Helpful Party Hacks
Hey everyone!
I hope you had a great Mother’s Day. I love Mother’s Day because moms are the center of that day! We get to celebrate the hardest working ladies on the planet. Can I get an AMEN! Chances are that hard working lady is YOU. You put everyone’s need above your own. You stay up the latest, get up the earliest, eat whatever is left over, buy your kid’s clothes before your own, and a million other things. That’s what moms do. So, one day to focus on YOU is a good thing. For everyone! Kids need to show love and appreciation and be taught how that is done by their daddy’s and grandpas. They need to sign a card and pick out a gift and hug their mommas and clean up their own plates and let momma take a nap. They need to learn that the woman who does everything for them deserves a little break. Right? Good. I’m glad you agree with me and I hope all of the above happened for you.
At our house, we had five generations together for the day. We had four month old and a ninety-two year old! How amazing is that! But, even if it’s just your immediate family, it’s a special time. I’m so grateful YOU were celebrated.
Okay, let’s get to what I wanted to share today. We have lots of parties so I’ve learned a few things over the years. I thought I would some of the party hacks I use on days like Mother’s day when we all want to take a break. So here we go:
Don’t cook!
Now, here’s the deal. I come from a family of great cooks who can cook just about any dish with their eyes closed, but for Mother’s Day, I don’t want anyone to cook. So, for holidays like Mother’s Day, have it catered. I know, catering costs money, but if everyone pitches in, it’s not too bad. Think about it this way, if you went to a restaurant, it would cost a lot more so just tell all the dads in the family that you are saving them money by having at your house. We have a lady at our church who cooks for others so I gave her a call. This year she did a large chicken fettucine, a large shrimp fettucine, and a meat- free one. She also did two large salads, one with strawberries, a corn casserole, and French bread. For dessert, we had strawberry shortcake and bread pudding. It was delicious! I even had enough left over to send food home with some folks who had family who couldn’t attend.
Don’t wash!
Pick out some sturdy and cute paper plates, plastic cups, plastic forks and knives and plastic tablecloths. Done! Just throw it all away and don’t feel guilty.
Don’t over-decorate!
I love for my house to reflect the holiday, but I wanted to keep it simple, so I went to the wholesale florist and bought five bunches of yellow daisies for a little over $20.00, then I put them in large mason jars. (I keep mason jars to use for vases in my pantry.) I looked on Pinterest for some good mom quotes. I copied and pasted them into a word document and printed them off. (See the pic) Here’s the trick to make them look even better. Cut them out and mounted them on black cardstock paper, leaving a rim of black around each pic. I put them on sticks I bought at Hobby Lobby and placed one in each flower arrangement. This gave guests something to read and talk about at each table. I dug around in my drawers and found some tulle to tie in a bow around the jars and that was that!
Don’t have too many choices!
Keep the menu simple. I already told you the food menu, but keep the drink selection simple too. I gave up having ten selections of soft drinks years ago. Now, I serve store-bought sweet and unsweet tea, lemonade that I make, and water. (And don’t worry about water bottles. If your water is good, serve it in a pitcher with some lemons.) I do put the drinks in cute serving containers, but that’s it. Keep it simple, that’s the key.
Don’t do it all!
This is so hard for me, because I am a “do it all” person. This Mother’s Day I was about to fill the glasses with ice when one of my nephews came up to me and took over. It’s in my nature to protest help, but I didn’t. I let him do the job. Remember when we let others help we show them how to graciously accept help themselves. I have to remind myself not to rob others of the gift of giving.
That’s it! I hope it helps you the next time you have a party or just when you’re having any company. In today’s busy world, having someone over for dinner isn’t happening like it used to. Maybe it’s time we get back to inviting the neighbors over.
Hugs, Chrys