girlsnight – House in the Parish

For the past three years, our group has gotten together for an all girls Christmas dinner and called it Chickmas. We thought we were really funny. Turns out it’s a real thing-just search the hashtag.

We’re always looking for excuses to hang out, but Chickmas has become a must holiday event in our group for 2 reasons.

We do a Secret Santa gift exchange using Elfster. This relieves the pressure of buying all your gal pals a gift for the holidays.
It’s a great excuse to get the fancy dinnerware out and sip wine that cost more than 8 dollars a bottle.

I get to host for the sole purpose of using my great grandmother’s china and red crystal. My great grandmother had some serious talent. She hand painted the china and won quite a few awards for her efforts. Since these items have been in my possession, they’ve served one purpose-to make Chickmas Fancy AF.

Because the crystal and china are staples at the event, I like to switch up the rest of the decor from year to year. Unlike my 30th birthday bash, I was way less prepared this time around. A few hours before everyone arrived, I ran to our local Walmart and was surprised to find some key items.

First, I needed to replace my table chargers. During Chickmas prep, I found 5 of my 6 and that wasn’t going to cut it. Luckily, Walmart had these gold placemats for a steal of 2 dollars a piece. While aimlessly wandering the Christmas section, I came across those cute little snowcapped trees for 1 dollar! I got 3 because it was all I could find. The other greenery was 4 bucks each. I used 4 of the 6 that I bought.

The long wooden candle holder was a silent auction win from an American Cancer Society fundraising event, Real Men Wear Pink. The candlesticks were an impulse buy from TJ Maxx. They sat around for a couple of years, and I’m glad to see they finally found a purpose. The napkins, also from TJ’s, have been well used and loved. I received the table runner as gift a couple years ago, but this was its first Chickmas debut.

I’m learning that setting up a table is a combination of using what you’ve got and giving into purchasing a few items to make it feel new.

Lets talk food.

I must admit, Chickmas would not be possible without my partner-who I fondly refer to as the Chickmas Elf. Not only did he buy the photogenic loaf of bread above, but he made some delicious salmon and steak on the Traeger. For sides, I used a premix kale salad bag-still avoiding romaine over here-and popped some baby potatoes in the oven with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper. I relied on the girls for everything else. They brought red wine, a cheese plate, steamed cauliflower with tahini, and some kickass vegan/GF cookies.