Family Movie Night: The Princess and the Frog

Title: The Princess and the Frog
Snacks: Princess wand cookies, gummy frogs, popcorn, Shirley Temples

This past Saturday night we had our friend JoAnn and her daughter Regan over for dinner and Movie Night while her husband is away in Japan with the military (safely!).  She is Nate and Abby's beloved teacher in their church classroom so boy were they ever excited to have her over for one of our favorite family activities.

In 8 year-old Regan's honor, the boys agreed to suck it up and watch a princess movie since "girls like princesses."  So, we all consulted and decided on The Princess and the Frog since nobody had seen it yet.  Cute movie despite the multitude of questions about what voodoo is from the kids :).  The witty frog made up for that minor shortcoming!

Given a movie featuring frogs and princesses, the snacks ideas were endlessly streaming through my head.  In the end I opted for pretty princess magic wand cookies and these fun gummy frogs that we had seen in a local supermarket.  What a hit!  The kids all loved them and they matched our theme so perfectly.  Our wands were 2 cutout cookies with a bamboo skewer sandwiched between them.  They were glazed in pink and decorated with decorating glitter and edible pearls.   Uh, if these don't make you want to wish for a fairy godmother, I don't know what will! :)  They were so much fun for all especially our special eight year old guest.  I may only have a toddler girl in the house, but I do know that little girls love pink, tulle and sparkly things! :)

Make a Dinner Party Memorable

My husband and I just love to entertain.  We love the idea of having an open door policy in our home where friends and family will always feel welcome to come and visit us.  Nothing is as much fun to us as knowing that we have a gathering planned where we will have our home filled with people we love, celebrating the seasons of life together or just enjoying each other's company for no reason at all.  We eagerly anticipate our next opportunity to plan a gathering and look forward to those events that have become regular ones for us - a cookout in the summer, several children's parties throughout the year including birthdays and also Halloween and Valentine's Day get togethers, and especially our annual Christmas dinner party with our closest friends. 

The Christmas season brings that extra twinkle to my eye in general, so planning a formal get together to spend time with our dearest and closest friends has become something that we both truly enjoy and cherish.  I was asked to put a post up regarding entertaining so I think nothing exemplifies this better or brings more notes to my mind than the planning of our Christmas dinner party.  Below are some elements that I feel are key in making your next dinner party go off without a hitch so I hope that they are useful to you, too. 

1. If possible, use real dinnerware, flatware and stemware instead of disposable products. 
That is, if you are looking to create a more elegant, formal appearance.   When setting the table for a formal event, this is a must for us, even if we will be cursing our decision after the party when we are stuck with 5 loads to put into the dishwasher and a sinkful of "hand wash only" items to wash as well.  They'll get washed eventually and you'll be glad that you made the choice you did when you look back at your photos.  It's only once a year...

While I would love to someday have a Spode or Lenox set of Christmas dinnerware, for now we invested in Gibson's $15 set for 4 place settings.  I found these at The Christmas Tree Shops and any discount store would have some reasonable sets around the holidays that will not break the budget.  For $75 we now have service for 20 in our Christmas pattern and I can't tell the difference from these and a more expensive set, looks-wise.  For something we use once or twice a year, this works for us.  Here is a picture of our table set at our party this year:

2. Meat Thermometer, meat thermometer, meat thermometer!
I can't stress this enough.  If you will be cooking any sort of meat or fish whenever you have company, a digital thermometer will save your sanity, your culinary reputation...and your roast!  It is easy to get distracted when the guests start arriving so 45 minutes in the oven can easily turn into 60 if you are not paying careful attention...or if you do not have a thermometer that will beep and let you know when your meat has reached the proper temperature.  Instant read thermometers work great, too, but I am absolutely in love with my digital thermometer because it stays in the meat the entire time you are cooking it, it lets you set it to any sort of meat at various levels of doneness, and it has a timer and alarm.  My roasts are never overcooked with this, which is always my biggest fear when working with a good cut of meat.  I bought mine at Williams-Sonoma for about $25 and this one looks identical to mine, only under a different name, for $18:



3. Pick a few signature drinks to serve.
If you are interested in serving alcohol at your party, I would suggest coming up with a few signature drinks to offer instead of having an open bar.  We typically offer red and white white and then a few different mixed drinks to choose from.  It helps to limit the cost in alcohol and also the inventory you need to stock and helps to make people's decisions easier when choosing what to drink.  Personally, I like to keep any punch we serve non-alcoholic since some people do not want to or cannot drink alcohol.  Here are two popular drinks we served this year, which were fun and festive.  Typically, we have 2-4 signature drinks to choose from.

