Your Guide to Hosting a Holiday Party - garden to table style.

Whether you are hosting a big Christmas dinner or a small holiday party this winter, we've included directions to make it as simple as possible to plan a garden to table gathering that will delight your guests. Mary Alice Home, Fontana Home, Celebration on Wells, and Oglesby Gardens came together to curate the perfect holiday dinner to share with you. From drinks, to decor, to menu, this is your one-stop guide to hosting a festive garden-to-table affair. 

We want to inspire you to create an unforgettable event that captures the essence of the season. As we guide you through each element, envision a gathering infused with the warmth of shared moments, the freshness of seasonal ingredients, and the joy of connecting with nature. Let your celebration echo the simple yet profound joys of the garden-to-table lifestyle.

My goal is to inspire you to eat with the seasons, whether you’re harvesting straight from the garden or using up your preserved garden goods. And if you don’t have anything left in your garden, you can still tune into Mother Nature and purchase in-season produce at your local grocery. In winter, you’ll want to focus on root veggies like orange and red beets, parsnips, potatoes, and cabbage. I love to amp up my winter meals with fresh herbs, too. They bring a pop of freshness to the deep, rich flavors of winter. Celebration on Wells curated a delicious dinner for us with these seasonal foods in mind.

And the menu isn’t the only way you can pull garden elements into your holiday gatherings. Integrate natural elements into faux decor and table settings to weave the garden into your surroundings. Read on for tips and tricks about garden to table party planning, decor, and menus for your holiday gatherings.

PARTY PLANNING

First, pick a date. Then, send out invitations. I know evites are easy, but if you have the time, a printed and mailed invitation is sure to make any guest feel extra special. Compliments of Melinda at billet-doux boutique designed our invitations, place cards, appetizer and beverage labels in the same style. We also wanted this intimate event to feel extra special, so we even printed personalized menu cards for each plate. The menu cards were alongside monogrammed cloth napkins embroidered with the first initial of each guest, which served as their place card when finding a seat at the table. 

Before guests arrived, I set up a luminary path in the backyard to welcome them and direct them to the greenhouse. This is helpful especially if you aren’t greeting guests right at your front door or if they have never been to your place before. We just used brown paper lunch bags with a little sand at the bottom to keep them from flying away in the wind, and some tea lights.A very economical and beautiful way to welcome guests.

A few hours before people arrived, I started my diffuser with the Crispy Woods essential oil blend from Primally Pure to create a light, clean scent. And then of course, I turned on some Christmas music lightly in the background to really set the mood.

A GARDEN TO TABLE MENU

Beverages

We made some festive water glasses with frozen cranberries and rosemary and it looked like a winter wonderland in a glass! We used San Pellegrino and the bubbles were so cute on the rosemary in the glass. We also made sure there were a few other non-alcoholic options like kombucha, too.

We served two signature cocktails: a traditional Old Fashioned and a Poinsettia cocktail. Being that we are all Wisconsin-based business owners, we thought the Old Fashioned was the perfect fit. The Poinsettia was a lighter, champagne-based cocktail and brought in the festive flair. Remember, it’s always nice to have a non-alcoholic version of your signature cocktail as an option, too.

Appetizers 

Pumpkin Hummus: I had one last baking pumpkin from the garden and I was able to put it to good use by roasting it in the oven and then pureeing it into a pumpkin hummus. I cut fresh thyme from my garden, added some of my garden garlic, and a squeeze of local honey. 

Charcuterie Wreath: First things first, it helps if you start with a round base if you want to make a charcuterie wreath. We used a tree trunk platter that we actually made from a downed tree in our backyard. It was the perfect wintery vessel for the charcuterie wreath. We layered in sage, rosemary, and thyme for the greens of the wreath, and then topped it with meats, specialty olives, fresh mozzarella and cherry tomato skewers, assorted nuts, and cranberries. 

Baked brie: Top with a homemade cranberry or cherry jam from your garden!

Dinner and Dessert 

Dinner started with a compound herb butter and fresh baked sourdough. Guests had a fun time trying to guess all the different herbs packed into the butter!

Second course was a seasonal salad featuring a celery seed and raspberry vinaigrette, made from frozen raspberries from our garden, and butterhead lettuce from Tribe Country Farms.

Remember, when you can’t grow your own groceries, seek out local growers. I contacted Tribe Country Farms in Woodstock, IL, which is a hydroponic lettuce growing farm. The greens tasted so much better than anything I could find in stores and I love supporting a local business.

The main course was filet mignon with roasted beets and a beet puree, a potato parsnip mash, and microgreens. Yes, the potatoes, parsnips, beets, and the microgreens came straight from my garden! Root veggies are happy in the colder temps – I dug up the parsnips in the snow. And remember when you are purchasing meat, see if you can find a local farmer or a butcher to get the best quality and freshest meat available. 

For dessert we had a chestnut creme brulee. Honestly, I didn’t contribute much from the garden but those creme brulees were unbelievable. The roasted chestnut flavor was perfect for the winter season and invoked that comforting, cozy feeling. Even for dessert, we are eating with the seasons!

THE TABLESCAPE

We hosted this party in the greenhouse at Oglesby Gardens, so we wanted to stick with an organic, natural feel that balanced out our elevated design elements. Mary Alice Home designed a beautiful tablescape, and we added in details from Fontana Home. A gorgeously set dinner table is a lovely way to show your guests how important they are to you. Mary utilized classic dishes  and added a more organic feel with burlap chargers to the settings. She added a final of pop of traditional Christmas plaid bread & butter plates (which also were used for the desserts)! No detail was spared. 

The center of the tablescape featured a DIY dehydrated orange slice garland, dried eucalyptus and asparagus fronds from my garden, and fresh balsam and cedar fronds. We integrated these elements into a faux garland purchased from Fontana Home. The faux garland is a great investment for staple decor that will last for years to come, and you can customize it every time with new natural elements. 

Use wood chargers or cake plates on your appetizer table to create visual interest and place the appetizers at different heights. We also added candles of different heights to the tables to create a warm ambiance.

We cut up a poinsettia and added the flowers to glass bottles, which made a beautiful backdrop to our beverage table. You can also add some mistletoe, boxwood balls, and cute ornaments wherever you have light sources to make the ambiance extra cozy.

Mary ensured each guest’s chair was decorated with a wreath from Fontana Home. Ribbons or faux greens are great alternatives to add to the back of the chair. Go ahead and pull out the nice silver or your inherited china and make each place setting look beautiful.

We ended our evening with some British Christmas crackers. We wanted a special way to end the night, and we felt the old-fashioned tradition was a fun element. Or maybe you have your own family tradition you want to share with your guests. 

Our garden-to-table dinner party was a celebration of the seasons, friendship, business collaborations, and the joy of savoring thoughtfully curated meals. Whether you're nurturing your own garden or supporting local growers, embracing the garden-to-table lifestyle invites a sense of connection to the Earth and the community. As you plan your gatherings, may the warmth of shared moments and the richness of seasonal flavors elevate your festivities. Here's to cultivating memories and savoring the magic of the garden at every table.

Food: Celebration on Wells

Tablescape: Mary Alice Home

Decor items: Fontana Home

A few behind the scenes!

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