Elevate your holiday gathering with Agventures inspiration
Planning a memorable holiday gathering is easy when you combine beautiful décor, delicious food and festive beverages. These Happy Valley Agventures destinations make it easy for anyone to pull off the ultimate holiday party. Here are a few recommendations to get you on the way to wowing your guests:
Set the scene
The Tait Farm Harvest Shop and Rooted Farmstead holiday shop both feature lovely seasonal décor that invokes sophisticated but casual elegance. At Rooted Farmstead, Grace Ryan Designs has transformed the shop into a beautifully curated experience featuring home and garden decor, artwork, and handcrafted treasures that celebrate the beauty of the natural world. At the Harvest Shop, the works of regional artists are among carefully selected items for the kitchen and home. Visit both to add a special touch to your next gathering.
Appetizer inspiration
With its lineup of award-winning, locally crafted artisan foods, the Harvest Shop is also the place for amazing appetizer inspiration. The shop is filled to the brim with Tait Farm produced shrubs, jams, chutneys, mustards, and grilling sauces, as well as other Happy Valley made cheese, soups, honey and more. Tait Farm Food’s products all come with recipe cards to provide ideas – and confidence – for creating mouth-watering hors d’oeuvres.
Festive cocktails and mocktails
Speaking of shrub, the combination of fruit, vinegar and sugar dates back to colonial times and makes the perfect base for flavorful craft cocktails and mocktails. Pair any of Tait Farm Food’s shrubs with local spirits from the Central PA Tasting Trail. Bottled pre-made cocktails from Big Spring Spirits, or wine, cider and beer from other establishments that comprise the Central PA Tasting Trail, will give your guests plenty of options for holiday cheer.
The main course
Local, pastured raised meat straight from the farm is the centerpiece of a great holiday meal. Kinfork is a family farm co-op offering grass-fed beef, local cheese and produce at its Madisonburg store. Choose from individually wrapped cuts or locker beef. Pole Cat Hollow Farm offers pastured pork, chicken, turkey, ducks and eggs, and grass-fed beef and lamb for an ethically raised and nutritious meal for friends and family.
Don’t forget the dessert
Ice cream is not just a summertime treat. At Meyer Dairy, eggnog ice cream with gingersnap cookies and drizzled caramel are among the seasonal flavors available at this Happy Valley, PA favorite. The famous Berkey Creamery – a Penn State tradition – features flavors such as grilled stickies or Happy Happy Joy Joy. Amish owned Nittany Valley Creamery rounds out Happy Valley’s offerings of farm fresh ice cream – a sweet way to end the perfect holiday gathering.
