1950's BBQ- How it was put together

This is the placesetting... each guest was seated near a different photo centerpiece

This was the FIRST party that I recieved only one RSVP for and didn't call to verify the others were coming... But everyone showed up... Ladies in their aprons and with a salad or dessert in hand.
I began planning this party about 2 weeks ago. I got the invitations (condiment bottles with the invite written in permenant marker on them) delivered just a week before the party.
I wanted to make some textured green reversible placemats for the party so together with my Young Women on Wednesday night we got them sewn. I had 1950's Diner plates, pint jars for drinking, retro coasters, and white woven fabric tablecloths and matching napkins. For centerpieces I had lots of flowers, metal tin buckets with party favors in them (rolled up BBQ mitts tied with ribbon), some teen novels from the 50's (Bobbsey Twins) and framed photos of actors and actresses from the 50's.
The food was fantastic. Three couples brought salads (two potato and one oriental salad) and three couples brought dessert (cheesecake, pumpkin cake, rootbeer floats, and orange cream bundt cake). We made the hamburgers.
We put together 3 tables and lined them up in the living room. From the ceiling I hung clear Christmas lights (350 lights)zigzagging them across the cieling. Then I hung paper globes from the strands so that they hung over the tables. It all looked so nice. They coordinated nicely with the table decor.
For party favors I bought BBQ oven mitts that coordinated with the colors in the tablecloth and flowers. I rolled them up tightly and tied with a thick ribbon. They were placed in the tin buckets on the table and were part of the centerpieces.

Sneak Peak at the BBQ decor

This is a sneak peak at the decor for the 1950's BBQ coming up in a couple weeks. I'm having a heck of a time figuring out how to get the 'denim placemats' to fit into the whole scheme. It's still a work in progress... I'll keep you posted.
The condiment bottles I found at Michael's- all 3 for $2.00. And the galvanized bucket for $1.00 at Target
These flowers were from Michael's
A Retro BBQ melamine tray

The oven mitts will be party favors.

May Dinner Party 2 weeks away!

this post was written late at night while I was brainstorming and tapping into the little bit of creativity that I have at this moment trying to pin down the theme and accompanying ideas....
Two weeks from this Friday will be our next dinner party. I'm planning a BBQ Dinner. I have invitations planned out and party favors. I don't always do favors, but since this party will be published on a few other blogs I want it to be really fun and creative. I was at Michael's Craft store and they had BBQ condiment plastic bottles. They'd be great as invitatations. I'd just attach the invite as a hanging tag to the bottle. I could also just fill the bottles with mayo, ketchup and mustard and have on the table as condiments as well as decor. Michael's also had really cute BBQ logo (100's of times over and over) OVEN MITTS. So.. they'll be favors. I am going to have to use my white tablecloths and am making denim placemats with frayed edges and a pocket for either a napkin or silverware.

So... as far as tableware. I will not do the typical plasticware, and paper products that you normally associate with a BBQ. This BBQ will be a step above a traditional one. The colors I'm going with are the colors in the mitt which are orange, lime green, brown, black and cream, with small red accents. At Michael's for just over $2.00 were flower arrangements that will make nice centerpieces. I'm not sure what plates I'll use. I may see if I can borrow 20 of them from my church house. No chargers at this meal that would make it too formal. It would look out of sorts with denim placemats. The cups that I want for this party are the glass pint jars for the lemonade. I'm almost wondering if BBQ isn't the right theme for this party. Yes.. we will be eating BBQ hotdogs and hamburgers... but it's a more formal affair. Maybe.... a 1940's County Fair picnic... or a BarnRaising. Earlier today I was instant messaging on Facebook with Fiola, a friend from church, and was bouncing ideas off her. I love being able to talk through parties with her. It seems to help me to talk through parties aloud. I also spoke with my mom about the theme. I may go with the 1950's BBQ... it evokes images of a simpler time .... plus I can dig out a really cute apron! Well... I'm going back and forth on all the details. I'll let you know more details as they unfold.

BBQ Dinner

BBQ Invitation Ideas (from www.party411.com)
Create a bandana invitation; take your invitation and wrap it in a bandana. You can use this theme throughout the day with bandana plates and bandana napkins.

