Suggestions for party

Danielle284

Bryland's party is going to be at 2 in the afternoon.  I wanted to do appetizers since it will be after lunch and we will be having cake.

I was thinking vegetable tray, fruit tray, and chips and salsa.  Is that to much, or to little?  Can i just do cake, or should i get ice cream as well.

Decorations?

I don't want to go to overboard.  I was thinking just balloons.  Should i do more?

Suggestions would be great.  Thank you.

heyimbren

I think the food sounds good! What about a cheese and crackers plate? It's nice to have a few options. Are you up for cooking at all? I just had a cocktail party on the weekend with my friends, and I have a bunch of recipes I just tried out that turned out really well (teriyaki meatballs, sweet potato fries, cheesecake pops, a nice fruit salad). They were really easy to make too.

I think a bunch of colourful balloons will look great. Maybe colourful napkins?

Danielle284

We thought of homemade salsa.  We decided against it.  We didn't know exactly how busy we would be setting everything up.  I do like the cheese and crackers idea.

Acrosthec

Food sounds good to me.  I would probably go with either a veggie tray or a fruit tray.  At 2pm people will most likely have just eaten lunch, so there's no point in spending more money than you have to if people aren't going to be really hungry.  The party we went to yesterday was at 3 and they just had cake and ice cream and it was more than enough for everyone there (but it was a small family-only party).

As for decorations, I love balloons and streamers for kids' parties.  I'm such a traditionalist when it comes to that kind of stuff, which is weird for me.  Since you said you're having a Toy Story party, is it safe to assume you've already gotten the fun plates/cups/favors?  Those are always a hit at kids' birthday parties.

Acrosthec

Also, imbren's suggestion of cheese and crackers is a win.  I would eat a ton of that, but I LOVE cheese. 

oceana919

Here are two homemade salsas and a guacamole recipe that I've made quite often:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Texas-Caviar-I/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chipotle-and-Roasted-Corn-Salsa/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Guacamole/Detail.aspx

They are SUPER easy to make and you can prep/make them the night before. I made all three for our housewarming party the night before and I think it took me about 30 min total.

Danielle284

Thank you.  My sister said making salsa was very time consuming.  I will check them out.

hetshup

Deviled eggs? I love deviled eggs and you can make them ahead of time. Ditto to the salsa, it's easy to throw together the day before and let those flavors meld. I have a kickbutt peach/ habenero salsa recipe somewhere. Lemme look.

breezerb

I like the cheese & crackers and veggie tray route... sounds like a safe bet and not too expensive.  As well, it may be a little different up here in the North but a lot of places here you can get those trays already prepared at the grocery store for a great price.  This may save you time and money?

As for decorations I'm with Acro, ballons and some streamers are easy, colourful and fun.  I know that you should be able to get Toy Story themed stuff at Walmart or any party store.

Good luck and have fun! 

oceana919

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_suggestions-party?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:cc4b803b-7981-4800-a748-71eccd0dce8dPost:7154daa6-37c3-4a98-99f4-091ecd33e2b2">Re: Suggestions for party</a>:
[QUOTE]Thank you.  My sister said making salsa was very time consuming.  I will check them out.
Posted by Danielle284[/QUOTE]

Depends on the salsa. If you're baking down the tomatoes and such for a sauce-like salsa, yeah. The ones I posted are pretty chunky-fresh style, so they're super easy. Just a lot of dicing veggies.

Danielle284

Can you use the food processor on dicing the vegetable's?  I can easily prepare these when Bryland goes to bed Friday night.

catemeg

I make salsa in a food processor or blender occasionally.  Just be sure if you want it chunky to do a little pre-cutting so it doesn't make it into mush.

My all-time favorite salsa recipe is a mango salsa - we make it by hand:

4 vine-ripened tomatoes
1-2 mangos
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
3 limes
Cilantro

Chop up all the tomatoes, mangos, and peppers, cover in lime juice and cilantro and sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Let it sit 20 minutes to 2 days to let the lime juice settle in - it's incredible! 

And I think for a 2-year-old's birthday, a cake and some light snacks are perfect.  If it's at a meal time, perhaps some pizzas or chicken wings, too?

Danielle284

I have never used mangos before.  When you buy them how do you tell if they are fresh?

Danielle284

Sorry I meant ripe.

oceana919

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_suggestions-party?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:cc4b803b-7981-4800-a748-71eccd0dce8dPost:00c9873c-d794-4388-a891-a287289cc40b">Re: Suggestions for party</a>:
[QUOTE]Can you use the food processor on dicing the vegetable's?  I can easily prepare these when Bryland goes to bed Friday night.
Posted by Danielle284[/QUOTE]

I'm sure you could, but I imagine the processor will beat up the produce a bit (make the salsa softer). I handdiced everything and it came out really crisp and tossed well.

