Share your tips for staying in this festive season - chance to win Lidl vouchers NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

We know there's still 4 months to go but if you can bear to think that far ahead, we'd love you to share your tips for getting the family together and throwing a great value festive party – in winter!

Lidl would love to know how your end of the year party plans changed once children came on the scene. Perhaps your crazy nights out for NYE went out the window the moment you became a parent (or maybe you're working to a slightly tighter budget!). Whatever the occasion, we'd love to hear about all the new winter traditions you’ve created to have fun at home with the family. Perhaps you have some genius recipes for easy, kid-friendly party food – or maybe you’ve perfected a signature non-alcoholic cocktail so the kids can join in with a New Year’s toast. And of course, we’d love to hear your top family-friendly party games – how do you and the kids like to celebrate?

Share your great value party ideas, tips and recipes below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where you could win one of five £50 vouchers.

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

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My eldest is Autistic so we do lots of staying in parties where we can have control. We have moved very near to family which makes get togethers so much easier. We can now host big gatherings but not have to make up multiple beds.

I find that the children like to have a bit of a job like one serve canapes, one do soft drinks, one be wine waiter. They like the chance to try a few new things but a fair bit of safe familiar food too. They like to be allowed to be a part of things but also retreat and do familiar ones. We usually have one or two film choices to put on for the children who need some space.

I usually buy squishy cup drinks in so the children can help themselves and they minimise spills.

My goal is if the children are happy the adults can enjoy themselves.

My favorite canape de jour is: peperdew pepper, stuffed with a chunk of precooked cajun spiced chicken, baked on a mozerrella covered chorizo slice. (The mozerrella,sticks the pepper to the chorizo slice).

The children liked deseeded cherry tomatos stuffed with a peperami slice, button mushrooms with the stalks removed stuffed with herby cream cheese and smoked salmon pin wheels.

My current favorite Christmas canape is a small piece of Christmas cake topped with a chunk of cheese and a blob of homemade cider brandy chutney.

NYE is time for Christmas Bingo! We made our own and then laminated them, bought wipe clean pens, it entertained everyone from my 81 year old mother in law to my 4 year old son and was so funny as we did timed rounds and different prizes from the pound shop! The food is always a buffet style, both hot and cold food so both adults and children can help themselves whenever they like.
Our favourite dish is coq au vin for the adults and homemade cheese and bacon pasties and wedges for the littles. Adults drinks are champagne and orange juice and for the younger ones, lemonade and tropical fruit juice. Ooh you've put me in a festive mood now!

A bit early but lots of booze and nibbled. Some old style and some newer things to try. Lighter bits too as too much heavy food is not good (maybe just my odd stomach).

My NYE didn't actually change that much when the kids came along- I always preferred a quiet night in, I hate the hectic nature of going out that night.

Now, we usually have a few friends over and enjoy a private firework display in the back garden. The kids have a tradition of playing monopoly, and the adults sit chatting around the fire and enjoying some bubbly.

Last year, we made a delicious "Flirtini" mocktail that the kids couldn't get enough of! We just mixed Lidl Deluxe Pineapple Juice with sparkling rosé Shloer, ice, a cocktail umbrella and a straw. It was so cute to see them giggling away and feeling grown up :) x

Last year, rather than buying presents for DS and DD's friends, we stayed in and baked presents them :) They went down such a treat!

My favourite was baking reindeer cupcakes. They were just simple chocolate cupcakes, decorated to look like little reindeer faces :)

We're perfected the perfect indulgent peanut butter hot chocolate recipe for the whole family- it's perfect for making in large batches, and is like a hug in a mug. It's delightful to drink in front of the fire, getting cosy with blankets and watching Christmas movies while the wind blows cold outside :)

The perfect indulgent peanut butter hot choco recipe (serves 2 adults, 2 kids):

1. Mix a tablespoon milk with 2 tsp cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Place 500ml milk, 2tsp cocoa powder, 50g milk chocolate and 2 tbsp peanut butter into a saucepan over a low heat.
3. Heat the mixture slowly, whisking gently and constantly until the chocolate and peanut butter are melted and the mixture is steaming. Don't let it boil.
4. Whisk in the cornstarch and continue to heat until the mixture thickens slightly.
5. Pour the hot chocolate into two mugsand top with sweetened whipped cream if you want! Enjoy! :)

I love staying in and playing Christmas themed party games, like Christmas charades, christmas pictionary, pin the tail on the reindeer...hehe! And I love doing Christmas crafts, like making homemade cards and decorations, watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas tunes while decorating the house.

For kid friendly party food, I find the little ones love anything on a skewer! It's nice to do with Christmas themed colours, like little red tomatoes, green grapes, etc.

