Daily Party Dish

Don’t Let the Pigeon Go to the Birthday Party

This year for my son’s 6^th birthday, we decided to go with a totally different theme for his party.  He loves the author Mo Willems and his pigeon theme books.  (We love “Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus!)  So, we decided to have a “Don’t Let the Pigeon go to the Birthday Party” Mo Willems birthday party. 

We started with a book for an invitation!  I scanned pictures from the book and changed the wording to work for a party.  The kids and parents loved the invitation!  Here are a few sample pages:

For décor at the party, we went with a blue and orange theme to coordinate with the book.  Here’s what I created:

• Mo Willems theme confetti with small punched out pictures of the characters from all his books
• Pigeon’s on a stick cutouts for the kids to play with – a big hit!
• A small cutout (thank you Party411.com!) of the pigeon wishing Sam a happy birthday

My Mom, of course, made one of her fantastic cakes.  It was great!  You can see the tabletop cutout in the back.

For favors, I found art kits (on super sale before Christmas) and created themed work books.  Mo Willems offers great free pdfs for parents and teachers planning Mo Willems teaching events, so I was able to use his art and puzzles for the books.

 

I have to say, this was my favorite birthday party yet.  The kids have read so much Mo Willems in school that they were all thrilled to see the décor and loved the favors.  I love planning a birthday party my kids will love and that will make them feel special.  This one certainly fit the bill.

My younger son’s birthday is next month.  Another bird theme – this time Angry Birds.  Stay tuned.

• Kid's Birthday Party Ideas from Party411
• Kid's Birthday Party Invitations
• Kid's Birthday Party Games

Thoughts on Multiple Milestone Events and a Farfalle, Brie and Tomato Salad Recipe

Milestone events – how often do you have them on the same day in the same year? It is indeed unusual but not unheard of, and in my family, it’s downright typical!  I was born on my parents’ anniversary, my husband and two of his cousins share the same birthday and our two daughters were born on the same day, 3 years apart.  Having children with the same birthday always inspires a variety of comments that range from sympathy, because how do you have 2 birthday parties on the same day, to snickers about fertility. 

Regardless, as they say “it is what it is” and we have always managed to have all the parties we needed to without ever shorting anyone.  Until this year when we were confronted with the real challenge; the girls turned 18 and 21 on the same day and while they talked for years about celebrating their milestone birthdays together, when the actual time came, it wasn’t possible.  Our oldest daughter was out of the country.  While obviously not a major world crisis, this was a big issue in our family.

After much discussion, the girls decided that they would have “their party” when the older one returned home and the theme would be “Steaks, Cakes and Great Lakes.”  Well it sounded perfect except that steak for 50 people (their friends and some of our friends who had known the girls forever) was cost prohibitive and not everyone on the guest list was able to drink Great Lakes beer.  The cake was no problem.  So after even more discussion, we talk a lot in our family, we came up with a menu that was legal and pleased everyone!  Here is the menu and based on the almost non-existent leftovers, it must have been a good one.  (Note: everything could be prepared in advance so there was no last minute cooking!)

• Hummus, baba ghannouj, and warm artichoke dip were served with pita chips and fresh vegetables.
• Selection of olives, spicy tomatoes and peppers
• Teriyaki marinated flank steak sandwiches.  The meat was grilled the night before, sliced thin and served on either multigrain or white rolls with horseradish sauce and mustard.
• Honey roasted turkey sandwiches served on the same rolls.  Mayo and lettuce on the side.
• Crisp Caesar salad
• Farfalle, brie and tomato salad (so good and so easy, the recipe is below)
• Big bowl of green and red grapes
• Birthday cake and chocolate chip cookies
• Bowls of mixed nuts and candy on the buffet table and scattered about the party area
• Great Lakes Beer served in bottles so there was no confusion about what might be in the traditional red plastic cup. Wine, apple cider and sparkling water served in clear plastic cups.

Finally, since it was a birthday party, we had a Sponge Bob piñata that everyone, regardless of age loved trying to break open.  Sometimes you get lucky and you have a party where everything works and this was one of them!

Farfalle, Brie and Tomato Salad

Serves 12-16

Ingredients

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 pound Brie cheese, rid removed and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 cup loosely packed, chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound bow tie pasta, cooked al dente, rinsed in cold water and drained

In large bowl, combine tomatoes, Brie, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Cover and let stand at room temperature, up to 4 hours. 

