Some Fun Party Ideas
Monday, June 30th, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Party Ideas
We all enjoy a party but we don’t necessarily have the skill or like to plan. Reason for this is usually we don’t know where to begin or don’t have that creative mind to think of something unique and different. Wouldn’t each of you like to be known as the party Queen or King? Wouldn’t it be great if everyone that attended one of your parties couldn’t wait for that invitation to the next event? Well it can be done – but it does take a bit of work and creativity.
The first thing you should do when planning your party is to think of a theme. Think of something that is unique – or maybe around a holiday – time of year – favorite TV series or just someone’s birthday.
I am known amongst my friends and family as the ultimate party giver. I love to give parties and each one has a unique theme with unique items that I search for to make sure the party is perfect.
I had an Italian dinner theme party and decided to plan it around the “godfather” movie series. First of all I planned the Italian dinner to be family style – lots of pasta, sausage, bread, antipasto and wine of course. To set the tone for the party I found pictures from the godfather movie that depicted their family – the famous wedding scene when Connie got married. Pictures of the DON and his sons and other family shots. I then taped the pictures over family pictures that I had around the house so as you entered the living room you saw those pictures. The music in the background was a combination of Italian songs and of course Dean Martin CD’s. I asked each guest to dress as their favorite godfather character in the 50’s style clothing. We had plenty of antipasto plates with great cheeses, meats and grapes around for the guests to munch on. The dinner menu consisted of a large bowl of spaghetti in a light red sauce, a dish of sausages and tomatoes, and a chicken dish with green olives. I will provide the recipes in another post.
We had olive oil for dipping the bread and served Chianti in the traditional short Italian glasses. For desert I had individual cannolis in mini bakery boxes for each guest as a reminder of when Pauli from the godfather used to come home with his bakery box of cannolis. All in all it was a great time and very memorable.
Each year I host my annual black tie dinner for the holidays. It is a fun event that all of our friends look forward to. The requirement is that each man dresses in black tie and the women in evening gowns. It is surprising how much fun everyone has getting dressed to the nines. Often it is the only time that anyone has the opportunity to dress so formally. I decorate the house for the holidays so that is not an additional expense. I used to cook the entire meal and hire a couple of people to serve but now I have the dinner catered so that I can enjoy it. I have had the same caterer for the past 5 years so they know where everything is. This gives me the chance to relax in a nice bubble bath with a glass of champagne before the party begins. We usually have a 5 course meal Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, appetizer, soup, entrée, salad (European way) and then desert with after dinner drinks. I will provide the menu in another post. It is so much fun to decorate your table with your best china and glassware amongst all of the holiday decorations. In lieu of hostess gifts I ask each of my guests to bring a toy that they would have liked as a child to be donated to toys for tots. This has become such a tradition that the fire station looks forward to our donations each year!
I recently had a party where we had family guests from out of town. We wanted to do something that would make everyone feel at ease, especially our family guests, around our friends. I decided to have an old fashioned pizza party. We had 6 couples and I purchased 6 partially cooked pizza pies. I had all kinds of items in individual dishes like the cheese of course, pepperoni, salami, ham, chicken, olives, mushroom, onions, tomatoes, peppers, pineapple, goat cheese, garlic etc. Each couple took a pizza pie and put whatever they wanted on the pizza. We baked them and served with a big salad and lots of Italian wine. It was a great hit! Everyone had fun and we tried each other’s creations. It was inexpensive, easy and a great way to bring everyone together.
Now this party is a bit out there but several years ago a friend and I gave a party for our combined friends. It was actually a spoof. All of our friends were accustomed to great food and great parties. We sent out formal invitations. The guests arrived dressed to the nines. We had a hostess (dressed in a maids outfit) who met the guests at the door and collected their coats. We had a bartender dressed in a tuxedo – well the coat and tie but jeans and tennis shoes. The food served was as follows:
For hors d’oeuvres we served peanuts in the bag (like you get on the airplane). I had happened to be traveling and the flight attendant gave me a big bag of the individual peanut bags. Of course now days you are lucky to get one free bag most airlines charge for that! We had squeeze cheese “under glass” peanut butter with a silver knife in the jar along with saltine crackers. We did serve quality drinks using crystal glasses - hummm that may have been a mistake! Dinner consisted of mac and cheese, whole carrots with the greenery still on them, jello cubes, and corn dogs. For desert we served flaming icecream bars and decorate your own cupcakes. The guests at first kept asking where the “crab dip” was but after that we all had a great laugh and fun was had by all! Of course we did take some heat - as the cupcakes were being decorated our guests were also decorating my friend’s and my faces!
Check out Posh Party Box Blog for some fun recipes