Holiday Entertaining Trends 2026
Holiday Entertaining Trends We're Seeing This Season
Every fall, our catering calendar gives us a front-row seat to how people want to gather. This year the mood is clear: people want less fuss and more feeling. Fewer towering buffets, more warm bread passed hand to hand. Fewer rules, more lingering at the table.
Whether you're planning a holiday party in Sonoma County, a family dinner, or a small get-together with friends, here are the four trends showing up at nearly every event we're booking this season. Plus two recipes you can make at home.
1. Butter, and Lots of It (The Good Stuff)
Butter is having a real moment, and we're here for it. Not as a background ingredient, but as a star. Guests are noticing quality, and a great butter is one of the easiest ways to make a simple table feel special.
Ways we're seeing it show up:
A proper bread and butter course. Warm bread with a slab of high-quality cultured butter and flaky salt. That's it. It's often the most talked-about thing on the table.
Compound butters. Herb and garlic for steak, honey and sea salt for cornbread, citrus zest for rolls. Make them ahead, roll them in parchment, slice to serve.
Brown butter everywhere. In mashed potatoes, drizzled over roasted squash, folded into cookie dough. That nutty, toasty flavor tastes like the holidays.
Butter as a gift. A small crock of homemade butter wrapped with twine makes a lovely hostess gift or party favor.
Want to really impress? Make your own. Cultured butter has a gentle tang and depth that store-bought butter can't touch, and it's easier than you'd think.
Recipe: Homemade Cultured Butter
Makes about 3/4 cup butter, plus about 1 cup buttermilk. Active time: 20 minutes. Culturing time: 12 to 24 hours.
Ingredients
2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream, ideally pasteurized rather than ultra-pasteurized
2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk, or 1/4 cup crème fraîche or plain yogurt with live cultures
Flaky sea salt, to taste
A bowl of ice water
Instructions
Culture the cream. Stir the cream and buttermilk together in a clean glass jar. Cover with a cloth or loose lid and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. It's ready when it has thickened and smells pleasantly tangy.
Chill it. Refrigerate for about an hour. Cool (not ice-cold) cream separates most easily.
Whip it past whipped cream. Pour into a stand mixer and beat on medium-high. It will go through soft peaks, stiff peaks, and then suddenly break into yellow clumps and liquid. Drape a towel over the mixer, because it splashes.
Drain. Pour off the liquid through a fine strainer. That's real buttermilk, so save it for pancakes, biscuits, or brining chicken.
Rinse. Press and knead the butter in ice water, changing the water until it runs clear. Getting the buttermilk out helps it keep longer.
Salt and shape. Squeeze out as much water as you can. Knead in salt to taste, then shape into a log or press into a small crock.
Wrap it in parchment and refrigerate for up to two weeks, or freeze for a couple of months. Set it out about 30 minutes before serving.
2. Pomegranates on Every Table
Move over, red and green. This season's holiday palette is deep pomegranate: a rich, jewel-toned red that feels warm, moody, and a little bit glamorous. And the fruit itself is doing double duty as decor.
How to bring it into your gathering:
Whole fruit as centerpieces. Pile pomegranates in a low bowl or scatter them down the table with greenery and candles. They last for weeks and cost far less than flowers.
Split open for drama. A few halved pomegranates, seeds glistening, look stunning on a cheese board or dessert platter.
The color, everywhere. Linen napkins, taper candles, velvet ribbon, and glassware in that deep garnet shade tie the whole look together.
On the plate and in the glass. Arils scattered over salads, roasted vegetables, or a pavlova. A splash of juice in a spritz or a sparkling wine cocktail.
Our favorite part? It's a trend you can eat. Nothing goes to waste.
3. Soup Nights
This might be our favorite trend of all, because it's hospitality at its most honest. Soup on the table, good warm bread, and something sweet to end. That's the whole menu.
Soup nights take the pressure off the host and put the focus back where it belongs: on the people. There's no plating, no timing five dishes at once, and no one stuck in the kitchen. It works for a cozy Tuesday with neighbors or a holiday open house for thirty.
Tips for hosting one:
Offer one or two soups. One creamy, one brothy is a nice balance. Keep them warm on the stove or in a slow cooker and let guests serve themselves.