Send each guest a piece of Tupperware with the details of the barbecue shindig inside. Invite each family to make their favorite side dish or dessert (to be placed in the Tupperware) to compliment your culinary creations. (The guests keep the Tupperware as a favor).

Invite your friends by hand-delivering specially made "barbecue bibs" entailing all of the party information. Roll the bibs and tie them with red and white ribbon for a festive look.

Hand-deliver barbecue sauces to your potential guests. There are so many different sauces to choose from that you can probably send everyone a different one. Create a label with party details and stick it around the bottle. Hand deliver or send.

BBQ Decorations
BBQ's often follow a western theme or a summer/patriotic (red, white, and blue) theme. You can find both themes at party stores. Some of the types of decor items for the more western themed BBQ are: cowboy hats, bandanas, western music
For the patriotic theme: flags, glowsticks, sparklers, paper garlands, fans, red, white and blue hats, tiaras, noisemakers and leis for each of your guests!
Set food on top of gingham or red tablecovers.
Since the festivities will most likely take place in the backyard, make sure to hang some lanterns throughout the party using fishing line. Another fun idea is to use festive b-lights in the shape of Western Boots and Cactuses, flamingoes, watermelons, or anything else that will add fun and color to the party.(from party411)

OK, so what BBQ or outdoor party is complete without those pesky flies and ants. While we can all do without the real ones, why not use plastic ones to spread around the tables as confetti or to freeze in your ice cubes. In fact, put them everywhere-on plates, at your entrance, in the beverage containers. It will start to become very funny, providing hours of amusement to many! (from party411)

BBQ Seating Cards
Roll up and ribbon-tie one bandanna for each person as a seating card. Tie off the seating card with their name and table number and you have a party favor, too. Or attach a flashing American flag pin, or a patriotic star LED ring, to the card. Another option is to attach cards to plastic pinwheels and stick them in buckets of sand. (from party411)

BBQ Centerpiece
So many different centerpieces can be created for this type of party. Since the party will be taking place in the heat of summer, set a plastic pail in the middle of each table and fill each one with a variety of different sunglasses. Each person can choose a pair to keep as a party favor!
For a creative centerpiece, use an old-style metal coffeepot, baskets lined with with bandannas to use as a bread basket , some old-style metal coffee cups, and several bottles of fancy barbecue sauce. Just put these all together in the center of the table. Tie off the baskets with helium filled balloons in solid colors or shaped ones.
For another great centerpiece idea, set a utensil holder in the middle of the table holding a variety of grilling tools. Tie a balloon to the tip of each tool to give your centerpiece some height.

BBQ Games
Balloon Popping Contest (from shindigzparty.wordpress.com)
Divide guests into two equal groups. About 25 yards away, place two bags of inflated balloons in colors to match your theme colors. These balloons should be overinflated to make popping easier. At the sound of a ringing bell or whistle, the first two relay contestants, one from each team, run to the bag and remove one balloon. Each must sit on it until it pops. Once the balloon pops, the player runs back to the starting line, and tags the next player in line. The first team to complete the course wins. Not a quiet game…but a guaranteed favorite! This one may sound like it is just for kids, but your party will live on in your guests’ memories forever if you play this game!

Limbo
The young and the young at heart always enjoy the classic beach game of “limbo.” Try using a string of twinkle lights, a strand of sparkly garland, a bamboo pole, a flashlight (lights out), or any item to match your theme for your limbo stick. For a fun variation on the game, make it a little more challenging by adding a “Super Stomach” to guests as they take their turn. Have a couple of oversized shirts, and some fluffy pillows on hand. Get ready for some howling laughter!

