It's that time of year again, when a combination of seasonal days off, inhospitable weather and the prospect of presents calls on us to welcome people into our home- and feed them. Maybe you've got the Yule entertaining bug this year, or maybe it's "your turn", or maybe you're kind of feeling like a freeloader eating everyone else's free food and thought you'd try your hand at it. Or maybe you're like me and just can't get enough of feeding people!

Whether it's your first time, or you're an old pro, holiday entertaining- any kind of entertaining- can be daunting. Even if you're entertaining people you know quite well to your own home, there's always that little bit of stage fright, and (the part my husband dreads) that last minute rush to make sure it's all perfect. You want it to be at least somewhat unique, relaxed and enjoyable- not just for your guests, but for you as well.

Here are some ideas

Have a cookie party
In the days leading up to Yule, host a cookie party for you and your closest friends (or your kids friends moms). This party can take one of two forms. You can have a bake-off, at which everyone brings recipes, you pool your ingredients, and bake like crazy all day, everyone taking home baggies of the finished products. Or you can have a cookie swap. This is much easier on the hostess. Everyone makes several dozen of their favorite cookies and brings them along to trade for other peoples' cookies. Either way, you all end up with lots of cookies to share with family and friends.

Keep snacks simple for this. Finger foods. You don't want people to have to sit down with a plate with all that cookie business going on. You also don't want them to have to wash their hands every five minutes, so keep toothpicks on hand. Some good ideas are raw fruits and vegetables with dip, cheese cubes (crackers inspire the use of fingers, so don't include them) and a pickle tray. Fondu may also have its place here, if you are so inspired!

Host a card party
Pagans notoriously have few choices when it comes to selecting greeting cards for any occasion. Our choices usually range from "what's the least Christian" to "which of these Pagan greeting cards looks least shocking?", so gathering together to create greeting cards to send to friends and family might be something your friends would appreciate. If you have a craft store nearby that has stamping and scrapbooking materials, you could inquire if they have a staff member who would be willing to do a workshop at your home for a reasonable fee. Or you could contact your local Stamping Up representative and see if she is able to help you.

Food for this party should also be simple finger foods, like the cookie party. But it doesn't matter so much if the fingers are dirty, as long as they are dry. Keep napkins on hand and feel free to put out the crackers and chips (preferably baked or fat free so oily fingers don't mess up the cards) and dip.

Host an all night watch
You may be inspired this year to stay up all night and watch the newborn sun emerge over the horizon at dawn and it follows that you may be inspired to share this with some friends. But what to do all those long hours between sunrise and sunset? I'm sure you can think of something. You might consider a movie marathon, and the old geeky/Pagan standbys Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars and don't discount those Christmas classics like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Christmas Story, The Nightmare Before Christmas and various versions of A Christmas Carol (The Muppets is my favorite) just because they got the name wrong!

If movies aren't your thing, maybe you'd rather spend the evening playing games. Cranium is my all-time favorite (and they've got lots of Pagan-friendly trivia) (PS I would like a Cranium Booster Box for Yule this year!) and CatchPhrase is also fun in a big group of course, if you have a Wii, you could bowl, box, or fence the night away.

Alternatively, you may wish to spend the evening doing some traditional campfire activities, especially if you have a fireplace or you can sit around the fire pit without risk of hypothermia. A story circle (one person starts the story, talks for a designated amount of time and the next person continues it and so on) or a drum circle might be fun, or you can spend the night chanting or singing. You my wish to refer to some of the Books and CDs available or check out http://www.bardicarts.org for some suggestions.

The menu for this gathering can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. Since people will be there all night, you might want to provide dinner and breakfast (see recipe suggestions below). And be sure to keep plenty of Cider, Cocoa and Wassail on hand to keep the bellies warm and the whistles wet.

Yule Dinner
For many of us, Yule dinner with family is a tradition. Here's a vegetarian menu for Yule that's sure to be a hit. Not a vegetarian? Add a turkey or a ham!
Bean Salad
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup (Use miso or vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.)
Crusty French Bread
Maple-Pecan Yams & Apples
Green Bean Casserole
Cran-apple Sauce
Plum Pudding

Yule Breakfast/Brunch
For those of us who haven't abandoned the tradition of Yule morning presents, and for those who enjoy the Yule night watch, breakfast is the most important meal of the Holiday! Try this vegetarian breakfast/brunch this Yule. Not a vegetarian? Cook up some bacon and sausages to go with!

Spinach & Mushroom Quiche
Cinnamon Rolls
Harvest Fruit Salad (Replace the apples with pears in this recipe.)
Apple Dumplings (Replace the blueberries with apples in this recipe)

Feeling lazy? Don't stress yourself out this holiday season. Pick up a ready made quiche, some Pillsbury cinnamon bread dough and you can often get your fruits pre-cubed. The apple dumplings are really easy if you use Bisquick.

Have fun! And a blessed Yule to you and yours!

I'm not going to write much about this because I think it's redundant to say "Hey, Pagans celebrated the same damn holiday they celebrate at this time ever year." All Pagans but me because my family insists on having major events on the solstice every year. Like weddings and showers and graduation parties. Never mind that it's ALSO my birthday. But what do they care? Anyway, I digress. But here are some interesting pictures. Alot of my friends were out of town at various festivals this weekend, so it was just as well.

And yea, I did get to celebrate in my own private way. I got a fabulous new cast iron camp dutch oven from my beloved (aka a cauldron) and my mom and kids got me a bike and various accessories to go with it. I road off into the sunset and enjoyed a fabulous end to a very busy day communing with nature on the wooded trails near my home. I discovered and identified many herbs I had no idea where growing so near my home (not that I can collect them as they are on state land, but I can take pictures!) and simply enjoyed the silence. The best part, I think about riding your bike on trails rather hiking, is that the mosquitos can't catch you. I spent the rest of the evening watching Tuck Everlasting with the kids. That led to spirited philosophical discussion about when the best time would be to commence eternal life with your body exactly as it was. My beloved and I agree that to do so while a teenager would be a horrible idea. My daughter does not agree. In the end, I think we all agreed that not having an exit option would suck and decided that becoming a vampire would be much cooler. By the way, I'm going to add Tuck Everlasting to my top Pagan family movie night picks. It is a great movie to get conversations started about the circle of life and such.