Holiday Movie Night Dinner Party

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, INC. and The Coca-Cola Company, all opinions are mine alone. #GrabSomeCheer #CollectiveBias

The holidays are here and it's the most the wonderful time of the year. It's the perfect time for families to get together, friends to re-connect, and for us to give back and help those who need it most. But, with so much going on, it's hard to plan, let alone host, a party to actually get everyone together. I know for me, most of our immediate family lives close by, so no need to plan for out town guests and that's a plus. But, it means that with all our busy schedules, it's harder to find that extra time.

However, it is extremly important for me to find that time to do so. That is why I planned a movie night dinner party for my family using Coca-Cola™, Gold Peak® Tea, and Pagoda frozen appetizers. It makes for a perfect weeknight, or even weekend, get together meal and movie night. 

Movie night is a big deal in our house and now that the holidays are here, we love gathering around the television after a busy day and watching our favorite holiday movies. Especially the classic ones like Rudolph and Frosty. They are the best and can always bring our family together. Since I know all our schedules are super busy between our sports practices, choir practices and then my nieces gymnastics and after-school activities, finding time is always difficult.

So, once I got everyone's schedule, I invited them over for a week-night dinner party to watch our favorite movies together and celebrate the holidays. With a delicious dinner with easy chicken fried rice and Pagoda frozen appetizers on the menu I headed straight to my local Safeway to get everything I needed for our fun holiday movie night dinner. 

Being that I invited everyone over on a weeknight, my time was very limited. I relied heavily on the fact that Pagoda frozen appetizers allowed me to provide delicous food without spending all day in the kitchen. Who has time for that anyway?!?! I want to spend time with my family, not in the kitchen. Along with the Pagoda frozen appetiziers, I made a simple chicken fried rice as the main dish. It was simple to put together and took no time at all to put together. 

To decorate, I wanted to keep it simple but fun. I wanted to make sure we focused on the time we had, not the time it took to decorate and set up. I used some fun and festive winter reindeer, that I am absolutely in love with. These make amazing decorations and could be used all winter long. I added a few scented pinecones, to add some wintery scents to the air. Lanterns and winter trees completed the decorations. It was simple to set up and everyone loved the decor. It was perfect! 

For each place setting, a dinner plate, appetizer plate, and a bowl, accompined a cloth napkin wrapped with berries, tea glass, and silverware. The rattan charger added a bit of that wintery, rustic feel to complete the look. It was simple to create. Just stack your plates at each setting to give it that "I worked all day to set this up." But, in reality, it took 5 minutes to get this look.

I live in Texas and tea is a must at any meal here. Gold Peak Tea is my favorite and of course I served this up to my most favorite guests for our special dinner. 

As soon as dinner was ready, we gathered around the table and got right to eating, family style. We talked about our day and what has been going. Just catching up with each other and enjoying the company. It was a perfect family dinner and I didn't miss a single bit of it. 

Homemade Easy Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of rice (do not use instant rice) I use long grain rice.
• 1 pound of chicken breast. Cooked and shredded. Optional: marinate ahead of time.
• 2 TBSP of minced garlic
• 1 small while onion, diced
• 1 small bag of frozen peas and carrots
• 2 eggs
• 3 TBSP of sesame oil
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce

How to make:

1. Cook 1 cup of rice in 2 cups of water according to package directions.
2. Heat sesame oil in large saute pan. Add onion, garlic, and peas and carrots and cook about 7 minutes.

3.  Crack eggs into mixture and scramble with veggies.
4. Add rice and chicken and combine.
5. Add soy sauce and stir until mixed.
6. Remove from heat and serve.

Pairs perfectly with Pagoda frozen appetizers. 

As soon as dinner was over, we moved into the living room to let our food settle. While we relaxed, the kids got busy decorating wooden holiday ornaments for our tree. This allowed the kids to stay busy while I clean up from dinner and get everything ready for our movie and dessert. 

I popped some popcorn and set out chocolate chip candy cookies with Coca-Cola for an after dinner treat. After the kids were done with their ornaments, I turned on the TV and settled down with everyone else. The classic movies are perfect because they are not too long and since my kids tend to have a short attention span, these give us the perfect amount of movie time before they get distracted. 

Plan for your holiday movie night dinner party with Pagoda frozen appetizer, Gold Peak Tea, Red Baron Pizza, and Coca-Cola products from your local Safeway. Plus, you can find everything you need to get you through the holiday season. 

Rather head to the theater for a movie night out instead of in??? Right now when you shop at your local Safeway/Albertsons store you can get $5 towards a movie ticket, with $10 purchase of participating products in one transaction. Shoppers will receive a code on the Catalina receipt and will be directed to the Fandango site to redeem the movie ticket reward. Hurry, offer ends 12/31/17. Click HERE for more information and details about this offer.