4th of July decorations...

Make sure you check out you local Targets and Walmarts.  They usually have the $1 bins near the front and right now they are full of patriotic items...go out and buy some for today's World Cup Match against Ghana, and then you can reuse them for you 4th of July BBQs!  Let us know what you find!

Savvy Ideas to decorate with what you have (or easily get):

• You know you all have them...unused vases.  Fill them with all the super yummy summer fruits, that also, conveniently, are patriotic colors:  blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Guests can scoop the berries out and add whipped cream or Cool Whip (for those who are allergic to dairy) for a truly red, white, and blue treat!
• Use different-shaped vases to hold dips and chips as well. These make great centerpieces as well as unique serving dishes.
• Mix and match red, white, and blue solid paper products and plastic ware.
• Roll butcher paper out onto your party table. Scatter red, white, and blue crayons across the table for the kids to color with while eating.
• Sprinkle red, white, and blue confetti and candies around the table.

Savvy Outdoor Entertaining tips!

I thought I would just give some quick tips...

If you are short on serving bowls try hollowing out half a watermelon.

Don't attempt to serve food that has to be prepared at the last minute. It's less stressful and more convenient to have most everything prepared beforehand.

Choose foods that won't spoil fast, especially if you are blessed with a warm day.  Foods with mayonnaise will spoil if not kept at a proper temperature.  If you have a potato salad or macaroni salad with mayonnaise, keep it in an ice bowl bath.

As much as possible have food that guests can serve themselves. Also, keep in mind, people do a lot of standing during BBQs (ample seating or not).  Try and limit the amount of foods that require a fork and knife.  Make everything small and manageable.

Have plates stacked at the start of the buffet area and then cutlery and napkins at the end.

Use citronella candles to keep insects away and have some insect lotion or spray available for guests to use.

Provide garbage cans/bags.  This will save yourself some cleanup work after your guests have gone home.

Lucky YOU...you're having a pot luck BBQ!

Now what?  Just follow these savvy rules:

1. First and seriously the most important...Plan your menu.   You can decide on what you will do and delegate what you feel is missing or ask for specific dishes.  I love, love, LOVE to cook, but am a seriously horrible baker (I know it's because of the need for precision).  I always ask my invited guests if they have a specific dish in mind or if they would like a suggestion. BUT in some cases, I ask (and beg if I have to) people to bring something specific.  I will always need deserts so, Maggie is asked to bring her "crack cookies" (seriously the BEST chocolate chip cookies you will ever taste...I might just call and see if I can post it here LOL) and Vanessa is asked to bring either the peanut butter brownies, or coconut cream pie.   This always is helpful to make sure you don't have all salads, and not enough desserts.   One way is to split the menu into sections so you can ensure you have enough (If a guest can't decide what they will bring, ask them to at least provide you with a category for planning purposes.):
   
   
   
   
   -main dishes (optional...for our BBQs, we provide the different meats for grilling)
   -salads
   -desserts
   -beverages
   
   
2. Give your guests who claim to be unable  to cook the opportunity to contribute drinks or equipment to the party so that they are still pitching in but don't feel that they have to cook. Tell them it's perfectly fine to bring store-bought food as well. While homemade is nice, it's better to make your guests feel welcomed despite their lack of culinary talent.
   
   
3. Savvy Tip:  Make labels with your guests' names on them.  This way, as they place their dish on the table you can label the bottom of each dish (if not already done).  This way if a dish is left behind after the party, you know who to return it to.
   
   
4. Ask guests to label food with allergenic ingredients in the case of dishes with nuts, dairy, eggs, gluten, etc. If you have any guests who are highly allergic to nuts or other food such as shellfish or eggs, ask all your guests to label their dish with the ingredients. We have kids with allergies, but my DH and I don't.  We want to be able to enjoy Jo's macaroni and cheese, even if the kids can't have it.  You can also use small place cards in front of each dish to identify the name of the dish and who made it so people can ask that person for a recipe or can pay their compliments.
   
   
5. This may sound like common sense but worth stating; keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold to minimize the risk of spoilage or food poisoning. Many potluck organizers will equip their party table with many large bowls of ice to place salads containing mayonnaise. A power outlet outdoors for the plugging in of buffet servers or crock pot slow cookers is a good idea as well to keep food safe and flavorful.
   
   
6. Put different types of dishes on different tables (or on different sides of the table) with plenty of serving spoons.  If at all possible, make sure the drinks are on a different table (or at least at the end of the table).   This way if people want to merely top up their drink, they don't have to wait in line with those serving themselves.   Another Savvy Tip:  avoid the temptation to have the table up against a wall/side of the house.  Pull the table out enough to have people on both sides.  This limits the size of the line.  This is where plenty of serving spoons is essential.  If you only have one spoon per dish, it won't matter that you have a line on both sides of the table; people will still have to wait for the spoon.  Recap:  Have a line on each side of the table and make sure each dish has 2 serving spoons. 
   
   Another Allergy Tip:  If you do have dishes with allergens in them, you may want to keep these separate from the other dishes.  Nothing irks me more than the cross contamination of serving spoons.  My kids can't have the Macaroni and Cheese, and that's fine.  BUT if you use the Mac-n-Cheese spoon to then serve the potato salad, they now can't have the potato salad either.
    
