Hi Moms!
I am thinking about throwing myself a 35th bday party. I want it to be a casual affair that won't cost me a ton of money. Looking for suggestions for food. I am allowing parents to bring children so some food needs to be kid friendly. My husband was thinking about grilling, but I don't want him to spend the whole time over the grill. Ideas?
TIA
Do a pot luck.. chicken nuggets in the oven for the kids, and then other foods that can be in the crock pot..
Build your own fajita bar with a build your own ice cream sundae for dessert. We did the ice cream bar for my daughter's birthday with a ice cream machine rental for the kids and a margarita machine rental for the adults. I had the toppings into separate shakers so no one had to use spoons or hands. The containers I got at Target for $2.50 each. I filled them with crushed oreos, m&ms, jelly beans, nuts, etc... We also had squeeze chocolate, caramel, and strawberry with cans of whipped cream. It was great!
Happy BDay!
Sloppy joes, take out chicken like KFC, grilled Italian sausage that is cooked right before the party and placed in a pan of the grill with marinara sauce and sliced sauted onions and peppers, oven roasted turkey breast (roast it ahead, shred it, place it in a big crockpot or I use my Nesco, and add one stick of butter and one can of beer per breast-you usually need several per large party), or set up a taco bar with all the fixings. I entertain a lot and with a huge family, I usually entertain 25-40 people per gathering. I find the best thing to do is limit what you have to do when the guests are arriving by setting up food tables or stations and asking trusted friends or family to monitor them, e.g. my sister will monitor the "make your own sundae" table, or my neighbor will monitor the salad station. They do not have to clean up or anything, but they do let me know if more ice cream or lettuce is needed. Good luck and happy birthday!
Why don't you make it a potluck and recipe exchange? Instead of gifts, ask people to bring their favorite dish and the recipe. You can supply the drinks (beer, wine, soda, whatever) and dessert--cake, cookies, and ice cream. I love the suggestion to rent an ice cream machine----where were these things when my kids were little?
