By no means do I pretend to be a party planning expert. Make no mistake about that. But I have made a lot of mistakes in the past from which I learned a few things. Over the weekend we are hosting a party and a BBQ. Here are somethings I am trying to ingrain into my head.

  • KISS, Keep it simple stupid. I always think I am a super human and that I can do it all. On Friday as I was making my last run to the store, I seriously considered making homemade lemonade. When I realized that I probably would have to make it in between running the half marathon and all the other last minute prep I have assigned myself (Ready whip on cupcakes, setting out food, testing our infused vodka), I realized that it was a stupid idea. Or at least stupid for this particular party. Did I mention I don’t even like lemonade? This tip could also be called Accept your moments of idiocy and move on.
  • Choose your battles. Yes, I believe in keeping it simple but sometimes that is at direct odds with our whole food, clean eating attitude. I could buy bottled salad dressing but the chemicals really bother me and I know we won’t eat it after the party. So yes, I am going to make two homemade salad dressings. Both are easy and have a few ingredients. Contrast this with my approach to baked beans. Yes, I know I could make my own and it would be healthier, but that is a lot more working than throwing a few ingredients in a jar and shaking.
  • Less is more. Our menu: Burgers/Hot dogs/Chicken Sausages (all easy on and off the grill), Radish Slaw, Salsa, Chips, Fresh Fruit, Chicken Quesadilla dip and Cupcakes. This is a lot of variety but my first impulse is there needs to be more. What about a veggie tray? Potato Salad? Pasta salad? Maybe another appetizer? Though we love fresh veggies, the fruit will be more refreshing.
  • Base your menu on whether you will eat the leftovers. Though I am always determined not to have leftovers, I always do. So this time we kept it to foods we would actually eat after the party. Another reason to nix potato and pasta salad, and focus on fresh fruit.
  • Pick menu items you can prep. With the exception of the grilling, everything on the menu will be made before. This is good because did I mention we are running a half marathon the morning before the party? This is why we are doing salsa and not guacamole. Chicken Quesadilla dip and not Buffalo Chicken dip.
  • Think about ease of grilling. Another lesson learned from the past: Manatee and I threw a party two years ago, also after we ran the Madison half marathon. I decided that veggie shish kebobs would be a great idea! Not so much. On top of that we didn’t have any grilling tools so Manatee was grilling with a saw and pliers. To be honest, I am surprised he still married me. Any idea how hard it is to grill veggie shish kebobs without grilling tools? Yeah. Not so fun. Especially in 80 degree weather after you ran a half marathon.
  • Little touches with lots of flair. We are not grilling anything super exciting so instead I am going to have fun with the condiments. Yes, we will have regular ketchup and mustard, but I am going to whip up some flavored ketchups and mustards. I can do these ahead of time and they will make the meal seem a little more fancy than your average BBQ.
  • Set yourself up to enjoy the party. The goal on Sunday is to put the food out, crack open a beer or try our infused vodka and enjoy our company.

ADDENDUM:

As a side note, the party became even less maintenance when I realized what could have been a fatal mistake: Ready Whip melts. Manatee, an expert on Ready Whip, pointed this out to me. After a pout session (give me a break, I just ran a half marathon and was about to have 50 people at my house!), I took Manatee’s suggestion of a Cupcake Bar. Genius! We put out un-frosted cupcakes, cans of Ready Whip, berries, chocolate chips and sprinkles (I have quite the storage of cookie/cake decorating materials in the pantry). Kids loved it, adults loved it, I loved that it was less work. This will definitely be repeated! And hopefully, we’ll get some pictures next time. 

 

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