tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post6875125869208473813..comments2024-03-28T03:58:48.788-07:00Comments on creative savv: A Few Thoughts about the Reception That We HostedLilihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-14667308576693901782019-06-18T12:59:29.123-07:002019-06-18T12:59:29.123-07:00Hi Alice,
Your plan for your daughter's second...Hi Alice,<br />Your plan for your daughter's second wedding reception sounds solid. Using up the leftover disposable plates, etc will save money and give you a use for those items.<br />Punch and water should be enough. I chose not to do coffee or tea because of all of the extras that you have to have available, such as sugar, artificial sweeteners, cream, non-dairy creamer. The list goes on as everyone likes their coffee or tea differently. If the event's menu had focused less on other foods, then maybe a nice coffee and tea station would be good. But for yours and my events, I think it is just too much extra to think about. If you run short of time for making the ham and turkey buns, you could also set out a sandwich-making station, with a tray of meats and cheese, a couple of types of bread or buns, lettuce, and condiments. We did that last year and it worked well. I chose to make the sandwiches myself this year because it allowed me to control the costs a bit better. I thought having potato salad was a really good thing to go with the sandwiches, as it was filling and sort of completed a plate, but not very expensive. You could also do a simple veggie tray, with baby carrots, grape or cherry tomatoes, and celery sticks, plus dip. In reading around, veggie trays are recommended as an inexpensive food to fill out a buffet. Plus they offer something fresh and low-cal. Doing your own is a way to make veggie trays affordable, and they can be assembled up to 2 days in advance, covered in plastic wrap and kept in the fridge until serving time.<br />Good luck with your plans, Alice!Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-50861233657782770452019-06-18T12:49:04.640-07:002019-06-18T12:49:04.640-07:00Hi YHF,
oh, roasted canned tomatoes would have bee...Hi YHF,<br />oh, roasted canned tomatoes would have been delicious, too. I'll have to try that the next time I roast a bunch of canned tomatoes. Thank you for the suggestion!Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-57181553018835305282019-06-18T12:45:30.144-07:002019-06-18T12:45:30.144-07:00Hi Marybeth,
that's good to know that $100 is ...Hi Marybeth,<br />that's good to know that $100 is about what you and others budget. How did your graduation event come out? It sounds like you had the budget for it all taken care of. Good job! Burrito bowls must have been a big hit -- everyone can find something they want. Hope it all went well!Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-91798274898393618292019-06-18T12:43:19.340-07:002019-06-18T12:43:19.340-07:00Hi live and learn,
If you have a large group and y...Hi live and learn,<br />If you have a large group and you want people to NOT congregate in one spot, having food stations does spread the crowd out a bit. One of the things that I do is set up flat surfaces (lower cabinets, game tables, coffee tables) in rooms other than the dining room or kitchen with some of the foods. I clear everything else off of those surfaces and dedicate them to "buffet-use" for the party. In the past, I've set up food stations in the entry hall (good place for beverages as people come in and candies/mints as they leave), the living room (on the coffee table and end tables with small dishes of snackables), the family room (on the game table and on top of a console), and on a table on the deck just outside of the kitchen so I can keep an eye on things. So there may be places in your house that could host a food station that you haven't thought of, basically anywhere you're comfortable with guests roaming. As you said, though -- no need to worry when you don't have anything you need hosting.Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-14100049118184701522019-06-18T12:37:08.999-07:002019-06-18T12:37:08.999-07:00Hi Kris,
I was in recovery mode for all of last we...Hi Kris,<br />I was in recovery mode for all of last week!<br />You have a couple of years to think through a menu for your son's graduation open house. My best advice is to prepare some of the foods from scratch starting a couple of weeks in advance and freezing, but also find several items are are easy or could be delegated to someone else. It was a lot of work, but in the end very worth it to do something to thank the people that have supported my daughter. Good luck to you!Lilihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13292553654219380455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-19386735611539123952019-06-11T09:48:18.359-07:002019-06-11T09:48:18.359-07:00Hi Lili,
Congratulations on a party well done! I ...Hi Lili,<br /><br />Congratulations on a party well done! I can just imagine how fun that was for your daughter.<br /><br />I think I'm going to attempt doing something similar for my daughter's second wedding reception. She is getting married out of state and so that is the big celebration but they are coming here the next weekend and we want a smaller reception for those who couldn't travel so far.<br /><br />I think I'm going to do ham buns, turkey buns, potato salad (doctored up) and a very plain punch and water. No cake and probably no coffee because it will be in the heat of the summer. I might add the leftover mints from her shower and I think we can use the paper plates, cups and plastic ware that we had leftover from her catered shower back in April! <br /><br />AliceAlicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12660543650879805736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-47054300633439610232019-06-11T00:02:55.676-07:002019-06-11T00:02:55.676-07:00Do you think roasting the canned tomatoes first wo...Do you think roasting the canned tomatoes first would enhance the flavor of a soup or spoil It? Just wondering...everytime canned tomatoes is mentioned I think of your past blog.<br /><br />Congrats to your daughter. You are amazing to do all that preparation and keep under budget. I think you are definitely the one percent who can accomplish this. I'm sure every dish was delicious and well presented. Good thinking about using commercial potato salad as a base, then adding additional ingredients to your liking.<br /><br />Have a good rest,<br /><br />YHFAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-24433345494443937842019-06-10T15:17:54.242-07:002019-06-10T15:17:54.242-07:00When we have a party like this we budget $100 also...When we have a party like this we budget $100 also. I know a 6 foot hero by me goes for $100 and comes with potato salad so the fact that I can do everything for that price is great. I shop sales like crazy to make sure I keep costs low. I won gift cards to a local supermarket in May so we decided that I would use some of those instead of doing a separate budget. I have almost everything I need. My youngest is graduating in 2 weeks from high school. We are doing make your own burrito bowls. So many people have diet issues (3 in my house alone) that these work perfectly for us. I will need to get lettuce and tomatoes a few days before. Otherwise I have everything. Making Cents Of It Allhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09121344770577065537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-73253778036862814132019-06-10T14:09:19.908-07:002019-06-10T14:09:19.908-07:00And this is why you are so good at what you do. Yo...And this is why you are so good at what you do. You write down what you learned even when you're exhausted. The reception sounds very nice and I'm sure everyone enjoyed it. It was a nice way to celebrate your daughter's achievement.<br /><br />I'm trying to figure out if I could do stations around the house with the food like you did. Maybe, but I'm not sure especially since we made our dining room into our office. But we don't have any big events coming up, so no need to worry now.Live and Learnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13493777474885053903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4055690688282230469.post-16739764320560386172019-06-10T12:36:07.231-07:002019-06-10T12:36:07.231-07:00I'm surprised you took time to write this toda...I'm surprised you took time to write this today--I'd be in recovery mode! It sounds like a great party and a wonderful way to honor your daughter's achievement. I will have my son's graduation open house in a couple of years so I'm gleaning ideas from people like you. BTW, I think $100 for 30 people is an amazingly low cost for the amount of food you served. Krisnoreply@blogger.com