Don't skimp on the bread. A crusty loaf or two, torn rather than sliced, with plenty of good butter (see trend #1).
Set out toppings. Toasted seeds, crème fraîche, fresh herbs, chili oil, and grated cheese let everyone make their bowl their own.
Keep dessert simple. Cookies, a fruit crisp, or chocolate truffles. Something sweet to linger over with coffee or a glass of late-harvest wine.
Recipe: Kabocha Squash Soup with Brown Butter and Sage
Serves 6. Active time: 30 minutes. Total time: about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Kabocha is a Japanese winter squash with dense, sweet, almost chestnut-like flesh. It makes a silkier, richer soup than butternut.
Ingredients
1 medium kabocha squash (about 3 pounds), halved and seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
1 to 2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)
8 to 10 fresh sage leaves
Toasted pepitas and crème fraîche, for serving
Instructions
Roast the squash. Heat the oven to 400°F. Brush the cut sides with olive oil and roast cut-side down on a sheet pan for 40 to 45 minutes, until very tender. Let cool slightly, then scoop out the flesh.
Build the base. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute more.
Simmer. Add the squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Blend. Purée until completely smooth with an immersion blender, or carefully in batches in a regular blender.
Finish. Stir in the cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Taste and add maple syrup if your squash needs a touch more sweetness. Thin with stock if it's too thick.
Make the brown butter and sage. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and cook until the butter smells nutty and the leaves are crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with a spoonful of crème fraîche, a drizzle of brown butter, a crispy sage leaf, and toasted pepitas.
The soup keeps for 4 days in the fridge and freezes beautifully, so make it a day ahead and enjoy your own party.
4. Destination Gatherings
More and more hosts are skipping their own dining room and renting a vacation home instead. Book an Airbnb or a wine country rental for a night or a weekend, invite your people, and host dinner there.
It makes sense. Your home stays clean and calm. Everyone arrives on neutral ground, a little dressed up and a little excited. And there's something about a beautiful new space, a long farmhouse table, and a view of the vineyards that turns an ordinary dinner into an occasion.
What makes a destination gathering work:
Pick the house for the table. Look for a dining space that seats your whole group together. A big kitchen and an outdoor area are a bonus.
Make it an overnight. Guests can relax, enjoy the wine, and skip the drive home. Breakfast together the next morning is half the fun.
Bring in help. Rental kitchens can be hit or miss, and you didn't book a beautiful house to spend the night doing dishes. A caterer or private chef handles the cooking, serving, and cleanup.
Add an experience. A wine tour, a cooking demo, or a winemaker visit gives the weekend a centerpiece beyond dinner.
Sonoma Valley is made for this. We cater dinners at vacation homes across wine country, bringing the food, the setup, and the cleanup so you can just be a guest at your own party.
5. Candles, Candles Everywhere
If there's one thing every gathering this season has in common, it's candlelight. Not a polite pair of tapers on the table, but candles everywhere: down the length of the table, clustered on the mantel, lining the windowsills, glowing on the bar.
Nothing changes the feeling of a room faster. Candlelight slows people down, softens the edges, and makes everyone look and feel their best. Turn the overhead lights off and let the candles do the work.
How to do it well:
Mix heights and shapes. Tall tapers, chunky pillars, and little votives together create depth and that layered, abundant glow.
Go big on quantity. More is the point. Two dozen inexpensive votives make more impact than a few fancy candles.
Tie in the color. Deep pomegranate tapers alongside cream and ivory pillars look stunning together (see trend #2).
Keep the table unscented. Save fragranced candles for the entry or powder room so they don't compete with the food.
Think safety. Use sturdy holders, keep flames clear of greenery and linens, and consider flameless candles in spots that are hard to watch, like outdoor tables or rental homes.
Let's Plan Your Holiday Gathering
The thread running through all of these trends is the same one we've always believed in: genuine hospitality isn't about perfection. It's about making people feel welcome, warm, and well-fed.
Whether you want a full holiday party catered, a soup night for your team, or a dinner at a vacation rental in wine country, Goodness Gracious Catering would love to help. Holiday dates fill quickly, so reach out early to save yours.
[Contact us to start planning → events@goodnessgraciouseats.com]