*This post is sponsored by Walmart. All product selections and opinions are my own!

Happy almost December! I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! We spent a few days in Utah with family and it was exactly what we all needed. (My dad snapped this pic right before we ate). :)

I wish we could have stayed another week! So much fun. We are always a little sad to say good-bye to grandparents and cousins after time spent in Utah so I cheered my crew up with a happy reminder that we were heading home to our house in San Diego decked for the holidays with a fun month ahead!

First up on the agenda? A Christmas movie party of course! I’ve never in my life waited until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas.. or to start listening to Christmas music (I’m ready in early October!) but I DO hold off on the Christmas movies. We have so many favorites and love spending the month of December watching as many as we possibly can. December is a busy month and with kids in high school schedules get tricky so we try to schedule set family movie nights ahead of time to prioritize some time together.

Christmas movies are best with pjs and fuzzy Christmas socks by the way. In case you didn’t know. :)

(*more fun sock options here)

Oh.. and with food. LOTS of food! One of my favorite ways to make December feel special is by making fun treats for our Christmas movie nights!

I get a lot of our groceries from Walmart and order ahead to pick up or have them shipped to our home. They make it so easy and when it comes to groceries/food they have everything you need for the holidays! When I ordered some groceries for our movie party I couldn’t resist getting this fun new 4 piece serving set. It’s perfect to hold a few different types of candy/treats!

I bought this cute red dinnerware set in the summer for 4th of July get togethers and it works great for Christmas parties too! The mugs will be perfect for hot chocolate. :)  (Speaking of hot chocolate, that 4 piece serving set above will also be ideal for holding hot chocolate toppings!)

I got everything ready in the kitchen and then moved it to our family room for the movie. We love to snack in this room when we’re watching movies. That’s why a rug that hides everything and a couch with slipcovers I can wash is crucial. :)

I’ve always found that the snacks themselves don’t have to be fancy with my crew. When I display snacks with fun dishes and have at least one thing that everyone loves it’s a hit and feels extra special. (The popcorn is my must have. In case you didn’t know.) :)

This 3-tier serving tray set is another favorite for movie night or hosting parties with family/friends. You can easily separate a few things you are serving and it always looks beautiful! I tossed  a few fruits/veggies in there to keep us healthy. ;)

These white porcelain serving platters are also ideal for entertaining and I reach for them all the time for our every day dinners too. The treats in the first platter are called Oatmeal Carmelitas and you guys.. they are to die for! SO delicious! My friend’s daughter made them for a party and as soon as I ate one I knew I had to have her make some for me and send the recipe! I added it at the bottom of this post for anyone interested. Seriously.. they are so good! If you make them and love them too let me know! I didn’t add calories because that would spoil the fun pretty quick so just serve some carrots next to your Oatmeal Carmelitas and all will be well. ;)

Ad and Kole couldn’t wait to get this party started. :)

I couldn’t wait to join them! They were so good to hold off and not eat anything until Kenny snapped a few pictures for me. My sweet family.. blogging is a family effort a lot of the time! Ha. They didn’t seem to mind one bit once I put the camera away and said “enjoy!” I see LOTS of family movie parties in our future. And LOTS of oatmeal carmelitas.

I love this time of year.

In case you didn’t know. :)

{POST SOURCES}

Oatmeal Carmelitas

{Ingredients}

Crust:

• 2 cups All Purpose or Unbleached Flour 
• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats 
• 1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 1 ¼ cups margarine or butter, softened 

Filling:

• 1 (12.5-oz.) jar (1 cup) caramel ice cream topping 
• 3 tablespoons All Purpose or Unbleached Flour 
• 1 (6-oz.) pkg. (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Steps:

•  Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13×9-inch pan. Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level off. In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Reserve half of the crumb mixture (about 3 cups) for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of greased pan. Bake at 350°F. for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine caramel topping and 3 tablespoons flour; blend well.
• Remove partially baked crust from the oven; sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
• Return to the oven; bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 hour or until completely cooled. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set. Cut into bars.

Notes: 

*For the caramel topping I used one package of Kraft caramel bits and melted them over the stove then added the flour 

*I also used both milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips (about half a 6oz package of each to have an even balance for taste)

*Feel free to throw in nuts too. I didn’t because Ad is allergic. :)