Holiday How-to's: St. Patrick's Day

 St. Patrick's Day will be here in just one week, although most celebrations are probably happening over the weekend just before it.  Even if this isn't a big holiday for you and yours, there are plenty of simple things that you can do to make the day special and fun.  

What does St. Patrick's Day make pop into your mind?  For me, it's the color green, shamrocks, corned beef & cabbage, rainbows, and beer!!  All of these (with the exception of the beer, of course) can be geared toward a kid-friendly crowd or a bunch of rowdy adults.  

Green someplace on your body is an absolute necessity if you don't want to get pinched.  If everyone at your party already has on their green, you could add some variety to this game by picking a taboo word, (cheers, beer, leprechaun, etc...) to use instead.  Catch someone saying it in conversation and pinch away!!  It's always best to pick a word related to the festivities, but still very common in everyday speech so that it's more difficult to not say it.  

If you are lucky enough to find an actual four-leaf clover, hang onto it.  Mostly you will run across the much more common 3-leaf variety.  I spent plenty of time optimistically looking as a kid, and it's comparable to finding a needle in a haystack.  A much easier (and quicker) way to find one is to just make your own. 

You can find all of these on my Pinterst board.  Above are shamrocks cut
from a spinach leaf, below are green peppers, and to the right is an
adorable hair-do that I was not able to replicate myself, but if you have
any skill at all with hair, you should be able to manage it.

Next on my list is corned beef & cabbage.  I am more of a sauerkraut than cabbage kind of gal.  Even though I am not a huge fan, it has kind of become tradition since every restaurant on the parade route in my town has it ready to eat and usually (bonus!!) for free.  I wish I had a recipe to share with you, but unfortunately the only one I had that I actually loved the taste of has been lost.  (sad face)  As soon as I can find it, or a similarly good one, again I will put it in a safe place to share with everyone another year.  Until then, I will be leaving that cooking up to someone else!!  Do you have a favorite recipe for this dish?  Please feel free to share with all of us below or on my Facebook page.


  Now for my favorite...RAINBOWS!!  While I do like the color green, I prefer this excuse to use lots of colors to decorate and party with. 

 One of my successfully attempted pins from the past is simple to execute, but it does take a little extra time to separate, color, & layer the cake batter.  The actual recipe link is included, but the picture is the product my very own handiwork!!  

Rainbow cupcakes

Here is another pin that worked when I tried it.  Skittles Vodka!!  These turned out to be a LOT of work, but the shots were super yummy.  I wasn't able to find cheesecloth to strain with, so I did coffee filters.  I do NOT suggest this to you.  I believe the cheesecloth might have made things go a little quicker.  This year I believe I will try my hand at making colored ice cubes to be added to a clear beverage.  If it works, I will put pictures up on Instagram.  (and Facebook, and Twitter!!)  

"Taste the rainbow!!"  Skittles vodka shots

One more idea I would like to share in the rainbow section of this post is this adorable rainbow of fruit.  This pic is from my Pinterst board because I don't think there will be enough people at my home this year to eat all of the fruit I would need to buy to make this.  Personally, I would switch the mini-marshmallows for a yummy fruit dip.  My fave is simply 1 block of cream cheese & 1 small jar of marshmallow creme mixed together.  

Rainbow fruit and "gold coin" bananas

And finally, beer!!  I myself am not a big beer fan (unless hot wings are involved), but it's hard to not have just one green one on St. Patrick's Day.  Wanna know the big secret?  Drip a drop of green food coloring in the bottom of a mug, then pour in the beer.  Super-duper simple!! 

 Last year we stumbled across an alternative much more interesting to me.  We decided to watch the annual parade from a local winery which was offering their delicious wine blend in green for the day.  Yet another option, green mimosas.  While the same trick would work, this time I added a dash of Blue Curacao to the champagne and orange juice mix to give it this tint.  These are great for a pre-parade brunch.

Green "Casa Cooler"

Green Mimosa

  Well, there are a few ideas I want to try, and a few that have been successful for me in the past.  Please feel free to share your ideas, too.  I LOVE finding new things to try!!

Easter Egg Hunts!!

These don't just have to be for the kids anymore!!  Watching the little ones hunt for eggs is adorable, making room for loads of oohs & ahhhs, and plenty of sweet photo moments.  Now hide a few eggs for the grown-ups with some worthy stuff inside, and just watch the competitor in everyone come out!!  These can be geared at any age group, and be super fun for all.

First, some simple ideas for any age.  I have 3 children, and most plastic egg packages come with 6 different colors.  To avoid the fight of "They got more eggs than me!!, " on Easter morning the Easter Bunny would leave 2 colors of eggs in each child's basket, along with the number of eggs they had to look for.  This way everyone had specific colors that belonged to them, so no fighting over eggs.  As kids get old enough to avoid the hurt feelings, add in a few special eggs, like glitter or multi-colored, on top of the regular ones that contain bonus prizes for a little extra excitement.

