The 5th annual Motherhood in Hollywood Holiday Swag party featured some of the most delicious food in town! Seriously, we ate so much that we all needed naps afterwards. So, I’m sharing with you the best budget-friendly catering options for your holiday party so you can take some of the pressure off of hosting events this holiday season and enjoy your event.

Heather Brooker hosts the 5th annual Motherhood in Hollywood Holiday Swag Party in DTLA.

The MIH Holiday Swag party started 5 years ago for several reasons, the first being, I love to throw parties!  But the older I get the more I realize no matter how much I love throwing parties, I want someone else to make all the food. It’s hard work getting decorations and balloons AND cooking too. I also host this annual party because after starting Motherhood in Hollywood I found myself with a lot of extra swag thanks to the generocity of the brands I’ve worked with. So much so that the three of us couldn’t possibly use it all. And rather than just throw it away, I decided to gift it to friends in the MIH community. It’s my way of celebrating the people who have supported Motherhood in Hollywood and me since day one.

Heather Brooker and KTLA’s Ginger Chan attend the Motherhood in Hollywood Holiday Swag party.

And there’s no better time to give people presents than at Christmas! This year we went all out at this gorgeous loft in DTLA (Downtown Los Angeles for the non-locals). I found a great spot on Peerspace and made my reservation. Then set about finding the right decor (thanks Amazon) and food. And boy did we hit the jackpot!

Here are the best budget-friendly catering options for your holiday party:

Baja Fresh catering at the Motherhood in Hollywood Holiday Swag party.

1. Baja Fresh

You know my love of Baja Fresh runs deep. We go there at least once a month for their authentic Mexican food with fresh ingredients. For our party they treated us to Tacos All Around, a perfect make-your-own-taco experience that allowed each guest to enjoy their favorite fresh taco. Guests could choose between steak and chicken, rice, beans, and every taco topping under the sun to create their dish. This was a delicious way to feed a large group. Check out BajaFresh.com to find a location near you and see their catering options.

The Counter Burger catering at the Motherhood in Hollywood Holiday Swag party.

2. The Counter Burger

Are you even enjoying life if you haven’t had a Counter Burger? These handcrafted and customizable burgers are always juicy, and fresh. When you order catering from them, you can order à la carte or their Burger Bar, giving each guest the ability to build their own burger. Here’s what we enjoyed during the MIH Holiday Swag party:

  • BBQ wings
  • West Coast Impossible Burger
  • Jalapeno Bacon Cheddar Burger
  • Patty Melt
  • BBQ Chicken Salad
  • Cowboy Loaded Fries
  • Buffalo Loaded Fries
  • Nacho Chipotle Fries
  • Starter Tots
  • Mini burgers

You can customize your catering order however you’d like! Visit thecounter.com to find a location near you and place your holiday event order.

Noodles and Company catering at the Motherhood in Hollywood Holiday Swag party

3. Noodles and Company

Nothing says holiday comfort food like Mac & Cheese and I couldn’t wait for my guests to try the Mac Bar from Noodles and Company. The Mac Bar feeds 10 people and includes a pan of their world-famous Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, 2 proteins, 2 sauces, 8 yummy toppings and enough variety to delight a variety of dietary needs. It’s packed with flavor and is a convenient alternative to spending your entire party cooking.

It would make a great option for office parties too! The set up is super simple and that means the clean up is too. This was a huge hit at the party! Visit noodles.com to find a location near you for your catering order.

In addition to eating all of this yummy food, we also had Prosecco and Bailey’s Irish Cream delivered from Minibardelivery.com and Lindor Truffles from Lindt.com .  And Anya from Anya Braids came to give us all fabulous new hairstyles!

I also raffled off prizes from L.O.L. Surprise, Netflix, Drunk Elephant, Coach and more! It was such a joy to have my own “Oprah moment” and give away so many wonderful things to my friends and MIH supporters. I can’t wait to do it all again next year. Merry Christmas everyone!