Candy Cane Tini - This drink added a festive touch and helped the ment o get in touch with their feminine side since it quickly turns a nice shade of pink when the candy cane is added.  They sepnt the whole night denying that they had a "girly" drink. 
1/2 oz. Schnapps, peppermint

1 oz. Vodka

1 piece (Mini candy cane) Candy

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into glass. Place a candy cane in the glass. It will turn the drink pink and adds to the flavor.

Bellini - This sparkling peach drink is made with champagne so it adds a festive touch to any Christmas, New Year's or other gathering that gives you reason to celebrate!                                                                  1 part chilled peach nectar or white peach puree

1 part peach schnapps
4 parts Italian dry Sparkling wine or dry Champagne

Chill all ingredients ahead of time.   When ready to serve, pour the peach nectar and peach schnapps into the bottom of each fluted champagne glass. Fill each glass with sparkling wine or dry champagne and serve to your guests.

4. Food Quantities.
There are many rules of thumb out there for serving sizes when entertaining.  These are my own, based on past experience cooking for a crowd.

Appetizers:  Plan on 3-6 of each type per person for individual hors d'oeuvres; consider each dip, etc. to serve about 10 people and double/triple your recipe accordingly.

Meat:  Plan on 1/3 lb. per person for boneless meats; 1/2 lb. per person for bone-in meats.

Side Dishes:  Plan on each recipe to serve 10 people and double/triple accordingly.

Rolls/bread:  Plan on 1.5 rolls person.  Many people will only take one and several people will take two.  Typically, this gives me a few extras, which means to me that everyone had their fill and I had enough food, but not too much.

Desserts:  Plan on one slice of cake/pie per person and 2-3 individual pastries, cookies, etc.

5. Favors
We always love to give a small favor to our guests when they leave, as a final token of friendship.  Often, I will make some homemade truffles or other goodies to wrap up and give out, since I love to bake.  Other times, I have found a nice store-bought favor such as Christmas votive holders I found one year or an elegant ornament.  This year, knowing that most of our guests have young children at home and wanting to do something more unique and homemade, I created some hot chocolate packages.  What I included were a packet of hot chocolate for each member of the family, a small baggie of homemade marshmallows and a small baggie of chocolate covered spoons.  I tied all of these together with a tag.  We feel that the time spent putting these together is worthwhile when this small touch adds just that "little extra" to the event, giving a last memorable item to hand out to your guests as they leave.

I hope this has helped some of you as you plan your own parties.  If there are any other items I did not touch on that you would like advice on, leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.  Happy entertaining!

Family Movie Night: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Movie: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Menu: Hot chocolate and Cheerio Christmas Trees










Tonight our family will get our Christmas tree together so what better way to end our evening than to have a Family Movie Night starring Charlie Brown, Lucy and the gang.  Our boys just love Charlie Brown and I have recently coerced them into not watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown every other day.  So, I believe it's time for a holiday shift starring our favorite blockhead and Joe Cool. 

So that Charlie is not the only one with his infamously, eh, interesting "Charlie Brown tree," we opted to make 8 of them ourselves this morning to enjoy as our special treat.  So, ta-da, eight little Charlie Brown Christmas trees, made with Cheerios, marshmallows and lots of love.  We had loads of fun with the green food coloring and we had to do a little reshaping of our trees everytime a candy ornament was placed on one of them (with a little too much pressure), but they survived and are now all decked out for the big occasion tonight.

To make these yourself:
3 cups Cheerios
3T. butter
Approximately 2.5 cups of large or mini marshmallows
Green food coloring
Assorted small candies

Over low heat, melt the butter and marshmallows until creamy and completely smooth.  Place the Cheerios into a large bowl.  Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the Cheerios and stir.  Add green food coloring to your liking.  Spray hands with PAM and gently shape approximately 1/4 cup of the mixture into a Christmas tree shape and place on waxed paper.  Decorate with candies by pressing into the trees gently.  Enjoy!

