Here’s how I put together a Christmas party for my dogs, all without leaving the house

My dogs have never been invited to a Christmas party.

Nor have any of my relatives and friends bought them gifts to tuck under the Christmas tree. Rude.

This year, I thought I’d include them in the festivities by planning a party with a menu that both humans and dogs can enjoy.

Here’s how it went.

Planning the party

As it’s hard to find a nice, dog-friendly dinner spot, I decided to hold my party at home and ordered everything I wanted from Grab.

I selected what I wanted from GrabFood and GrabMart and went ahead to prepare the party space.

I had to ensure that my kitchen — where my party was going to be held — was picture-ready.

With a little help from my canine pals, I styled a somewhat Christmassy tablecloth on my kitchen table.

I also decorated the space with stockings, artificial garlands and poinsettias, and some old Christmas cards.

Just as I was done, my doorbell rang.

All my orders were here! Much faster than I thought.

Christmas meal

My Christmas party menu accommodated both human and canine palates.

For the humans, I ordered a Seafood Platter (S$42) and a Winter Sonata cake (S$65) - an ice cream log cake with honeycomb bits - from Swensen’s on GrabFood.

Those who want to save money will be pleased to know that Swensen’s is currently having 30 per cent off their Christmas bundles.

This includes their Christmas Sharing Set (S$75.39, U.P. S$107.70), which consists of:

• 2 x Christmas Chicken Waffles
• 1 x Meat Platter
• 2 x Soup of the Day
• 2 x Coke Zero

On the other hand, I got my dogs COSI Pet Milk and Burp Twisted Milk Sticks from Pet Lovers Centre (ordered via GrabMart) for “dessert”.

101 photos later, everyone got to enjoy their milk and treats.

Besides milk and treats, I also got my dogs plush toys from Pet Lovers Centre on GrabMart, though these will be kept under the Christmas tree until Dec. 25.

Since this party was a shared experience, I wanted a meal both my dogs and I could enjoy.

To do this, I ordered a ribeye steak from GrabMart and cooked it (without seasoning, of course).

To be honest, I may have overcooked the ribeye.

But while humans tend to disapprove of well-done steak, my dogs seemed to enjoy it, so I count that as a win.

Deals on GrabFood and GrabMart

With all the stress that goes into organising a party, it was great that I didn’t have to go out to get the food and gifts, and just got them delivered straight to me.

Even if you have last-minute food to add to your party menu, there are lots of great options on GrabFood like:

1.Canadian Pizza:

• DIY Your Christmas Value Meal [3-4 Pax] (S$30, U.P. S$34.20) which includes two regular pizzas and a Marshmallow Cake
• DIY Your Value Meal [6-8 Pax] (S$59.90, U.P. $75.50) which includes a Chicken Pot Pie, a medium size pizza, two Marshmallow Cakes and Tater Tots.

The flavours of Pizzas include turkey ham, beef pepperoni, Margherita, Hawaiian, super cheese and more.

2. KFC:

Christmas Buddy Meal Promo Price: $32.55 (U.P. S$41.20) which includes:

• Five pieces of Chicken
• 1 X Popcorn Chicken
• 2 X medium Whipped Potato
• 2 medium Coke Zero

What’s more, GrabMart also has gift options for your Secret Santa party, which can be delivered to you instantly for any last-minute gifting needs.

Here are some deals you can find on GrabMart:

The Body Shop

1. The Body Shop Box of Wishes Advent Calendar (S$109)
2. The Body Shop Box of Wishes & Wonders Ultimate Advent Calendar (S$259)

Blooms: by M

Free Christmas bauble decoration with flower orders and 10 per cent off Christmas items such as flowers arranged with Christmas-themed decorations, stuffed toy penguins with a Santa hat, tabletop Christmas trees and more.

Hush Candle

This homegrown brand is also offering a 5 per cent discount on all their Holiday gifts, delivered with GrabMart.

1. Holiday Day Treat (Festive) (S$71.25)

2. Trio Candle (Festive) (S$58.90)

3. Candle & Sanitiser Festive Gift Box (S$22.80)

4. Christmas Gift Bundle (S$42.75)

Enjoy greater savings with Grab PayLater

Enjoy greater savings when you shop online and in stores with PayLater.

For the uninitiated, PayLater by Grab allows you to split your bill into four monthly instalments at 0 interest and 0 hidden fees — all while earning GrabRewards points.

Here are some deals available this holiday season, terms and conditions apply:

Dyson

• Dec. 12 to 20: S$70 off S$799 or S$90 off S$899
• Dec. 21 to 24: S$60 off S$699

Paula’s Choice

• S$10 off with a minimum spend of S$180

OmniDesk

• S$50 off with a minimum spend of S$800

Mothercare

• S$10 off with a minimum spend of S$150

New PayLater users can also get up to 100 per cent back in GrabRewards points for their first PayLater purchases online and in stores.

Creating core memories with my dogs

Overall, I had a good time planning this party because of the:

• Great food
• Even greater company
• Ease of arranging the feast and buying of gifts

After all, Christmas should be about making memories and taking lots of pictures, instead of being a stressful affair.

I also have to thank my “sporting” dogs who allowed me to dress them in Christmas-themed outfits and did not have to be bribed with treats to sit pretty and pose.

Thanks to Grab, I managed to create a core memory with my dogs.

All images by Alfie Kwa.

The sponsored article by Grab gave this writer an excuse to spoil her dogs, even more, this jolly season.