Party Time? Keep It Simple!

I love getting together with friends. With my husband in law school and one kid in elementary school, our lives are very busy during the school year, so we don't have parties that frequently. However, the summer is a whole 'nother story. Without studying or homework to be done, we have much more flexibility in our schedule. I'm hoping that we'll invite friends over for dinner often during the summer. We ALL love having guests in our home. Honestly, when Brett's law school friends come over, Lu and Ella think that the adults are there to see them!

I've learned that I enjoy get-togethers so much more when I keep the meal simple. Here are a few recipes that can either be made ahead of time or are just quick and simple.

For A Brunch or Shower: 

Quiche is a great dish for a brunch or a shower. You can make the day before and then reheat just before serving. This Broccoli Quiche is my go-to quiche these days since it is so budget-friendly, but my variation of Clark's Quiche is quite good too but a bit more pricey.

Who doesn't love a scone and a good cup of coffee? Apple Scones and Coconut Cranberry Scones are both quick and easy to make. They are amazing when they are fresh out of the oven.

For Grilling Out:

Grilling out makes my life so much easier. Brett handles the main dish, and I fix up the sides. Southwestern Chicken is a delicious main dish. Best of all, you can make the marinade ahead of time and freeze it with the chicken in ziptop bags until you need it. Usually, I like to serve it with a Caesar Salad (just romaine, Ken's Caesar dressing, and Parmesan cheese), a quick rice pilaf, and a veggie like one of these:

 Easy Rainbow Veggie Saute

Italian Zucchini - a great way to use any garden fresh zucchini you might have!

If you're looking for more party food inspiration, I highly recommend The Last Minute Party Girl by Erika Lenkert. It is such a great resource for party planning ideas and recipes. Also, for other "Party Food" recipes, be sure to check out Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as MOM.

Planning An Inexpensive Tinker Bell Party

We have never had a big budget for birthday parties; however, I don't let that stop me from making a special party for my Birthday Girl. This year, Ella's party theme is Tinker Bell. Here are just a few ways that we cut costs but still are planning to create a fun memory for her:

Create our own invitations. I like to make invitations, cards and the like so I usually have a stock of plain white cardstock and invitation envelopes at my house. Then, when I need an invite or card, I just design one on the computer and use the internet to search for appropriate graphics. Personally, I love having creative control over the invite, and it is worth it to me to take the time to make them on my own. Because I already have the supplies at home, it is also very cheap for me to do. I figured it out once to cost about $0.15 each to make them. However, if you need to buy all the supplies and don't plan on using the extras for another purpose, it makes more financial sense just to buy the pre-made kind.

Mix and match paper goods. I can still remember my 5th Birthday Party. One of the things that excited me the most was that my mom had purchased decorated "Super Heroes" plates. So, it was no surprise to me that Ella wanted Tinker Bell paper goods. Personally, I don't like my party table looking like a Disney Animator threw up all over it...and buying all the "coordinated" items is not the most cost effective way to go. It seems as is if most "designer" party supplies cost about $3 per package of 8 items. If you've got more than 8 guests (like we do), then you have to buy multiples and that adds up very quickly. This year Ella and I compromised -- we purchased just the Tinker Bell napkins and then chose pink and yellow cups, plates and tablecloths. We got what we needed at just a fraction of the cost.

Search online for decorations. I hit the jackpot with this theme. Disney has a HUGE amount of free "fairy" stuff online at http://www.pixiehollow.com/. I made a cool Birthday Banner using the First Flight Garland pdf and some wall decorations by cutting out the flowers from this Arrival Day PDF.

Search online for craft ideas. Disney also has some great craft ideas as well. We're going to make Rosetta Frames that will practically be free. We collected the needed twigs from a local park and used some cheap green yarn.

Make our own pinata. A storebought pinata usually costs at least $15 but you can usually make them for practically free using household supplies. Check out how I made our Acorn Pinata for the Tinker Bell party.

Make our own cake. My girls love to peruse the "cake book" at the grocery store. But, I just can justify spending $25-40 on a storebought cake when I can make my own for less than $5. With the right tools and imagination, I can make a cool enough one to please my girls. Lucie loved her Princess Cake this year, and Ella has loved her Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire Cake and Castle Cake in past years. If you need inspiration, check out Fishmama's cake ebooks - Pretty.Cool.Cakes. and More Cool Cakes. I'm going to use these cool pans to create a Tinker Bell house that looks similar to this Fairy House Ornament craft.

UPDATE 1/31/11: The party was a huge success! Check out exactly how we celebrated Ella's 6th Birthday in Pixie Hollow.
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For other money-saving ideas, be sure to check out Frugal Friday at Life As Mom.

Planning the Last Birthday Party of the Season

Now that Lucie's 3rd Birthday is behind us, I have just one more event in Birthday Season 2011-2011. Once we get past Ella's birthday in a couple of weeks, I'm off the hook for the next ten months! Overall, it has been pretty manageable, and I hope to keep it that way!

When Ella started preschool, we started throwing her traditional "friend" birthday parties because she actually had "friends" in the plural sense. Plus, in my opinion, a two or three-year old really doesn't care too much about a big party. If you give them a cake, they're happy. (See case in point.) But, a four-year old who is in preschool? Oh man, are birthday parties exciting to them! Ella chose a Castle Party for her 4th Birthday and a Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire Party for her 5th. They were so much fun and gave her so much joy.

This past weekend, we started planning her 6th Birthday Party. On Saturday morning, I printed out this nifty little Birthday Planning Page from FishMama, and we sat down to work. Ever since we checked out Tinker Bell from the library, Ella has loved Tinker Bell and the world of fairies. So, Ella will be having a Pixie Hollow Birthday, and I'm so excited about the possibilities! Stay tuned for more details...and possibly a cake and pinata tutorial.