Celebrate Birthdays with a Countdown

 

Four rounds of “Happy birthday,” not counting extended family and friends, gets to be a lot.  And as we know, kid birthday parties are no longer cake, balloons, and pin the tail on the donkey.  At minimum, there’s got to be a professionally decorated cake illustrating the birthday kid’s most current hobby, an amazing, life-changing experience for the gaggle of guests, a mountain of gifts, or for the more socially conscious, an admirable suggestion to donate the money that would’ve been spent on Barbies and Mario to a child-focused non-profit, and a professional photographer to document it all for posterity. Or at least for Facebook.  Happy birthday, kid.

So… it was too much for me. I’ll admit, I had to tap out of the birthday hoohah.  I was at a kid birthday party awhile ago and realized that with all the going’s on, the guests and the kid-host barely even interacted. My children have received birthday invites from kids in their extra-curricular activities that they could barely pick out of a little kid line-up.  And, then, I was stressing myself out buying a gift for a kid I didn’t even know.  I decided to scale back.

We didn’t do birthday parties last year. As the big day approached, each kid picked out something they wanted to do – whether it was have a few (a few!) friends over for pizza and cake or try out rock-climbing with the family – and that’s what we did. This year, my daughter suggested a countdown, like the Advent activities leading up to Christmas.  Why couldn’t we do that she asked?  And a new birthday activity was born.

Each week before my kids’ birthdays, I’ve filled eight decorated bags with small gifts and each day, let them pick one to open.  The gifts have included all kinds of things the kids would like, varying in price and “wow” - a pack of sidewalk chalk, a bottle of nail polish, a box of Legos, a basketball design inkpen, phone case, a watch.  The gifts have come from me and my husband, as well as from their siblings.  Half the excited is the surprise of finding out what’s in the bag.  And you know what? Unlike when they’ve got a mountain of gifts in front of them to open in front of all of their friends, in a frenzy to open the next gift, they get time to select their gift bag, open it and enjoy what’s inside.

On their actual birthday, there is one more gift, and of course, a cake (what’s a birthday without cake.)  It’s been a fun way to extend the birthday excitement, without making it over the top, uncontrollable.  For a week, the birthday kid is the center of attention and celebration.  Happy birthday!

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Dinner & Mayhem with Friends

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We have a book club. We get together for coffee. We’ve done game night, moms’ night out, matinee movies.  For a change of pace, I recently invited my friends for dinner at a winery.  We got all dressed up – casual dresses, floor-length gowns, smart suits – chatted over a pasta dinner and wine.  As dessert was being served, we were told that – oh, my! – someone had been killed and someone in the room had done it.  We looked around suspiciously, wondering which one was capable and had the motive to kill a man in cold blood. You think you know your friends…

Christine's smile looks a bit guilty, doesn't it?

And when you find 11 who say “yes, a murder mystery dinner sounds like it’ll be fun,” you know you’ve got a good group.

With all my crime solving expertise from watching CSI, SVU, Law & Order, Snapped! and Alfred Hitchcock, hosting a mystery dinner was an obvious party option.  With the help of Shot in the Dark Mysteries I planned an evening with the theme “Murder in the Winery” for a dozen guests (myself included).  This online mystery game company personalizes the various aspects of the party for you – co-ed, all girls, all guys, number of guests, theme – Murder in the Spa, roaring 20’s, Mardi Gras, tropical, for instance. For those who like the darker side, they have witches and vampires themes.  Each theme has costuming and decorating suggestions, too.  And it’s not just for the adults – they are planning kid-friendly themed party packages to be revealed in the next couple of months.

Before the party, I downloaded all of my materials from the site and was amazed by all the stuff. There was a hostess guide with everything you’d ever need to know about hosting a murder mystery dinner and character information that I distributed beforehand to all the guests.  Since we were in a winery, wine labels were also included.  All that was left to do was cook the spaghetti and solve the murder.

