Christmas Dinner Party and Cookware Gift Ideas

For me, the heart of the home begins with family, a big fun meal and a celebration of the holidays. Christmas is our favorite time to take a step back from our busy lives, slow down and simply enjoy being together.  I love hosting my family during this time and always try to make it more meaningful and memorable for all. Today, I’m sharing a few gift ideas for the cook & chef and 3 decorated spaces in my home for our first Christmas Dinner Party of the season.

Tonight’s dinner party and gift giving centered around Jeff’s menu of the night and his favorite brand of cookware – Le Creuset.  Jeff has transitioned most of his cookware and bakeware to Le Creuset over the last few years. He  loves it that much! This is a guy who doesn’t spend much on himself, yet Le Creuset is his weakness! Whenever I’m looking to find the right gift for Jeff, I know where to shop. ;)
I wanted to make this dinner party extra special by not only serving a yummy meal but also by giving gifts to my family that centers on Jeff’s love of cooking. After all, he is the one who acts as resident chef, spoiling everyone at every family get together. Friends and family are always asking Jeff what he’s using to cook with and where they can find it! I used Le Creuset’s gift guides to shop for each person – there are guides for the coffee/tea lover, chef, baker, stocking stuffers and more. {Click here to shop the gift guides for yourself.} It made the entire process of selecting the perfect gifts easy for me.

Dining Room

My dining room sits directly next to my front door. As a result, the first thing anyone see’s when they enter my home is the dining table. It’s because of this that I always try to make my tablescape look as beautiful and welcoming as possible. I decided to go a different direction with my color scheme this time by working with reds and greens, combined with a few natural neutrals. I had forgotten just how much I love all of these colors combined!

I made the table one of the spaces for gifting. At each place setting my guests were given a ‘palm‘ colored mini round cocotte with a little ornament attached for them to take home! They are the perfect special piece for every table setting and the color palm compliments all the holiday greenery in the house. Plus they are so cute! Technically they can be used to serve single portions of a side dish (like soup or dessert), but I like to use them in a multitude of ways.. as hostess gifts, candy bowls, etc. They come in 13 colors and sell at a great price point! {Click here to shop the mini round cocottes.}
Acting as a centerpiece for the table, I designed a large floral arrangement using a beautiful mercury urn. The arrangement was inspired by the traditional colors of Christmas – a theme which I carried through the entire dinner party. On both ends of the table, Jeff served up two delicious sides in matching  White Heritage Square Casserole dishes. Jeff loves these square casserole dishes because they are the perfect size for our family. {Click here to shop the dishes.}

Family Room Christmas Tree

Under the Christmas tree I placed a few additional surprise gifts for my family based on their favorite colors and where their interests lie.

• For My Daughter: Emma loves to make slow-cook dishes & purple is her favorite color.. The 2 3/4 qt Round Dutch Oven in Provence was the best gift for her. Jeff and I own multiple round dutch ovens in many colors and LOVE them – they have a classic look and style. The 2 ¾ qt size is the perfect start for Emma’s collection. Jeff cooks amazing dishes in his.  {Click here to shop the round dutch oven.}
• For My Sister: Betsy is a huge fan of breakfast – so the 9″ Signature Skillet is perfect for her omelette filled mornings! Jeff also has this skillet and is obsessed. I gifted her the skillet in the color ‘Caribbean‘ as a reminder of all our family trips to St. John over Christmas Break while growing up. This blue matches the water there.. I know she will love the meaning.  {Click here to shop the signature skillet.}
• For My Brother-in-Law: Jon and Jeff are always competing with one another.. We decided to give him the same Signature Square Skillet Grill that Jeff has! Now we can hold cook off’s between the two. ;) He’s a Georgia Bulldog fan so the Cerise color was made for him! 10 color options. {Click here to shop the signature square skillet grill.}
• For My Mom: My mom has had 2-3 cups of tea every day of her life.. we are talking serious tea drinkers in this family. It’s time for her to upgrade her tea kettle to this adorable Classic Whistling Kettle in white. She loves white as much as I do. This kettle couldn’t be more fitting. {Click here to shop the classic whistling kettle.}

The surprise gifts were a huge hit.. my family thought it was so sweet that I picked out each piece in their favorite color keeping in mind what they love. We had so much fun trading stories and memories while opening our gifts… I have a feeling that gifting Le Creuset will become a tradition for years to come.

Kitchen

When I host a party, I always make sure to decorate the kitchen in a fun and festive way. Every year I always pick up a small live Christmas tree to plant in a pot in our house… This year I found the cutest, chubbiest cedar and decided to plant it inside our Palm Round Dutch Oven! We placed it on the island, a place where everyone gathers and it was a total hit.. everyone loved it so much that they said they wanted to copy the idea. I always try to think outside the box when decorating! ;)

While Jeff loves cooking with the Round Dutch Ovens, I love to decorate with them. Like the mini cocottes, there are so many different uses for the classic dutch ovens! I use them as an ice bucket, fruit bowl and planter just to name a few. We have multiple sizes – 4 1/2 qt and 5 1/2 qt in the Round Dutch Oven. I planted my tree in the palm  41/2 qt. {Click here to shop the round dutch oven.}

Surrounding the live Christmas tree is a delicious spread of appetizers and wine to enjoy while we all keep Jeff company in the kitchen. Of course, Jeff was hovering over his beautiful roasted chicken and vegetables inside the larger, 5 1/2 qt Round Dutch Oven. This Dutch Oven is in the color ‘Cerise‘. {Click here to shop Jeff’s round dutch oven}.

I love turning a regular dinner party into something magical and cozy with a simple theme. For family, it’s nice to go above and beyond and to let them know that they are appreciated. I have rounded up all of the wonderful cooking and baking items that I gifted my family for this party in a collage below. All the pieces are amazing and Jeff-approved, with many on sale right now. If you’re looking for a great cookware or bakeware gift, then take a look a look at all the selections below. Your family and friends will love you for it.

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I hope that my dinner party has inspired you to turn your dinners and get-togethers into something that your friends and family will remember and love. Do you have family traditions that you follow throughout the holidays? Would love to hear them.. share below!

xo,
Kristy

Thanks to Le Creuset for sponsoring this post. Jeff and I have used Le Creuset for years without sponsorship. All opinions included in this post are our own.