We really enjoy Rice Krispie treats in our house but ever since receiving the Cheerios cookbook, we have often opted towards using Cheerios in lieu of the Krispies.  You can basically use them interchangeably.  I would highly recommend the Cheerios cookbook for any family with young children.  It has easy recipes that the kids can help prepare and some cute craft ideas, too.  A really cute birthday or new baby gift, especially if coupled with the Cheerios play books.  All are available at Amazon and links are below.

Good grief, Snoopy, that was easy enough, now wasn't it?  Here's to a happy and healthy Christmas season to you and your family.  May you and your family have as much fun watching Charlie Brown as I know we always do every year.  And as Linus likes to remind us in the Christmas pagent at the end of the movie,

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'"

"......That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

Family Movie Night: An American Tail

An American Tail. Menu: Chocolate Cherry Mice, popcorn, Shirley Temples.

Yeah, I know.  Another Family Movie Night post with nothing else in between.  I apologize for not having updated the blog regularly lately.  It's been busy around here with a birthday, a holiday, some colds, some visitors, and other various activities that somehow believe they are more important than updating The Proverbs 31 Chronicles.  Hee hee.  I do have several post ideas I have noted and I hope to get to them on a more regular basis again in the very near future.  For now, enjoy this post about our latest Family Movie Night. 

We watched the 1986 classic, An American Tail, the movie about the young immigrant mouse named Fievel who comes to America, the "land without any cats," from Russia and suddenly gets separated from his family en route.  So, he needs to fend for himself in this strange land, meeting all sorts of friends and having lots of adventures in the meantime.  Through everything, he believes that his family is "Somewhere Out There," and all he longs for is to be reunited with the people he loves.  You have the Linda Ronstadt/James Ingram song stuck in your head now, don't you?  Good luck getting that out.  I've been humming it for two days now :).

Our movie night this time was extra special because Nana was visiting and was able to join us.  Yes, Nana was well-behaved and shared nicely all day so she was issued the special "Nanas Attend For Free on Saturday Night" ticket at dinnertime.  Another name for this is not having enough physical tickets printed off for guests when the boys are insistent that everyone gets a ticket for Movie Night.  They play our game a little too well sometimes :).  But this seemed to suit them just fine.

Eagerly waiting for Movie Night to start with Nana...after stealing a chocolate mouse to munch on.  We're into cheesy smiles at our house, so at least Nana looks nice!

And finally, the moment you all have been waiting for:  the Chocolate Cherry Mice. Come on, aren't they adorable?  A little too realistic looking to eat...that is until you find out they are made with dark chocolate, cherries and almonds.  Yeah, I think I can get over the fact that they actually do resemble mice in size!

These guys are so easy to make.  They'd make perfect treats for any mouse-themed movie, or even during the Nutcracker at Christmastime.  They are also especially yummy...and healthy since they have almonds, fruit and dark chocolate.  Fooled you, didn't I?

Basically, dry off 12 maraschino cherries with stems on paper towels.  Take 1/3c. dark chocolate chips and melt in the microwave for 30 second intervals until perfectly smooth.  Dip the cherry into the chocolate, holding by the stem.  Place on waxed paper and immediately press a dark chocolate Hershey Kiss into the front.  Let sit for a minute or two and then wedge two almond slices between the Kiss and the cherry.  Let dry completely.  Put a little frosting into a decorating bag or a Ziploc, either fitted with a small writing tip or with just a small snip out of the bag corner.  Make eyes on your mice and let dry.  Enjoy! 

Family Movie Night: Monsters Vs. Aliens

Monsters vs. Aliens.  Menu: Monstermallows, popcorn, Shirley Temples

Our latest Family Movie Night featured last year's popular Dreamworks hit, Monsters Vs. Aliens.  In our house, we just love Monsters, Inc.  So, when searching for the "perfect" film for our movie night last weekend, this film immediately came to mind.  I had heard of it when it was in the theater but since we never get to the actual movie theater, I noted that I wanted to rent it when it was released on DVD.  It did not disappoint!  Monsters vs. Aliens was adorable, funny, entertaining for adults and the children, and just an overall good flick.  Everyone in our family had his/her favorite monster by the middle of the movie and, like Monsters, Inc., each character was so cleverly created and developed.  I would highly, highly recommend it to anyone, adult and/or family with children.  What a fun night!

