The “Present Keg” Is What Your Holiday Party Is Missing

Perhaps you clicked on this story because you want to know what a present keg is? I’ll tell you, but let me back up for a second. I throw at least two big parties for my friends every year: one around Halloween and one for New Year’s Eve. (Three if I’m lucky enough to get the Fourth of July!) Because everyone sleeps over (no drinking and driving!), I quickly learned that a decent box of wine is the way to go — for both economical and spacial reasons.

A few years ago I started making a pumpkin wine dispenser, just to make something a little more festive than a cardboard box. I’d buy a large-enough pumpkin, core it out, cut a hole for the wine spout, and plop a bag of wine inside the pumpkin. After spending way too much time on this, year after year, I decided to get a faux pumpkin from Target, which I can reuse over and over again. You can see it in this Halloween porch party that we ran a few months ago. The pumpkin keg is always a huge hit, so I started thinking about what I could do for New Year’s Eve.

What I REALLY wanted to do was make a disco ball filled with a bag of wine, but I couldn’t figure out how to make that work (because balls roll around). And then it hit me: Boxed wine is no different than the other boxes I wrap up for the holidays. Why not wrap the box, cut a hole for the spout, put a bow on top, and call it a day?

And so here it is! A present keg! My guests love this and I plan on doing it again this year. A single box of wine holds plenty of servings (around 20), it’s super easy for guests to help themselves, and this little treatment makes the box feel way more special (and I swear it makes the wine taste better, too!).

If you’re wondering, the wrapping paper in the photo above is from Minted. I couldn’t find that exact pattern when I wrote this post, but there are still plenty of cute options. I’m especially partial to this sweater-like pattern and this gorgeous reindeer situation. Now I just need to figure out what to do with a bag of (white) wine for the Fourth of July.

Do you have any smart party tips for this time of year? Share them in the comments below!