Add cooked pasta and toss. 

Serve immediately or at room temperature.

 

• 50th Birthday Party Ideas - 50 is Fabulous!
• Cupcake Family Tree
• A Vi-Vi-Vi-vacious 95th Birthday Theme for Violet Spevack
• Hungry Caterpillar Theme Party: Josh’s 1st Birthday
• "Not Dead Yet" Over the Hill Birthday Party Ideas
• Fun Party Ideas from Party411.com

Leap Day Printable

Leap Day is quickly approaching!  Are you ready to celebrate your extra day?  I love the idea of a special day that only takes place once every 4 years.  I’m going to use these fun Leap Day theme resolution cards at our party.  I’ll let my friends fill out where they hope to be in 4 years and I’ll save them to mail out to them before Leap Day 2016.  I hope you’ll print out a batch for your friends this Leap Year.

Leap Day Printable PDF

Leap Day Theme Party

Celebrating Leap Day: An Extra Day in My Life

My life is busy. Seems like I never have time to do those “special” things I have on my to-do list.  Well this year will be different. I’m treating Leap Day as an extra day in my life. I get by with 365 days every other year.  So I figure I can get my work done in 365 days this. Bingo, one extra day in my life.

I’m pretty good at going on “dates” with my wife and hugging my kids so you won’t see that sort of thing on this list. I’m going for the things I never seem to have time for. I’ve got 7 to choose from. I figure I should be able to squeeze 4 or 5 of them into a one great day.

1. Go to an Ohio State basketball game. My son is getting his PhD. In Columbus and that 2 hour drive from Cleveland never seems to happen   I’ve cancelled on him twice already this year because other things have interfered. I figure with tickets in hand I would have to go and see my kid and a good game. Great fun.
2. Really watch a sunrise or a sunset. We used to live 3 houses from the lake and this would happen occasionally.  Since we moved many years ago it never happens.  Good for the soul and a good way to contemplate  your place in the universe.  I think this one has to happen.
3. Go for a walk in a creek in the Metroparks and catch salamanders.  I used to do this with the boys. It was fun. It was healthy. It was eye-opening.  They went off to school and I stopped doing it. I like this one a lot but it’s messy. Not sure I can fit it in.
4. Go watch WWE Monday Night Raw live or go to a Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival play. I know this doesn’t make sense but whenever I figure out what live entertainment to see these two always make the initial list but never make the final cut.  Today’s the day I finally fit one of them in!
5. Sit on my patio, with my very best friends, drink a few beers and talk about everything and nothing.  We used to do this always. Now there has to be a social event with plenty of people around and a theme of some sort.  I just want 3 or 4 of us to ramble into the early hours.
6. Go dancing. Enough said.
7. Go for a train ride.  I’m talking about going in style. With a drink car and a dinner car. There seems to be a romance to this but flying or driving always seems faster. Today I have the time.

Of course, if none of this happens Leap Day seems like a good idea for a party.

Just curious. What would you do with an extra day?

I Love Books! A Reading Theme Birthday Party

This weekend I was blessed to help throw a birthday party for an amazing woman. Dorothy and I are birds of a feather... we both love to read! So deciding on a theme was easy, it had to be about books. And unbeknownst to the birthday girl, the big gift was a Kindle. So "I <3 Books" was a perfect fit :)

I started off making 20+ of these paper flowers. I printed the letters on white cardstock and cut them out with a circular hole punch for the centers (font is American Typewriter). Here are some great directions for the flowers from An Oregon Cottage. I know that they look like they are hanging from the red and white bakers twine, but they stuck on the wall with tape. It's just easier that way!

 

Setting up a dessert buffet like this around Valentine's Day is a piece of (cheese) cake! Every enjoyed the spritz cookies, the brownie bites, red velvet moon pies, chocolate cupcakes and strawberry milk.

The treat bags had a blank line where guests could write down what they love about books. This way they knew which bag of goodies to take home.

We had a blast at Dorothy's book themed birthday party!

 

Looking for ideas for your next birthday party planning endeavor? Here are a few more fun ideas:

• Cupcake Family Tree
• A Vi-Vi-Vi-vacious 95th Birthday Theme for Violet Spevack
• Hungry Caterpillar Theme Party: Josh’s 1st Birthday
• "Not Dead Yet" Over the Hill Birthday Party Ideas
• 50th Birthday Party Ideas - 50 is Fabulous!
• Party Ideas from Party411.com

Last Minute Treat for Valentine’s Day: Heart Rice Krispies Treats

Holiday parties in elementary schools can sometimes feel like a grown up game of chicken; if you are really quiet, maybe someone will forget you’re there.  It’s not uncommon for the same group of parents or caregivers to plan all the festivities for school parties.  So, being one of those (over?) involved parents, I decided to just sit back and help my daughter make her valentines and not worry about anything else.  Well, what do they say?  “The best made plans…”  The afternoon before the annual Valentine’s Day party, I received a call from my daughter’s teacher saying the person in charge of the party snack had backed out and could I please help?  Did I really have a choice?  Of course not!  So I happily said I would love to help, all the while wondering how I was going to complete the other 12 tasks I had planned for the rest of the day. 

If I had to plan a snack at the last minute, it was going to be easy but I still had to make it “seasonal.”  Prowling the aisles of the grocery store looking for an inspiration it suddenly came to me – Rice Krispies Treats!  But I would tweak the recipe so they would be special for Valentine’s Day.  Fortunately, I only needed a few items.  My shopping list included:

• 1 box of Rice Krisipies
• 1 bag of strawberry flavored marshmallows
• Butter
• Pink, red and white m&ms
• Heart shaped cookie cutter

Making the treats was almost easier than buying the ingredients.

• Coat a 13x9x2 baking pan with cooking spray.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over low heat.
• Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
• Remove from heat.
• Mix in 6 cups of Rice Krispies.
• Spread the mixture using waxed paper in baking pan.
• While the mixture is still warm, cut it into heart shapes using cookie cutter. 
• Remove from pan and gently push m&ms into warm treats.
• Allow to cool completely.

These are so tasty and simple to make.  And, the kids in my daughter’s class loved them.  Keep them in mind the next time the last minute ”please help!” call comes in.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

• Valentine's Day Party Ideas from Party411.com
• Valentine’s Day: A Mother’s Tale (and a Recipe!)
• My Easy Valentine's Day Decorations
• Valentine's Day Games For Couples
• History of Valentine's Day
• Romantic Valentine's Day Tips and Suggestions

The Super Bowl Party Goes Online: Turning you party into a Global Event

I’m guessing most of you watched the Super Bowl with some friends. With over 110 million people watching the game it’s an educated guess.  You talked and laughed with the people in the room and much of the talk was about the commercials, no? But did you join the massive conversation that went on globally?  The infographic below shows how many people commented on FaceBook and Twitter during the game. Amazing numbers, don’t you think? 

This got me wondering if people were using these sites to add to their own party. I know we were checking our phones and sharing tweets that we thought were funny or outrageous. Added to the fun of the party.  Seems like this could work for individual parties based around an event like the Super Bowl or maybe the election and primaries.  But I really think this could help with corporate events or activities.

What do you think?

 

Valentine’s Day: A Mother’s Tale (and a Recipe!)

Valentine’s Day serves two purposes.   First, it gives spouses and significant others an opportunity to show their love in a special way.  Second, it’s yet another opportunity for mothers or caregivers to purchase or make valentines with children and fill them with candy.  But then there’s a third purpose, to challenge the mothers of boys to share the holiday when clearly there is no interest in lace doilies and heart stickers.  It is this issue that I wish to address. 

As the mother of 5 boys and a lover of all holidays, Valentine’s Day has offered a real challenge over the years.  How can you acknowledge and participate in Valentine’s Day while at the same time not doing anything?  When my boys were little, they were ok with buying Valentines (creating your own ended with preschool) because there was always candy involved.  But as they got older, even the candy wasn’t enough of an incentive to wrap up Sponge Bob around a Krabby Pattie.  And, while I respected their choices, I just couldn’t let the holiday go.  So I came up with my own Valentine’s Day celebration which in 8 years, no one has opposed.

Needless to say, it focuses on food!  A week or so before the holiday, I indulge myself by purchasing this year’s festive Valentine’s Day tableware. Then I prepare the “traditional” Valentine’s Day dinner which is, you guessed it, a red meal.  It includes:

• Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce
• Large green salad with beets (they’re reddish in color)
• Big bowl of wonderfully ripe, whole strawberries
• Raspberry jello made in a heart shaped mold
• Delicious heart shaped sugar cookies with red and/or pink sprinkles (see recipe below)
• And to drink, pink lemonade of course

Now, if you knew the ages of my boys you would be shocked to discover that they actually look forward to this meal.  It’s silly yes, but they know I have fun doing it and they love to eat so it’s a win-win for everyone.   And while I don’t give them handmade Valentine’s with smelly stickers on them anymore, they do still receive a special candy treat, wrapped up in something red – a new sweatshirt, basketball shorts, socks or boxers.  And as “grown-up” as those boys are, they still love it!