Hula Hoopla
Hula hooping isn’t just for kids or 50’s Sock Hops…but it will make grown-ups feel young again! Purchase or borrow a couple of hula-hoops. They are available at discount chains for about $3.99 each. Let guests know that at a specified time there will be a “hula” contest, and encourage them to practice during the party if the mood strikes.
Name Game
Provide each guest with 5 small pieces of paper, and a pencil. Ask them to write down the names of 5 famous people…leaders, movie stars, authors, sports figures, politicians, artists, inventors, scientists, etc. Fold the papers, and put them into a hat. Seat guests in a large circle. Each round is limited to 30 seconds, so have a watch with a second hand available. The first player pulls out a name, and tries to get the person beside them to guess the name. After the name is guessed, the clue giver can continue pulling names out of the hat for the full 30 seconds. Here are the rules: They can talk, but can’t point to items. They can’t spell out the name, but can say the letter the name starts with. They can reference just about anything, but the person’s name. As an example, if the name is “Sammy Sosa”, the clue giver might say…”The guy who had almost as many homeruns as Mark McGuire in the 1998 baseball season.” “He plays for the Chicago Cubs”, etc. Both the clue “giver” and the clue “guesser” get points for as many names as they guess in the 30-second time frame. Have each participant track his/her own points. The turn then passes to the guesser, who now becomes the clue giver, and his/her neighbor becomes the new guesser. This game is a blast to play, and really is not as difficult as these instructions would make it seem! Give it a try!
Other ideas include watermelon seed spitting, decorating chef’s hats or waterballoons! Tell us about your BBQ party ideas.

BBQ Favors (ideas from party411)
Some of the most popular favor ideas for a barbecue party are items that glow. Barbecues begin in the daylight but usually last well into the evening. Everyone loves to walk around the party with a variety of body parts glowing so had out glow jewelry.
Send everyone home with their very own "Kiss the Cook" apron. For a laugh, use paint that won't wash off of clothing and put a child's handprint on each apron.
Plastic pinwheels, plastic foam plane gliders, kites, bubbles, jump ropes, outdoor chalk and water toys are great favors for kids.
Personalized soda bottles, BBQ sauce, BBQ tools or outdoor mugs are all useful and appreciated by adults.

How to start your own Supper club a.k.a. Dinner Group

I had heard about supper clubs, but I wasn't sure what it was. To read more on this subject see my other posts (http://maggiesdinnerdates.blogspot.com/search/label/Dinner%20Groups) Cooking Light Central.com had a great article explaining how to start one, tips for hostesses, and for the themes listed below you can get printable invitations, menu, recipe cards, and place cards. Check it out!!!
A supper club is, in many ways, a glorified potluck dinner. The food is often excellent, the company is entertaining and the work is split evenly between the friends in the club. Although we often consider quickness of food service to be more important than taste or quality, a supper club turns this concept on its head. Time is the least important consideration, while the quality of the food and the friendship is paramount.

Tip Sheet (this is a great resource open it up and check it out!) - Plan an organizational meeting to plan: How many and Who will be in the group? How often will you meet? What day of the week will you meet? Will the club cook together on site? Will it be potluck by couple? Who will host party? Will menus be themed? and many other questions you will need to answer.

Here are basic guidelines to think about....
Step 1 Invite your friends. You may want to include old friends or new friends in your entertaining. It doesn't matter, as long as they enjoy cooking and are passionate about their food. You can select a small group or a big group, depending on the space you have available.
Step 2 Choose a menu. Your supper club may want to concentrate on a specific type of food: Thai food, Italian food, vegetarian food or comfort food. You may choose to vary the menu from time to time.
Step 3 Divide up the cooking. The host of the supper club will usually prepare the main course with the guests bringing side dishes, salads and desserts. More accomplished cooks may choose more complicated dishes, while beginning chefs may choose simpler fare.
Step 4 Set a schedule. Some supper clubs meet every other month, some meet quarterly. You can do whatever works for the members of your group.
Step 5 Take turns visiting each other's homes. Supper clubs usually rotate between the homes of the various members. This way no one is committed to always making the main dish or preparing their home for entertaining guests.
Step 6 Cook, eat and enjoy. The entire purpose of a supper club is to eat good food while spending time with people you like. Take the time to enjoy this delightful style of entertaining.

Themed Parties (you have to check these out!!!)

The Other Side of the Mediterranean (gorgeous invites and placecards)
Southern BBQ (leather looking invites and placecards)
Pan Asian (fun! the menu sheet will be fun to fill)
Homestyle Italian (not my style, but still cute)
The Exotic Flavors of India (beautiful invite and recipe cards)
The World of Japanese Cuisine