Monday, January 29, 2018

Super Bowl Party Food Roundup



With the Super Bowl coming up this week, I wanted to share some of our favorite recipes that we have shared over the years. Below you will find some of our favorite party dishes.  Going through all the posts, I found a few favorites that I need to make again soon!! 



recipe for cheesy broccoli dip











Chicken and Cheese Taquitos, Taquito recipes





Cooking with Kyle multi-topping Homemade Pizza



Sliced Zucchini Pizza Bites with Cheese






How to make party meatballs

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Sunday, January 28, 2018

Unicorn Party Mix

party ideas, unicorn party, party mix, sweet treats

Recently I shared how to host an Unicorn Candy Buffet on a Budget. One of the treats I put on the buffet was Unicorn Party Mix.  I love these types of treats, because they are super easy to make, and can be customized for all sorts of themes and parties.  



I started this party mix with Bugles.  I chose them because they look like Unicorn horns.  I lined a cookie sheet with wax paper, and then arranged the Bugles in a single layer. 


While I was making the party mix, I was also making Unicorn Horn Pretzels.  I had melted a bag of white chocolate chips and divided it between the two snacks. I drizzled the chocolate over the bugles with a spoon.  I tried to get it on as many pieces as I could, some pieces got more than others. Once I added colored mini marshmallows I realized I forgot to take a picture of just the chocolate.  The marshmallows remind me of unicorn "poop". 

unicorn party, sprinkles, marshmallows, party mix

I then added a couple of different kinds of sprinkles and candy.  I had a box of rainbow nerds, so I added some of those. I also added some silver and pink sugar sprinkles.  

unicorn party, unicorn mix, marshmallows, sprinkles, Lucky Charms,

My favorite cereal is Lucky Charms.  While making this party mix, I saw a box of cereal sitting nearby.  I realized that some of the marshmallows were perfect for a unicorn mix.  I added some purple horseshoes, pink hearts, and rainbows. 


Unicorn horns, Party mix, unicorn mix, Unicorn Party

Once you add all the ingredients that you want to add, set it out for your party, or store in a air tight container to use for later.    A word of warning, this stuff is addictive! It is the perfect mix of sweet and salty.  Once you start eating it, it is hard to stop.  

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Saturday, January 27, 2018

Dare to Share #298


It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 
It is time to Dare to Share! 




How was your week?  I ended up subbing several days, and sharing this Unicorn Candy Buffet on a Budget post.  

I am also in the middle of writing another new party post that will be up shortly.  

It is time for this week's party, so Link Up and HAVE FUN!! 

   
   
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Friday, January 26, 2018

Winter Olympics Party

In a couple of weeks the 2018 Winter Olympics will be starting in Pyeongchang, South Korea.  It is the smallest city to host a winter Olympics since Lilliehammer in 1994.  The winter Olympics is usually smaller than the summer, because there are less countries competing. Not all countries participate because many are from tropical parts of the world, and do not have athletes that compete in typical winter sports. 



Olympics, Winter Olympics Table


I love watching the Olympics, both winter and summer, so when I had the chance to prepare for a Winter Olympics themed party, I jumped at the chance.  I am a brand ambassador for Oriental Trading. They do send products for me to review, and use in my posts, but all opinions about the products and Oriental Trading are 100% mine.  

Many of their Olympic (International Games)  products were centered around a flag theme. The tablecloth, tableware, and centerpiece all had flags from around world on them.  Not only are they very colorful, you can have a geography lesson guessing which flag matches the the different countries. 




Olympics, Olympics Table Setting

This tableware works for both the winter and summer Olympics


Olympics, International Games, Centerpieces

The centerpiece was very easy to set up, and I love how colorful it looks in the center of the table.  


Olympics, International Games, Party Ideas,

A couple of years ago, I found small colorful cake plates on clearance at Target for under $3. I brought them out for this party because they were the perfect colors and reminded me of the Olympic cauldron lit by the last torch bearer. 



Olympics Decorations, Photo Booth

A fun decoration was the flag pennant that my son helped me hang across the dining area.  







I also hung up a pack of cardboard flags of different countries participating in these games.  I will be honest, I had to look up a few. These can be used for decorations, or for a guess the country game.  



This winter back drop scene is currently on sale.  It comes in three panels, and if hung all together it is 9 feet across by 6 feet high.  I thought it would be perfect for a photo booth. 




I do not have a wall big enough to hang all three panels so I hung one by the dining room table as well. 





The winter Olympics photo prop pack, has all of the above props in one set.  



Olympics, International Games, Olympic Cauldron

I asked my daughter if she could cut out some flames to make an Olympic cauldron. I was not specific on the size, so what she made was a little on the small side. I added a few of the streamers from the Unicorn Candy Buffet Back Drop to make the flame fit a bit better. I love how it turned out. 



