10+ ideas and recipes for throwing a Keepsake Ornament party

A Keepsake Ornament portraying a graceful reindeer decked out in a red and green plaid blanket, a red harness with silver jingle bells, and evergreen boughs woven in its antlers.

If you’re anything like us (and we’re pretty sure you are!) then you know ornaments aren’t just a Christmas thing. Whether you’re collecting, gifting or decorating, ornaments are part of so many special moments throughout the entire year.

And with the release of 2025 Dream Book and Dream Boxes arriving to our Keepsake Ornament Club members, there’s never been a better occasion (except Christmas!) to share your ornament love with your friends, family and fellow ornament fans. Read on for tips, recipes and ideas to make your ornament-themed party merry and bright.

Inspired? Create and share by tagging @HallmarkKeepsakeOrnaments.

A Keepsake Ornament portraying a graceful reindeer decked out in a red and green plaid blanket, a red harness with silver jingle bells, and evergreen boughs woven in its antlers.

Step 1: Deck the halls  

The first step to throwing any memorable party is to set the scene. If you’re ho-ho-hosting the party at your home, here are a few easy ways to welcome guests and create a magical mood.

Send out invitations: To make your party feel extra special, make and mail personalized invites. Your guests will love getting some merry mail, and it’ll look adorable in your scrapbook or memory box.

Encourage a dress code: Whether you want to go for ugly sweaters, classic red and green, or something sparkly, dressing up will have everyone feeling holly-jolly. (And again, think of the cute photos for your scrapbook!)

Break out the garland: Of course, no ornament party is complete without a Christmas tree. If you’re ready to put your tree up a few months early, we’re here for it—and your guests will love it, too! But if you’re not quite ready to get yours out of storage, consider decorating a mini tree as a centerpiece, using tree-shaped serving dishes or putting wreaths, garland and bottlebrush trees around the house. You can make your tablescape the focal point or go all-out and create a pop-up Christmas room.

There’s only one decorating rule you have to follow: Find a prominent place to display your favorite ornaments. You’re throwing a party for them, after all!

 

An ornament in the shape of Santa carrying a box of baked goodies next to personal photos and a recipe card with a headline that reads

Step 2: Bake up some fun  

What’s a party without a few sweet treats? From a cookie exchange (Santa-approved!) to cocktails & mocktails to a festive hot chocolate bar, you really can’t go wrong with holiday goodies.

But if you want to truly wow your guests, read on! Below, you’ll find exclusive recipes from three of our Keepsake artists that are not only totally delicious but also so on-theme. For Keepsake Ornament Club members, this is the perfect occasion to flip through your new recipe book from your Dream Box and learn more about your favorite artists!

 

A recipe header for Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake from Keepsake Artist Tammy Haddix.

 

“This is a recipe that Keepsake Artist Joanne Wright and I discovered back in the ’90s. We went to England for a research trip to visit the Lake District and Beatrix Potter’s home. There was a small restaurant up the street from our lodging that we went to for coffee, and that’s where we tried this Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake. We went back every night for coffee and our newfound favorite dessert. We decided we would ask the chef for the recipe, even beg if we had to! Luckily, he agreed to share it with us so we could share it with our families back home.”

 

Serves: 15

 

Ingredients

For the toffee sauce

  • 3 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons molasses
  • 2¼ cups brown sugar, packed

 

For the cake

  • 1 cup date pieces, preferably coated with oat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups heavy whipping cream, cold

 

Directions

  • Combine sauce ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes. The sauce will reduce slightly.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place oven rack in the middle. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering the bottom, adding wax paper, then buttering the paper. Bring the dates and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Set aside to cool.
  • Sift flour and salt together, then set aside. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed, about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture on low until just incorporated.
  • Press any clumps out of the baking powder and gently stir into the dates. Mix the dates and any liquid into the cake batter.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until firm. Reduce the oven to 250, pour ¾ cup warm toffee sauce over the cake and bake 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in pan.
  • To serve, pour toffee sauce and a bit of heavy cream over each slice.

 

A recipe header for Watergate Salad from Keepsake Artist Nello Williams.

 

“Watergate Salad is sometimes called ‘Green Fluff’ but mine is more dense than fluffy. This is one of my favorites to take to holiday potlucks!”

