Santa Party Mix

 This past weekend my husband and I got together with some friends and had a game night.

Game nights are fun, aren't they?

Aren't they?

Well, they are supposed to be fun.

Until...

Men vs. Women.

Apparently as a married adult it gets all kindergarten on game nights.

When you are in elementary school it's always boys vs. girls.

The sexes seem to come together in the mid teens through your twenties when you are wearing love goggles and you play "couples".

After you have been married for a while, you squeegee the steam off the goggles and it's all boys vs. girls again.

It all seems like good fun when the games start.

Then, slowly but surely, the tide starts to turn.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that I was on the losing side of the tide.

Sometimes it happens like that.

It would also be remiss of me not to tell you that this was a rematch.

We have lost before.

Losing is not so much fun.

Especially when you were the ones that called for the rematch.

We just knew that the first loss was a...fluke, if you will.

An isolated incident.

Apparently not.

We lost again...at the rematch.

*hangs head in shame*

There has been fist pumping, high fiving, booyah yelling, boastful texting, congratulatory emailing, and smack talking that we, as women, have been fairly gracious about.

I am waiting for the T-shirts to get printed up.

Ok, I'm a little bitter.

I have surmised that we need to choose another game.

Next week it's on!

So, if you're having your own game night or going to some friends...even if you lose, you will be a winner if you bring this fun Party mix!

See, I try to look on the bright side ;)

What makes this mix fun is the addition of the Santa hats.

So, let's start there.

I found these yummy Bugles at the store.  They called Caramel Bugles and they boast the sweet and salty.

You could certainly use the regular Bugles, though.

What I found was so great about the caramel bugles, besides being incredible delicious and addictive was that they are coated in a sweet glaze which makes them a bit thicker and less fragile than regular Bugles...so keep that in mind.

Here's what you'll need...

Bugles

Red Melting disks

Mini marshmallows

White sprinkles (I used nonpareils)

 

Melt the candy melts, along with a tablespoon of shortening (to help thin the melted candy), in 30 second intervals on half power in your microwave until melted.

Immediately start dipping.

 

 Let them set up for 10 minutes or so on parchment or wax paper.

When they are set, remelt the red candy disk (if necessary) and dip just the bottoms (the large part of the Bugle) into the white sprinkles.

Then flip it over and dip the top in the melted candy and press a mini marshmallow on top.

And voila...

If you want to use the hats as an addition to a mix here's an idea for a sweet and salty mix that's easy and yummy.

Feel free to play around with the additions and make it your own!

3 cups mini pretzels

1/2 cup craisins

1 cup salted dry roasted peanuts

2 cups Rice Chex

2 cups holiday colored M&M's

8 oz. white chocolate for melting

Spread all your ingredients, EXCEPT M&M's, out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.

Melt your white chocolate according to package directions and drizzle over the pretzel mix.

Transfer into a large bowl and coat mix with chocolate.

Return to baking sheet to allow to dry.

When chocolate is set, sprinkle M&M's and Santa Hats over the mix.

Transfer to big bowl to serve.

or put in jars to give to your friends...

...or use as a peace offering when your game night doesn't go as planned ;)

Hope your December is off to a great start!

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