A fun party game idea is to hold your own Olympic games in the yard.  This flag of countries pack came with 72 flags from 15 different countries.  The guests could be divided up into teams, and pick which country they want to represent.   I placed them into two cups on the table so guests could choose a few to take home to cheer on their favorite athletes from around the world. 



I had planned to make a few snacks today, but woke up not feeling well. Instead I kept it simple with "gold" cookies to look like gold medals, and Bugles to look like mini torches.  A ribbon can be added to the gold cookie medals with a box of Fruit by the Foot.  (I still have a few Olympic food ideas which I will share as the games get a bit closer, and I am feeling better.) 




As a party favor, I sat out some gold medals.  They could be used in several ways.  They can be worn in the photo booth,  they could be won at the home Olympic games, or they could just be put in the cute goodie bags below as a party favor.  


Setting up the supplies for this posts, and seeing all of the colorful items has made me even more excited to see the Olympics.  I hope it has you excited too! 

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Monday, January 22, 2018

An Unicorn Candy Buffet on a Budget


Disclosure: This blog uses affiliate links to the products used in this post. 

If you have been on Pinterest or social media in the last few years you may have noticed that candy buffets are quite the trend.  While big elaborate buffets are quite beautiful, they are also pretty expensive.  I am going to share my tips to putting one together on a budget (and with limited space) 

I am a brand ambassador for Oriental Trading  It is a great place to buy party supplies that are inexpensive, and in several different party themes.  They did send some party supplies for me to share in this post, but all opinions of the products are 100% mine.  I have been a fan of theirs for many years, long before I became an ambassador. 


I do not have a lot of space to put a candy buffet where I live.  I had originally wanted to put it near a wall with my rectangle card table.  Unfortunately, that table seems to be MIA at the moment, so I had to change my plans.  We have another area with a makeshift room divider that my daughter likes to use when she is in the the living/dining room. I decided to use that as a backdrop for the buffet.  I decorated it with fringed crepe paper.  What is nice about this technique is you can easily customize it to your theme and color.  I used the colors I had on hand. This location would actually be even better for guests to reach the candy. I love this gold foil tablecloth.  There were some fold marks, but that did not bother me.  You will actually see it again very soon! 




I love these divided trays from Oriental Trading.  They hold a lot of stuff, and I can see using them for all of my parties.  




You can use all sorts of different bowls, jars, and trays for your candy buffet depending on what you are serving.  These glass ice cream bowls that I already had on hand were the perfect size to hold the ice cream flavored jelly beans.  I have found interesting party dishes at the dollar store, on clearance and thrift stores.  Oriental Trading has a nice affordable selection of serving containers as well.   I once found a very large apothecary jar for $10 at the Salvation Army. It was too big to use for this party, but I am sure I will use it for something.  


In this tray, I served Unicorn Horn Pretzels, (recipe posted shortly) Unicorn Horn Suckers from Oriental Trading, and heart suckers from the dollar store. 




The fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls, rainbow pixie sticks and more unicorn horn suckers were all from Oriental Trading. 




I made this glass stemmed jar using items from the dollar store.  I glued a vase to a candlestick using heavy duty glue.  They are quite sturdy and I have used them for many parties.  This one is holding 2 lbs of purple Sixlets from Oriental Trading.   The chocolates were the most expensive candy on the buffet, and they were still under $10. You can choose from many different colors. I chose purple because it is my favorite color,  and one I usually think of when I think of unicorns.   I love the gold scoops that came in packs for three for only a couple of dollars.  The unicorn pick on the side of the jar was going to be used in sprinkled marshmallows, but when I went to make them, it seems the marshmallows had been eaten.  




A couple of years ago, I found several cake stands on clearance at Target for only a couple of dollars each  They have a bit of a bowl shape, so I used my red one to hold the Unicorn Party Mix that I made.  



I am not sure where I got this plastic jar, but it has been quite useful.  When I am not using it to hold rainbow gumballs , it holds my cupcake liners.  


Here is a close up of the Unicorn Horn Pretzels.  You can use whatever chewy candy you want to give the swirl affect to the pretzel.  I used the fruity Tootsie Rolls.  While I used rainbow sprinkles and some pink sparkle sugar, you can decorate them in all sorts of colors and make them as fancy as you like.  They actually taste really good, I may have already eaten a couple of them  



Here is a close up on the Unicorn Horn Suckers.  I love the colorful unicorn card. These would be perfect for Valentines Day.  


I think these Unicorn Horn Bracelets are really cute.  



The other dollar store jar held these large swirl suckers.




While writing this post, I saw pictures of these Valentine Unicorn Bags from Oriental Trading that we made last year.  They would be a great addition to an Unicorn Candy Buffet to hold all the loose candy.   (the purple flower are actually not part of the kit, but added in editing to hide names of the girls who made them) 

I hope I gave you some ideas on how to have an affordable candy buffet on a budget. 

Some additional Unicorn party products you might enjoy. Just click on the photo to find more information.  









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