UncategorizedDay 5: Menu and Food Display July 6, 2012Well, we’ve come to the last day! It feels like this series has taken a bit longer than five days since I’ve had to take a couple quick breaks. I’m excited to be sharing this last party post with you guys. Today we’re talking about choosing the menu and creative ways to display your food. I think this is one thing that often gets overlooked. You can choose the perfect theme and carry it out wonderfully through party decor, but if the menu chocies don’t feel like a fit, then it all falls short. So, when choosing the menu, consider the rest of the party. What goes along with it? At our Memorial Day party, we were going for sort of a patriotic country picnic. Our menu fit what we were going for, I think. Memorial Day Menu: Smoked Chicken Deviled Eggs Potato Salad Baked Beans (my mom has a special recipe on these and they are awesome!) Fruit Salad My Grandmother’s Banana Pudding Homemade Peach and Strawberry Ice Cream Doesn’t that say country picnic? It was delicious to, which always helps. My parents and grandparents sure can cook! For the nautical party, we went with a low-country boil. Nautical Party Menu: Low-country boil: shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes Fruit Salad Celery and Pimiento Cheese Birthday Cake I think this menu really fit the nautical party theme! Hopefully, these menus not only fit the theme, but contribute to it instead of taking away. So, best advice for choosing the menu items: consider the theme and balance that with the likes/dislikes of the guests of guest of honor. Anytime you can include a guest of honor’s favorite, you’re golden! As for displaying food, putting some thought into how it’s served is always a good idea instead of just lining it up on a table in bowls. For the Memorial Day party, we used some old crates to lift some of the food to different heights and add some dimension to the table. With the chalkboard hanging above and the lanterns, we tried to make the food table more of a themed moment than just a buffet line. For the Nautical party, we served the low-country boil in buckets instead of bowls. To us, this felt like a better fit. Very simple, but some thought was put behind it.v That’s really the key…just understanding that the menu and how you display the food is a huge piece of the party. A party with not just a theme and good decoration, but one with a killer menu that makes sense will always be the most fun and memorable. I mean, who doesn’t love food? Isn’t it the best part? Let’s not neglect it! Thanks for hanging with me through this series. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
Ashley says July 6, 2012 at 11:07 am Great series on party planning, sister! I love how you presented it all. Reply
Kelly - Talk of the House says July 7, 2012 at 7:54 am Very nice ending to your well thought out series. We are SUCH big eaters around here that once we settle on the theme, the next thing we do is figure out the food! ha ha. Was that TWO different flavors of icecream or one with a combo of fruit? If it is the combo, that sounds delicious and I have never had that. In fact, all of your food sounded delicious – and very fitting of their occasions. I just wanted to let you know that I presented you a Liebster award on my blog (and featured your party series) yesterday. Susan from A Vintage Farmwife presented it to me, and it is my pleasure to pass it on to you. Liebster is a German word that means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing. I think you and your blog are all of these! Reply