Last week, my sister, Theresa, had a surprise birthday party for my brother-in-law, Jason - who's daughter, Cassidy, also happened to be celebrating a birthday. To make things simple and affordable for everybody, Theresa had a small gathering right at their home with simple appetizers, wine and soda, and she also ordered a couple of pizzas for dinner.
Originally, we were all going to go out to dinner to celebrate, but with a big crowd (including two infants) it would have been an expensive and possibly chaotic ordeal. I loved this idea of keeping things simple and inexpensive, yet still special for the birthday boy and girl.
My sister served two kinds of cheddar cheese with crackers...
...as well as homemade spinach and chive dip, served with tortilla chips.
Theresa also had a bottle of white and a bottle of red on hand, plus some soda and water - something for everyone, but nothing extravagant. I didn't snap a photo of the pizza or cake, because I inhaled them so quickly - but she just ordered a cheese and pepperoni to please everyone's palate, and made a vanilla cake with chocolate chips. The cake alone was cheap and easy to make, but the chocolate chips added a special touch throughout.
Let's just say my brother and niece, with the hardest palates to please, were satiated.
How do you keep things simple and affordable when throwing a party/small gathering?
My friend Kim threw a potluck dinner for NYE. Even though they still put out a few dishes, it was nice to share the time and expense with guests who could each contribute something!
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