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A cookie making party is the perfect excuse for friends to get together and bake some holiday treats.

Holidays are probably the best time of the year for my family, for Christmas specifically there's a rather large group of us that get together so the best thing to do is plan ahead. Make sure the table is set and drinks and appetizers are ready for when the guests arrive even if I'm not.

My traditional holiday dish to take to my Grandmother's house has always been zwiebelkuchen, a German onion pie. I first found the recipe back in high school when I had to make a dish for my German class. My Uncle Robert has told me on many occasions that I wouldn't be allowed through the door if I didn't make an onion pie for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I guess I could have submitted the recipe for the pie bake-off! I didn't even think of that until just now... oh well.

For me, the smells of a holiday meal are as important as the food itself. That's why I love mulled wine and spiced cider simmering on the stove when people arrive!

It's so tacky, but, it's not a holiday without Wise's green onion dip and ruffles potato chips, a tradition that my sister and I will carry on forever!

For holiday parties, start a big pot of hot cider in the crockpot. It takes no time (aside from the heating), it's foolproof, it makes the house smell awesome, and it's a really nice way to welcome people in from the cold as they arrive.

Well this holiday will be my first holiday of doing the actual hosting and entertaining since I only started cooking a little less then a year ago...

But with the diversity of people i'm cooking (some of my family members enjoy traditional thanksgiving [e.g. stuffing, cranberry, turkey, gravy...] and others just know what they've grown up with [e.g. rice and beans and meat) I'm basically trying to do a little of everything that everyone might enjoy, and so they can try new things as well... along with that i'm having family members bring signature dishes of theirs that can help ease the work load on me :)

Hmm... hands down, simply sauteeing some brussel sprouts in a bit of olive oil and giving them a good dusting of parmesan and a squeeze of lime. Very tasty.

Something wasn't working right earlier, but now I can post a comment. My favorite holiday dish/ dinner is Christmas Eve. It's always very low key - cold shrimp, lasagna sometimes, roast beef and turkey sandwiches other times. When I was a little girl it was also about Shirley Temple drinks with the fancy grown up glasses!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I think it's mainly because of the stuffing my husband's family makes. It has lots of butter and ground chestnuts. The crunch and flavor of the chestnuts is amazing.

Hot buttered rum! No on really expects it (or at least in my circles they don't), and it's great for those impromptu get togethers.

I love throwing tree trimming and cookie decorating parties with plenty of snacks. They're always crowd pleasers!

Honestly, I just love getting together with all of my family. We have made a tradition now of making an ornament to exchange with each other, so I look especially forward to opening (and re-opening) ornaments that are special and hanging them on our tree. I also love the thought that one day, my son will be grown, and I will be gone - but he will have these tokens to remember me, as well as all of his relatives - and pass them on for generations to come. It's kind of like we'll live forever.
Kind of...

My husband and I get together with our college friends every year for a big holiday potluck that we call Friends Thanksgiving. And the only thing that keeps things humming smoothly with 6-10 different cooks in the kitchen is an excel spreadsheet. We put every dish in a different color, and lay them out to plot what needs to be in the oven when, so that we can actually eat all the dishes at a certain time when they are still hot!

My favorite holiday party dish is egg nog, hands down. For best results we always make our own whipped cream.

My favorite? ... getting together with friends after all the family holiday obligations are over.

Favorite dish? ... sweet potatoes, onions and apples roasted together with honey and a bit of cayenne pepper. It's fabulous!

Sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie are must haves!

I have beautiful memories of my grandmother bringing all the gingerbread house supplies to our house, where my sisters and I worked on them for days. Very elaborate.
We also have creamed pearl onions every year for my other grandma who passed away a few years ago but used to make them every holiday. I make latkes and the veggie side dishes, mom makes the best stuffing in the world, and my sisters help with the pie.

The Holiday season (and Easter) is my favorite time for homemade family goodies that we don't have year round. Poppyseed, apricot, nut, and cheese rolls. Cinnamon/nut rolls and bread for brunches, homemade bread with mustard pickle at meals. All the good stuff that's been around for generations.

And of course the classic: Stuffing or Dressing! Love that stuff!

poppyseed cake

Your freezer is your best friends around the holidays. So much can be made or partially made in advance, pulled out and reheated when you need it. Keeping things like pie dough, gnocchi, homemade empanadas, etc. for unexpected events are a big time saver/stress reliever.

Favorite holiday dish is the chocolate rum balls that my Mom makes every year for a party on New Years Day, which is also my Dads birthday. I finally had to get the recipie from her, as we live on different coasts, and now all my friends wait for New Years Day rum balls as well!

Usually at Christmas I'm stressed out trying to do a million things in between gatherings and family obligations, so to get in some time with my (younger, under-25--but over 21 of course!) friends (who also have much family business this time of year) by having a sort of after-hours party, but classy-style, with just desserts and something boozy. This year, I'll be serving gluvine, spiked mulled cider, and coffee with various liqueurs for drinks, and for food, chocolate-ginger biscotti, homemade salted caramel squares, green tea shortbread cookies, and pumpkin-bourbon cheesecake (something for everyone, I hope!) We start late, and end even later. I love to entertain, and this way works great when things get hectic since almost all of it can be made a few days ahead of time (as long as I can hide the food from my family!)

My holiday tip is to keep it simple. Serve dishes where most of the work is done before the party and spend your time with your guests/family. Buffets or just a selection of hor d'ourves/apps is the way to go why spend your time slaving in the kitchen? take off the apron and enjoy your party!

Favorite Family Holiday: Definitely Thanksgiving. Every dish has its own history and set of memories, but my favorite is sweet potatoes with cream and sage. Never fails to please everyone, and makes those sweet potatoes with the marshmallows very jealous.

