John’s Birthday Party Spread & My Party Must-Haves

We had a huge bash two weekends ago for John’s birthday and I wanted to share the menu!

First things first, party staples. I believe that all good party spreads should have the following:

• Flowers – Pretties up the tablescape and makes any occasion feel really special.
• A cute tablecloth – I custom sewed three for our living room tables but any will do. It adds to the party atmosphere and prevents messes.
• Disposable plates and cutlery – We recycle these so it’s not totally wasteful but I really believe disposables are a party must, who want to do all those dishes otherwise?
• Pickies (my family always called them that) – In addition to real food I think it’s a must to put out stuff like M&Ms, crackers, goldfish, cheese (see below), etc. for folks to graze on.
• A fun, and separate, beverage area (see below) – I like having a variety of cold drinks, apart from the food, for people to choose from.

On to the menu! I made and served the following for John’s birthday party:

• Chocolate Chip Blondies
• Caprese Salad
• Pasta Salad
• Feta Guacamole
• Lavender Mead Arnold Palmer (shown at the bottom)
• Birthday Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (not pictured)

I found those adorable owls on my Pinterest travels and thought they would make adorable labels for the party spread. Why not take on a craft project in addition to all the cooking and baking I did!?

Below is our requisite beverage area stocked with cold water, beer, mead, root beer, a church key, and plenty of cups. Also, see cheese in the background.

What are your party must haves??