Okay, the food can be one of the biggest stresses for any party whether it is a shower or a wedding. If you are having the meal catered, make sure to confirm arrangements with the caterer a few days before the shower. Also make sure that you are getting what you paid for. At my mother’s fourth (yes, fourth) wedding, she had ordered the perfect meal, and for $2500 it should have been. When it came time for the meal, the prime rib was undercooked, the Yorkshire pudding overcooked and the mousse was jello instant pudding. Keeping in contact with your caterer and being aware of their schedule will help you avoid this situation. A caterer that is over booked is going to scrimp on some things just to have enough time.
If you are like me, trying to save every penny when I host a party, you will be making the food yourself. Give me $2500 dollars to make a meal and I can guarantee you something that will outdo almost any caterer out there. Maybe I can’t make some of the fancier dishes like squab, but I can make a mean pepper steak or a delicious cordon bleu and countless other entries and desserts that will have guests believing that I went to the finest caterer in town. I try to follow simple recipes that are easy to make and require very little time to do.
If you have some meals that you can make and freeze before hand, try to do them the week before the party. At my own wedding, my mother, a restaurateur for roughly 20 years, did the buffet style meal for the event. It saved a lot of money, and we spent the days before the wedding making cabbage rolls and other items that can be frozen. My aunt, who makes the world`s best lasagne, also whipped up several of those to be frozen before the wedding, and we had a huge spread that took very little time to put out on the day of the wedding.
If your meals are sandwiches and finger foods, you can go and order them from grocery stores, but you can also make most of them the night before. Sandwiches are almost impossible to make the night before, but vegetables can be sliced and soaked in water over night and all your condiments can be placed in fancy containers and stored in the fridge. Also, meals like the lasagne can be made the night before and cooked the day of the shower.
Try to get as much of the prep work done so you don’t have much to do on the morning of, but do not worry if you still have a bit to do on the shower day.
When it comes to battling the food on the day of the shower, the key is to have it all ready the morning of. Veggies, fruit and all other types of finger foods will keep for the entire day as long as they are wrapped and placed in the fridge. Anything that can be cooked slowly in the oven or a Crockpot can be started when you get up, and anything that needs to be boiled can be prepared and waiting in the pots on the stove about an hour before the party. When it comes time for the party, all you will have to do is set out the food, turn on a few burners and complete the finishing touches while the guests are busy playing a self-directed game.
One last point about food is to set out the napkins, cups and plates the morning of the shower so you don’t have to worry about it right before the meal.
Go to Step #9 of The Good Hostess Guide to Surviving a Baby Shower >>
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