We had our 2nd annual neighborhood New Year’s Eve progressive cocktail party, with this year’s theme being “Pours and Passports”:
In a countdown to midnight, 4 Mordecai neighbors opened their homes for an hour each and offered drinks and snacks related to their stop’s country. We had ~50 people attending this year’s event, up from 28 in our inaugural year in 2024.
The house, for Italian Indulgence
Our host, Marianne
Featured Italian cocktails:
• Aperol Spritz: Aperol, Prosecco, sparkling water, orange slice
• Negroni: gin, sweet vermouth, Campari, orange wedge
Featured Italian snacks:
• Two antipasto platters of cured meats, olives, cheeses, grapes
• Crackers & bread slices to complement the platters
• A variety of biscotti
• Marcona almonds
• Tiramisu (in honor of a guest’s birthday)
At this first stop, we asked everyone to create a name tag comprising their name and how long they’ve lived in Mordecai.
I pulled an Emeril Lagasse on Bob’s and my name tags and kicked them up a notch (Bam!) with a picture of our house on it.
Also at this stop, people made good use of the selfie station provided by Marianne & Jen!
Click on first image to bring up the gallery to flip through.
The house, for French Fusion
Our hosts, Brian & Jeff
Featured French cocktails:
• Cognac French 75: cognac, champagne, simple syrup, lemon juice
• Minuit a Paris: vodka, St-Germain, cranberry juice, simple syrup, lemon slice
Featured French snacks:
• Spinach & cheddar quiche
• Baguette slices with ham, Gruyère cheese, French butter, & cornichon
• Gougère cheese puffs with Parmesan and Pecorino cheeses
• Macarons
Some people shots at this stop:
The house, for Irish Imbibements
Our hosts, John & Mary Beth
Featured Irish beverages:
• Irish coffee with a jigger of Jameson Irish Whiskey and Nana Casey’s secret recipe for sweetness, topped with a dollop of whipped cream
• Guinness beer
• Black Bush Irish Whiskey
• Writers’ Tears Irish Whiskey
Featured Irish snacks and artifacts:
Snacks
• Scones
• Guinness Glazed Meatballs
• Bleu and cheddar cheeses from Ireland
Artifacts
• Statue of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland
• A piece of crochet from Mary Beth’s grandma
• Photos in remembrance of family now gone: both sets of parents; John’s brother, Tom; John’s great-grandmother, Nana Casey (of the secret-Irish-Coffee-sweetness-recipe fame)
• Books related to Ireland, among other items
Some people shots at this stop:
The house, for Mexican Mixers
Our host, Amy
Amy’s co-host, Neal, provided the food
Featured Mexican cocktails:
• Palomas: tequila, grapefruit juice, sparking water, lime juice, coarse sea salt
• Champagne for the midnight toast (full disclosure: not Mexican)
Featured Mexican snacks:
• Crema de garbanzo con cilantro y jalapeños asado acompañado de zanahorias, apio y pimientos morrones
• Rugelach de chocolate mexicano y nuez pacana & Rugelach de queso fresco ahumado y jalapeño asado
• Pastel de tres leches
Sheets of paper were available to write on with “Sh*t you don’t want to take into 2026” and burn in the fire pit before midnight. Some example sh*t people wanted to jettison:
The accumulation of liquid courage across 4 hours and 4 homes brought the socializing to a peak during this final hour of 2025!
Ending up with the countdown on TV and a champagne toast at midnight.
And if there was any doubt that fun was had by all, a look at Amy’s kitchen at the end of the night!
Thanks to all who hosted our four stops this year and your enthusiastic and generous hospitality!
After this second one of these neighborhood progressive cocktail parties, it’s obvious it’s a great way to spend New Year’s Eve. In fact, I recently wrote three 50-word stories about some advantages of spending New Year’s Eve this way:
So much fun!