Keep reading for tips from The Bailiwick Academy to throw holiday parties that will be fun and unforgettable for family and friends!

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Come Up With A Guest List

Begin by taking a moment to list out your potential guests. If you’re considering hosting at home, remember to assess the capacity of your space—you might have to cut some people out if your home will not be comfortable for them. And even if you opt for an external venue, ensure it can accommodate your guest list comfortably.

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Set A Date

Whether you plan to throw a party ahead of time for the holidays or one set exactly during the holiday season, you need to remember a very important thing. You need to make sure the people you want to party with you are available!

And thankfully, we’re now in the digital age. So instead of having to contact people one by one via text or snail mail, just make a paperless post on Facebook. You can make a group chat or an event invite, then find out when most of the people are available.

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Choose A Theme

Sure, you might be throwing a gathering as an equivalent of a Christmas party, but that doesn’t mean it has to be strictly Christmas-themed. You don’t need to have a candy cane hanging on your door, serve hot chocolate, or have Christmas holiday bestselling food. Just set a theme that your guests will enjoy.

For example, if you are, indeed, having family over, then they might actually like a traditional Christmas-themed party. But if you’re just having friends over, they might enjoy deviating from the norm, like having a movie marathon and dressing up in outfits you like. Since it’s your party, after all, you can dictate what party idea you want to happen.

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Determine Your Budget

How to throw the best holiday party, you ask? Well, part of it is determining your budget. After all, it wouldn’t be a nice party if you did a lot of party planning but didn’t have the funds to carry out your vision, right? And thankfully, the best parties aren’t always the ones that are the most expensive!

Start by assessing what kind of party you want to have and then set a clear budget. Use a spreadsheet to keep track, and make sure to list everything. That way, you can avoid unnecessary expenses and, simultaneously, know if you have emergency money for unforeseen happenings.

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Make A List Of Things To Do

One thing you want to avoid during holiday party planning is to feel overwhelmed. That can actually happen, especially if you’re the only one doing all the work. To keep things manageable, create a to-do list and check off tasks as you complete them—yes, even trivial ones, such as if you already have enough garbage bags and trash cans.

Not only will you feel more accomplished when you cross an item off, you’ll also know where you currently stand regarding preparations.

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Get Help

While it’s your party, the guests you plan to have over would actually be eager to lend a hand, believe it or not. Struggling to find a particular supplier? Reach out to friends or family for recommendations. 

Their assistance not only lightens your load but also makes them feel more invested in the celebration’s success. And when they’re involved, they’re rooting for a fantastic party just as much as you are.

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Prepare Some Activities

Any typical Filipino Christmas party involves a lot of eating… But after that, what happens? Do you just let people mingle? What if people want to play games or do something in general?

Well, don’t be caught with your pants down—include activities in your to-do list! For example, rent a karaoke machine so that your guest can belt out their latest tunes or prepare some standard party games. Even before the day of your event, you can make people prepare White Elephant gifts for a fun time during the actual party.

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Serve Good Food

Food is important in any celebration. Think about what your guests might like. It doesn’t have to be fancy; sometimes, simple and yummy food is the best. 

Of course, just make sure that when guests arrive, they get offered some food right away. You can make finger foods or just prepare chips to tide them over until the main course.

Just make sure there’s enough for everyone and that it’s made with care, and you’ll have happy guests!

Oh, and of course, cooking ahead of time is the key. Doing so means you can hang out with your guests more instead of staying in the kitchen. Look for easy recipes for faster preparation.

Speaking Of Serving Good Food…

Thinking of what you should cook ahead, whether you’re throwing a lunch or dinner party? Well, here’s an idea for you: Chef Anthony Ang’s Perfect Party Food Trays class!

Enroll in this class and you’ll get to make these Pinoy party food favorites:

• Egg Drop Soup: a light broth with delicate strands of egg for a perfect starter.
• Lengua with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Seared French Beans: a mouth-watering combination of succulent Lengua paired with creamy mashed potatoes and crunchy French beans
• Chicken Cordon Bleu: tender chicken breast filled with ham and cheese, fried to a golden perfection, and drizzled with a luxurious Special Cheese Sauce
• Garlic Scampi Pasta: spaghetti perfectly cooked al dente, tossed in a fragrant garlic sauce, and topped with juicy shrimp

Each dish has been crafted to ensure a gastronomic journey that will keep guests talking for future seasons. With offerings like these, it’s practically guaranteed that your holiday menu will be a hit with your visitors!

