Playdate Ideas for the Holidays

Want to host a playdate this holiday? Sharing inspiration for playdate ideas for the holidays focused on good friends and good food for everyone.

We are so blessed to have the most amazing group of moms and kids from preschool. Almost every Friday we meet for wine and pizza in the park. It is a tradition that both the kids and more importantly the moms all love. This tradition has reminded me that as moms it is so important to have the support system of our friends. No topics are off limits and we all feel free to share openly with each other.

So, when the opportunity to work with Beech-Nut® Naturals™ and to host a party for mom friends came up, I could not wait to get started. For most of our playdates we keep it super simple. We all bring snacks and drinks to share, we order pizza and sometimes we bring bikes. I love a good theme party, but our Friday nights have reminded me that you don't need to big party to have fun. The two most important parts of a party are your friends and good food.

If you follow my blog, you know I LOVE my bar cart. It is always decorated and ready for a party like Fall, Cinco de Mayo, New Year's Eve and many, many, more. One of the reasons I love it so much is because it keeps things simple. When I first started entertaining I had food and decorations in every room in my house. There were a few friends who were hostesses that I admire that knew the hours, well days it took to set up that much. Most people did not notice or really care. They came to see friends and to eat.

Since the holidays are super busy I think it is best to focus on a couple of details and then sit back and enjoy your company.

Food for Playdate Ideas for the Holidays

One of my favorite ways to make parties and playdates extra special is to have food fit into our theme. For this holiday playdate we did exactly that. The best news it took me less than 5 minutes to setup. How cute is this holiday cheese wreath?

To make it I placed a cup in the middle of the cake stand and spooned the cheese around it. Then I added rosemary to the outside and inside of the cheese. Finally, I added some rosemary on top and cranberries to look like berries.

For the youngest guests we served Beech-Nut® Naturals™. They are inspired by homemade and made with ingredients I can pronounce. I love that they use simple, natural ingredients and nothing artificial.

B wanted to make sure the big kids could enjoy the Beech-Nut® Naturals™ too so we made these Sticky Baby Handprint Cookies. The recipe is from Beech-Nut. They have lots of yummy recipes to try.

Ingredients for Sticky Baby Handprint Cookies

1 ½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
Icing sugar

Filling

2 jars (4.25 oz each) Beech-Nut Organics just apple (we updated the recipe to use just the apples flavor)
½ cup granulated sugar

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 48 cookies

Directions:

Filling: Combine Beech-Nut Organics flavor of your choice with sugar in a small sauce pan over a medium heat. Make sure you stir is constantly. It should take about 5 minutes for the sauce to thicken and bubble. Let the sauce cool while you prepare the cooks.

Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add egg and vanilla; beat until completely combined. Add flour and salt; beat on low until just combined.

Roll into balls they recommend making them a tablespoonful, we did two or three tablespoons; arrange 2 inches apart on parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Lightly press thumb into center of each ball to make small indentation; fill with ½ -1 teaspoon of filling.

Bake in top and bottom thirds of oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, for 20 to 22 minutes or until cookies are golden brown around edges. Transfer to wire rack; let cool completely. Dust with icing sugar; we skipped the extra sugar and instead added dried cranberries.

Tip: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

Decorations for Playdate Ideas for the Holidays

In addition to my bar cart my go to decorations are balloons, tassels and fresh flowers. The balloons double as fun toys for the kids when they arrive. For this party I used a kit to make the tassels. I picked white and green flowers to keep with our theme.

Activities for Playdate Ideas for the Holidays

When we were planning the party I orginially was going to do a fun holiday craft, have you seen how cute these bottles are? Since we had a lot of kids and I wanted to just enjoy our friends we skipped the craft. They turned out so cute I will share them in a different post.

Instead we played Bingo. The kids loved it. And then they went back and forth between the playroom and swing set.

Since everyone loves to take home something special we also gave everyone extra Beech-Nut® Naturals™ bottles, a spoon, and a recipe card for the Sticky Baby Handprint Cookies.