I have a list I keep from year to year. I write down what I made, if it was especially good, easy to do and ideas for next year. It helps quite a lot.

i'm newly married, so this will (hopefully) be our first year of entertaining for the holidays. i'm looking forward to a sunday brunch featuring my husband's grandmother's recipe for coffee punch.

also, regarding setting the table...as i've looked at different christmas patterns, i think it's better to mix than match. there's just too many pretty options!

When I think of Christmas morning, I can smell my mom's monkey bread baking in the oven. Fresh snow on the ground, the sparkle of the lights on the tree, stockings hanging heavily with Santa's overnight deliveries...it truly is a special day of the year.
I encourage everyone to make their own holiday traditions. What you choose to bake, create, or give can remain in the heart and mind of someone for a lifetime!

My favorite holiday dish may well be the baileys and coffee that I have when I wake up on Christmas morning. It's simple and it's something I can have other times of the year, but there is something about waking up that chilly morning and cuddling in a blanket with my baileys and coffee that makes me so very happy.

I love to have as many desserts as possible at the buffet - with tons of variety. People tend to remember dessert over anything else.

The holidays are all about warmth and good cheer. To facilitate this in my guests, I always like to have a good batch of seasoned, toasted nuts roasting in the oven, and mulled cider simmering on the stovetop. The house is literally warmed by the oven and stove, and the gentle aromas fill the air. This atmosphere welcomes and envelopes, leading us to happy memories and rich conversations.

And, of course, mid-century holiday music is a must.

I've been doing more turkeys around the holidays since I don't get leftovers at Thanksgiving (never enough!) so my new holiday favorite is those Sunday dinners in the wintertime when it's less stressful than the actual holidays but I can still have a couple of family members over to help me with a big bird. I still go back to Emeril's recipe that I found on Epicurious years ago and I always get compliments.

makes lots of cookies

Cookies, especially cut outs.

Cookie baking party with my sister and cousins using Grandma's recipes sometime in November.

Big Appetizer & wine party on Christmas Eve at my uncles.

Roast Goose with apple dressing on Christmas Day for "those without inlaws", plus a hike in the woods for all attendees.

For my fam it's Christmas breakfast, it has become a tradition. Homemade waffles, with whatever fruit we choose, and the usuals: eggs, turkey bacon (sometimes we cheat and have slab bacon). We also include hot chocolate w/ the works.

I spent years and years traveling out of the country and completely missing the holidays so now that I am married and here for good I love everything about this time of year. My husband and I always exchange one ornament each year right before we get our tree. The night we decorate it, I make a huge pot of cheese fondue and we eat and get totally stuffed on melted cheese then get to work on the tree. It's the only tradition we have so far but I totally love it.

I like to try to make as much food ahead of time as possible so I can spend time with my family instead of in the kitchen.

For a guest find out if there is any food that its isn't the holiday without. For one guest for Thanksgiving it was canned jellied cranberry sauce, a childhood love. And he loved it that we always provided it even though we had our own must-use-every-year cranberry sauce recipe

For Thanksgiving, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce (yep, the stuff in the can). Pumpkin Pie is the requisite dessert.

And it wouldn't be Christmas without cookies. Sugar cookie cutouts, chocolate chip (I've tried a bunch of different recipes but Toll House really is the best), jam thumbprints, shortbread and more! I love this time of year because a lot of home and food magazines have special cookie issues with lots of creative new ideas to try.

Since we moved to SW Florida from the Midwest we have started a new (Southern) Holiday tradition. We deep fry a whole turkey, which is very, very tasty. However, my family also loves my turkey stuffing and gravy, so in addition, I oven roast a turkey breast filled with the sausage dressing. Our Christmas dinner wouldn't be the same without it! We have the best of both 'worlds'.

I think "magic cider" at Thanksgiving time is always a good one. One gallon of cider, one liter of spiced rum and a cinnamon stick.

My favorite thing to make for the holidays is lemon pie. My next endeavor is to learn to make a pumpkin roll.

I start planning our Thanksgiving and Christmas menus months prior to the event (the preparation can be as much fun as the holiday). Our menus are never the same, but they always incorporate the flavours of the season -- Autumn fruits and vegetables, warm spices, a touch of the spirits :) For Thanksgiving we usually have a huge braid of Pumpkin Challah and a bowl of Baked Cranberry Ginger Chutney faithfully tucked amongst the many new dishes. This Thanksgiving I'm foregoing the challah to try out Pumpkin Rolls and moving the chutney over to Christmas, instead serving Stilton Tart with Pinot Noir Cranberry Sauce.

We try to preserve that tradition most families have, putting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving...although getting it decorated may take a week or two longer! Christmas Eve I always make a large batch of my cream of mushroom soup and a crusty loaf. My husband and I bring down all the presents from the study and pull our cat out of the Christmas Village. Then, Christmas morning I put together a special breakfast for my husband and stepson. My mother had a family tradition of putting clementines in the stockings, so I try to incorporate citrus into Christmas and Christmas Eve dishes to carry on that tradition. Foodwise, Christmas isn't Christmas in our home without an enormous salt-cured ham in the sink, cranberry scones with Christmas breakfast, a couple special bottles of wine brought up from the canning cellar, and wrapping paper and bows strewn from the parlour to the kitchen.

My favorite Thanksgiving dish is a turducken. We made one a couple of years ago and fell in love with it.

I love homemade english toffee at christmas. One of my fondest memories of my childhood is making it and passing out plates of it to everyone!

The holidays are for family and friends. We love to entertain, but always have a few dishes that are really easy or can be prepared in advance so we can spend more time with our guests. Favorites include brie with cranberries and walnuts baked in puff pastry, butternut squash soup, sausage stuffing with pecans and caramelized onions, roasted cippoline onions.