{"id":43413,"date":"2019-12-03T18:15:02","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T23:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=43413"},"modified":"2019-12-04T08:00:55","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T13:00:55","slug":"five-reasons-to-host-a-holiday-open-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=43413","title":{"rendered":"Five Reasons to Host a Holiday Open House"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are hosting a holiday open house for our 19 of our neighbors this year.\u00a0 Although we moved into our new house last year before Christmas, we just weren’t quite ready to entertain a crowd – especially people we hardly knew.\u00a0 This year we decided to take the plunge, and do it.\u00a0 I still don’t know all of the people we are inviting, but they are our neighbors, and I am excited to meet them.\u00a0 We often wave when they walk or drive by, but we haven’t actually talked to all of them yet.\u00a0 I ordered cute invitations, Mike will hand deliver them; and so there’s no turning back.\u00a0 Why did we decide to do an open house rather than a cocktail party or a brunch buffet?\u00a0 Well, here are five reasons to host a holiday open house.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It’s An Afternoon Get-Together<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The reason we decided to have an open house is because traditionally, they are held in the afternoon.\u00a0 Since our party is on a Sunday afternoon, we will still be able to go to church that morning, and there will be time to catch a movie after everyone has gone home.\u00a0 Our get-together is scheduled for 2:00 to 4:00, so our guests will also be able to plan something for their morning and also after the party.\u00a0 They will have time to do some shopping, meet friends for dinner, or just chill out at their homes and watch some NFL.<\/p>\n

It’s More Relaxing<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

An afternoon event is always a little more casual than an evening event.\u00a0 People can wear nice jeans and a nice top and be dressed quite appropriately.\u00a0 There’s no need for a sports jacket or tie, and the sequins can stay in the closet.<\/p>\n

The Menu Is Easier<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The menu is easier for a lot of reasons.\u00a0 I plan to serve a mixture of\u00a0 sweets like this peanut butter fudge<\/a>, these bars,<\/a> and these cookies<\/a>.\u00a0 Although I love to cook and bake everything from scratch, I am being realistic.\u00a0 I will make some things and buy some foods that are already prepared.\u00a0 For sure, I will set up a charcuterie board similar to this one<\/a> along with some dips like this hummus,<\/a> spinach dip, and a seafood dip.<\/p>\n

No Need To Set Up A Bar<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rather than setting up the bar with everything one needs to make a mixed drink, I am going to serve two types of punch.\u00a0 One will have a little something extra, and one will be plain. Or I might serve hot mulled wine and a plain punch.\u00a0 I am still trying to decide which way to go on the beverage situation.<\/p>\n

It’s More Flexible<\/h2>\n

\"Christmas<\/p>\n

Since this is an open house, the timing is flexible.\u00a0 It will last for two hours, and guests will be able to stay for the entire time, or they can drop in for 15 minutes, have a drink, and leave.\u00a0 There’s no obligation to stay longer.<\/p>\n

If you have ever hosted an open house and have some tips for me, I am all ears.\u00a0 I will let you know how it goes.<\/p>\n

Take care.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are hosting a holiday open house for our 19 of our neighbors this year.\u00a0 Although we moved into our new house last year before Christmas, we just weren’t quite ready to entertain a crowd – especially people we hardly knew.\u00a0 This year we decided to take the plunge, and do it.\u00a0 I still don’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43413"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43413"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43419,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43413\/revisions\/43419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}