Generations Of Treasures

Party Party
For the past 10 years I have had 15 plus parties a year. This year I am taking a break. Everything I do is homemade, from the invitations and decorations to the cheesecake and egg rolls. It is a lot of work. Next year all of my girls have milestone birthdays. Monica a teen at 13, Maggie Sweet 16, And Mary Kate 21. I didn't do Easter this year and I am not sure about Thanksgiving and Christmas for 25 plus people. The girls can have a couple of friends for dinner on their birthdays this year, but I am taking a break from my huge theme parties.

When I do parties, I go big! I have had rodeos, carnivals, masquerades, and Make-A-Movie parties complete with scripts and red carpet. My theatre background makes me a drama queen. I will be back to it before you know it, but for now this is Monica's 11th birthday party from last September.

The theme was  Sweet  Shop and as you can see we had goodies galore. The big hit was the chicken strips (which the kids ate all night instead of candy) and I will include the recipe below.

 

We will start with the invites which were hand delivered and easy to make. The card was plain pink card stock with a candy themed scrapbooking paper glued on top. We added a circle of scrapbook paper, a lollipop stick and coordinating ribbon to finish. My husband Michael is an award winning graphic designer, who put together the inside page, which we embellished with cutouts from the sweets paper. If you need an incredible, one-of-a-kind invite, my Michael is your man. Contact me by email and he will do the rest!

The decor was obviously candy themed. I filled dollar store vases and plastic containers from Michael's with  Skittles,  Starburst, M&M's, Orange  Slices, caramel corn, powdered doughnuts, giant Pixie  Stix and lollipops. I also added chocolate covered pretzel sticks, marshmallows, strawberries, cheesecake and sundae style cupcakes. I had giant butterscotch, lollipops and peppermints left over from Maggie's "America's Next Top Model" candy photo shoot (another great party I will blog about later) and hung them from the ceiling and put them around the rooms. I bought pink broadcloth (half price) to cover the tables and topped them with orange plastic runners or added orange plastic skirts (also half price) for some tables. It was windy outside that weekend and the tablecloths did not want to stay on. The solution? Little cellophane bags filled with aqua glass rock "candy" tied with a lime green bow pinned to the corners. The tablecloths didn't move and it brought more of my colors to each table.

In the dining room I hung striped fabric with my colors as a backdrop and used the fabric for pillows outside as well. The banners were made with scrapbook paper, card stock and my husband's printed letters. Bouquets of sparklers and Morning Glory fireworks with coordinating matchboxes decorated the tables outside. I used coordinating scrapbook paper to cover cans both empty and full to make my tablescapes. Don't forget streamers and balloon clusters and chandeliers in all your colors which make a big impact for very little money!

The food was simple and portable. Corn dogs (yes, store bought), homemade chicken strips, and pickle potato salad in adorable custom labeled dollar store paper cups. It is my new favorite way to serve food. You grab a food cup and a condiment cup and you can enjoy while you mingle!

Everyone received a a candy quiz shortly after they arrived. They had to match clues with the name of the appropriate candy, eg. Athos, Porthos, Aramis - Three Musketeers. The kids competed separately from the adults, and honestly did better! We played Marshmallow Head (way too messy!), Skittle Relay, and the best kids game, Remove-All-The-Gummy-Bears-From-Your-Whipped-Cream-Filled-Pie-Pan-Without-Using-Your-Hands game. The adults loved watching it and the kids wanted to play it again and again! The biggest hit of the night was Blindfolded Musical Chairs. Thank you Ellen DeGeneres! We remove most of our furniture from our living room but you still have to have extra people to make sure no one runs into something and hurts themselves. We all laughed at the kids and then all the grown-ups wanted to play. The adults were so funny that we were laughing until we were crying!

 

The evening ended with fireworks. Monica's birthday always comes on Labor Day weekend and the water park a few blocks away has a huge fireworks show. With the pool and our sparklers, we had a blast!

Best Chicken Strips Ever!
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
14 tsp paprika
1 egg
1 cup milk
Oil for frying
2 boneless chicken breasts

Combine flour, salt. peppers and paprika in a medium bowl
In separate bowl whisk together egg and milk
Slice chicken breast into 1 inch strips
Preheat oil in deep fryer or oil in pan to 375 degrees
Dip Chicken strips one or two at a time into egg mixture. Dredge through flour mixture then repeat, coating twice.
When all chicken is breaded chill on a plate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes
When chicken is done resting, drop several pieces into the oil  at a time and fry 5-6 minutes. Repeat until they are all fried.

I make 250 strips at a time by multiplying the recipe. I fry them and freeze them, then pull them out, defrost and fry for about 2 minutes on my party day. They are incredible! Your kids will never eat store or restaurant bought again!