Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Life's a picnic

This is a little brag post. I'm riding high after a job well done for Mini Me's christening picnic we held on Sunday.

If only I could control the weather, it would've been perfect. A little too hot for my liking.

But everything else was exactly like I imagined it. Nicely presented food. Lots of tasty food. Full bellies. A game of footy for the boys. Playground for the kids. Wine for the ladies. Shade and blankets to lounge on. Perfect.

What's the recipe for this successful little party? Well here you go.


Location:
Lake Monger - at the Dodd Street playground area - lots of picnic tables under the shade. a couple of BBQs. A playground for kids. A body of water to cool the temperature a bit. Plus there's wildlife for the kids to look at. It's the perfect family destination.

Food:
Picnics are easy to share the load. So I got a few people to make salads and Nonna made a meatloaf. I ordered a heap of sausages from Classic Meats in Osborne Park, who see the meat wholesale. A catering friend always buys his meat from here for events.

While those were sizzling away, we nibbled on mini ham and cheese tarts, mini beetroot and goats cheese tarts and mini picnic loaves. All easily made the day before, especially since the loaves - one vegetarian, one with salami - need to refrigerate overnight to develop the flavours.

Then for dessert we had jam donuts and chocolate cupcakes - thank you Woolies.

Little touches
For any event, it's the small things.

Vegetarian options and veggie sausages for my veggo sister. That is actually a big thing for my very Italian family who can not understand a meal that does not include meat in some way. Seriously. My Nonna asked if she could serve chicken.

The vegetarian options were also easy to identify. For the vegetarian rolls I wrapped them in green paper. While the salami ones had twine wrapped around them.

This I was particularly proud of. Rather than have people grab multiple things, I hole punched the plastic plates, wrapped a napkin around the fork and knife, and tied it to the plate. You only have to grab one thing. And I even brought bigger plates to fit all of the tasty food.

Then there's things like nice trays to serve the food on, sunscreen, individual umbrellas for shade, various drink options, games to play and music for atmosphere. It's the small things that can help make a day.

Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with how it all turned out. Parties really can be a walk in the park with very little planning and effort.

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