Party Planning 101

One of a series in "Lessons of the Proulx Daughters" (LOTPD)

Selecting the Date

The gathering of family and friends for a special occasion is an event that requires planning. In the case of the recent joint graduation party, the planning actually started three years ago when the two mothers (Dolores and Joanne) realized that they would be each have a graduation on the same weekend. Since that weekend was going to be busy, holding the part for the graduates that same weekend did not make sense. As Dolores worked as a teacher, getting some time to prepare for the party before school got out was also factored in, hence the party date was selected to be this past weekend, prime date = Saturday, with an option for Sunday if something came up.

Choosing the Menu

The menu was a combination of family favorites tempered with what had been done recently, what would serve a crowd, what would be easy to prepare and/or heat to serve the day of, and of course, what would compliment the rest of the menu. Some was prepared by the mothers (Proulx daughters), some was prepared by their mother, some was purchased at the local supermarket, some at the local Italian restaurant. A mix of hot and cold foods, with considerations for dietary needs and tastes resulted in the following selection:

Cold foods

Potato salad
Pasta salad
Broccoli slaw
cold sandwich meat (ham, roast beef, turkey, salami)
sandwich cheese slices (provolone, American, Swiss)
variety of sandwich rolls

Hot foods

Spiral ham
Italian sausages & peppers
Swedish meatballs
Boston baked beans
Ziti with broccoli and chicken
Chinese chicken wings
Pizza
Chicken fingers

There was a glorious spread of deserts but the one family favorite that did not make it to the table this time were sticky buns.


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