| Giving a Children's Party (Ideas and Untested Recipes) |
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By Christine Arpe Gang
Scripps Howard News Service Sherry Bowlen is not one of the party-impaired. Her mind swirls with ways of celebrating all kinds of holidays and birthdays, especially those of her 6-year-old daughter, Erin. "It's not so much doing something spectacular," Bowlen said of her party prowess. "It's how you present it and how you say it." Blue Kool Aid became "sea water" and chicken drummies "chicken of the sea" at her daughter's recent birthday party with a mermaid theme. A huge bowl of Berry Berry Blue Jell-O with gummy candy fish "swimming" in it was as cooling on the 98-degree afternoon as it was colorful. A traditional Rice Krispies treat mixture was pressed into a fish mold and then decorated with gumdrops after it was turned out. "It's sticky, but kids love it," Bowlen said as she readied the platters in her friend's kitchen and the party guests swam in his pool. Even though she had prepared a dinner for 90 at her church the night before and would provide food for a cocktail party right after her daughter's party, Bowlen was unharried as she readied all the fixings with a reporter and photographer at her elbow. She shares party planning ideas for children and adults in classes offered by the continuing education department at the University of Memphis. One of her platters was stacked with sugar cookies cut into starfish shapes. "I read somewhere that mermaids love starfish," Bowlen said. Having no starfish cookie cutter, she traced around an actual starfish to create a template to use for cutting the cookies. "Sugar cookies are great for parties because you can make them into any shape," she said. In one of her favorite books, Garnishing: A Feast for Your Eyes by Francis Talyn Lynch, she got inspiration for the palm tree she surrounded with goldfish crackers as a snack for the kids. "Anybody can do this," she said, and indeed the idea is simple. A trimmed green pepper set on top of a carrot forms the palm tree. The carrot is held in place by a cantaloupe half. On the patio table where the feast was laid, aquamarine net fabric not only simulated ocean waves but was dandy in protecting the platters from flies before the food was served. From the rafters of a gazebo next to the pool, Bowlen hung strips of green crepe paper and colorful stuffed fish purchased inexpensively at an everything-for-a-dollar store, one of her favorite places to shop for party decorations and favors. The children placed their birthday gifts in a wood crate that served as a treasure chest. For the birthday cake, Bowlen let the pros at Sam's Club create a sea-green sheet cake with mermaid decorations. Here's one of the best things about the party menu: With just a few tweaks, it can easily be the foundation of a pirate's party for a boy. Bowlen enjoys coming up with creative party themes. She says the secret is in "how you present it." For summer birthdays, Bowlen suggests breakfast parties in the cooler temperatures of the morning. - For a cowboy breakfast theme she would serve pigs in a poke (pancake-wrapped sausages), galloping grits or grilled spuds (hash browns), bronco berries (a bowl of the season's best) and cowboy hot or cold chocolate milk.
- A kid who is crazy about the family dog might like a puppy party with hot dogs, of course, but also bone-shaped sugar cookies, Chex party mixes served in dog bowls, puppy punch and a cake done in a dog motif. Make a dog house out of a cardboard box and let the kids decorate it with paw-print stamps. Puppy hats or decorated balloons are great favors.
- How about a polka-dot pajama party for girls? Ask guests to bring an oversized white T-shirt to decorate with dots and then sleep in. Cut carrots into rounds and serve with a dip. Make polka-dot pizza with pepperoni slices. And serve M & M cookies and a cake decorated with vanilla wafers. For breakfast, dot up the pancakes with blueberries and serve juice cooled by round ice cubes.
- Another of her cool summer parties is themed around the watermelon. An ice cream bombe is the piece de resistance at this affair. It involves lining a stainless steel bowl with slightly softened lime sherbet, darkened a bit if you like with green food coloring. When it has refrozen, add a layer of lemon sherbet or vanilla ice cream. The center is raspberry sherbet dotted with mini chocolate chips as seeds. Using a Hula-Hoop as a target, set up a seed-spitting contest. And paint the kids' faces with watermelon vines coming out of their ears.