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

catemeg

Yeah, exactly what Oceana said.  It will be a bit mushier if you use a food processor.  If you have a really good one and just do it on "pulse", it should cut them without smooshing them, but by hand isn't that hard and doesn't take too long.

Mangos are ripe when they're slightly soft when you squeeze them but not smooshy.  Most of the ones they sell at the grocery store would be ripe.  It adds a great sweetness to the salsa!

Danielle284

It sounds really interesting.  I might just have to have different kinds of salsa.   

catemeg

Even if you don't do it for the party, try it out!  It's delicious, and super healthy (obviously).

Danielle284

We love salsa in our house so we definitely will.  We could eat it plain thats how much we love it.

lindsayrae1986

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_suggestions-party?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:cc4b803b-7981-4800-a748-71eccd0dce8dPost:7154daa6-37c3-4a98-99f4-091ecd33e2b2">Re: Suggestions for party</a>:
[QUOTE]Thank you.  My sister said making salsa was very time consuming.  I will check them out.
Posted by Danielle284[/QUOTE]


my boyfriend is hispanic, and his mom makes salsa in just a few minutes.  she'll boil the peppers and tomatoes (whole) in water until they are cooked, and then blend it with garlic and onion in a blender...  it's fantastic.  i like to chop up cilantro and add it to the mixture when i make it.  it's fast, easy, pretty clean (minimal pans to clean), and fresh.

or, if you have a taco bueno near you, you can buy a big tub of their salsa.  it's very good, pretty authentic, and cheap.  :)

Danielle284

Have any of you ladies grown your own cilantro.  We keep trying but it never seems to work.  Any suggestions?

lindsayrae1986

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_suggestions-party?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:cc4b803b-7981-4800-a748-71eccd0dce8dPost:1ee7a31e-9d17-4c33-b779-79057df8aaaa">Re: Suggestions for party</a>:
[QUOTE]Have any of you ladies grown your own cilantro.  We keep trying but it never seems to work.  Any suggestions?
Posted by Danielle284[/QUOTE]

yes.  i live in oklahoma, and it NEVER does well.  it will grow for a short period of time and then die.  i read up a little bit on it, and cilantro is a picky plant to grow, and tends to die when it gets extremely hot...  and we have100+ degree weather here.  although i love growing my own food and herbs, i've found with cilantro it's best to just buy it at the store because it is so hard to grow. 

if you're wanting to grow herbs, i've found that parsley, oregano, and thyme are vey easy to grow, especially for beginners, and require little maintenance. 

Danielle284

Thank you.  That was extremely helpful.  My sister has the aero grow, and we grow most herbs there.  We kept putting the cilantro in the window for sunlight.  Explains why its dying with the heat.

hetshup

I've grown it, I hate cilantro, FI loves it, the things we do for love. Anywho, it's fickle to start, just make sure you keep it damp, then once it grows it will bolt, so keep an eye on it.

Danielle284

Is it better to plant it and grow it.  My sister would by the plant from sprouts, and replant it.

hetshup

I have the very technical planting style of throwing seeds in dirt and watering them. I personally grow of seeds, but you can always transplant it once it's sprouted.

Danielle284

Ok.  I think we tried with seeds first from the aero garden.  Her husband got ahead of himself and planted before the end of may.  Everything got frozen from the snow, and hailed on.  We had to replant everything.

DanieMarie212

This is still Danielle.  I went to log back into my account and i could not.  I created a new one.

[Deleted User]

I"m a little late posting on party ideas...but I'm going to anyway.

You asked about cake and possibly ice cream?  You might try an ice cream cake for the guests, they're a lot of fun and you can get them several places relatively inexpensive.  This is Bry's 1st birthday, right?  Might I suggest a cupcake for him (piled very high with frosting, of course, it's just not the same giving a one-year old their 1st birthday cake without tons of frosting) - we did this for my nephews 1st birthday and it was a big hit.

It sounds like you want to keep the whole party simple and that's great - try not to get yourself caught in trying to one-up other parents on birthday parties.  One of my friends goes way overboard for each of her kids' birthdays (the last one had a pony ride and a petting zoo), but that's what makes her happy, I guess.

As for the salsa, I don't have any recipes, but I have gotten some salsa "mixes" that I love.  The last one I found was from Tastefully Simple (they do home parties, but from what I understand, you can order online, too) - it seems a little expensive at first, but it actually makes quite a bit.  I experimented with it and discovered that getting a can of "petite diced" tomatoes worked great (don't get the regular diced, they're too big, petite is just right) and you can usually find a store-brand for around 50 cents or so.

Can't wait to see pics of his party, hope it all goes well!

DanieMarie212

I want it completely simple.  Was just at a loss for a kids party.  I don't want to be to grown up. There will be plenty of kids as well.

jeanacorina

I just want to say mango salsa is THE BOMB. Yum yum!