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‘Hello 2013!’ New Year’s Eve Party plus Giveaway!

| Filed Under: Parties, Tutorials

Earlier this December, I was invited to take part in the Sam’s Club Luxe for Less New Year Gala blogger challenge to try and create a glamorous gathering using their quality menu offerings and/or tablescape items.  I was excited to take on this challenge as I had not been to a Sam’s Club since I was in college and couldn’t wait to see what new and exciting things they offered as well as what entertaining goodies they would have that would peak my interest.  This was also a great opportunity to host a fun get-together with a few of my good momma friends during the holidays!  No kids, wahoooo, we’re getting wild! 😉
My shopping experience at Sam’s Club was great, I made a few trips to really peruse the aisles before the party and was happy to see a huge produce section as well as a large and delicious smelling bakery. Plus Sam’s Club provides a 200% satisfaction guarantee on their fresh meats, crisp produce, savory seafood and gourmet to-go bakery items. On a momma side note, their shopping carts are extra wide so I could fit Penny and Ellie in the fold out seat and Oliver (in his carseat) went in the deep cart with lots of room to spare for my purchases! 

I bought a ready-to-serve cooked shrimp tray for my New Year’s Eve gathering as well as the Daily Chef Beef Filet wrapped in Peppered Bacon frozen appetizers.  Both of these were super yummy and neither one of them contained gluten which I had to be really aware of as a few of my friends are sensitive to gluten foods!

I also purchased a bottle of Beviamo Sparkling Moscato.  Can I just say Deee-lish!  And it was a great price too at only $11.98 for the bottle.

For dessert, I found a huge package of giant fresh strawberries at Sam’s Club that I decided to dip in the best dark chocolate.  I always think chocolate-dipped strawberries are such a posh dessert, not only are they pretty to look at they are gluten-free too!


To decorate for the party I decided to use shimmery gold accents to help with the “Hello 2013!” party theme.  I placed a bunch of gold and glittery Christmas ornament balls into a large glass vase, simple and classy!

I also dug around my backyard and found a few broken tree branches which I place in a vase and decorated with gold glittered snowflake ornaments.  I love bringing natural elements into party/home decor.  


Here is a picture of one of my tablescapes.  I forgot to take a picture of the other table…that one had wine, non-alcoholic sparkling cider, veggies with gluten-free hummus and a few other goodies brought by my friends!

I left some strawberries un-dipped so guests could eat them while they sipped the moscato.

I made these cute little chalkboard thought bubbles a while ago and decided to tape them to wooden skewers and use them to label the different cheeses on the cheese tray.

Cute, right?

I also served olives marinated in olive oil…yum!

And of course the shrimp tray with cocktail sauce!

As you can see, Sam’s Club helps members (yes, you need to purchase a membership to shop here!) save time as they prepare to ring in the New Year by being a one-stop destination for all your entertaining needs!  And if you are someone who has a hard time figuring out which wine goes best with the dishes you are serving you can go here for wine pairing suggestions too!  How cool is that?
Sam’s Club would like to offer one of my readers a Modern Cocktail Holiday Mixer Pack with 3 ‘salts’ for rims and 15 flavors!  The winner can make their favorite cocktails by simply adding in their favorite liquor..just perfect for any party!
To enter:
Share you ‘luxe for less’ New Year’s Eve ideas with me in the comments below!
Giveaway ends Monday, Dec 31 2012 at midnight!
Good Luck!
XOXO,

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    Comments

    1. Red and Blue says

      I’ve found homemade bruschetta to be easy and cheap. All you need is a baguette, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, and balsalmic vinegar! Takes a few minutes to make, and usually disappears quickly too!

    3. Jessica says

      I feel bruschetta would be another great appetizer or sausage balls would be great with that spread!

      jessicarwarfield at gmail dot com

    6. cooperkelly4 says

      we are huge fans of cocktail shrimp. We have lots of kids (and so do our friends) so we always have special chx nuggets for them or meatballs in a crockpot. =0)

    8. Kelly O. says

      I love to bring the outdoors in and make fresh winter arrangements with greenery from outside and spray painting it with glitter or silver to add a little bling for the new year–add in a pomegranate or two for colour

    9. Katy says

      Small plates instead of larger ones. And to make it easy one or two signature drink, not splurging on a whole bar set up.

    10. scottylover says

      I love Sam’s Club for this reason! It makes feeding a large bunch so much more manageable! I save money by watching for after holiday sales for such goodies as paper plates, napkins and cups. Also I try to get traditional decorations that can be used in a variety of ways from year to year.

      Thanks for the chance!
      Sandy A

    11. Karla Schmidt says

      I’m planning on picking up a few quick, easy, yummy appetizers from Sam’s along with a few bottles of bubbly and then hosting a game night with a few of our closest friends.

    12. Courtana says

      Definitely a “dump” punch in which you can put a bunch of whatever in there..can never go wrong with sausage cheese balls, either; may not be sophisticated, but they always disappear!

    13. ledamewood says

      Love what you are doing for Luxe, but I’m allergic to seafood so tend to steer clear of it with large crowds as it is more difficult to avoid coming in contact with it in situations where people are mingling. But – I always like to have a champagne punch – with a fountain if you have one or can borrow one. Looks pretty on the table and adds a festive touch to toast in the new year.

    17. Gail says

      I would add a simple dip like my sister’s 1,2,3 dip – easy and inexpensive but very habit forming: 1 lb. Italian Sausage browned and drained, 2 pkg. creme cheese and 3 cans of Rotel – easy when done in a small crockpot to keep warm.

    20. Julie says

      My staple food for the New Years are deviled eggs. It’s really easy to get eggs for a great price and it does not take long at all to make them.