Party Beverages

Hello All-

I wanted to do a quick post about the beverages we served at Hannah's party since they were so popular with our guests.  First of all, I needed to decide how many drinks we were going to offer.  Once we got into the 20+ range, I knew that there was no way to purchase everyone's favorite drinks.  I had to go generic and hope that everyone found something that they liked.  I also knew that I didn't want alcohol served...after all, this was a party for a four-year old. 

So, we decided to go with picnic beverages that had lots of color and flavor.  Being from the States, fresh brewed iced tea is a staple for us.  We always laugh when friends come over and don't know what to make of their first swig of non-sweetened tea.  We have family send us giant tea bags that my husband's employer sells back home in Maine, since we can't get them here.  However, my Mom always made tea with about 20 tea bags.  Unfolding all of them was always my job as a kid!  Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a touch of sweetener if you like and you have yourself a delicious summer drink. 

I bought a giant bag of lemons at Costco and knew I needed to make lots of lemonade with them, so I decided on two different types...regular and strawberry!  Both were great, but many thought the strawberry one was a touch too sweet...even with my sweet tooth, I had to agree.  The recipe calls for crushed ice, and now I know why!!

I got my lemonade recipes from Better Homes and Gardens (basic lemonade here and strawberry lemonade here).  I have a feeling I'll be making their key lime and peach tea lemonades this summer too!!

All in all, the drinks were a huge success and I don't think anyone went thirsty.  We actually had soda on the back porch and no one asked for it...so our pantry is now stocked for our next get together.  I think what we served complimented the spring garden theme quite well and would also go along nicely with any summer BBQ or picnic!!

Happy Creating!!
Sharon

Party Food

 Hello All-

As promised, I wanted to give you all some DIY tips on party food.  I wish I had better photos, but I was too busy chatting with guests...sorry!!

My first suggestion is to decide right up front what your goal is regarding food.  Full meal?  Munchies?  Hot or cold?  Sweets only?  For us, we decided that we didn't want to do a full meal since we had 20+ people attending Hannah's party.  We planned a 1 PM party time so that people had a chance to have lunch first.  We did want more than just Hannah's requested cupcakes, so we went with appetizers, and included one hot dish. 

Our first appetizer was hummus on sliced English cucumbers.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try.  Though I had all of the ingredients to make my own hummus, I went with store bought to save some time.  We had garlic and chive hummus on the cucumber (about 3/4-inch slices) and it was AWESOME!!!  I peeled part of the cucumber skins off, creating dark green stripes, and the crunch from the remaining skin was a nice addition.  I will surely do this again, as it took next to no time to make and was very tasty.

Next, we did mini-caprese salads on skewers.  Essentially, this is made up of three components, cherry tomatoes, basil leaves and mini bocconcini cheese balls.  These were another hit, though I think the next time I make them, I will use smaller basic leaves.  The ones I bought were quite strong in flavor.  For an adult party, you could drizzle olive oil or balsamic vinegar over them, but since I knew there would be some kids, I left them plain. 

Next was our one hot dish.  I made Crab Rangoons and they were super yummy!!  Click here for the recipe.  I will be making these for my family many more times!!  They tasted great and didn't make me a slave to the kitchen!  My guests were begging for the recipe!!  Personally, I thought they were a bit strong on the crab flavor, but that could easily be fixed with a touch more cream cheese.  I also learned (after going to several grocery stores and walking in circles) that wonton wrappers can be found in the cooler next to the tofu and fresh pasta...who knew??

The big centerpiece was the fruit/cheese/veggie flower that Hannah and I made.  It was so simple and looked fantastic!!  I used a cheese block cut into triangles and layered them in a circle.  I added a celery stem, grapes for the flower center and some cherry tomatoes for some extra color.  It looked so pretty and was a unique way to do a traditional platter.  Everyone loved it, and once they got over the idea of eating our "art", there weren't too many leftovers!!

Along with all of these ideas, we also stood celery and beans upright in glass dishes, as well as colorful peppers.  We used rice as a base for the peppers so they stood up higher in the glass I had.

Tomorrow I'll give some recipes for the beverages we had...they were delicious!!!

Cheers!
Sharon

Garden Birthday Party...DIY Style

Hello All!

This past weekend we had my daughter's 4th birthday party.  Since the entire thing was DIY, I thought I'd share some photos and ideas with you all.

 We did an afternoon party, so I told everyone that we would have appetizers and cupcakes.  The cupcakes were Hannah's decision...she wanted everyone to have the flavor they liked best. 

One fun thing we did was a cupcake tasting!  The shop we bought ours at has mini versions of all of their cupcakes...so we bought a bunch to see what flavors we liked best.  It was a great activity for the three of us, and Hannah loved being such a big part of the planning.

 For the appetizers, I picked just one hot item, as I didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen the whole time.  So, the hot dish I picked was a baked crab rangoon.  They were super yummy!! 

We also had hummus on English cucumber slices, caprese salad on a stick, and our standby chips and salsa.

I saw online some fun ways to do a veggie platter, so Hannah and I made this fruit/veggie/cheese flower.  It fit the theme perfectly and was a great centerpiece for the food table.

For drinks we went with some summer favorites...fresh brewed iced tea, strawberry lemonade, regular lemonade, and iced coffee.  All made from scratch...well, except for the coffee!!

I'll be doing another post about the favors we made, but here is a photo of some of the adult ones.  We gave out flower pots with bags of dirt, seeds, and pretty markers.

For the kids, we did larger baskets with crowns and fun foam shapes to decorate them, seeds, color your own flower pots, silly bands, and a bunch of other goodies.

With a bit of creativity, it is actually quite simple to create a beautiful party.  I was able to use a lot of things I already had, and for the things I had to buy, IKEA and the Dollar Store had everything I needed. 

Stay tuned this week and next for details about some of the things we did to make this party personalized. 

(BTW...I will be away for a few days while my daughter has a procedure done on her heart...I'll be back to posting as quickly as I can!!)

Have a great week!!!
Sharon