Christmas in September? A Fresh Approach to Holiday Catering in Dallas
It may still be 100 degrees outside, but in the catering world, the holidays have already begun.
September is when company parties start making their way onto calendars, families begin coordinating schedules, and hosts turn their attention to everything from Thanksgiving dinner to the annual holiday party. December may still feel comfortably far away, but the best dates, venues, and plans have a way of coming together well before then.
So, consider this our version of Christmas in September — not because we’re trying to rush you through fall, but because planning now gives you more room to create the kind of gathering you actually want. This means more flexibility with your date and venue, more time to consider how you want to host, and, most importantly, the opportunity to build a menu that feels every bit as special as the people gathering around it.
Why now is the time to think about holiday catering
The earlier you start planning, the more choices you have.
Popular dates and venues fill quickly once the holiday season gets underway, especially when you’re coordinating a larger group. Starting now gives you more flexibility with the practical things, but it also gives you time to think beyond simply checking “food” off the list.
Who are you bringing together? What kind of gathering makes sense for them? And what do you actually want to eat? After all, a company celebration for 200 and Christmas dinner with 20 of your favorite people probably shouldn’t have the same answer.
Which is where we come in.
A fresh approach to holiday party food
Holiday catering doesn’t have to mean serving the same menu everyone expects this time of year.
The better place to start is with the kind of gathering you’re planning, since a cocktail party with coworkers has a completely different rhythm than Christmas dinner at home. A donor event needs to leave room for conversation and programming. And sometimes the best holiday party is really just an excuse to get your favorite people around the same table.
This year’s Vestals holiday menu was created with all of those occasions in mind, with options that can move from cocktails and passed bites to interactive stations and dinner around the table.
Take a little inspiration from the menu:
Holiday catering for friends and family
There are some holiday traditions you don’t mess with. There are others you might be perfectly happy to hand off.
For Christmas dinner, Friendsgiving, an ornament exchange, or the annual get-together with friends, catering can fill in wherever you need it. Keep the family recipe everyone expects, then let us take care of the rest.
A few ways we’d set the table:
- Make dinner feel like dinner. Red Wine Braised Short Rib gets the full holiday treatment with mushroom ragù and red wine demi-glace. Add Boursin Potato Purée and Roasted Garlic Thyme Market Vegetables, and you have a meal that still feels at home around the family table without spending the entire day cooking.
- Give everyone something to gather around. For a more casual party, a Winter Cheese & Charcuterie Board brings together rosemary and cranberry goat cheese, dill Havarti, spicy maple ricotta dip, seasonal fruit, and plenty of accompaniments for grazing between conversations.
- Put something festive in the glass, too. A Gingerbread Espresso Martini brings cold brew, gingerbread, and cinnamon into the equation, while the Pomegranate Thyme Paloma gives the holiday cocktail a brighter spin.
The goal is never to reinvent the holiday dinner over here — it’s just to make it easier (and more delicious) to gather around.
Holiday catering for corporate events
For the company holiday party, think about the way you want the room to move.
If people are there to catch up, celebrate, and mingle outside of their usual circles, a traditional seated dinner isn’t the only option.
- Start with bites that can work the room: Beef Wellington Bites with horseradish cream or Mini Gulf Crab Cakes with spicy cranberry remoulade give cocktail hour a seasonal feel without stopping the conversation.
- Make dinner part of the experience: At the Steak Frites Station, rosemary Wagyu bites and shoestring fries are served in fry baskets with smoked garlic aioli, winter serrano chimichurri, caramelized onions, and garlic Parmesan breadcrumbs. It’s dinner, but with a little more movement and personality.
- Let dessert come to them: The Custom Cannoli Station can roam the room on cigarette trays, with classic or orange Earl Grey cannoli cream and toppings to finish each one.
For smaller teams, the whole thing could shift in the other direction. A long holiday lunch gives everyone a chance to celebrate without adding another evening commitment to the December calendar, while a plated dinner can turn a team gathering into a proper night out.
The food should fit the team, not some imaginary rule about what a company holiday party is supposed to look like.
Holiday catering for nonprofit events
Donor dinners, fundraisers, volunteer celebrations, and year-end events have a little more happening in the room. The food should make the occasion feel generous and celebratory without competing with the reason everyone came together.
- For cocktails and conversation: A Seafood Display gives guests something to gather around, with shrimp cocktail, winter grapefruit-lemon citrus ceviche, sushi, and options to add oysters, crab legs, or sashimi.
- For dinner with a program: Start with Classic Winter Squash Bisque finished with sage cream, pomegranate reduction, and chili-dusted pepitas, then move into a Rosemary Garlic Rubbed Filet Medallion with Boursin potato purée, lemon-roasted broccolini, and roasted shallot demi-glace.
- For the last impression: TX Spice Cake with bourbon maple cream, apple compote, and ginger molasses cookie crumb feels unmistakably seasonal and gives the evening a proper ending.
Whether the goal is thanking longtime donors, celebrating volunteers, or bringing a community together before the year ends, the menu can support the flow of the evening while still giving everyone something to talk about.
A little something for the road: elevated favors
We’re going to say something potentially controversial: your guests probably don’t need another holiday-themed trinket. Something delicious for tomorrow, though? That’s a different story.
An edible party favor feels like a natural extension of the menu and one last chance to take care of your guests. Vestals’ holiday dessert menu gives us plenty to work with, but we’re especially partial to the Itty Bitty Ginger Molasses Cookies or a Bourbon Pecan Pie Bar tucked into something pretty for the ride home.
For a company party, it’s an easy employee thank-you. For a donor or client event, it’s one last bit of hospitality. And for the party at your house? Well, nobody has ever complained about leaving with a cookie.
Planning a holiday party in Dallas? Meet The Eastern
This holiday season, we’re especially excited to welcome celebrations to The Eastern, our newest event venue in East Dallas.
With The Eastern and Vestals Catering together from the start, you can think about the venue and menu as one experience. The food, drinks, service, and flow of the room can all be planned together, which also means one less vendor relationship for you to manage during an already busy season.
For more intimate celebrations, Room 1403 and The Studio at Vestals offer additional settings for private dinners, holiday lunches, client gatherings, and smaller team celebrations.
Whether you’re planning cocktails for the company, dinner with your best clients, a nonprofit celebration, or the holiday party your friends talk about until next year, we can take care of the place and what’s on the table.
It’s time to make the holidays sweeter
However you celebrate, we believe the best holiday gatherings have a few things in common: food worth passing around, people you’re glad to see, and a reason to stay just a little longer.
From an intimate dinner at home to the company party everyone actually looks forward to, we’d love to help make this year’s gathering one to remember.
Bring us your guest list, your traditions, your big ideas, or simply a date on the calendar. We’ll bring the food and hospitality.