 

Ingredients

  • 2 boxes (3.4 oz) pistachio pudding mix
  • 1 can (15 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
  • 1 container (8 oz.) cottage cheese
  • 1 container (8 oz.) whipped topping, thawed
  • 1½–2 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 1 small jar of maraschino cherries, drained and halved
  • ½ cup chopped pecans

 

Directions

  • In a bowl, gradually sprinkle the pudding mix over the pineapple, stirring until combined.
  • Next, mix in the cottage cheese and cream cheese.
  • Once combined, mix in the pecans and maraschino cherries. Fold in the whipped topping.
  • Chill for several hours before serving.

 

 

A recipe header for Pastel Creme Wafers from Keepsake Artist Orville Wilson.

 

“Early in our relationship my wife found out that I’m allergic to eggs and searched for eggless holiday recipes. It’s become a holiday tradition for her to make these cookies for me every year.”

 

Serves: 20

 

Ingredients

For the wafers

  • ½ cup butter, cold
  • 3–4 tablespoons half-and-half
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup sugar

 

For the frosting

  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon softened butter
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 drop food coloring
  • Half-and-half (to adjust thickness)

 

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, cut the butter into the flour until pieces are the size of small peas.
  • Sprinkle one tablespoon of half-and-half over part of the mixture. Gently toss with fork and push to the side of the bowl. Repeat until all is moistened. Form into a ball.
  • Next, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s less than 1⅛-inch thick. Cut into rounds with a 1¾-inch cutter.
  • Dip one side of each round in sugar. Place them sugared side up, 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Prick the tops of each round to form four rows.
  • Bake 8–10 minutes at 375 degrees until the edges just begin to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
  • To make the frosting, stir all ingredients together, adding half-and-half a splash at a time until the frosting is spreadable.
  • Once cookies are cooled, frost half of them. Stack one unfrosted cookie on top of the frosted side to sandwich them together.

 

A 2025 Keepsake Ornament featuring two snowmen decorating a red Christmas tree strung with green and gold tinsel.

Step 3: Have a tree-riffic time  

While you’d probably have a delightful time just eating snacks and talking about ornaments (we know we would), here are a few easy ornament-themed party activities we love.

Show and tell: Invite each of your guests to bring their favorite ornament—or two or three or five! Tell the group when you got it and why you love it so much. It’s both a sentimental get-to-know-you and a fun way to show off your favorites.

Start dreaming: Now that the 2025 Dream Book is released and our new collection is finally here, encourage your guests to bring their copies so you can all peruse and fill out your Wish Lists together. If you don’t have a physical copy of the book, don’t worry—you can pull up the digital edition right here.

Keepsake Ornament history: Whether you’ve loved Keepsake Ornaments for decades or are just starting out, it’s always fun to take a trip down memory lane and learn more about our history. Guests will love this video series that celebrates the first 50 years of Keepsake Ornaments. Press play and share your favorite facts at the end.

Say cheese: Your decked-out decor and themed attire are begging for a photo op! Gather the group together and snap a few pics before the party is over. You could even create a special photo backdrop with props. (Think of the scrapbook!)

 

A Keepsake Ornament of a small dog in a Santa hat holding a candy cane in its mouth, alongside small gift items meant as party favor ideas.

Step 4: Send them home with party favors  

Before you say goodbye, give your guests a little something to take home. It’s a thoughtful touch that will make your party extra memorable.

Goodie bags: Package up leftover desserts in goodie bags or bake up a batch of cookies just for favors. Extra points if they’re ornament-shaped sugar cookies!

DIY ornaments: If you have a Polaroid camera, use your photos from earlier to create a DIY ornament for them to hang on their tree. Just snap a pic, stamp out a hole and add a ribbon. They’ll love looking back at the memories from this special day.

 

Hosting a party is the perfect opportunity to introduce new friends and form connections. Before the party ends, invite your fellow ornament lovers to get back together throughout the year and make some more memories. You could even make your ornament party an annual tradition! And (shameless plug) if they’re not members yet, be sure to tell your guests about the Keepsake Ornament Club—the perfect place for merrymakers like yourselves!