And if you’re in the catering business or even considering venturing into it, this class is perfect for jumpstarting your career!

So what are you waiting for? Sign up at The Bailiwick Academy, enroll in Chef Anthony’s class, and elevate your culinary skills to dazzle your guests at your party!

How To Throw A Great Holiday Party: Enjoy Your Party!

Once guest arrival has commenced, it means your party has started. Dive right into the moment! While it’s essential to ensure everything runs smoothly, don’t be anchored to the kitchen or get lost in party logistics. Instead, immerse yourself in the laughter, the conversations, and the shared memories. After all, it’s your celebration too! 

Engage with your guests, dance to the music, savor the food, and most importantly, let yourself be in the heart of the revelry. The best hosts not only create wonderful experiences for their guests but also partake in the merriment themselves.

Conclusion

We hope this party planning guide has helped you solidify your vision for your event. One last thing to keep in mind is that there’s no such thing as a perfect holiday party. Things can go wrong, guests won’t arrive at the last minute, and so on.

But isn’t what truly matters the joy, laughter, and memories you create with your loved ones? Celebrations are about connection, not perfection. Embrace the imperfections, stay adaptable, and most importantly, just enjoy!

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Keep coming back to The Bailiwick Academy blog for more kitchen tips, tricks, and much more!

The post How To Throw A Great Holiday Party appeared first on Online Baking and Cooking Classes - The Bailiwick Academy.

Oh wait… you’ve completely forgotten about Halloween?

Well, we can’t blame you! After all, Christmas IS a happier occasion to think about. Plus, you won’t hear any Halloween songs being played in malls or wherever you go.

But while we Filipinos don’t exactly do apple bobbing or carving faces on pumpkins, a lot of us still do Halloween traditions. For example, in a lot of malls, villages, and condominiums, kids are encouraged to dress up in their favorite costumes and go trick-or-treating.

Adults aren’t left out of the fun either, as for instance, local promoter PULP Live World is hosting a Halloween party featuring Korean acts CL and Epik High this coming October (you might be interested if you’re into Korean historical dramas or other Korean stuff!).

So you can be sure that various parties will be held for the occasion, whether in public or at homes. You might find yourself suddenly having to host one as your kids’ or your families’ request – or ever just because you want to.

And when you hold parties, you can be sure that you’re going to need food! 

No idea what to serve to satisfy tummies while keeping in the Halloween spirit? Well, we got you! Keep on reading as we give you some delicious ideas you can do all from the comfort of your home!

Why are we talking about Halloween so early?

Now you might be thinking that Halloween is too far for us to be talking about Halloween-themed homemade food. But the truth is, while Halloween is still more than a month away, it’s not too early to be thinking about it at all!

Why?

Well, for one thing, if you ARE going to have a Halloween party, you don’t want to be planning too late. Otherwise, you might end up with a less-than-ideal menu. 

Plus, if you’re running a food business, it would be good to get the word out that you’re ready for Halloween-themed food. That way, you’ll be top of mind when people think of where to get food for their parties!

Wait… what’s Halloween anyway?

Well, according to History.com, the concept of Halloween originated from the ancient Celtics. Every end of October, a cold and dark winter would occur, and for the Celts, they considered that period as the beginning of a new year.

They also believed that the boundary between the living and the dead would blur during this time, meaning that ghosts would roam the earth, damage crops, and generally cause trouble.

So why wear costumes during Halloween?

Since ghosts might also be vengeful spirits, people started to wear costumes to hide their identities and blend among the wandering spirits. That way, in case they had enemies who were ghosts, they could protect themselves. Thus started the tradition of costume wearing.

People in costumes eventually started to present themselves as representatives of those vengeful spirits. That’s why the phrase “trick or treat” came to be. Basically, if you didn’t give the spirit representatives a “treat” to placate the vengeful spirits, you would get mischief in exchange.

Over time, these traditions would become the elements that would consist of Halloween celebrations, albeit taken less seriously and in a more fun way – and not necessarily meant to be scary, either.

Okay, now on to the food! In no particular order, here come the homemade food ideas!

Halloween homemade food ideas: Finger foods

When we say finger foods, we don’t mean literal fingers! Finger foods are those literally eaten from out of your own hands. The term is just a fancy term for snacks, but we figured it’s more appropriate for the season.

These snacks can either be sweet or savory – anything to tide the eater over while waiting for the main course.

Halloween snack mix

The usual favorite snacks of people can be popcorn, pretzels, candy corn… or if you want a healthy twist, why not try making your homemade granola? Check out Chef Joey Prats’ Fruit and Nut Granola class – it’s perfect!

Broas

Another term for broas is “ladyfingers.” Appropriate for Halloween, wouldn’t you agree?

Just style around them to make them look like “fingers” or give people the idea that they can be a zombie for the night and eat human flesh.

And speaking of broas, you can find out the recipe for making really delicious ones when you enroll in Chef Jimbo’s Pinoy Pasalubong class.

Cheese dip and chips

With cheese dip and chips, you don’t really need to overthink this. Maybe place the cheese dip in an orange or a black bowl, get some dark-colored chips, and poof! It fits the Halloween theme!

And for the best cheese you can ever taste, try our Quattro Formaggi Spread class by Chefs Miguel and Angel Prats!

Halloween homemade food ideas: Main courses

Of course for parties, people won’t necessarily get satisfied with just snacks! You’re going to need to serve them some actual food. Here are a few ideas:

Spaghetti with meatballs

Make this classic pasta favorite spooky by making spaghetti and eyeballs instead! How do you make eyeballs? Just get cheese and olives and stick them to the meatballs and you’re done!

For one of the best spaghetti and meatballs recipes you can ever taste, enroll in our Pasta Master Class with Chef Joey Prats!

Barbecue baby back ribs

This gets a special mention because Chef Joey Prats called it “You have Died and Gone to Heaven Barbecue Baby Back Ribs.”

Get it? Halloween, died, Heaven…

Pretty appropriate for the occasion, agree? Enroll in this class and get to make the most scrumptious fall-off-the-bone oven-baked barbecue baby back ribs meal made extra special with a delicious, homemade dry rub and a luxuriously thick Kansas City-style barbecue sauce.

Halloween homemade pizza

How do you make pizza spooky? It’s simple! Just decorate your pizza top with as much spookiness as possible. Just like the image, you can make a spider web pizza.

Another possibility is to shape your cheese into ghosts – either way, you get the perfect Halloween pizza.

And if you want a good Halloween homemade food idea, keto pizza is one of them! Learn how to make one in our Keto Italian Bakes class by Ms. Chiqui Dingcong!

Halloween homemade food ideas: Desserts

No meal is complete without dessert! Check out some of these Halloween homemade food ideas for sweet endings!

Floral-themed desserts

Flowers are appropriate for weddings and other special occasions, but you can make them fit into Halloween too. After all, we also bring flowers to graves.

Instead of making colorful floral desserts, why not make monochromatic flowers like black or white and make them toppings on cupcakes or for the actual edible flowers?

For floral cupcakes, check out our Flowers in Full Bloom by Chef Richelle Libunao. And for edible flowers, check out our Art of Edible Flowers class by Chef Marc Kevin Reyes!

Halloween cupcakes with icing

Halloween cupcakes are cute, nice, and well, easy to get in theme. Plus, no one doesn’t like cupcakes, right?

But if you have no idea how to make Halloween-themed cupcake icing, then enroll in our Colorflow Royal Icing Toppers by Chef Joey Montanez. You’ll be making your own spooky designs in no time!

Halloween cake

Halloween cakes can be decorated in any way and can be in any flavor. But why stop at ordinary when you can make EXTRAORDINARY Halloween cakes?

If you want a cake that’s literally gravity-defying, then enroll in our class with Chef Mayen Orido: Gravity Defying Balancing Toys Cake! Can you imagine making your own cake with floating ghosts, bats, and other Halloween-related elements?

Anyone who sees that cake is guaranteed to be impressed!

Check out more Halloween homemade food inspirations at The Bailiwick Academy!

We hope this blog has helped you get some inspiration for the food you will serve at upcoming Halloween parties. And take note that these ideas are just SOME ideas.

That means you can always come up with more of your own. And do you know the best way to do that?

Enroll in The Bailiwick Academy! We have more than 100 classes for you to choose from, taught by only THE BEST chefs and instructors in the country. Each class is easy to understand and to follow, guaranteed!

So what are you waiting for? Beat the Halloween rush and learn recipes for your Halloween homemade food as soon as possible (and come up with your own, too!). Sign up at The Bailiwick Academy today!

We promise that you will come up with amazing treats – and that the only tricks that will happen only involve making your food taste really great!

See you inside!

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Keep coming back to The Bailiwick Academy blog for more kitchen tips, tricks, and much more!

The post Halloween Homemade Food Ideas for 2022! appeared first on Online Baking and Cooking Classes - The Bailiwick Academy.