7 Ways to Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI

Can you hear the sleigh bells?  Can you smell the cozy scents of cinnamon and peppermint?  Does your tummy rumble with the thought of savory stuffing and holiday sweets?  Then you likely have caught holiday fever, just as I have!   This time of year, my thoughts are filled with holiday buffets and baking lists.  I can’t wait to celebrate with family and friends and host the most magical celebrations ever.  Thanks to ALDI,  I’ll be impressing my guests this year with new food trends, seasonal favorites, refreshing cocktails and even some old world traditions – all on a budget!

Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI
Santa will be delighted to find an assortment of Specially Selected cookies at our home!

ALDI’s holiday catalog theme this year is “Create a Holiday to Remember,” and when I want to create holiday memories at our celebrations, that’s exactly what I do – head to ALDI for all the goodies I need to feed friends, family and even Santa!  And I won’t even need to check my list twice, because I know I’ll find all the seasonal favorites I need, plus I’m sure to discover new flavors and treat to enjoy.  It’s not hype or anything anyone has encouraged me to say, the truth is I’m a huge fan of ALDI and have been for over twenty years!  It’s my first go-to for holiday celebrations, particularly because I know I’ll find both European and American holiday favorites all at a significantly reduced price than other grocers.

Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI
These Specially Selected Gourmet Chocolate Covered Truffles may or may not make it to our sweets table!

Chocolate is always in season for the holidays, so you’ll want to have plenty of this celebration staple on hand to serve to guests!  If you want to add a little extra festive flair and truly impress your guests, the hot food trends for the holidays also include:

European Traditions – To embrace the future, we often take a step back and 2015 is definitely a year where families are turning to old world traditions to set the tone for their holiday celebrations.  We’re looking to revive the European traditions in the US that many of us grew up on and ALDI is a fabulous place to find some of your family’s favorites like Stollen.  As I’m from a traditional Irish background, you’ll always find a sweets table in our home at the holidays.  I love to fill it with holiday goodies from around the globe and my guests love sampling items they’ve never tried before and adding them as new holiday favorites for their celebrations.

Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI
Specially Selected Gourmet Stollen is one of our family favorites and it also adds a “wow” factor.

Coffee Bars – Holiday gatherings are no longer just evening celebrations.  Small gathering during the day are now standard and ushering in the festivities with a fun coffee bar filled with gourmet treats is a great way to celebrate!  Brew up some Specially Selected German Roasted Mild Coffee, set up your standard mix-ins (like sweetners and cream) along with season favorites like chocolate and candy cane bits, then add some special treat pairings and viola!  You’ll have an easy-to-maintain, inexpensive set-up for a planned or impromptu holiday coffee gathering, perfect for the office, for your book club meeting, or just a fun celebration with your neighbors.

Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI
My favorite coffee pairing is Specially Selected Biscotti and the new Salted Caramel – serious yum!

Goodies in Jars –  It’s great to send your guests home with a taste of the holidays from your celebration, even better when you can dress it up as a gift! You know everyone is going to love the cookies you put out for an after-dinner treat, so why not grab a few extras and put them in a goody bag or jar ahead of time to gift your guests with as they leave your party?  You’ll be sure to put a smile on every guest’s face and they’ll have a lovely keepsake to keep the memories of the festivities going long after the party is over.  Jars are all the rage as a container for good reason, they are inexpensive (generally under a $1 each) and are truly practical as they can be put to good reuse after the treats are consumed.

Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI
I’m filling goody jars full of a true taste of the holidays – Cafe Bistro Soft Gingerbread Cookies!

Beer and Cheese Pairings – This season craft beer and cheese pairings are wildly popular.  Treat your guests to this unexpected and delicious treat and they’ll be sure to be chatting up your celebration year ’round! My favorite pairing so far that I matched up from ALDI products is the Boot Tread Belgian Amber Ale with Happy Farms Preffered Cranberry White Cheddar.  The touch of roasted caramel in the finish of the ale is a terrific match with the hint of cranberry in the cheddar, truly divine!  You’ll find a ton of other options, too, as ALDI carries a wide variety of cheeses and beers (varies by location) and if you want to go the traditional route, you’ll find plenty of wine varieties, too.

Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI
Pairing craft beers with cheeses is a hot seasonal trend for 2015!

Homemade Gourmet –  Pairing beers (or wines) with cheese is always a hit with guests, but adding your own gourmet touch will truly wow your guests and have them clamoring for your recipe, too (so be sure to write out a few copies or be ready with a URL ahead of time!)  This year, I put together a delicious Bacon Pecan Herb Cheese Ball that’s super simple to create.  I found all of the ingredients at ALDI and spent less than $10 for this delightful showpiece.  You can find oodles of inspiration and amazing holiday recipes from the ALDI kitchen, too at  https://www.aldi.us/en/recipes/featured/

7 Ways to Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI
This Bacon Pecan Herb Cheese Ball recipe will definitely “wow” my guests this holiday!

Seasonal Wines –  No matter what cocktail is “all the rage” during the holiday season, wine remains on the must-have list for holiday celebration.  You’ll find plenty of terrific wines to choose from (varies by location) at ALDI including seasonal varieties.  During this time of year, a festive, seasonal variety is well appreciated and mulled wine is an old favorite that simply captures the essence of the holiday season.

Shareable punches are becoming more and more popular, too, using wine as the base.  To create a mulled wine variety that all of my guests could enjoy, I used Nature’s Nectar Sparkling Juice to create a Non-Alcoholic Mulled Red Wine that can easily be served in a punch bowl or warmed for individual cups.  Paired with a rich chocolate treat like liveGfree Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Brownie Soft Baked Cookies, and you’ll have a match made in holiday heaven!

Impress Your Guests with a Taste of the Holidays from ALDI
Mulled wine is a standard holiday favorite, use this non-alcoholic recipe version designed for everyone to enjoy a taste!

How do you impress your guests during the holidays?  What seasonal trends will you be serving up at your celebrations?  

For more information on ALDI products, weekly specials and new seasonal items, visit https://www.aldi.usor check out ALDI on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ALDI.USA and Twitter https://twitter.com/ALDIUSA


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Tags: party, Recipes
by
Barb Webb. Founder and Editor of Rural Mom, is an the author of "Getting Laid" and "Getting Baked". A sustainable living expert nesting in Appalachian Kentucky, when she’s not chasing chickens around the farm or engaging in mock Jedi battles, she’s making tea and writing about country living and artisan culture.
You Can Watch TV Without The TV For Free! What are you most thankful for? #fightsnotover #Suffragette

Comments

    • Rose M.
    • November 23, 2015
    Reply

    Wow! These photos make me want one of everything or at least to join your party! Didn’t know Aldi has so many holiday items, we have one not too far from us.

    • Sarah
    • November 23, 2015
    Reply

    ALDI is my go-to store for anything Christmas related, from food to decor and presents. Oh, their recipes section is worth a visit too, they have some interesting ones. My top tip for Christmas shopping is to start early. I already bought most of the presents these past few days and all I have to do now is to pick 15-20 recipes that sound interesting; when there’s just a couple weeks left until Xmas I’ll pick the best ones and buy everything I need then.

      • Barb Webb
      • November 23, 2015
      Reply

      Great tips, Sarah, thanks for sharing! Sounds like you are definitely ready for the holiday season!

    • Nicole
    • November 23, 2015
    Reply

    What a great topic, thank you for sharing. I loved reading your ideas and suggestions. Happy holidays!

    • Travel Blogger
    • November 23, 2015
    Reply

    Those look amazing! And now I’m hungry, arg 😛

    • valmg @ From Val's Kitchen
    • November 24, 2015
    Reply

    Wow, they all look terrific! I went to Aldi’s once many years ago. I should go try it, I always forget they’re there because they aren’t close by.

    • Ashley M
    • November 25, 2015
    Reply

    That all looks so yummy. I love going to famlies house and finding little treats like this waiting for me. 🙂

    • Esophagus Cancer Survivor
    • January 10, 2016
    Reply

    I just had a bite of one of those Aldi Truffles. The Vanilla… it’s amazing.

      • Barb Webb
      • January 10, 2016
      Reply

      That’s my favorite one, too! So good!

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