As has become our usual recent trend, I sometimes pick movies for our Family Movie Nights based on the fun treat idea I can come up with to make for our family to enjoy during our screentime.  Other times, I wrack my brain trying to come up with a fun treat to go along with the theme of a movie on which we decide.  This time, I knew I wanted us to see this movie and then I immediately recalled a fun treat that would be perfect, both theme-wise and the fact that the kids could help create them:  MONSTERMALLOWS!

Ta-da!  Introducing monstermallows....in other words, a chocolate covered marshmallow decorated to look like fun, friendly monsters.  These are actually quite simple to make:

Melt chocolate chips and/or candy melts in the microwave or over a double boiler.  Dip the lollipop stick in the chocolate or candy melt, insert into the pop, and then dip the whole pop into the mixture to coat.  When still wet, decorate with assorted candies, presing lightly into the coating.  I like to prop my pops up in the grids of my cooling rack so that the chcolate doesn't get flat on one side as it dries off. 

Introducing our own creations...

Make-Your-Own Pizza Night

We love pizza at our house and that love is amplified in my mind by the fact that my kids will all eat pizza without the word "yucky" ever leaving their mouths.  So, that's a definite plus to me!  In fact, be it pizza of the restaurant, take-out, frozen, or homemade variety, it makes no difference.  There are always smiles and squeals of delight when I announce that we'll be eating it.

When I knew I'd be heading out the door for a committment soon after dinnertime tonight, I knew I had to make something fast and easy, that I could easily put together with the kids around.  So, the idea of having a Make-Your-Own Pizza Night popped into my head.  What could be more fun than getting to eat pizza for dinner?  Getting to assemble it, of course!   I always love something that doubles as something useful (dinner) and something fun (afternoon craft). 

Our pizza night started with good 'ole Mr. Breadman.  Some people have mixed thoughts on bread machines, especially compared to traditional homemade bread, but we love it.  The breads we have tried have been moist and yummy and the best part about the Breadman is that it frees my hands up to do other tasks, which is always a bonus in my book.

So, enter Breadman pizza dough recipe.  We use all-purpose white flour or semolina flour, but you can certainly use whole wheat flour if you'd prefer.

Pizza Dough (for two 12" pies)
1-1/2c. warm water
2T. olive oil
2tsp kosher salt
4-1/4c. flour
2tsp. sugar
2tsp. yeast

Set the machine to the Dough cycle.  Add ingredients in order listed, or in the order in which your bread machine tells you to add ingredients.  When it is finished, place in a bowl brushed with olive oil and brush the top of the dough with olive oil, too, before covering with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until ready to use. 

When ready to use, knead lightly and divide into two pieces.  With lightly floured hands, spread the dough on an oil brushed pizza stone, sprinkled lightly with cornmeal. Spread dough to within 1/4" of the end of the round stone.  Or, we actually opted for two personal pizzas in lieu of one larger pizza with one half of our dough.  This seemed like the best option for two little boys who each wanted to put toppings on their own personal pizza.  Bake crust for 20 minutes at 375.

Remove crust, brush with olive oil, add toppings and cook for an additional 25 minutes, until lightly browned and the toppings are bubbly.

Voila, time for the oven.  Looks yummy, doesn't it?

And to the table we go!  Dinner is served and it looks just as yummy as Pizza Mia at the end of your road, doesn't it?  (Disregard the excess cheese oozing off the side of the personal pizzas.  Apparently, the kids had a little too much fun adding cheese to their pies.  Now...mangia!

Family Movie Nights

 This year we have jumped on-board the Movie Night train and have started this tradition in our household with our four-year-old and two-year-old.  It's something that the kids really look forward to and something that my husband and I also anticipate throughout the week, since usually we are watching a movie that is either a new children's release or something that we both remember from our own childhoods and can now introduce to our children.  We've watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Benji, Up, The Wizard of Oz, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, among others.  Tonight we decided on The Land Before Time since both boys really seem to have a penchant for dinosaurs lately.  I actually remember watching this movie with my brother one night when my parents had company in 1988 (or thereabouts, considering movies used to take much longer to be released on VHS when we "dinosars," or parents, were little).



