Love to entertain but hate the hassle? These holiday and Christmas party entertaining tips will make your next celebration a snap.
With the holiday season just around the corner, chances are you're already planning your annual festivities and Christmas party menus.
Whether it's for a small family get-together or a large gala affair, it's easy to get overwhelmed by all there is to do - even if you love to entertain.
I believe holiday parties should be fun and festive, not stressful.
So take it easy this year with these five Christmas party entertaining tips - and discover how easy your holiday parties can be.

1. Embrace the imperfections.
   Sure, a flawless party sounds fantastic.
   But if you want to enjoyyourself, too, this might be the most important of our Christmas partyentertaining tips.
   By trying too hard to make everything just so, youmight just make yourself crazy! So relax - a batch of burnt cookies or aglass of spilled wine won't ruin the night, but getting anxious or angryjust might.
   
2. Prep wisely.
   Made In NapaValley products make it easy to prepare your meal in advance, so you'renot slaving away in the kitchen during your whole event.
   For Christmasparty menus you can make ahead of time, try cold hors d'oeuvres likecheese platters with fresh fruit and herb-rubbednuts, easy-to-make appetizers like smokedturkey wraps, or even an impressive puffpastry tart.
   
3. Get a little help from yourfriends.
   Invite a few close friends over early to help put the finishingtouches on the decorations and hors d'oeuvres.
   With a couple of helpers, abottle of wine and some good friends, setting the table and rolling outpuff pastry won't feel like a chore.
   
4. Make your meals festive, notfussy.
   Holiday and Christmas party menusneedn't be seven-course feasts to be delicious.
   Instead of trying toimpress your guests with fancy recipes, plan a menu that embraces everydaygourmet.
   With fresh flavors, seasonal ingredients and complementaryspices, even a simple dish will taste divine.
   For example, instead ofslaving all day over a French leg of lamb recipe, cook yours the Made InNapa Valley way - rub it with a mixture of Raspberry Balsamic with Lemon, extra-virgin olive oiland a, marinate for a couple hours and roast.
   What could be simpler?
5. Don't go overboard.
   There arethousands of incredible holiday recipes out there, but let's face it: youjust can't cook them all (at least not all at once)! One of the mostimportant holiday and Christmas party entertaining tips is to limit yourmenu to a manageable number of recipes - it will save time and make eachone more memorable.
   If you're serving dinner, stick to one main course andjust two to three side dishes.
   For cocktail parties, seven or eight typesof treats may be just right.
   But whatever you do, don't forget dessert!

With gourmet sauces, rubs, seasonings and more from Made In Napa Valley, it's easy to enjoy Gourmet Every Day, even over the holidays! So let go of your stress this holiday season with our Christmas party entertaining tips and simple, easy-to-use products - and you can finally have the fun, low-pressure parties you've always dreamed of.
Season's Greetings!