Champagne Bar – 5:00 Fridays

The holidays are synonymous with entertaining. The holidays are also synonymous with stress, but my post today will help alleviate some of that negative chill in the air. I’m not recommending you imbibe as a coping mechanism, but a drink will surely help make your familial, shall we say color, shine in a more palatable hue.

When your gaudy sister in law shows up in bright pink western wear and insists on bedazzling your cashmere wrap, take a sip.

When your mother reminds everyone at the table about the time you pooped in your snowsuit when you were five, take a sip.

When you brother starts the you-got-more-love-from-mom-and-dad game during half time, take a sip.

When you son arm farts to the tune of Baa Baa Black Sheep at the dinner table, take a sip.

When your aunt goes to the bathroom and comes out clearly not having washed her hands, take a sip (and avoid personal contact with her).

When your teenage niece starts talking to you about birth control options, take a sip.

When your husband gives you the I-told-you-we-should-have-gone-to-the-Inn- on-Biltmore-Estate look, take a sip.

When your father in law insists on cornering you to sing the praises of Glenn Beck, take a sip.

When your daughter sticks a mini marshmallow up her nose, take a sip. Then use that as an excuse to hightail it out of that hell and get her to the ER.

While the holidays are certainly fun and jovial, they also bring along a sour taste of bile to top off the treacly sweet fervor that retailers and advertisers glop on us. Holidays quickly degenerate to holidaze, and Black Friday sure doesn’t help in the pickmeup department. It’s time to triage the situation and bring out the bubbly to soothe what ails you. Most people reserve the bubbly stuff for weddings and New Year’s Eve. I say bring out something bubbly for those times that your groove is less than sparkling. Much like the magic that the soapy variety brings out in kids, the spirited variety of bubbles can do wonders for your mood. Engage all your senses when you caress the smooth chilled bottle with your palm, listen to the telltale POP of the cork, smell the sweetness exploding out of the bottle, taste the crisp bubbles two stepping on your taste buds, see the magnificence of a perfectly poured glass of champagne.

I’ll be entertaining over the Thanksgiving holidays so I plan on stocking loads of bubbly in my wine fridge. I’ll set out a few odds and ends for my guets to plop into their glass should they prefer a tinge of color or a walk on the wild side. You’ll thrill your guests and be the talk of the town and Twitter if you set up a simple champagne bar.

Below you’ll see my suggestion of a jumble of bits and pieces to set out. Place your champagne glasses on a tray alongside some cocktail napkins (I have an unhealthy infatuation with cocktail napkins. I. Can’t. Stop. Buying. Them.).Put everything in mismatched little bowls and pitchers. Make it casual to whack the snooty air right out of champagne’s hoity toity nature. It’s really much more approachable than people realize. And by all means, you don’t have to be a purist here. Use prosecco or cava instead of champagne. But by all means, leave the asti spumante in the regifting closet where it belongs.

For the Champagne Bar:

• frozen raspberries
• frozen strawberries
  
• thinly sliced clementines
• pineapple wedges
• sliced star fruit
  
• sugar cubes
  
• orange juice
• pomegranate juice
• pineapple juice
  
• peach puree
• mango nectar
• Cointreau
• gin
• vodka
• creme de cassis
• simple syrup
  
• orange peel
• lemon peel
• whole mint leaves
• candy corn
• candied ginger
  

Use your imagination! You’ll have enough options to never repeat the same concoction, and your guests can help themselves, which means no waiting on Uncle Ichabod while he farts into the silk embroidered throw pillows you just bought.

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble.