Cheerful Chili Party with Reindeer Lit’l Smokies Appetizer

This Cheerful Chili Party Menu with Reindeer Lit’l Smokies Appetizer is sponsored by Minted, who provided cute party supplies to make this party cheery and bright!

Do you like having people over for the holidays, but you’re scared to death to commit? It’s fun to have friends over when the stress level is low, and I’ve found that prepping for an easy buffet-style meal takes very little time, and that the casual feel makes everyone feel right at home for the holidays.

When you’re busy.

If you’re busy like I am, you want to have people over, but it’s hard to fit it all in.

Cheerful Chili Party.

My wonderful friends at Minted help me make this party really come together, by providing the Vintage Reindeer Party Decor items and this delicious Reindeer Lit’l Smokies Appetizer that I want to share with you today.

Adding a “reindeer touch” to my outdoor chili party, it only took a few minutes to take these items and incorporate them into the party!

Party invitations.

First of all, order cute invitations. Minted does all the work for you–just supply them with the details!

Serve buffet.

Hosting a buffet meal is easy! You have a choice of making your party potluck, or you can do all the work. I choose to delegate most of the time, but for this party, I did not have guests bring anything. It was so simple, this is what I did. (Yes, that’s a tobbogan sled on the wall. It was stored in the attic and I thought it would be a fun winter party decoration!)

Vintage Reindeer theme.

With a reindeer theme, I couldn’t help but make up a few platters adorable reindeer appetizers (recipe below)!

Use a camp stove.

Create a main dish station. Outdoor campstove with 2 pots of chili, one with White Bean Chili, the other with Vegetarian Chili for our Vegetarian guests. (Tip: Use a high quality pressure canner or cooker for a big pot of chili, if you’re looking for a pot that the food won’t stick to the bottom over the heat).

Toppings, drinks, and treats.

Create a sides or toppings station. Instead of bread or cornbread, we served chips and salsa!

Create a drink station (with simple treats). We served hot chocolate and soft drinks.

And a separate wine station with really cute wine tags.

Cheerful and bright … I love the extra touches with banners.

Outdoor fire.

Casual and fun. Guests can pop in, stay for a short time, or linger around the fire!

Have your “game on.”

For a Cheerful Chili Party, I asked my family to help (last minute chores, getting the outdoor area ready, fire going, chopping and plating the toppings, stirring the pots of chili on the stove, putting the drinks out) but for me as the hostess, I made sure to have my game on.

Game on? Yes! Just be ready when your guests arrive. I’ve always had a time schedule in my mind and I count backwards. I’ve posted about this many times, but being organized and then being “happy” when your guests come, is really important.

It involves “you.”

You can’t just sit back and watch it all take place. It involves YOU! You have to be on top of it, be aware of “what comes next” so you can make the meal and party come together for your guests.

Reindeer Lit’l Smokies Appetizer.

Here’s a simple, fun recipe that I made for appetizers–Reindeer Lit’l Smokies Appetizer–perfect for the holiday, perfect paired with chili!

Oh, and this delicious White Bean Chili recipe is one of our new family-favorite recipes!

Have you ever hosted a chili party? Share the details of what made it successful!

Print Recipe

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Reindeer Lit'l Smokies Appetizer

This recipe is from Jolly Reindeer site.

Prep Time30 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings: 20

Ingredients

• 1 package Lit’l Smokies or Lit’l Wieners or comparable
• Pretzel twists large size
• Mustard
• Ketchup

Instructions

• Heat sausages or weiners according to package directions.
• Break a small pretzel twist in half. Stick a pretzel half into both sides of sausage to resemble antlers.
• Use 2 small drops of mustard for eyes and a small drop of ketchup for the nose.

More chili recipes:

5-Ingredient Beef Chili {Reluctant Entertainer}

Halftime Chili {Recipe Girl}

Buffalo Chicken Chili {Tidy Mom}

Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili {Aggie’s Kitchen}

Vegetable Black Bean Chili {Reluctant Entertainer}

White Bean Chili with Butternut Squash {Foodie Crush}

Chipotle Chicken Chili {Pioneer Woman}

5-Ingredient WHITE Chicken Chili {Gimme Some Oven}

This blog post is sponsored by Minted. As always the opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. Order your holiday cards now, or bring your party dreams to life with chic bunting banners, centerpieces, table signs, invites and more. Follow Minted on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.