Works for me Wednesday ~Parties!

Something that I have always enjoyed is having parties. Growing up it was common to have the house full of people and I really liked that. As soon as I was on my own I started doing that as well. When I was in college (a very small Bible college) I had fun fixing lunch for everybody once in a while. Then when Ken and I got married we started a tradition of having a bunch of people over for a christian/ family friendly New Year's Eve party every year. We also enjoy having games nights every so often and other parties as well.

I enjoy getting ready for the parties: Planning food, possibly decorations and what to do. I also enjoy seeing a houseful of people having fun. I think many people think Parties are expensive but they don't have to be at all. The basics for a party are something to eat (in case hunger strikes) and something fun to do together. Since we don't drink alcohol or serve it at our parties that certainly helps a lot with cost also I have found that food doesn't have to be expensive for people to enjoy it. A party with homemade cookies, popcorn (which I buy in bulk for very little), and Iced tea or lemonade or even water is enjoyed as much as if I were serving shrimp and caviar! Also for decorations you can often find stuff around your house or yard that will make your place look extra special without having to spend money. The key is to be creative and to not have the mind set that you have to spend money to have fun.

This Friday we are planning on having a 4th of July picnic/party at our house. I thought I would share some of the things that we are having and planning on doing.

• I am planning on setting up tables and chairs outside. I have a blue and white tablecloth, a red and white one and a plain white one so I plan on using those.
• We have a flag but the pole broke so I am planning on handing it horizontally from the deck in a place everybody will see it as they walk over to the food area.
• I think I will pick some of the red, white a blue flowers that I have growing or that are growing wild around here to put in a vase or two.
• We are planning on grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, and making a salad or so and then I also asked others to bring something to share. I discovered that I had some koolaid in my cupboard (something we never drink normally) so I am planning on making that and Iced tea to drink.
• I am hoping to make a fruit arrangement (at way less than how much the would cost to buy!!!) that will be good to eat and to look at.
• For dessert I am planning an ice cream dish with raspberries and juneberries on top to look like a flag. (kind of like the photo here)Or now that I am looking around more, a fruit pizza that looks like a flag would also be yummy! Or maybe a cheese cake. I guess I will have to let you know afterwards what I do.
• I am also thinking about pulling out our luminaries that are painted red and maybe making some more in white and blue and using them. Also all our candles in those colors. I think it would look neat to have them all around the rail of the deck.
• As far as entertainment, I think we might set up croquet and badminton and also people can play regular games.
• I will try to use red, white and blue dishes to serve in as much as possible.
• We also already made and froze, star shaped sugar cookies.
• For paper products we bought just plain white cheap ones but then we stamped them with blue and red stars. (below)

I didn't have regular star stamps but I did have one I had made quite some time ago with leftover rubber from another stamp from stampin' up that I had to assemble and some cardboard. We also used a little cookie cutter as a stamp. (picture below)
Here are some more links to get your creativity going:

• As always Family Fun has a bunch of fun and cute ideas.
• Here are some cute Treat Holders.
• More ideas for recipes, crafts and activities from Disney family.
• A very cute wreath for Independence day.
• A 3-D star to hang for decoration.
• Red, white and blue popcorn.
• A bunch of 4th of July ideas. I liked the one about having a watermelon seed spitting contest.

After supper and games and visiting (also that day we are planning on starting the job of putting new shingles on our roof) we plan on heading to the lake to enjoy the fireworks. We plan on having a pretty busy weekend (including walking in the parade on Sunday after church). What are your plans for the weekend?

And I forgot that it was a themed addition at WFMW this week. So to see a bunch of easy and quicky recipes you can visit Rocks in my Dryer.