party prep

Tomorrow we celebrate my daughter’s 10th birthday with 50 or so friends and family. We have out-of-town houseguests tonight and I don’t do well with last-minute chaos, so most of the food prep had to be done earlier. Our freezer holds 62 frozen burgers and about as many homemade burger buns. Seventy kitty cat-frosted cupcakes sit in the refrigerator. Tomorrow we’ll buy the ice and the ice cream (root beer floats!), make the lemonade, and chill the beer and wine.

Party guests have been invited to bring a dish to share, so I don’t know exactly how the menu will play out. But I look forward to seeing everything come together tomorrow. I’ll follow with photos of the final spread, but as of tonight, this is how it looks:

serving dishes, etc.

kitty cats under wraps

frozen burger buns

I love a big party, so have been trying to throw a few of my own. They’re a chunk of work, but do-able as much of the food prep, paperware shopping, etc. can be started far in advance. There’s always a flurry of last-minute set-up come party day, but I try to call on family for help with those tasks.

Life gets so busy and parties offer a break from that busy-ness: Eat good food. Drink good wine. Laugh with friends. To me, the extra work of host(ess?)ing is worth it as I enjoy bringing people together to eat, drink, and be merry. I’m going on good faith that tomorrow’s birthday party will be loads of fun. And after the guests have gone and the last dish has been washed, I’ll start looking for another opportunity to invite folks over to celebrate.