There was no script or prescribed format of questioning and revealing information; one of my friends thought this was a plus over another mystery party that she went to, making it more spontaneous.  We had to mingle, chat, and figure out who to ask what.  Each character has information they will share willingly and other information that you have to dig for, but like in real life, you don’t know what to ask them to get that information because you don’t know what the information is.  The funny thing about this – the next day, one of my friends said, “I was thinking about it – I should’ve asked this person this question – then I would’ve figured it out!”  20/20 hindsight, right?

This was definitely a unique get-together for us and we had a lot of fun.  Even my family was excited, my kids peeked from the steps, waiting to see which of my friends was guilty.

So the next time you and your friends are trying to come up with a reason to get together, stop by Shot in the Dark Mysteries and then invite them over for a little dinner and mayhem.

So I glad I survived!

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We received a complimentary party package for this blogpost; all opinions are my own; thanks to Leigh for a fun event!

Our Holiday Party: Cookies & Hot Chocolate

If you’re a procrastinator who loves Christmas - how do you make sure your Christmas decorations get up before Dec. 24?  Host a holiday party.  For us, that means our annual cookie exchange.

As always, we ate way more cookies than any person – child or adult – should at one sitting.  Probably more than anyone should eat in a week.  But I’m pretty sure that calories consumed amongst friends are good for you.

Chocolate definitely was the – unintentional – theme this year. 

• chocolate chip - an annual favorite, one family always brings these and no-one else bothers to even try to make chocolate chip
• chocolate wafers – perfect to go with coffee, if there were any left
• chocolate covered marshmallows – okay, not really a “cookie” but who’s going to argue when “chocolate” and “marshmallow” are in the name
• cheesecake bars
• shortbread cookies with pecans, chocolate dipped and plain – these were our contribution
• brownies

Cookies packed up ready to share

Since it was freezing cold on the day of the party (I was actually nervous we’d have to cancel for snow), I made hot chocolate in the crockpot.  Of course, I saw the idea on Pinterest and thought “genius!”  Hot, unburned, creamy chocolate. 

Turn the crockpot on, let it heat a little bit. Pour in the can of condensed milk, sprinkle in the melting chocolate.  The kind I used was in little slivers.  Mix until melted together, it’ll be dark and thick. Add a teaspoon of vanilla.  Pour in milk, about a half gallon.  Mix.  Let heat.  Taste, adjust to your preferences.

Hot chocolate fixin's

For a bit of added fun, we had a fix-ins tray for the hot chocolate: marshmallows, mint chocolate chips, chocolate chips.  Kahlua and peppermint schnapps was an adult option.   

As you know, when hosting an event at your home, there’s a lot of prep from getting the food on the table to  putting clean towels in the bathroom.  Usually, when we have a family party, I call out tasks as a kid happens to wander through the kitchen. Not such an efficient plan. This year, I wrote the tasks that needed to be done on cards - clean the bathroom, make table cards for cookies, set out cookie trays, put candy in bowls, set-up plates & silverware.  The kids then picked out their cards and went about getting their tasks done. They seemed to not only like being useful, but took some ownership in their jobs.

My daughter used scrapbookbook paper to make blank table cards for the cookies (guests filled them in when they arrived).  The kids taped together 3 candy canes to make the card holders.

As the children have grown (we’ve lost count how many years we’ve been doing this but there were some kids who didn’t even exist when we started), it’s been harder to find a date that fits perfectly for everyone. We usually have families rolling in before or after a basketball tournament, soccer game, chorus performance, birthday party, or something.  This year, to make it easier, I decided that we would just order food, cooking a few sides, so that we could concentrate our kitchen time on the star of the party. It also made transport of food easier in a busy schedule.

As always, we had a great time.  But with cookies and friends, how could you go wrong?

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Sparkle for the Holidays

It's the sparkliest time of the year.  Yes, that's been scientifically proven.  Between Christmas decorations, Hanukah candles, and holiday parties, there are more candles and twinkling during the month of December than any other time of the year.  And when you go out to for your holiday shindig - whether the office party, the charity gala, or even the neighborhood spiced cider get together - why not be part of that sparkle?