We definitely don't do Movie Night every week in our house, but usually get one to two times per month on our schedule, usually a Friday or Sunday evening.  We have actual tickets for Martin Family Movie Night that magically "appear" on the refrigerator one morning and this is indication that it will be Movie Night that evening.  This certainly invokes good behavior since everyone wants to be able to come to Movie Night and God forbid if your brother can attend and you cannot! 

At dinnertime, everyone who has been well behaved is issued a ticket and must turn it in to Daddy after we have had baths and put the baby to bed.  You wouldn't believe how excited two little boys get when they are handed their official Movie Night ticket.  Yes, I'm talking about dancing, squealing, grinning from ear to ear, the whole package.  You'd have thought they just won the lottery!!  Of course, by the actual Movie Night start time, I have usually been asked about 500 times if it is Movie Night time yet since the anticipation for two young children is so great, almost overwelming.

My friend Julia told me about a great blog that has wonderful Movie Night ideas so I have been following that and trying my hand at having a fun, themed treat for us to enjoy in our house on Movie Night.  So far, I have only done this for three movies but I do plan to do it going forward. 

Here is a link to this wonderful blog, My Creative Life, by Heather Ann Melzer. 

Below are two ideas I have come up with on my own for our family's Movie Nights and one cute idea, courtesy of Family Fun magazine, that I did for a Movie Night with friends during the day.  Of course, we also have the obligatory popcorn at every Movie Night since it is a favorite treat around here.  So, usually we have popcorn, the special treat and as another treat the kids can either have chocolate milk or Shirley Temples. 

Hope you enjoy my ideas and they inspire you to get out your red carpet, grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the silver screen with your loved ones!

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The Land Before Time. Menu: Popcorn, Shirley Temples and Jello Jiggler dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs in a shredded paper nest.

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The Wizard of Oz.  Menu: Popcorn, chocolate milk, Yellow Brick Road cupcakes with fondant Emerald City and ruby red slippers.

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Toy Story 2. Menu: Popcorn, Apple juice, alien cupcakes.

Fondue...at Home!

My husband and I are big fans of The Melting Pot.  Well, not big, actually, huge.  Yeah, that sums it up a little better.  We just love that place for its three courses of fondue, primarily, but also for the slow, leisurely environment that a fondue dinner entails.  The very nature of fondue just takes longer than a traditional restrauant, since you are basically only cooking bite-size portions of your meal at one time.  And in today's world of rush, rush, rush, it is so nice to not be in and out of a restaurant in an hour, especially if you are out for a special occasion or on a much-anticipated date night.  (What? A leisurely dinner without kids?  Is this possible?)

If you have never been to a Melting Pot, book your visit there for your next special evening out.  It will be guaranteed to please!  The Melting Pot

However, maybe you are like we are and going out on special occasions isn't always a possibility, both budget-wise and also because you have little ones at home to make arrangements for every time you want to go out, which not only adds additional aggravation to the planning, but additional expense as well.  If so, then why not take the Melting Pot to you for those special occasions?  Put the kids to bed, get dressed up, light some candles and voila - an impromptu fondue experience at home without the additional stress of reservations, babysitters and high bills.

Here is my recipe for a fun fondue evening at home.  My husband and I have done the full experience for an at-home date night many times and I have also done the appetizer and dessert courses only with some friends for a Ladies Night Out.  Remember, that for each course, there are always substitutions you can make youself; I have merely included items that I know The Melting Pot uses in their courses, purely for a more authentic experience of bringing The Melting Pot to your home.  Bon Appetit!

First, you will need a fondue pot and if you plan to do the entree course and the appetizer course, then an electric fondue pot is a must.  The traditional candle ones will keep food hot, but will not cook it.  I highly recommend Rival's Fondue Pot.  It has brought us many years of fondue without problem and is reasonably priced.



Advance Preparation
The day you will be having your fondue gathering, you will need to prepare all of the courses in advance.  This entails cutting the food into bite-size pieces and displaying on a platter and also making the dipping sauces.  Note that you will need to wash the fondue pot out between the 3 courses if you only have one of them (which I do).  This only takes a few minutes, so pour yourself a nice glass of wine and spend less than 5 minutes washing out the pot without complaining :).

