Cooking Class Birthday Party!!!

I survived another birthday party. I should have a t-shirt printed up with that on it. It's like a badge of honour in motherhood! 

We hemmed and hawed on a theme for this year's eighth birthday. After getting away with a quiet family party last year, little girl was ready to whoop it up with the girlfriends and get her party on. I mustered up all the excitement I possibly could and searched around to see what it would cost to have this big event SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN MY HOUSE.  

That search lasted all of five minutes as I quickly realized that I'd have to shell out more moo-la than I was willing to part with. It was after I hung up the phone with the nice lady from our local grocery store who informed me that to have a cooking class party at their lovely establishment, it would be $18 a head and require at least 12 heads. To which I firmly decided right then and there, I do it myself!!!! 

Which is how I came to be wandering up and down the aisles of Michaels, Winners and searching Pinterest for inspiration. 

I suggested to little girl that we could come up with the menu she'd like - maybe an Italian theme with pasta? A Mexican theme with tacos? Perhaps make your own pizza? She responded with-  

Hotdogs.

Really? Really? Whatevs. It's her day, not mine. 

The menu:

• Cupcakes and homemade chocolate frosting
• Pigs in a blanket (hotdogs rolled up in crescent rolls, with or without a cheese slice)
• Fruit Kabobs
• Caesar Salad
• Pink Lemonade

I still managed not to have this blessed event at my house. We had it at our church. It was perfect because we have a nice, new kitchen over there and plenty of space in the basement. I could set up table stations which kept things going smoothly. 

Station 1 was the craft table. Everyone got a plain apron and access to cloth markers for decoration. After all the boy parties I've done, I forgot how different girls are in this area. Boys would have slapped something on in about 5 minutes and started to look around for the food. Or start punching each other. Instead, the girls were still carefully and intensively decorating 20 minutes later. I had to encourage them to get a move on - we need to get those cupcakes in the oven!! 

After their aprons were just perfect, we moved over to Station 2. This was our cooking table! After everyone took a turn adding to the batter and mixing, they put the batter into muffin tins and made a complete mess doing it. 

Next up was making the fruit kabobs. They liked to pick the fruit they liked for their kabob. I was glad I did it this way as opposed to fruit salad where they'd end up picking out what they don't want. Less waste this way.

This would be where I missed my mother's presence the most. I turned around and there was a sink full of dirty dishes and I needed some of them! Mom just knows what needs to be done without me asking. Now after all these years of throwing parties with her help, I'm reminded of all she does! 
*not to make it sound ominous but my mother is fine. She just couldn't come from Wisconsin this time for reasons beyond her control.

Will was my new helper. He helped in a different way! As I frantically cleaned the dishes I needed for the next task, he took the group on a scavenger hunt he had made up. What a guy! (I bought him a Starbucks latte as a perk!) 

Next was making the Caesar salad. I divided up the tasks to include tearing the lettuce leaves, crumbling the bacon and seasoning the bread cubes for croutons. We assembled the salad right before we ate. 

Will took them all again on some mysterious game he made up that may not have made much sense but everyone seemed to enjoy. By the time they returned, I was ready to show them how to make the pigs in a blanket. 

Zanna was on to something with this one. It was so easy to make and the girls really seemed to enjoy making them and eating them. Sure hotdogs are gross and no one is sure exactly what's in them, but that didn't stop anyone from devouring them! 

Station 3 was the eating table and I had that one all set and decorated. We were starting to run out of time so I ended up going ahead and making the frosting. Then after they finished eating their dinner they frosted their cupcakes. They each got two - one to eat right away and one to take. I had found these plastic cupcake shaped holders in different colours on the clearance shelf at Winners and they worked out great for this! Zanna opened her presents while her guests ate their cupcakes and then it was time to go! 

I think she had a good time -