Celebrations | She Plans Parties

Cucumber Sandwiches

May 2, 2010 By Linette 1 Comment

I have an easy Summer party appetizer or finger food recipe to share with you today. Cucumbers are a cool refreshing taste of summer.

Cucumber sandwiches are super simple to make. They’re great for bridal or baby showers, graduations, a summer garden tea, or backyard cookout.

Cucumber Sandwiches

Mini pumpernickel bread (in the Deli section at most supermarkets)
1-2 cucumbers~ sliced
Dill weed
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1~ 8oz cream cheese (at room temperature)

Mix the Mayonnaise and cream cheese together with a blender until smooth. Spread the cream cheese Mayonnaise mixture on the pumpernickel slices, then top each one with a cucumber and sprinkle with dill on top for garnish and flavor.

Filed Under: Party Recipes, Showers, Summer Entertaining, Uncategorized Tagged With: cucumber sandwiches, recipes, summer party, summer recipes

Cut Some Fresh Flowers For Your Summer Party Decorations

April 30, 2010 By Linette Leave a Comment

Fresh spring an summer flowers make fabulous table centerpieces, and decorations for your outdoor or indoor party. Just walk out in your garden and clip a handful of your favorite blooms, and arrange them in a vase.

A couple more quick flower arranging tips:

1. Use the freshest flowers possible.

2. Clip your flowers early in the morning, late in the evening, or just after a light rain. The flowers will be holding more moisture at these times. The extra moisture will keep them fresh longer.

3. Carry a pitcher of warm water with you as you clip, and put your flowers in it as soon as you cut them. This helps keep the stems open, and helps the plant continue to take up moisture.

4. You can use almost any flower in your arrangements. If you’ve got enough flowers, you might want to do a practice run ahead of time to make sure the flowers you pick will hold up, and to check out what looks good together.

5. Even tiny flowers can be used in small vases, or glass jars to make a cute table display.

You can’t go wrong with cut flowers for a summer party centerpiece. It’s really hard to make a floral arrangement look bad if you include an assortment of different flowers, and plenty of greenery! Just have fun with it!

Filed Under: Decorating, Featured, Summer Entertaining Tagged With: decorating with summer flowers, flowers, fresh flower party decorations, Summer table decorations

Graduation Party Themes

April 30, 2010 By Linette Leave a Comment

Every graduate has their own unique personality. You don’t have to stick to caps and gowns for your graduation party. You can create a party that’s as unique as the graduate themselves.

Here are a couple graduation party themes and some basic ideas to go with them. Over the next couple days we’ll expand on some of these themes, and give you more food, decorating, and cake ideas.

Do you have a music fan? Someone who loves to play the guitar, drums or any other instrument? Plan a music themed graduation party. Use music notes, or cardboard cut out musical instruments to decorate for the party. Music note cupcakes, a keyboard, or guitar shaped cake would also be fun.
Plan a graduation luau, complete with roast pork and grass skirts.
Is the graduate into sports? Either playing a sport, or a spectator, plan their party around their favorite sport or sports team (high school, college or professional). Decorate your party with team colors and memorabilia.
Plan a Mardi Gras theme graduation, use the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold to decorate. Hang brightly colored streamers and and masks for decorations. Let New Orleans influence your menu choices.
Make graduation a red carpet event. Take photographs of the graduate and their friends as they arrive, and let them walk the red carpet, just like the stars. Serve a star shaped cake, or add star sprinkles to your cupcakes.
Does your graduate speak a foreign language? Are they thinking about studying in a different country? If they’re fluent in French or Spanish use those cultures to influence your party decorations and food.

For personalized graduation invitations, cake ideas, graduation postage, banners and more, make sure you check out Graduation Party Ideas and Supplies.

If you have a unique graduation theme party idea please share!

Graduates Image: istockphoto