Cheese fondue preparation:
Place on a platter: baby carrots, cubed French bread, cubed apple chunks, and celery pieces.

Pre-measure all ingredients for the cheese fondue for an easier time making it later on during your event.

Entree fondue preparation:
Place in a divided platter: cubed uncooked chicken chunks, cubed filet mignon, cubed marinated steak, raw shrimp with the tail removed, cubed raw salmon.

Place on another platter: Sliced, raw potatoes; raw broccoli; raw whole mushrooms

Dipping sauces:
Teriyaki sauce (bottled)
Barbeque sauce (bottled)
Hoisin plum sauce (bottled)

Cocktail sauce (mix 3 parts ketchup to 1 part horseradish; add more horseradish if desired)

The Melting Pot's Green Goddess Sauce (recipe below)

Green Goddess Sauce (compliments of The Melting Pot)

8 ounces cream cheese, cut into slices

1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely sliced chives

In a microwave-safe container, microwave cream cheese and milk for 2 to 4 minutes, whisking after each minute, until cream cheese melts and mixture is smooth. Stir in sour cream, onion, parsley and chives. Refrigerate until cold.

Dessert fondue preparation

Place on a platter: marshmallows, hulled strawberries, sliced bananas, cut up homemade or bakery brownie, sliced bakery cheesecake

Pre-measure all dessert fondue ingredients for an easier time making it later on during your event.

Course 1: Cheese Fondue

Swiss Cheese Fondue
16 oz. shredded Swiss
-or-
8 oz. shredded Gruyere and 8 oz. shredded Emmanthaler
1/2 cup dry white wine
1T. flour mixed with 1T water
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Heat wine in fondue pot over med-hi heat.  Add cheese and stir until melted.  Add flour mixture to stabilize consistency.  Sprinkle in nutmeg.

Cheddar Cheese Fondue
16 oz. shredded Cheddar
1c. hard cider or beer
1T. flour mixed with 1T water
1tsp. minced garlic
Garlic powder

Heat cider or beer over med-hi heat.  Add garlic until fragrant.  Add cheese and stir until melted.  Add flour mixture to stabilize consistency.  Sprinkle with garlic powder.

Enjoy with your platter of bread, celery, apples and carrots!

Course 2: Entree

Fill fondue pot with 4 cups of chicken broth.  Season with garlic powder and seasoned salt.  Heat on hi and place raw meats and veggies on individual fondue rods to cook.  Potatoes can be placed in the pot for several minutes to cook, until tender.  Below are cooking guidelines:

Chicken: 3 minutes or until no longer pink
Beef: 2 minutes or less, depending on preference
Veggies: 3 minutes

Serve with your variety of dipping sauces.  Remember to not place any raw meat onto the plate from which you are eating!

Course 3: Dessert Fondue

Fill fondue pot with chocolate chips of choice.  Add 1c. heavy cream to the mixture and also 1T. liquor, if desired.  You can experiment with tastes for this one.  Below are some favorites:

• Yin and Yang:  white and dark chocolate
• Peanut Butter: milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips
• Turtle: milk chocolate, melted caramels and chopped pecans
• White Chocolate Raspberry:  white chocolate chips and raspberry liquor (Framboise)

 Dip your platter of brownies, strawberries, marshmallows and bananas.  It is better to drizzle the chocolate onto the cheesecake than to actual dip the cheesecake, in order to avoid having the cake break into pieces.

Birthday Party Planning on a Budget

Who doesn't love a good party?  I certainly anticipate any upcoming event we will be throwing with joy and excitement, especially when that event is one of our children's birthday parties.  There really is nothing like seeing your child's eyes light up on his or her own special day and watching him eagerly wait for his guests to arrive for the big event. 

Party planning can be fun but later seeing an excessive number of charges appear on your credit card statement due to said event, is not fun.  There are a plethora of companies willing to sell you the full-blown array of Dora the Explorer party gear, for example, often for a price that would make Dora sigh "Dios Mio."  There are also countless venues that will rent you their facility in which to host your party if you would prefer to entertain away from your own home.  Some of these are quite inexpensive, whereas others are on the pricey side.  Regardless of what you decide to incorporate into your little prince or princess' party, the costs can quickly add up.

