When there are children at home, holidays are extra special. Whether families consist of moms, dads, aunts, uncles, cousins or friends, they will have their own special memories of holiday traditions. And while traditions have their place in the season, we mustn't forget that there is always room for improvisation and spontaneity. These are the things of which memories are made, both when we're young and not so young.

Late one winter evening, on a dark, dreary, rain-swept night, a fire was laid at my house and the television was turned off. Oh the moans and groans that followed from my three teenage daughters, wondering what the evening's agenda would bring.

In my most authoritative voice, I announced, "We are hosting a holiday dinner party, an evening of enchantment for friends and family. It shall be called The Sparkle Supper." I was smugly proud of myself at that moment because, as a family, we would all be involved in the preparations for the event.

I noticed my husband staring at me, wondering exactly what this meant to him. Suddenly the taut lines on his face turned soft and a smile appeared - I could tell that he got it! Soon a buzz of excitement filled the room. Our whole family consulted each other about the guest list. There was no grunting - we used real words and complete sentences too. Our middle daughter, Hannah, who had taken on the role of head chef, excitedly made suggestions for the menu, while the other two girls, Paulina and Alexandra, creatively designed invitations and how the finished table would look.

The next morning, the preparations began with the invitations, something we all remember from our childhood: cut-out snowflakes. Ours, however, were a little upgraded - we left a centre area large enough to handwrite our particulars and glammed it up a little with a brush of glue and lots of sparkles. Of course at this point, we realized that folding the invitation and stuffing it into an envelope would ruin our glittery snowflake, so we looped a length of ribbon through the top and tied it elegantly. Making sure our guests were home, we hung the invitation on the doorknob, rang the bell twice for good measure and scurried home, eagerly awaiting their response.

Decorations were next on the agenda. I happily left the two older girls to figure this out. We hauled an old bag of pine cones out of the garage. One of those things I'd been saving for years to do something with had now turned into a work of art! After brushing them with glue, the girls bathed the pine cones in glitter and hung them from the chandelier with ribbon. With the light cast from overhead, the pine cones almost danced with colour.

The decorating of the chandelier wasn't over. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied the swiping of my good kitchen scissors from two snowbound thieves who were taking off outside to cut wintergreen boughs. I replaced them with my gardening shears and asked them not to cut too much greenery because the chandelier could only hold so much and already was looking fairly lavish.

The girls set the table with all of our finest. Even little hands were given small sherry glasses for their punch so they could join the toast. Napkins were tied to our rustic green bench with ribbon, while decorated place cards made out of sugar cookies were put on the plates.

When our little friends (and big ones too) arrived, we hoped they would happily nibble on their sugar-crusted names while awaiting the evening's meal: Raspberry-Cranberry Orange Fizz, Mini Meat Loaf Cakes with Gravy Topped with Apple Potato Balls and, for dessert, White Chocolate Christmas Cups.

I watched my daughters as we waited for the first guests to arrive. Dressed in their finest, giggling as they attended to last-minute details, I wondered whether this would become a tradition or if it would simply be a glorious one-time event. Either way, it would be a feast to remember.

Recipes featured in this article:

• Raspberry-Cranberry Orange Fizz
   - Cranberry-raspberry cocktail juice mixed with 1?3 ginger ale or 7Up. To make a non-alcoholic punch, add some sliced oranges.
• Mini Meat Loaf Cakes with Gravy Topped with Apple Potato Balls
• White Chocolate Christmas Cups