7. Clear clutter several times throughout the party to minimize the mess. Ask a friend or co-host to help you periodically with refilling needed items and clearing trash. Savvy Tip:  Place one or two (or more) garbage cans in the food area, many guests will help clean up during the party as well.
   

Is it the end of the year already?

It is officially the end of the school year. I know this because my children have started to count down by days (not weeks) and they are TOTALLY slacking-off on their homework. “You haven’t crossed the finish line yet. I need you to hold it together for three more weeks—that is only 3 more spelling tests. I need to see your A-game. Can you do that for mommy?” I think that we all know the answer is a big fat NO, but I wouldn’t be giving it my A-game if I didn’t try. One of my lesser favorite end-of-the-year activities (second only to field day) is the end-of-the-year classroom party. I have a few years experience in this area—O.K. more than a few. I have learned some things along the way and I am sure that Shelley will have something to say, too.

A special thank you to the Room Mom:
Thank you so much for taking the time to help your child’s teacher in such a special way. You are filling a truly valuable position and there are 25 other parents who are grateful that you said yes before their name came up on the phone tree.

Class only party vs. class and parent party:
This is a delicate subject and unfortunately I am very biased for one side. I respect everyone’s right to choose for themselves (does that sound politically correct enough?), but I am afraid I have made up my mind and I'm sticking to it. I guess since this is my blog, I'm allowed to speak. Maybe Shelley will disagree with me and we can have a fight to up our ratings. Do blogs have ratings?

I do not like parties where the parents attend:
• There is always a small minority of children who’s parents don’t come and it breaks their hearts. The purpose of the party is to let the children celebrate. These children will not feel celebratory.
• There are a crazy amount of end-of-the-year events to attend—recitals, award ceremonies, field day, etc. Working parents are challenged to fit every event into their schedule. And let’s face it, this little party is not nearly as important as the other events.
• Parents just end up watching their child eat or stand at the back of the room socializing with the other parents. It is not a good interactive event.

The teacher, room mom, and 1-2 helpers is enough. In an average class there are really only 3 parents who want to be there anyway. This way they get to feel extra special because they also helped.

Paying for the party:
We all know that these things cost money. The teacher should NEVER pay for the party. I have never thrown a party that cost more than $50 and it’s just easier to pay for it myself. It’s O.K. to ask for help, especially if you’re planning something a little extra. Sending out an email or flyer to the parents asking for a small donation is fine. I would avoid determining a fixed per-person amount. Some families are on a limited budget. They may have trouble coming up with $5. It’s not polite to force parents to pay for the party. Besides, I find that I make more money by not suggesting a dollar amount. People send what they can afford. There is often a working mom with unlimited resources who will gladly cough-up $100. If I end up with nothing, we find a way to party for FREE.

It’s also O.K. to ask the community for donations. I have a great relationship with our local grocery store. Every day their bakery throws-out or donates day-old baked goods. I pre-arrange to receive those items on the day of our party. There is often a cake and cookies. Local business will also contribute items for goodie bags. Realtors, insurance companies, dentist, banks, etc. have promotional pencils, key chains, stickers, mints, etc. Find out what the parents in your class do. If one of them owns a restaurant or party supply store, you have just hit a home-run.

Pre-planning:

• Contact the teacher and decide on a time and date for the party.
• Take extra precautions to make sure the teacher does not get caught in the middle. Don’t ask them to relay messages for you or collect money.
• Contact all the parents (not just your favorite helpers) and let them know the date well in advance of the party.
• Ask for volunteers to help. Make sure to be specific. You will get a better response if you ask for 1 person to just show up and be an extra pair of hands, 1 person to stuff goodie bags, 1 person to bring a cake, etc. If people don’t know what you are asking them to do, they are afraid to volunteer.
• It’s O.K. to do it all yourself. This is just a classroom party, not the annual charity ball. I find it’s easier to just do everything than coordinate volunteers.
• Don’t be a martyr. Don’t tell everyone that you did all the work and no one helped. If they offer you "thanks" or say "it must have taken a lot of work to put everything together" respond with, “It did and I enjoyed every minute."—even if it’s not true.
• Send out a reminder the week of the party.
• Come up with a plan and keep it simple.
• Get everything together and prepared ahead of time.

The plan:

• Start with a theme. It is always fun to do a luau, fiesta, etc. You can decorate and plan a fun menu and music. I like Class of 2018 (or whatever your class is). They feel so grown up once they know what class they are.
• If you are having the party in the classroom, plan to keep the kids seated at their desks. This is a very small space and once they get up it is more difficult to manage.
• Play music to set the mood. Make sure to pre-screen it.
• Let them help prepare the food. I like cookie decorating, ice cream sundae making, etc. It takes up some of the time and they have fun.
• Have an activity. It can be a craft project or a game. I like to have a mystery game. Someone stole the hall pass and we have to use the clues to figure out who did it. They really like it when it turns out to be the teacher—they never expect that outcome. My favorite craft is a class photo. I come to class the week before and take a group shot. I have them printed. I get acrylic frames at the dollar store. They decorate the frames and all sign the back of each other’s photos.
• Make sure to schedule time for cleanup.

Good Luck!

Another Birthday Party tip - Be Prepared

Order extra food and prepare extra goody bags for unexpected guests. Keep extra costumes on hand for theme or costume parties, just in case Billy shows up without one. The host should also have phone numbers for all parents and a first aid kit.