The Holiday Party Primer

Once again, tis the season for holiday entertaining and the sinking economy need not be a stumbling block for any celebration. The following party planner primer has been developed to help make your preparations simple and your party a success!

Getting Started
As you begin to plan your party, consider the following questions before deciding on location, guests, food and entertainment. If you’re hosting with others, be sure to get together well ahead of time and decide the responsibilities. Plan a final meeting closer to the party to make sure you’ve covered everything.

A Casual or Formal Occasion?
A holiday party with friends and family? A gathering of extgended family? A Superbowl game? A baby shower? A birthday celebration? The occasion is the starting point that will set the tone for your event.

When and Where?
Will the party be at your home, a rented room, a freiend’s house or a neighborhood park? What time of year is the event? What time of day? Indoors or outdoors? The location and setting will help you decide how many people to invite.

Guest List
Your closest friends? Your relatives? Your co-workers? Are your guests adventurous or conservative? Are they health conscious? Any vegetarians? What are the ages? Will there be children included? The number of guests and their preferences will lead you to the right menu selections.

What’s The Budget?
The amount of money you plan to spend will help determine the number of guests and an appropriate menu. Whether you’re serving coffee and dessert or an elaborate five-course dinner, there are many options available to fit any budget.

Invitations?
A small, informal get-together among friends may simply require a phone call or e-mail. A lager or more formal gathering usually calls for a printed or handwritten invitation. Be sure to include the essentials: occasion, date, time, location, attire and response required. “R.S.V.P” ensures a response, while “Regrets only” may result in a less accurate head count.

Menu Selection
The next step is selecting your menu. Watching a game with a few friends lends itself to drinks and snacks. A seated dinner should begin with a salad or appetizers, followed by a main course and dessert. A larger gathering may call for a buffet-style meal or heavy hors d’oeuvres.

Plan The Main Course First
A standing rib roast or smoked turkey is perfect for a seated dinner. If it’s a picnic, perhaps custom subs and buffalo-style chicken wings are the way to go. For heavy hors d’oeuvres, try a selection of platters, such as fruit and cheese or a round pumpernickel with spinach dip.

Make Sure Flavors Go Together
Be sure to balance the meal with strong and mild flavors. A strong main dish needs a mild side, while a boldly flavored side can complement a subtle main dish. A rich, heavy meal calls for a light dessert and visa versa.

Mix Up The Temperatures
Serving foods at a combination of temperatures will not only free up your oven but will also add variety to your menu. Mix cold platters with warm tasty foods. You might even add items served best at room temperatures like some delicious mini danishes and rugalach.

Consider The Time of Day and Year
A late-night party calls for smaller portions than a 7 p.m. gathering. Season and location are also important factors. Chili wouldn’t be appropriate on a hot summer day, nor would ice cream on a cold, winter night.

Calculate Serving Sizes and Portions
Ordering and purchasing the right amount of food is one of the trickiest parts of entertaining. As a rule of thumb, always plan for a little more than you think will actually be consumed. A few leftovers will give you something to enjoy after the party. Taking your guests’ preferences into consideration, use the following guide to calculate how much food to serve:

Per Person:
Appetizers: 4 to 5 per/hour
Fruits/Vegetables: 1/2 - 2/3 cup
Meat/Poultry/Seafood: 4 to 8 ounces, uncooked
Side Dishes: ½ cup, per side dish
Salad: 1 to 1-1/2 cups
Sauces/Dips/Dressing: 2 to 3 tablespoons
Soups: ¾ to 1 cup

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The following video, Lucy & Ricky have dinner with Tallulah Bankhead, courtesy of You Tube.

Kids and Food Battles

Parents battle daily over two things with their children. Number one is cleaning up their messes, and number two is eating their meals. We cannot compel them to clean their room, but we can entice them to eat their meals. This section is a parent’s dream; this is where we parents can “even the score” with our kids— at least a little!

How wonderful not only get them to eat healthy, but to have them help in making meal time something special by preparing fun, healthy food. (This also makes mom a superstar!) The secret to making food fun is to let kids decorate. Find out what they like to eat and slide in some healthy décor, making sure that it was their idea, of course!

Male or female, all children have an interest in the great kitchen gadgets that they never get to play with. Mom, make your work their play; create an event in your kitchen and let the kids be the stars. For those boring rainy days, your kitchen abounds with fun projects to keep little hands and minds busy.


Now A Lil Treat!
How about some fun stuff for kids today? Let’s make some toys out of common household products. These projects are taken from the book, “7001 Forgotten Secret’s of the Ages”– Have fun and have a great weekend!


Juggling Balls

Stuff You Need To Get:
3 small sandwich bags, non-zip type
Small dried beans or dried peas
6 medium-sized balloons

What To Do With The Stuff:

1. Fill one sandwich bag with dried beans until it is the size of a small ball.
2. Close the bag by overlapping the ends, like you do around a sandwich.
3. Cut off the stem of the balloons at the round part.
4. Stretch one balloon around the ball of beans.
5. Stretch another balloon around the ball in the opposite direction of the first balloon.
6. Repeat each step for the other bags and balloons.

Creative Possibilities:

• Use some markers to decorate your juggling balls. Use permanent ink markers if possible.
• If you do not have dried beans or peas, try using rice, sand or even salt. (But not rock salt.)
• Borrow a book from the library to learn how to juggle.

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Sparkling Rocks

Stuff You Need To Get:
½ cup white glue
Food coloring
2 cups rock salt
A large piece of cardboard

What To Do With The Stuff:
1. Mix together the rock salt and about 7 drops of food coloring in a small mixing bowl.
2. Remember, food coloring is very concentrated.
3. Stir in the glue for another 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Use your hands to mold and sculpt the mixture to the shapes and sizes you want.
5. Then place them on the cardboard to dry. How long they have to dry will depend on the size and thickness of your sparkling rocks.

Creative Possibilities:
Use cookie cutters to make different shapes for the season or holiday. For Halloween make glimmering ghosts, sparkling bats and shiny witches.
For Christmas, you can make tree ornaments. Shape the mixture into whatever you want. Get some strong thread or string, cut about 3 or 4 inches long. Tie the 2 ends of the string together to make a loop. Place the knot into your design, making sure to leave a loop for hanging. When you are ready to hang it, make sure the string is secure enough.

Make some pretty jewelry for your mom for her birthday or Mother’s Day, or just to tell her that you love her. Add some glitter to make it more gleaming.

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The following video, CHEERIOS V-8 1960 SPACE-THEMED COMMERCIAL, courtesy of You Tube.

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