Not going overboard on party food, dcs are happy to run round with others and just have a few bits.

Move parties to mid-afternoon affairs and stock up on soft drinks.

Keep it simple, I'm not really one for big events, buy some nice nibbles and food that you wouldn't normally buy - such as lobster etc and just chill.

Festive period has been much more relaxed since I decided I couldn't be bothered to drink alcohol anymore......

We have house parties - a family affair on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. On New Years Eve we rota round all our friends for a fab party with all the kids.

Have lots of nice soft drinks in easily pourable jugs on offer as well as booze, otherwise we tend to end up with SIL crying in a corner (happy or sad) and MIL asleep on my shoulder.

Life (and any party) changes post children, but that's not a bad thing, you just have to adjust to the new normal. Over the last 3 years our family has grown and the children have brought even more joy. Seeing Christmas through their eyes is just lovely. Since they've arrived we have our Christmas Jumper Day, we wear our Christmas Jumpers, have a movie marathon and have a proper old style buffet.

I start buying all the extra foodie bits and bobs now, which spreads the cost and I also buy a few special treats. Stocking the cupboards means I'm not dashing about at the last minute.

I make homemade preserves and pickles which are great to add a bit of yumminess to leftovers.

Top tip - wrap up and get out for a walk! Even half an hour blows away the cobwebs. Take a flask of hot chocolate with you and enjoy the fresh air. Boxing Day wouldn't be Boxing Day for us without a walk in the woods and coming home for a bowl full of vegetable soup.

Above all I plan ahead and get prepared so I can spend the time with my nearest and dearest.

When we were an army family, Christmases were spent in the car, travelling back to visit family....which whilst enjoyable was also very exhausting (especially when we lived in Germany).

Now we are in our own home, we have ditched tradition and have made our own new memories. For the past four years, we've been to Centre Parcs and instead of cooking Christmas dinner, we buy the lovely Deluxe meals from Lidl and take them with us. We love the individual beef Wellington parcels the best!!

We love our extended family but we also love our holidays, just the four of us...swimming down the rapids on Christmas morning followed by an evening in the villa with our festive Lidl food and sparkley tree.

Christmas is really about getting together with family for me, so lots of gatherings round each other's houses. Good food and wine and a roaring fire, plus some board games. Once the kids are in bed then lots of nice nibbles/cheeses and more wine....

invite those closest to you.be it family or friends or workmates.get everyone to bring a dish.one of us brings cheese.or a pud or the veggies,dips and crisps. then you do the main part and bring it all together.
a good curry is always a winner.it can be made in a huge pot and if you have kids it can be made as mild as you like then put chillies and side hotter dishes on the table forothers to add to it.
any one pot dish is easiest.
ask everyone to bring a pizza.
get into board games,cards.it can be the most laugh youll ever have watching family play Pictionary or cranium!!
the after eight game.start with an after 8 on your forehead and u have to shimmy it down to your mouth.NO HANDS!!
we have always loved staying in.on the odd times we go to the local for a drink. or all go to the pub then walk back.but we have never felt the need for a big party out and much prefer spending it with ourselves a big get togtehr in the home.
if people want to drink let them.for those that don't want to don't pressure them.let everyone be as they want to be.if someone has an obvious problem where they over do it.dont let them. your all there for eachother so do just that,be there support.

Children like fizzy grape or apple juice in wine glasses, suitably festive and grown up!

When we were kids and got old enough to want to stay up to see the new year in, our parents started organising parties for friends and family so we'd have something to do. We used to be split into two teams, one in the dining room one in the lounge, for competitive games of charades etc, which soon passed the time until midnight when the radio came on to listen to Big Ben. It was always great fun.

We've always been sensible, so having children wasn't a great problem. We never spend much on ourselves, but, for the children, that's different. We always treated them like small adults too, but Christmas was a time for fun, silly (and educational) presents, the elders, and unusual food (it's the time to spend money on unusual meals, certainly not boring turkey ... although we're very traditional in almost every other way).

New year is kept very simple partly because the little ones are too young to stay up or really appreciate what is going on. We have a few friends round for games and a takeaway then watch the london fireworks on the TV. Hopefully we can start to make more of it as the kids get older!

Everything we do is based around the home - our home, Grandparents, friends and family. We do lots of group baking eg I make a giant ball of Gingerbread dough and we make tree cookies. We al take turns in coming up with activities and share them to cut our individual workload.

Plenty of nibbles and invest in some good family films for everyone to enjoy.

Book early..???!!!!

I haven't even begun to think about the festive season yet. Still wondering if I can manage to take a summer holiday.

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