Food is at the Heart of every Celebration
Depending on how much you enjoy cooking, preparing the food for a celebration can either be a joy or a total nightmare – and often it’s a bit of both! The thing is, parties are supposed to be fun for everyone, including the hosts. Here at Hooray Day, we love to share all kinds of tips, tricks and hacks so that you can make the most of your precious time. We promise that you’ll be able to put on an impressive spread that matches your level of culinary enthusiasm so that you can say Hooray to your special day!
1. Choose options that can be prepared in advance and map out what you can and will prepare days, or even weeks in advance. Things like cake and cupcakes (without icing) can absolutely be frozen and stored for up to a couple of weeks.
2. Pick foods that won’t need too much fussing with on the day. Where possible, things that can be served cold or at room temperature are better. Heating something up might not seem like a big deal, but remember that on the day you’ll be busy doing all sorts of things and won’t want to be stuck in the kitchen.
3. Rally the troops! Think about what prep will be needed on the day and see if you can task family members or friends to take care of those things. Talk to them about what needs to be done in advance so that you don’t have to explain when you’re in a (potentially) frazzled state on the day. Better yet, see if you can outsource some food items to friends and family and get them to make and bring along their speciality!
4. Scales of economy. Keep the number of different menu items to a minimum but make lots of batches of the same things, with slight variations if you like i.e. mini pizzas or quiches with different toppings, sandwiches or sushi with different fillings. Keeping things simple will mean buying fewer ingredients, keep your spread looking neat and also reduce the chance of any kitchen disasters, because you won’t be fiddling around trying to make too many things.
5. Not everything needs to be themed. It’s nice to include a few menu items that match your theme or colour scheme, but even the most basic of supermarket snacks can be dressed up with food picks or served in food cups.
6. If you’re planning to make a couple of fancier items, think about doing a practice run in advance to avoid a nasty Pinterest fail situation right before the celebration.
7. Consider food labels. Of course this depends on the size of your party and your mix of guests, but if you know you’ll have vegetarians, coeliacs or people with allergies, you’ll save yourself repeating the answers to the same questions by popping some labels in front of food plates as needed.
8. Consider the weather when planning your menu – hot days could be dangerous for chocolate and fancy icing etc., cold weather will mean that hot food may turn icy extra fast. Wind can be another issue, especially in the afternoon.
9. Plan in advance what you’ll serve your food on/in and consider whether you need to borrow anything from friends and family. Where possible, actually store the food in the dishes/containers it will be served in to save yourself time on the day. Check that you have enough glad wrap/foil/whatever else you need to store food a couple of days in advance, as you don’t want the hassle of a last minute dash to the supermarket if you’ve run out of something you need.
10. Adults will eat around four or five canape sized pieces of food per hour. Children will eat around three or four. ‘Canape sized’ means equivalent to a piece of sushi, a cracker with cheese or a cookie. If you’re one of those hosts that is terrified of running out of food, stock up on some extra long life snacks, like nuts, popcorn or crackers in sealed bags, or something that can be frozen to minimize food wastage!
A Party Planning Guide and Checklist comes with every Hooray Day Party Kit. It covers the basics from planning your party spread to party games. It’s like having a party planner in your pocket!
