Almost by accident, we started hosting what has become an annual Chili Bar party the first cold weekend after the holidays. It’s very informal, and all of our friends know they are welcome to come on over whenever they have time during that cooler weekend. 

I decided to decorate with a woodland theme. It’s perfect for fall and winter parties. Plus, I’m still mad for plaid! Since I loved our Friendsgiving party in front of the fireplace so much, I thought it would be nice to set up the chili bar next to a roaring fire. 

The table was draped with buffalo plaid fabric at an angle for a pop of color. I added decorative evergreen trees around the table, as well as some wood chargers, and old books. My vintage plaid cooler was filled with bottled Coca Cola.

I used scrap wood and firewood to make a sign placard for the over sized chili bar sign. I found a semi level piece of split fire wood and we used a table saw to cut a channel down the middle of the log, about half as deep as the log. Then, I slid the scrap wood in the channel and used double sided tape to secure the sign to the board. I super love the way it turned out, so be sure to look for it in future parties!

We served my hubby’s semi famous chili with loads of topping choices, and fresh cornbread in a cast iron pan. Since the hubby does most of the cooking for this, I typically make flavored butter for the cornbread. This year we had honey butter and it was SO good! 

This is one of our friends and family’s favorite post holiday traditions.

The party printable package is available in the shop, here.