At my grandmother's, my cousin always put on a hunt for the kids, but instead of candy-filled eggs, she hid fun non-candy items.  Okay, there was a little candy involved, but mostly little toys or books.  She placed a colored dot sticker on each item, and just before the hunt, gave every kid a coordinating sticker on their hand.  Everyone only got what was intended for them, and everyone got the same amount.  Worked like a charm, and as the kids got older, so did their items.  When my daughter went to college, her items included things like a travel laundry hamper and Ramen noodles!!

Adults sometimes need a little more motivation than purely candy.  Money is always a big draw for the older crowd, including teenagers.  The majority of the eggs can contain change, which can add up quickly if you're a good enough hunter, and put the big bills in just a few eggs.  Throw in some candy here and there for a little variety.

Another idea is to have everyone bring a bag of candy and $5, pool the money, and put special "You win!!" notes in some of the eggs.  The fewer winners, the bigger the pot.  And to save yourself some work, make stuffing the eggs part of the festivities before the hunt!!  You just need a couple of volunteers that don't want to hunt to hide the eggs for your group.  Kids are great for this.

I would love to hear any of your ideas or traditions for Easter egg hunts.  Comment here, or share them on my Facebook page.  Happy hunting!!

April Fool's Fun

April Fool's Day- the perfect excuse to be silly and have a little fun.  A good laugh lifts your spirits and brightens your day.  Hopefully even if the joke was on you!!
Here is a bit of inspiration for some "foolish" fun...

This party table is full of gags just waiting to be discovered.  The best part is that most of this stuff can be found at the Dollar Store, so lots of festive for very little cash!!  You, of course, HAVE to start with Whoopee Cushions in the seats.  Probably not well hidden enough for your guests to fall for it, but a great favor for them to take home and try on their own unsuspecting friends. 

The cup full of mini-M&Ms on each plate not only matched the polka dots on the centerpiece, but also contained it's own surprise. To eat dinner, the cup needed to be moved out of the way, but guests had no idea that each cup was missing it's bottom!!  Once picked up, the candy spilled out onto the plate.  

For added fun, the little cup had a water squirting ring on top, and a fake lottery ticket attached.  I wrapped the tix in colored paper and wrote "Good Luck" on each, but this would also be a great place to write names and double them as place cards.  It is attached to the cup simply with a colored paper clip.  

Under each place setting was a colorful maze placemat.  I copied mazes from the internet, but for this particular theme, I took a thin black permanent marker and made an extra line towards the end, blocking the path to the exit.  If you are careful, it isn't obvious at all, and then there is NO WAY OUT!!  This should keep your guests busy for a little while.  It said "Answer on back" in the corner, but when it's turned over, it just says "There is no escape...  HA-HA-HA!!  April Fool!!"

A classic gag is switching out the salt and sugar, so how could I resist?  I filled one shaker with each, then added the question mark to make them wonder.  

A couple of other things that I added were odd-flavored Jellie Bellies, and fake spilled wine, which I made pretty easily with nail polish and a plastic cup.  As an added bit of decor, I found a great quote, printed it out, and framed it for the table.  

                       

St. Patrick's Day Cocktails

March makes me think of St. Patrick's Day, so when I needed to pick a featured party for the month, I settled on cocktail parties.  First I picture shamrocks, but then my brain immediately jumps to green beer!!

I will be working on a more kid-friendly party blog for my next post, but for today, I promised my Facebook friends some cocktail party inspiration.   

Number 1, you should have GREEN BEER available.  Depending on your group, it could be a huge hit, or after the first cup, no one will want to bother with it anymore.  Regardless, it's a simple thing to do.  All you need is a cheap bottle of food coloring, beer, and clear cups or mugs.  Drop a tiny drop of the green food color in the bottom of the glass, pour in the beer, and voila!!  Super simple!!

For those not really into beer (if anyone would dare to admit that on this day), APPLETINIS are the perfect color.  The most basic recipe is just 2 oz. vodka and 1 oz. Green Apple Schnaaps. Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice, and strain into a chilled glass.  If you can find green Pop Rocks, these are awesome for rimming the glass.  

  

MIDORI (melon-flavored liqueur) is also a perfect color for St. Patrick's Day.  It tastes great mixed with sour mix.  (The stuff used for Margaritas.)  Throw in the tequila, too, and you have MELON MARGARITAS.  Yummy!!  Sure, tequila is more "Cinco de Mayo," but hey, it's green!!

Corned beef & cabbage is the popular food for the holiday.  I found this CORNED BEEF & RYE DIP online today.  FYI, I haven't tried it myself yet, but it sounds good and I hope to get a chance to make it this year.  If you give it a try, please tell me what you think.  There were a couple of other recipes on the same page, but this one looked the tastiest to me.  

A few things to make sure of:

    

      -Have LOTS of ice.  If you have ice left over after a cocktail party, then it's a win.  If you used the very last piece in the very last drink, you got lucky!!

     

     -Cocktails need cocktail napkins.  They keep the drink dribbles at bay, and they can add a little color.  For St. Patrick's Day, you can go with all green for everything, or choose to use every color of the rainbow for some variety. Rainbows are a big deal with leprechauns!!  (A future post will contain some really fun rainbow ideas!!)

     

     -Make sure you have some finger foods available, too.  People will need a little something in their bellies so that the drinking is less likely to take an ugly turn. 

