A Year in Review Part 2!

Happy second week of 2018.  Other than those in the freezing blizzardy weather on the east coast and now the mud slides in Southern California, I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to the new year.  Last week I provided a recap of some of the blogs of last year.  This week I will continue to recap additional blogs from 2017.  So how many of you are still writing 2017?  This is probably the first year I haven’t struggled with dating checks and documents – I am really really really looking forward to what 2018 will bring and I hope you are too! Ok…. let’s get on with the recap.

In the Blog titled “It’s the End of Summer! What???” I talked about  having a gathering at the end of the summer, especially with family members or close friends and how it doesn’t have to be a production.  Having your food pre-prepared or ordered from an outside restaurant, a rough idea of what the timeline for the get together is and leaving plenty of time for “hanging out” and “togetherness” makes it simple and easy. Our end of summer gatherings usually involve a game or two like bocce ball or corn hole which is always fun, celebrating our oldest’s birthday and lots of snacking food (and as I mentioned in the blog – lots and lots of bacon!!).  Also we allow time for great conversations to take place and in that it all is part of making memories.

Back to School! This blog was focused on getting your child’s classmates, their parents and teachers together for a beginning of the school year “get to know you” party.  We talked about having a potluck and what a great way to experience other cultures that are represented in your child’s class.   Also planning games/activities for students only, students with their parents, parents with another student, and parents with parents helps everyone interact with each other.  If your event does not take place in someone’s home remember to bring a first aid kit!  You were encouraged to take lots of pictures and become the buzz at the school.  So how about planning a mid-school year party?!! And really having your child’s class become the buzz of the school.

Back Yard Olympic Party! This blog was written when Houston was under water and it was difficult to write at the time since I have a lot of family in that area.  To have a Back Yard Olympic Party all you need to do is to set up a few games around your backyard such as corn hole, bocce ball, ladder golf, croquet or a variation of the game.  In the blog I described in detail, a party format and how to set up and play these games. This type of party is great for all ages! Some of your guests will go home with medals (if you choose to have them).  If it is a hit – you will be on the hook to repeat it annually!! And now we are right in time for the Winter Olympics!  A winter Olympic Game Party would be a little harder to pull off unless you live where there is lots of snow! Kinda of counts me out!

Keeping Hot – Hot and Cold – Cold! This blog was written during Irma, Mexico’s 8.0 earthquake and the fires in the northwest – also hard to write since we have family in the northwest.  In this blog we discussed a couple of tricks to keep your cold food cold.  We talked about using crushed ice in your serving bowl and nestling another bowl into it.  Then freezing the set up until you are ready to serve.  (not for crystal) I also showed you how to freeze flowers or herbs into ice cubes for decorative ice to keep food cold.  And for hot food – the use of warming trays, hot plates and crock pots.

It’s Still Cold!  Following the previous blog, I shared a few more tips on how to keep food cold.  The first was to hollow out a round loaf of bread, then freeze it until you are ready to use it.  Pour your cold food/dip into the bowl and your food/dip will stay cold for 4-6 hours! The other tip was to fill your washing machine with ice the morning of your party and chill your drinks in there.  You can pull your drinks from there as your need them or move them to a designated spot for easier access.  And as the ice melts it will drain out of your washing machine!  The last thing I talked about was having a sundae bar at your next (warm weather) party.  The tip here was to pre-scoop ice cream into cupcake wrappers in muffin tins and wah la you are ready to go! Of course keep the ice cream scoops in the freezer until you are ready to serve!!

What’s you next party? Happy Planning!

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller