Thanksgiving Potlucks & Free Thanksgiving Printables

November 23, 2016 1 Comment A Well Crafted Pantry

I had the pleasure of participating in a pre-Thanksgiving potluck of sorts and share tips for the Ultimate Oregon Thanksgiving on The Simple Kitchen with Missy Maki this past weekend. Check out the two hour show for tips and LOTS of laughs. (I’m sharing tips in hour 1!) It would be a fun listen while you’re prepping your bird this Thanksgiving.

We had a star line up for the Ultimate Oregon Thanksgiving show including Ryan from Aria Gin, Bee from The Spicy Bee, Marlynn from Urban Bliss Life, Melissa from MelissaKaylene.com, Lindsay from Rosemarried, myself, and Missy Maki from The Simple Kitchen and Missy Maki Cooks. We all brought in foods and beverages to sample while speaking about Thanksgiving for two hours! A wonderful time was had by all.

The whole show was full of fantastic tips and really interesting double entendres! We discovered that you really can’t speak about the Thanksgiving meal without some funny double meanings.

Thanksgiving Tips from our Simple Kitchen Show:

There are a TON of tips on the Thanksgiving show, but the ones below are some of my favorite for having a stress-free potluck Thanksgiving:

Organization

Erin from BakeryBingo and Meredith from Martha Chartreuse called in and shared their party planning tips for hosting a holiday Friendsgiving brunch. One of the tips that really hit home was the tip to stay organized with all who are participating online through Google Docs. I also love the many different online potluck planning sites (like Perfect Potluck) for organizing your holiday meal.

Appetizers & Drinks

When people arrive and you are in the kitchen trying to get everything done and on the table hot you will want to have something to occupy your guests time. Absolutely put them to help if you have something to do, but more often or not you just need people out of the way! A batch cocktail and delicious appetizer will help keep guests busy.

Appetizer ideas:

– Lindsey shared details on her Brussels Sprouts and Shallot Dip that sounds (and looks) out of this world delish
– A beautiful charcuterie plate will WOW a crowed and keep everyone coming back for more. The above platter was created by the lovely Melissa of MelissaKaylene.com and it was a show stopper to say the least. Check out her tips on creating your own charcuterie platter.

Drink ideas:

– Batch cocktails are where it is AT for the cocktail hour or dessert beverages. Myself and Ryan from Aria gin shared a few favorites: Gin Old Fashion, Gin Creamy Goodness, and a good ole fashion Gin and Tonic on tap from Aria Gin- Recipes here and I shared my Spiced Pear and Vodka Cocktail
– Wine is a mainstay at our Thanksgiving table. Marlynn from Urban Bliss Life shared her Best Thanksgiving Wines . Check out my Thanksgiving pairing tips as well!

Main Meal:

– Flip your turkey. You don’t want to let the turkey breast get dry!
– MASH your potatoes with a potato masher so that there are still some yummy chunks in there.
– DO NOT stuff your bird with your stuffing. Make the stuffing a delicious side. (This Sourdough Stuffing with Andouille from The Spicy Bee would fit nicely at your Thanksgiving table!)

Desserts:

– Keep it simple with a yummy holiday bark. It is easy to eat and isn’t too filling.
– Go ahead and buy that store made pie crust to save time. It’ll be okay. (Though, if you really want to make your own here are my tips on making the perfect pie crust!)

Free Printable Thanksgiving Potluck Cards

While I am a fan of all food, I am also a fan of hosting a dinner party where everyone can feel comfortable eating and enjoying themselves within their own dietary restrictions. In a potluck situation it can be difficult to know what is in each dish. I don’t know about you, but I do NOT want to pull out an epi pen during Thanksgiving! These free printable Thanksgiving Potluck cards are an easy way for guests to know exactly what they are eating without having to find out and question each person who brought in a dish. Simply had each person a card and pen when they arrive and ask that they label their wonderful contribution for the safety and enjoyment of all attendees!

Listen to the recording of The Simple Kitchen’s Ultimate Oregon Thanksgiving show for more tips on hosting Thanksgiving!

Have a happy, happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween

Kid Friendly FREE Halloween Printables

October 27, 2016 2 Comments Halloween

Halloween this year falls on a Monday. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time on a Monday to do an elaborate meal and then go trick-or-treating. I love the idea of trick-or-treating with a group of friends (safety in numbers and more fun) but couldn’t pull off my normal Halloween shindig and work all day. It got me thinking that I needed some cute, fun, and EASY solutions for making Halloween special and still provide some real food to my kiddos before the candy hunt begins.

These printables make for a fun store-bought (or homemade) party or for a really cool Halloween Day lunch!

Check out the printable’s TV Debut!

Included in the Free Halloween Printables Package:

This post contains affiliate links marked with *.

Monster Tongue Printables—Designed to be cut and taped onto the top of individual snack-sized Pringles* (I got mine at Target)
Monster Tongue Party Circles— Designed to be cut and used as a label for a can of Pringles or label a chip bowl.
Sandwitch Party Circles— Designed to be printed on label paper and used on a sandwich package or to be attached to food picks and stuck in a sandwich
Ghost Juice Water Bottle Labels—Designed to be printed on label paper and used on water bottles
Food Table Tents —Designed to be printed on cardstock, folded, and put where you are displaying food items
Brush Your Fangs Favor Tags—Designed to be printed on cardstock and attached to a toothbrush

Download Your FREE Halloween Printables

Directions:

Monster Tongue Printables—Print in full-color on white cardstock, cut around design, adhere to top of individual snack-sized Pringles* with double -sided tape or glue.
Monster Tongue Party Circles— Print in full-color on white cardstock or label paper*. Cut around design. Adhere to full size cans of Pringles, individual Cans of Pringles, individual bags of chips, or sprinkle on table in front of chip bowl!
Sandwitch Party Circles— Print in full-color on white cardstock or label paper. Cut around design. Adhere to sandwich packaging, sandwich bag, or to food picks that you stick inside the sandwich.
Ghost Juice Water Bottle Labels—Print in full-color on label paper. Cut as per markings on document. Wrap around a water bottle making sure the “100% Guaranteed to Disappear!” side of the label is attached last. It will overlap the first side of the label.
Food Table Tents —Print in full-color on cardstock, cut per markings on the document, fold along white line, and display with food or beverages.
Brush Your Fangs Favor Tags—Print in full-color on cardstock, cut per markings on the document. You can punch holes in the two “fang” marks or use them to guide where you’ll tape the toothbrush. Attach an individually wrapped tooth brush* by placing through the holes or taping to the paper. Because I was using these with just my family I didn’t not get individually wrapped toothbrushes. Because of that I chose to bag my favors in cellophane, but if the toothbrushes are individually wrapped you can really go without the extra bag.

Download Your FREE Halloween Printables

A Well Crafted Party

A Cheeky Mother’s Day Picnic

April 21, 2016 9 Comments A Well Crafted Party

This past week I got to celebrate Mother’s Day with a cheeky Mother’s Day picnic. The really cool thing about being a blogger, especially a blogger that loves celebrations, is that I get the opportunity to celebrate many holidays multiple times. Posting about my Mother’s Day celebrations after the fact will not allow for any one to use any of the fun ideas. The really interesting thing about being a mother is, well, things don’t always go to plan.

I received complimentary paper goods from Cheeky to use in my blog featured events. Additional product was purchased by me because I love it. Designs were inspired by the Cheeky Home product line.

We planned a nice picnic outdoors with wine, cheese, bread, assorted snacks and, of course, chocolate after the kids went to bed and before the sun went down. Everything was ready to go, the blanket sat by the door along with my basket of goodies and my camera. (I’m a blogger after all.) Big kiddo went to bed with no problems. Baby on the other hand hit his witching hour with gusto and did. not. stop. crying.

Once we realized that we lost the light we nearly decided to stop and wait for another day but—after an hour (off and on) of trying to calm a fussy baby— the wine and chocolate was calling our names. In-door picnic it was! Baby hung out with us as we enjoy a little snack and a relaxing glass of wine. There was at least fifteen minutes of pure bliss. And, thanks to Cheeky sending me cute paper goods, I didn’t have to wash a single dish afterwards!

I created some free printable designs to help make the Mother’s Day picnic just a little more special and a lot more “cheeky.” Tongue-in-cheek says and fun little quips cover these free printables that coordinate with the Cheeky paper goods.

Ingredients of a cheeky Mother’s Day picnic:

These ingredients can be mixed and matched to make the perfect picnic for the mom you are celebrating in your life. This picnic was definitely perfect for me!

Cheeky paper plates, napkins, plasticware and cups. The cups were from the recent DesignLoveFest collaboration while the rest was from their party ware. I found the cups in the section of Target with the paper towels and boring paper plates.
Oh Snap! pickles – First time having these and they were AMAZING.
Harvest Snaps Snapea Crisps
Tillamook cheese slices individually wrapped
French Bread
Sparkling Water
Canned Pinot Noir wine (Union Wine Company – an Oregon wine!)
Moonstruck Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Sea Salt (Moonstruck is my favorite chocolate.)
Cutting board and knife
cheeky Mother’s Day free printables
Basket

Nearly all of the items I got were from Target… not because Target sponsored me in any way, but because I shop their weekly.

Included in the Cheeky Mother’s Day printables:

Circle Tags— to affix to gift (Happy Mother’s Day), wine (Wine is better than Whine), Pickle Package (Mom, You’re the Real Dill), Snap Pea Snacks (Ah snap mom, you’re the best!), paper plates (Mom, I’ve got the dishes today), cups (Drinks on me, ma!), and cheese (Call me cheesy, but I love you!).
Bread label — Long label to be cut, wrapped around bread and affixed with tape.
Chocolate Wrapper — Wrapper to be cut out and wrapped around a chocolate bar then affixed by tape.
Wine or Sparkling Water Tags— Tags to be cut out, folded and hung on a bottle of wine or sparkling water

A Well Crafted Party free printables are for personal use only.

Click here for your free Mother’s Day Picnic Printables

And, just in case you were wondering… this is what we looked like at our Mother’s Day picnic. Just a tad tired, hanging with a needy baby and enjoying some wine. It was one of those funny and happy moments in parenthood.

More about Cheeky: Cheeky is a paper goods brand that is committed to fun designs for every day products such as paper plates, plasticware, cups, napkins and travel coffee cups. The coolest thing about Cheeky? And, no, I’m not talking about the awesome partnership with Design Love Fest. The coolest thing about Cheeky is that with each purchase the company donates a meal with the Feeding America Network. Learn more about Cheeky on their website: www.cheekyhome.com and shop for Cheeky at your local Target.

I received complimentary paper goods from Cheeky Home to use in my blog featured events. I also purchased a few Cheeky products that I had been eyeing at Target along with some tasty snacks. The Cheeky products inspired my free printable set of Mother’s Day printables. All opinions, photos and designs are my own. To learn more about my policies visit my policy page. Thanks for reading A Well Crafted Party and supporting the companies that support this blog!

Printables

Thanksgiving Tips from our Simple Kitchen Show:

Organization

Appetizers & Drinks

Free Printable Thanksgiving Potluck Cards

Listen to the recording of The Simple Kitchen’s Ultimate Oregon Thanksgiving show for more tips on hosting Thanksgiving!

Check out the printable’s TV Debut!

Included in the Free Halloween Printables Package:

Directions:

Ingredients of a cheeky Mother’s Day picnic:

Included in the Cheeky Mother’s Day printables:

Click here for your free Mother’s Day Picnic Printables

Have you ever planned a celebration to have to change things up at the last minute? Tell me about it below!