In my small arsenal, two of my favorite things for party glitzing is a super sparkly, multi-chain necklace a friend of mine convinced me to buy (oh, the arm twisting!) and a pair of high-heel red shoes.  (Side note - every girl should own a great pair of red shoes, right?  I'm sure that's in the girly handbook.)

For more ideas for all your holiday parties to come, I turned to my friend Robyn, owner and designer of SydneyAustin Designs, hand-made custom jewelry.  

How to Accessorize for Your Holiday Parties

Scene: Formal Holiday Dinner Party

Go for Old Hollywood glamour! Think Great Gatsby! Anything that sparkles. Try a pair of long crystal or rhinestone earrings, jeweled headband or perhaps strands of pearls accented with a big sparkly brooch. Here is your opportunity to wear that statement necklace that you bought and you had no idea where/when you would wear it, but it was on sale and everyone has a statement necklace. 

Scene: Holiday Cocktails/Appetizers Party 

One statement/conversation piece will do here. A big chunky cocktail ring, colorful festive dangle earrings or rhinestone bangle bracelet. 

Scene:  Secret Santa/Ornament Exchange Holiday Luncheon

More casual but still festive. A pretty pair of gemstone hoop earrings. Try a rhinestone barrette in your hair. Several gold chain necklaces of various lengths with a great pendant. Lastly, add a crystal brooch to jazz up a plain blazer or cardigan. 

  

Where to buy Holiday Jewelry

1. SydneyAustin Designs on Etsy

2. Bauble Bar - online retailer with great statement necklaces

3. Charming Charlie - lots of jewelry at a reasonable price

4. DIY - make your own holiday jewelry. There are lots of tutorials on Pinterest and YouTube! 

Have fun!! Robyn 

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Cookies Cookies Cookies!

I've gained about 10 pounds since Friday.  That's just an estimate since I'm scared to actually step onto the scale.  Where did this extra poundage come from?  Cookies!  Cookies with nuts, cookies with chocolate chips, cookies with lemon, cookies dipped in chocolate.  Lots of cookies.

 

We held our annual Cookie Exchange party this past Friday.  We started the tradition a few years ago (I've lost count how many years) as an alternative to exchanging gifts with all of our children's friends, especially when the number of children in our core playgroup began to grow each year.  Now, each December, we gather our families together for a fun evening of fellowship and dinner, and at the end of the evening, everyone goes home with enough cookies to last until Christmas (hopefully, they will last that long).

 

Here's our simple recipe for a fun evening.

• Everyone bring cookies to share for the evening and a batch per family to take home.  Feel free to define "batch" as needed based on your time available, amount of butter and sugar you have, and number of families attending.
• Label cookies that have nuts for those who are allergic or don't like nuts.
• Bring an easy potluck dish for dinner. 

And what's cookies without milk?  This year, I served a tasty Brandy Milk Punch to go along with our dessert.  I've had this in it's hometown of New Orleans for brunch and figured it would be just as perfect in the evening.  It's similar to eggnog, but lighter and depending on the recipe, does not have an egg.  And although its called "brandy" milk punch, my recipe called for bourbon.  (Are they the same?  I don't know, but it was delicious anyway).  I couldn't find the one I used online, but here's Emeril's version.

• Emeril's Brandy Milk Punch (from FoodNetwork.com)
• 2 ounces brandy
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• 3 ice cubes
• Cracked ice
• Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

In a cocktail shaker, combine the brandy, milk, and sugar with 3 ice cubes, and shake until frothy, about 1 minute. Strain into a double-old fashioned glass with cracked ice. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and serve.

The sweetness of family and friends!

In our hectic world, it's a pleasure to gather with friends for a joyous occasion.  As our kids have grown and moved to different schools, the kids don't get to hang out as much.  During our holiday exchange, the kid's get a chance to catch up, be amazed at how tall their friend's have grown, talk about school and sports, and of course, eat cookies.

 

During this holiday season, be sure to take a break from the busyness of gift buying, decorating, cleaning, sending cards, being frazzled with it all, and enjoy the spirit of your celebration, the love of family, and the preciousness of your loved ones.  God bless us all.

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