     -Most importantly, make arrangements for all of your guests to get home safely.  Drinking & driving ruins the fun for everyone.    

Keep the kids busy at Thanksgiving...

     At most Thanksgiving gatherings, there is plenty for the adults to do.  Cooking, setting the table, watching football, or just catching up with each other.  The kids can probably find plenty to do, too, but if you have a few things prepared to keep them busy, maybe they can stay out of trouble!!

     Coloring placemats are one of my favorite things to use anytime I am making a place setting for children.  They are easy to make, and add an activity to any celebration.  For this holiday, I printed a placemat with 2 sides.  Thanksgiving on the front, and pre-Christmas on the back.  The front has pictures to color, but you could also find word games or puzzles for free online to print out.  The most important part is the box for each person to write what they are thankful for this year.  The back is a Christmas Wish List.  Those Black Friday circulars are full of gift ideas and toy catalogs.  There are spaces for both gifts "To Get" & "To Give."

(made by Events DEE-signed)

     I LOVE this tablecover idea from the  Sweet Paul Blog.  You can get this type of wrapping paper at your local dollar store.   

(from Sweet Paul blog)

     Simply draw the placemats directly on the paper, put out some crayons, and let the kids decorate the entire table cover.  After dinner, you can either cut out each child's artwork for a keepsake or, if the table is a mess, just fold everything up in the paper and throw it all away in one quick sweep.  Then the table is ready for board games, or maybe some after-dinner crafting.

     Always have a couple of board games for indoors, and a couple of outdoor game ideas along with balls, frisbees, etc... in case you are lucky enough to have nice weather.  We still have Thanksgiving in my grandparents 2-bedroom house, even though the family has grown to 20+, so if we can send the kids outside, that's just one more enormous thing to be thankful for!!  The kids' table can be board game central, or they can set up in a spare room on the floor.

     Some kids will want to help in the set-up.  There are plenty of simple napkin folds that a child could master.  You can always find tutorials on YouTube.  This one from Danielle's Place is adorable.

(from Danielle's Place)

     Maybe they could help with a very simple appetizer that requires no cooking. This does the double-duty of keeping the kids busy and the adults from sneaking any turkey while everyone waits!!   Most children can arrange pre-cut vegetables or cheese squares onto a plate.  Another cute idea I found on Pinterest (I LOVE that site!!) is to put fruit pieces on skewers and make this Fruit Gobbler from Family Fun Magazine.  They used a cantaloupe, but I think a small pumpkin would be great.

(from Family Fun Magazine)

            I hope some of these ideas will work for you, or at least get your own imagination flowing!!

      

Quick & Easy Mummy Cupcakes

     These cupcakes are super easy and quick to make.  Perfect for a last minute homemade Halloween treat!!  All you need is cupcakes, white icing, and some candy corn (or any small candy for the eyes.)

     The cupcakes in the picture are chocolate and cherry chip.  For the mummy wrap, just pipe on plain white icing in strips, leaving a slit for the eyes.  I used candy corn for the eyes by cutting off the fattest stripe and inserting the pointy part into the cupcake.  The leftover candy corn makes a perfect tray garnish. 

     Hope you all get to have a fun Halloween!!    

Sometimes simple is all you need.

This month I am running specials on Reunions.  This is one that I had with some wonderful people I had the pleasure of working with:

Recently some old work colleagues and I decided to gather and talk about the "good ol' days" together at Tres Hombres Mexican restaurant.  Plans started on Facebook with one coworker posting an event.  A few different ideas were discussed among those interested, like a float trip, a party bus, and dinner at our old restaurant.  (Now Italian instead of Mexican, but the same building.)

I started researching decoration and favor ideas.  Also looked into pricing a party bus to drive us to a nearby Tres Hombres that is still in business.  A date was picked and agreed upon.  The only problem was that no one would really commit to a definite yes or no.  While I love making party preparations, they take plenty of time, which is very scarce in the life of a single mother starting a new business.  Up until the week of the reunion, there was a chance that it wasn't going to come together at all, so I only made the most basic arrangements, just in case. 

 We were to meet in the bar area of the old restaurant where we all worked.  This way we didn't need a reservation, and it could accommodate both a small or large group.  After the group assembled, we could all make the decision to have cocktails and move on, or stay there for dinner.  It turned out to be just enough preparation for a very enjoyable evening!!  An event as "up in the air" as this really just needs a when and a where.

Of course, I couldn't leave it without just a bit of flair.  I brought a sombrero along to add just a little of the old Mexican restaurant feel.  It made a simple, yet perfect centerpiece, and this was exactly what we needed to get the picture-taking started!  We remembered old stories and looked around a bit to see what was still the same.  A nearby Mexican restaurant is where we stopped for dinner.

Margaritas, cervezas, and chips and salsa.  Just like old times!!

The moral of this story is that some celebrations only need a time and a place, and the people are what make it special.  The super-involved planning and money can go into the set events that you know will have a definite crowd.  Who knows?  We did have a great night, so maybe next time we can go for a themed reunion with all the bells and whistles.  You know I'm always up for one of those!!