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies for Valentine’s Day

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup sour cream

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Additional colored sugar for decorating.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.

Beat the butter until smooth and creamy.  Add 1 cup of sugar and beat again. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again.  Stir in the sour cream.  Stir together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, stir into the dough.  Cover and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Working with half of the dough, roll out the dough 3/16 inch thick.  Cut dough with a heart shaped cookie cutter and place on the baking sheets leaving 1 1/2 inches between them.

Sprinkle cookies lightly and evenly with colored sugar.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned on the edges.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Yield 2 dozen, 3 1/2 inch cookies.

 

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

• Valentine's Day Party Ideas from Party411.com
• Valentine's Day Games For Couples
• History of Valentine's Day
• Romantic Valentine's Day Tips and Suggestions

 

 

 

My Easy Valentine's Day Decorations

While I don't always celebrate Valentine's Day with a party, I do like like to mark the holiday. I usually put up some simple red and white decorations and bake some type of goodie (this year it is red velvet whoopie pies!)

Here are a few pics of my simple Valentine's Day decorations, and a few inspirations that I love!

I used white embroidery thread and red and white puff balls make a fun garland. I just threaded a needle and then skewered the little suckers until I had a long enough piece to decorate my mantle. This decoration cost me less then $2!

 

I love these yarn hearts. Perfect to hang in a window! via shelterness

I always set out my motley collection of red pots and plates. I also use sticky tack to place little button hearts on my picture frames!

 

Cute and simple! Clear votive holder + votive candle + nonpareils via Better Homes and Gardens

 

Simple painted letters adorn my bookshelves along with a wedding pic of me and the hubs :)

I enjoy Valentine's Day a lot more when I keep it simple. Do you decorate or not? Party or quiet night?

• Valentine's Day Party Ideas from Party411.com
• Valentine's Day Games For Couples
• History of Valentine's Day
• Romantic Valentine's Day Tips and Suggestions

Super Bowl Party Playlist: 46 Songs to Rock Your Party

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest party days of the year. The game is just part of the proceedings at our house (it's only slightly more important than the food). I like to have some fun music playing in the kitchen where we set up the buffet. It doesn't interfere with the game, and it brings some "stadium excitement" to the other areas of the party. Here is my personal playlist of songs that will hopefully fire up my crowd.

1. We Are the Champions by Queen
2. We Will Rock You by Queen
3. Takin' Care of Business by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
4. Rock and Roll Part 2 by Gary Glitter
5. Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses
6. Eye of the Tiger by Survior
7. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
8. Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim
9. Respect by Aretha Franklin
10. I Like to Move It by Reel 2 Real
11. Simply the Best by Tina Turner
12. Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones
13. The Power by Snap
14. Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic
15. Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
16. Macho Man by the Village People
17. Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas
18. Super Bowl Shuffle by The 1985 Chicago Bears Football Team
19. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
20. U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer
21. The Final Countdown by Europe
22. Another One Bites the Dust by Queen
23. Bad to the Bone by George Thorologood
24. Wild Thing by The Troggs
25. You Really Got Me by the Kinks
26. Zombie Nation by Kernkraft 400
27. It's a Long Way to the Top by AC/DC 
28. Get Ready For This by 2 Unlimited
29. Boom Boom Boom by The Outhere Brothers
30. Hey, Hey, Goodbye by Steam
31. Shout by the Isley Brothers
32. This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan
33. Whoomp! There It Is by Tag Team
34. Everybody Have Fun Tonight by Wang Chung
35. Bang on the Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren
36. Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf
37. Enter Sandman by Metallica
38. Cotton-Eyed Joe by Rednex
39. Dude Look Like a Lady by Aerosmith
40. Louie, Louie by The Kingsmen
41. Rock and Roll All Night by KISS
42. Walk This Way by Aerosmith
43. Black Betty by Ram Jam
44. Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones
45. Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen
46. Jump Around by House Of Pain

I hope this list help you make a most excellent playlist. Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

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