"I tend to go by the season in planning parties," Bowlen said. She's already thinking of ways to create snowballs for her sister's January birthday. Every birthday party needs a cake. The easiest way to handle it is to have a bakery create one incorporating your ideas. But many home bakers get pleasure in creating customized cakes for their children. Some enroll in cake decorating classes to learn how to wield a pastry bag and its various metal tips. But even without special equipment or skills, average bakers can turn out dandy cakes. Betty Crocker's New Cake Decorating book shows how to cut cute cake shapes and decorate them with easy to use and find items. "The book simplifies the whole process of giving a birthday party for a child," said Jennifer Feldman, publisher of the book. She's with IDG Books, which recently purchased MacMillan General Reference USA, publisher of the Betty Crocker book. "Once you decide on a cake, you've got the theme for a party," she said. A fish, perfect for a mermaid party, is easily cut from a 13-by-9-inch cake. The book shows how to use food coloring to tint the icing and how to place the cake on a piece of cardboard decorated to look like the ocean. Other cake shapes illustrated in the book include a guitar, dinosaur, hamburger, bicycle, school bus, ballet slippers, teddy bear, cat, snowman, sailboat, train, monkey and more. Instead of fancy squiggles applied with a pastry tube, most of these cakes rely on strategically placed candies, cookies, tinted coconut and fruit roll-ups to create design details. The book includes recipes for numerous from-scratch cake batters but also makes suggestions for using mixes and canned frostings. "Kids like knowing mom made the cake," Feldman said. "If they can get involved in the process, it's even better." Still not confident? Several Internet businesses provide parties-in-a-package to make themed parties a snap.Birthdayexpress.com, one of the oldest and biggest purveyors of party paraphernalia, has put together more than 100 themed packages. The catalog offers paper goods, party favors, costumes, games, pinatas and ideas for foods and activities. A few of its themes are knights in shining armor, A Bug's Life, a zoo party, Mulan, Cinderella, butterflies, unicorns, Star Wars, Thomas the Train, wild West and Scooby-Doo. The company, founded in 1994, recently announced a search for heart-warming stories detailing how children have taught parents to celebrate life. For every story submitted online at its website (www.birthdayexpress.com), the company will donate a party package to a child in need. It is working with K.I.D.S., Kids in Distressed Situations, a national organization providing clothes, toys, shoes and other products to children who are ill, living in poverty or victims of natural disasters. This year some 300,000 families will turn to birthdayexpress.com to get their party goods. You don't need a lot of new and fancy recipes for kids' parties. As Sherry Bowlen says, a lot depends on how you present foods and what you call them. But here are a few simple recipes from a couple of books featuring recipes for children:
Dogs in a Blanket Source: Cooking with Justin by Justin Miller. Ingredients: 1 loaf frozen bread dough thawed
1 pound package (10) hot dogs
Mustard
Ketchup Preparation: Divide dough into 10 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into 10-by-2-inch rectangles. Place a hot dog lengthwise in each rectangle; about 3/4 inch from end. Spread hot dog with ketchup and/or mustard. Fold dough over to cover three-quarters of each hot dog. Moisten edges with water and press to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet and let dough rise in a warm place about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 16 to 18 minutes until golden brown. Serves: 10
Neato Necklaces Source: Cooking With Justin. Ingredients: 4 pieces (30 inches each) shoestring licorice
1 cup Fruit Loops or similar cereal
3/4 cup round bran cereal
1/2 cup round toasted oat cereal
1-1/2 rolls fruit-flavored Life Savers Preparation: Tie a knot at one end of licorice. Place ingredients in separate bowls. Have each child make a necklace by threading candy and cereal onto licorice. Tie a knot at other end and tie ends together. Serves: 4 necklaces
Apple Smoothie Source: I Made It Myself by Sandra and Heather Nissenberg. Ingredients: 1 cup lowfat milk
3 Tbs. apple juice concentrate
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Dash nutmeg Preparation: Put all ingredients in blender. Cover and blend until smooth.. Serves: 2 smoothies
Rocky Road Pudding Source: I Made It Myself. Ingredients: 1 package. (3.9 ounce) instant chocolate pudding
2 cups lowfat milk
1/4 cup mini marshmallows
2 Tbs. chopped peanuts Preparation: In a large bowl, combine the pudding mix with the milk. Beat until all lumps are gone. Put pudding in refrigerator for 5 minutes. Take it out and mix in the marshmallows and peanuts. Return to fridge until set.
(Christine Arpe Gang is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis.) (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)
RESOURCES :
Garnishing: A Feast For your Eyes
Model: 0895864762
Author: Frances Talyn Lynch
(October 1987)
To order this title from Amazon, click here.
H.P. Books
Cooking with Justin: Recipes for Kids (and Parents) by the World's Youngest Chef
Model: 0836225775
Author: Justin Miller
To order this title from Amazon, click here.
Andrews McMeel Publishing
I Made It Myself: Mud Cups, Pizza Puffs and 100 other Fun and Healthy Recipes for Kids to Make
Model: 047134740X
Author: Sandra and Heather Nissenberg
(May 1998)
To order this title from Amazon, click here.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
New York, NY 10158-0012
Phone: 212-850-6000
Fax: 212-850-6088
Email: infor@wiley.com
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