reconnected and drives us to give back. The first year we threw the party together we decided to use it as an opportunity to interact with our community.
As veterans Paul and I have both donated time, energy and resources to various holiday drives over the years. We know first hand what a struggle the holidays can be for some families. Rather than exchange gifts at that party we collected pantry items to donate to a local organization. Everyone had such a great time contributing we decided to keep it going.
~ Save $1.00 on ANY TWO (2) M&M’s® Chocolate Candies, 8 oz or larger ~
I was inspired for this years party while shopping at Walmart. I was there grabbing milk, something I always seem to be doing… we go through 3+ gallons a week, when I saw information about the Great American Milk Drive. It really hit home how lucky we are to have the resources to even think about drinking that much milk each week.
Milk is not typically donated to food banks – even though it’s in high demand, which means families are going without the essential nutrients, including protein, that it provides. For a small donation at pourmilklove.com The Great American Milk Drive will deliver a gallon of milk to a family in need in YOUR local community. You can also purchase 2 bags of M&M’s® at Walmart (9.4 oz bags or larger) and up to a gallon of milk will be donated to the drive.
While grabbing the M&M’s® near the holiday baking display the party idea hit me. I spied Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix and knew we needed a waffle bar! I make some mean Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Waffles that are ridiculously easy to make. It is a fun DIY party idea because guests can customize their waffles with different add-ins and toppings like M&M’s® White Peppermint and/or M&M’s® Hot Chocolate.
It all made sense… Milk is typically a breakfast beverage and what is better than breakfast for dinner? Or maybe dessert in this case? Dessert for dinner? Breakfast for dessert? Ok, maybe it is all very confusing, but it’s delicious!
On top of all that good stuff you can also enter a sweepstakes to win one of eight KitchenAid® mixers. Just vote on your favorite photo and you are entered in the drawing.
Holiday #BakeInTheFun
The waffles are too easy; just prepare the cake batter according to the package directions. Heat your waffle iron according to the manufacturer directions and make waffles! Almost seems like a crime to post that as a recipe! lol
The inventive part is the toppings and mix-ins. We had a variety of goodies listed below and a festive syrup I made out of Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting. To make the syrup combine 1/2 container frosting with 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/2- 1 cup whole milk. Add frosting and syrup to small sauce pan and heat on low, slowly stir in milk until it reaches the consistency you want. Serve warm.
M&M’s® Holiday Milk Chocolate
M&M’s® Holiday Peanut
M&M’s® Holiday Peanut Butter
Nuts
Fresh and dried fruits
~ Menu ~
Elf Snacks~ Fresh fruit and berries to snack on.
Santa Sausage~ Chicken breakfast sausage made into patties then drizzled with a hint of maple syrup.
Reindeer Haystacks~ Cheesy egg and hash brown stacks. I use frozen hash browns as a real time saver. Just combine beaten eggs, milk, grated cheddar cheese and part of the potatoes together.
Evenly divide among muffins tins and top with more hash browns. Bake until golden brown. Full recipe at the bottom of this post!
Visit the #BakeInTheFun site for more holiday recipe inspiration.
~ Funfetti Wonderland ~
Since this is our big annual party I wanted to go all out on the decorations as well as the food. Once I had the menu planned out Paul and I got to work on a few DIY projects. We kept the theme simple; modeled after the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday sprinkles. Red, white, green and trees. With pretty silver accents.
We already had the ornaments, garland and the small chalkboard; the rest I picked up at Walmart, discount stores and a local thrift shop. Fun coordinating tableware and utensils plus a mini tree complete the buffet.
~ Printable Holiday Food Labels ~
To label all the food I made and printed these festive labels, then taped them to holiday colored craft sticks.
~ Printable Funfetti Holiday Banner ~
We had a blast making the decor for this party and the holiday banner is one of my favorite parts. I printed it on card stock so it would have a little bit of weight; perfect for hanging from ribbon, holiday colored twine or simply affixed to the wall like we did.
~ DIY Chalkboard Sign ~
For the main chalkboard Paul upscaled an old frame I found at thrift shop years ago.
He gave it a fresh coat of white paint.
The backing is a piece of cardboard cut to fit, then spray painted with chalkboard paint.
I love that we can use it over and over again, decorating it based on the gathering we are hosting!
https://www.instagram.com/p/-J7C82otXP/?taken-by=thyme_for_cocktails
~ DIY Tomato Cage Christmas Trees ~
This was the biggest, but still super easy, DIY of the whole affair. We have been trying to figure out where to store some of my gardening supplies since we cleared out our storage unit. Which means it has all been piled in the corner of the back patio for a month. I figured why not put the tomato cages to use and make Christmas trees out of them. We used the garland that normally goes on our outside banisters so there was no cost involved!
To make them you need~
2 tomato cages
10 9-foot garlands
4 zip ties
Start by folding the loose ends of the cage downward. Beginning at the wide end of the cage and wrap in garland.
Secure it as you go along by winding fronds periodically around the cage, the garland is metal and will stay in place.
Use zip ties to bind the top of the tree together, then finish wrapping with garland. Fluff out the needles and you are set!
~ Repurposed Candle Sticks~
We always gave an old set of candle sticks a facelift, they were the perfect place to put small dishes to hold our waffle toppings! Upscale old pieces around your casa or buy a cheap at thrift shop, then decorate to your hearts content!
I also stuffed gift boxes with loose paper then wrapped them in holiday paper. It was a great way to make easy and inexpensive food stands. You can use any size/shape box, stack to the desired height and personalize them for your tablescape!
How do you plan to celebrate the holidays? Share your favorite party ideas in the comments!
Enjoy~
Loriann
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Holiday Funfetti Waffle Party
Author: Loriann Cargill Bustos~ Thyme for Cocktails
Cook time:
30 mins
Total time:
30 mins
Serves: 12
Reindeer Haystacks~ Cheesy egg and hash brown stacks.
Ingredients
4 eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
½ tablespoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon red pepper flake
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
4 cups frozen hash browns
Non-stick spray
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray
In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk and seasonings. Salt and pepper.
Stir in cheese and 2 cups frozen hash browns
Evenly spoon mixture into muffin tin.
Evenly top with remaining hash browns.
Bake 20-25 minutes until cooked.
Place under broiler 2-3 minutes until brown and crispy. Serve immediately.
3.5.3208
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