Two years ago, I was asked to speak on the topic of planning a birthday party on a budget at one of our Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) meetings at my church.  I often use the majority of the below tips when planning my own children's parties and have stayed within the $100-$150 range for each of these events.  Granted, this will vary based on the number of people you have attending the parties and the areas in which you decide to splurge on something really special to both you and your child.  But either way, let me reassure you that it is possible to throw an extra special party for your little one without having to take a line of credit out to do it.  Enjoy!

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• Decide what you can afford to spend on the party. Stick to it.  No exceptions.

• Pick an inexpensive location. Parks and backyards are great for warm weather and are often either free or very inexpensive to rent; inside the house or a public building (church, fast food restaurant with play land, etc.) are comparable for cool weather.   There are also local venues in most areas that are kid-geared and quite inexpensive to rent.  Mr. B's Cafe at Calvary Church of Souderton is a great example of one of those places in my area, for anyone who is local.

• Borrow whatever you can from friends or other contacts.  This includes decorations, extra tables and chairs, tents, serving pieces, etc.  The party will very quickly add up if on top of having to purchase the necessary party goods, you also end up needing to rent tables and chairs or buy a new punch bowl.
 
• Invitations: Handwritten, homemade or computer-generated invitations work well and add a personal touch to the party.  If you like, you can even give them out by hand and save a few dollars on stamps. Or, if your child's friends (or their parents) all have e-mail addresses, consider using an online service such as Evite.com.

• Food: Try to make as much of the food yourself as you can, even if it’s not fancy. This includes the cake, if possible. Enlist the aid of grandparents and family members. Purchase any premade foods in bulk, and remember that kids are usually happy with inexpensive foods like hot dogs and pasta salad. Have plenty of snacks such as goldfish crackers and pretzels on hand, too.  Also remember that homemade is not always necessarily the least expensive.  Costso has a mean potato salad that runs about $7 or $8 for a huge tub.  So, unless you are set on Grandma Pearl's homemade potato salad, this could be a less expensive alternative, and a huge time-saver.

• Beverage: Serve juice, punch or soda from large bottles, rather than offering individual containers or juice boxes.

• Games: Play classic games such as Red Light, Green Light or Hide ‘n Seek. For games with “props’, see if you can make any of the components yourself. Prizes for preschoolers are not necessary; if desired, consider offering a “service reward” such as allowing that child to pick their goody bag first, have the first piece of cake (after the birthday child, of course!), etc.

• Entertainment: Expensive, expensive! Consider having Dad or Grandpa dress up as Elmo if you need to have this.

• Make a pinata yourself instead of purchasing one. See www.e-how.com Fill it with inexpensive treats sold in bulk. Fruit snacks; individual portions of Goldfish, Cheddar Bunnies, etc.; and granola bars also make good fillers that are often less expensive than pre-packaged pinata filler assortments or other candies.

• For theme parties, choose a few paper goods to purchase in the (expensive) print and then fill in the rest with coordinating solid-colored paper goods. Same goes for balloons – pick one or two mylar ones and fill in the rest with less expensive latex ones.

• Try incorporating some items you already have on hand as part of the decorations instead of purchasing (expensive) party store decorations. Not everything needs to come from the party store so think outside the box and be creative!  If your son is having a Disney Cars party, pull out those plush Lightening McQueens for centerpieces.  Same for a princess party.  Decorate the table with wands and purses from your daughter's dress-up stash.

• Use paper lunch bags as goody bags. They are least expensive in the natural brown color but white and other colors are still less expensive than buying premade goody bags or boxes.  Decorate with stickers or rubber stamps. Or have the birthday child decorate them for his friends.

• Pick a few areas to splurge for those “must-haves” but watch your spending in other less important areas.  Goody bags are not necessary if you will be doing a pinata for one of the activites since everyone will pocket some take-homes from that.  Be sure to stay within your set budget!

• My favorite web sites:

1. http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/ (hundreds of birthday cake ideas)
2. http://www.orientaltrading.com/ (great for party goods, goodie bags, crafts, décor)
3. http://www.birthdaydirect.com/ (great party supplies for less)
4. http://www.e-how.com/ (how to do just about anything…literally.)
5. http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/ (real life testimonies with ideas for any theme)