Getting together with family and friends is one of my favorite pastimes no matter the occasion. I don’t often play hostess for parties, but I decided that I wanted to have a little go at it simply to spend time with other adults. It can be very easy as a mom to make sure the kids are getting play dates, but to neglect my own need for social interaction as well.
I’m a big fan of doing things as easily as possible if I can get away with it. There is a certain sense of satisfaction that comes from digging in and doing everything myself, but sometimes I just want it to be quick and easy! There is nothing wrong with getting a little help from time to time. For this particular party I decided to use an old fallback that would look great, taste great, and only take about 20 minutes to prepare! I grabbed my best little man and headed to Walmart! Can’t you tell that he makes the best shopping buddy? And yes, he’s always been this happy. Since the day he was born! I’m one lucky mommy!
It’s fun to have a mommy-son outing even if it’s just to the store. Oh, and we might just get a treat a little later. SHHH!
With the help of a friendly employee we quickly found the Tyson Stuffed Mini Bread Bowls and the Tyson Any’Tizers Bruschetta Chicken and Bacon. Two packages of each cost around $25. I’ve never been able to buy that much food for a party with just $25, plus I get to make the oven do all the work! After grabbing the eats we ran over to the craft section to pick up some markers so the kids could make Christmas cards. We can never seem to be able to make markers survive more than a few uses, although I have a sneaking suspicion that our walls would be happier if we had never bought any to begin with!
We found our favorite cashier (yes, we spend a LOT of time at Walmart!) and quickly checked out. She’s the sweetest lady who always remembers our kids and even says hi when we see her elsewhere around town. We got done just in time to hit happy hour at our favorite slushy place. You can’t have a mommy-son date without slushies, and you can’t beat half price! When we got home Joshua and Olivia immediately went to work coloring the Christmas cards I made with their shiny new markers.
We’re lucky enough to live in an apartment complex that has a nice clubhouse for us to use for things such as parties. It’s nice to be able to have something that is tidy with bathrooms that are always clean. By clean I mean that there isn’t a litter box housed in the guest bathroom that one must trip over in order to reach the sink. I scrub my toilets three times a day mind you! At least when the children aren’t beating each other with the scrubber. 
Since no cleaning was required we were able to jump right in to the preparing and decorating! Simple Christmas-y decor was brought out and we listened to Bing Crosby sing carols as the bruschetta baked in the oven. The bread bowls went into the microwave and 20 minutes later we had piping hot appetizers! Along with these tasty finger snacks I baked cookies from scratch {gasp!} and made some hot chocolate on the stove. Thanks to Tim we even had a bowl of marshmallows. I’m not a huge marshmallow fan, unless it comes mixed with Rice Krispies, so I’m glad I have a man who thinks of these things!
As you can see, everyone enjoyed the Tyson’s Any’Tizers. They are a great addition to any party. I’ve been known to have them for a movie snack with the Hubs and I took them to Joshua’s class Christmas party. Can you spot my brother below? He’s the local comic relief. The bruschetta was crunchy which I love, and the bread bowls were a great pair because they were soft. Both were filling with chicken and bacon. I can’t think of a better combo!
In the end, the only people who were able to make it to the party were my brother and his family. Joshua and Olivia hadn’t seen their cousins in a few weeks, so they were having tons of fun nonetheless! We had an amazing time visiting and catching up. I’m even a little glad that we were able to spend this time as a family. When everything else fails, when every turn brings another glitch, it’s nice to know that we will always have our family nearby to make things right.
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study forCollective Bias® and Tyson #CBias #SocialFabric
What a festive spread, looks really yummy!
Beautiful party with family! I have to admit that I’ve never had these anytizers, but they look yummy! I’ll have to try them out! Merry Christmas!!!
This looks like a fun family time! Great table decorations too! We love the Honey Batter Breast Tenders from Tyson, we’ll have to check out these any’tizers and stuffed bread bowls!
How FUN! The food looks yummy and what a gorgeous holiday table! Thanks so much for sharing, I just love this time of the year. Merry Christmas!
Wonderful post!! What a FUN party!!! Looks like everyone enjoyed the party ~ adults and kids alike. I want to come to one of your parties! =)