Honey baked ham with some good rolls. I like to serve it with asparagus rollups, deviled eggs, cucumber salad and sliced tomatoes. Any sides go with it really. Or you could get a couple of turkey breast cooked at Whole Foods and do the same thing.

Thanks, everyone! I made a Costco run last night and am doing pretty light apps (veggies, pita chips, dip, cheese tray and the famed meat balls) and premade desserts (caramel turtle brownie bites, cream puffs and strawberries). For the kids, my son and I churned out about 4 dozen sugar cookies to decorate. I normally like to do more homemade entertaining, but at this point I'm just glad that I pulled it all together for the party tonight. (The 8 bottles of wine should help, too!) Thanks again!

Easy dessert, always a big hit -- works if no peanut allergies. Good for winter because the chcolate gets a bit soft in the summer:

1. Melt 1 bag (12 oz) of semisweet chocolate chips and 1 bag (12 oz) of butterscotch morsels over low heat until smooth.
2. Stir in 1 cup of creamy peanut butter until smooth.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 jar (16 oz) of peanuts.
4. Transfer to big bowl and stir in 1 bag mini-marshmallows.
5. Transfer mixture to a 9x13 greased baking dish, flatten with wax paper, and refridgerate about 1-2 hours until firm. Cut into squares.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frozen meatballs. BBQ sauce. Crockpot. 20 minutes. Done.

Or a bottle of Heinz chili sauce and a jar of grape jelly. Recipe is on the chili sauce bottle. It sounds gross, but it's so good.

Do this!!! They are always a hit at parties. It will take you 5 min to dump it all in the pot and then you can make a deserrt if you want or buy one to save time.

Don't overlook the favorites either. With that many kids you could do a batch of chocolate chip cookies using the holiday mms instead of chocolate chips. Lays them out nicely on a plate and they will all be gone in minutes. All of the kids will eat them and half of the dads. At least that is what happens in our neighborhood

^^^

Yes yes yes. I remember my mother doing this. Actually, I think she just did ketchup and grape jelly. People think it sounds so weird. But it was so good.

Anonymous wrote:Frozen meatballs. BBQ sauce. Crockpot. 20 minutes. Done.

Or a bottle of Heinz chili sauce and a jar of grape jelly. Recipe is on the chili sauce bottle. It sounds gross, but it's so good.

Frozen meatballs. BBQ sauce. Crockpot. 20 minutes. Done.

OP, no one will care if the food is ready-made from the store. It's getting together that's the important.

A big batch of chili is always good for group gatherings.

For dessert a sheet cake from Giant is fine and will serve a ton of people.

Get some apple cider, put it in a pan on the stove top, add a cinnamon stick, and let it fill the house with a festive aroma.

Yes, this. And discreetly park a bottle of bourbon and a bottle of grand marnier nearby, for those so inclined. (Some people like one in cider, some people like the other. I wouldn't try both together.)

Costco is your friend!

So is Trader Joe's. Everything you need is in their freezer section. The desserts are especially awesome.

Who cares what people think? It's going to taste fabulous. They'd rather eat well, I'm sure.

Just take it all out of the boxes and serve it on nice dishes /cake plates / whatever. You'll be fine.

For the appetizer, try puff pastry pinwheels. Use this recipe as a guide: http://www.puffpastry.com/recipe/24044/spinach-cheese-swirls The ingredient possibilities are endless. Pesto, sundried tomato, and shredded mozz would be a good one.

For dessert, you could also go the puff pastry route and make this salted caramel apple tart: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/10/apple-mosaic-tart-with-salted-caramel/ Be sure to use LOTS of the caramel sauce as it's definitely the best part! A mandoline makes slicing the apples super quick and easy.

OP here. Are you sure people won't be offended by store bought? All of us other than my cohost works full-time, so I'm hoping people will understand why I had to go the store bought route. Costco is a hike from our house, but it would certainly make this easier. Any favorite desserts?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agreed to cohost a holiday get together on Thursday night for our block and am running out of time to get my part of it done. I need to come up with a (FAST and EASY) appetizer and relatively easy dessert for about 20 people (12 adults and 8) kids. My husband I were going to pull it all together over the next two nights, but he had to leave on an emergency work trip out of the country. Can someone suggest some easy light appetizers and dessert that I can pull together after work over the next two nights?

Costco is your friend!

Yep. Go to Costco and get a sandwich tray, or just browse the apps and find something that looks good. Same with desserts.

Alternatively, go to Trader Joe's. They have lots of decent apps and desserts that would be perfect for what you are looking for. Get some apple cider, put it in a pan on the stove top, add a cinnamon stick, and let it fill the house with a festive aroma.

Anonymous wrote:I agreed to cohost a holiday get together on Thursday night for our block and am running out of time to get my part of it done. I need to come up with a (FAST and EASY) appetizer and relatively easy dessert for about 20 people (12 adults and 8) kids. My husband I were going to pull it all together over the next two nights, but he had to leave on an emergency work trip out of the country. Can someone suggest some easy light appetizers and dessert that I can pull together after work over the next two nights?

Costco is your friend!

I agreed to cohost a holiday get together on Thursday night for our block and am running out of time to get my part of it done. I need to come up with a (FAST and EASY) appetizer and relatively easy dessert for about 20 people (12 adults and 8) kids. My husband I were going to pull it all together over the next two nights, but he had to leave on an emergency work trip out of the country. Can someone suggest some easy light appetizers and dessert that I can pull together after work over the next two nights?