Are you ready Holiday Entertaining this week? \u00a0If not, we have some last minute, quick and easy ideas for you!<\/p>\n

I am one of those people who insists on bringing hostess gifts everywhere I go. \u00a0However, I am also one of those people who tends to wait until the last minute… which gives me limited options, and I typically end up bringing a bottle of wine. \u00a0Not very creative, I know!<\/p>\n

So – this holiday season, I decided I was going to think outside the box, and put more thought into my hostess gifts!<\/p>\n

One of my favorite entertaining go-to’s, is putting out meats & cheeses on cutting boards! \u00a0I thought, why not give the hostess, something I love to serve??? \u00a0I am going to show you both options: \u00a0A. Creating the perfect hostess gift, and B. Displaying the perfect appetizer<\/p>\n

You can find cutting boards at discount stores (Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Walmart) for as little as $3.99…. You can source gourmet cheeses in local grocery stores (find specialty cheeses on sale)… and crackers are pretty inexpensive as well.<\/p>\n

The key to creating this perfect hostess gift, is to unwrap each item and re-wrap with your own personal touch! \u00a0It is simple to do, and makes for a fabulous presentation – your hostess will be blown away!!!<\/p>\n

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Ingredients:
\nCutting Board
\nVarious cheeses – I used a mild cheese (Munster), a creamy cheese (Goat Cheese), and a robust cheese (Blue Cheese)
\nA specialty meat – I chose a gourmet summer sausage
\nCrackers – I used breadstick crackers and seeded crackers<\/p>\n

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Part A: \u00a0Creating the Perfect Hostess Gift<\/p>\n

Directions:
\n1. Unwrap all ingredients – wrap cheese back in seran wrap, and wrap crackers back in their clear bag packaging or seran wrap.
\n2. Once they are re-wrapped, find scrap paper that you have in your house – I used book pages, b\/c I have tons of them and they give a nice rustic flare – BUT, you can use craft paper, newspaper, scrapbook paper, wrapping paper – you don’t need a lot… whatever type of paper you like best.
\n3. Cut small pieces of your paper, and wrap around each item – you want the product to show a little, so your hostess knows what it is.<\/p>\n

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4. Once you have wrapped each item with paper, then you are going to start stacking them, and adding printable tags for the final touch! \u00a0(For this display I used our party logos from the Fall Harvest Collection<\/a>) *Note – I used tape inbetween stacks to hold together.<\/p>\n

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5. Next you will place on the cutting board – again using a little bit of tape underneath, to hold into place *When items are stacked, I also reinforced by wrapping together with twine.<\/p>\n

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6. Last – tie together with a couple pieces of raffia, ribbon or twin to secure in place.<\/p>\n

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Part B: \u00a0Displaying the Perfect Appetizer<\/p>\n

Now, if you are needing a quick appetizer to put out, you can use the same items to create another display.<\/p>\n

The key to making this display unique, is to take glassware and use as bowls – I typically use a: champagne glass, martini glass, rocks glass & wine glass!<\/p>\n

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I added some olives and almonds for an extra touch… and I put party flags from our Fall Harvest Collection<\/a>\u00a0on the cheeses to make it more festive!
\nThis is one of the easiest appetizers, but it looks like a million bucks, just because of displaying it in an unusual way.
\nServe a little fig jam with this, and your meat & cheese tray looks like it came straight out of an Italian Bistro.<\/p>\n

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I can’t tell you how many compliments I get from my guests on this appetizer, when I serve these simple foods. \u00a0It is all about the presentation – I promise!!<\/p>\n

One more suggestion: \u00a0next time you are asked to bring an appetizer, package the items up like I showed you in Part A, then unwrap and present (borrowing some glassware at your guest’s home) and set out like I showed you in Part B. \u00a0(Let you hostess keep the cutting board, and it’s a win-win!!!)<\/p>\n

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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! \u00a0I hope you have a wonderful Turkey Day!!!!<\/p>\n

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