Birthday Party Recipes - 5 Tips For The Perfect Princess Party Menu

by: Annette Yen

You're ready... your princess has invited the belles of the ball to the finest Princess Birthday Party of the year. You've purchased decorations, planned a few games and have some lovely take home gifts for your guests. Now it's time to plan the finest menu for your royal princess and her court. Let's make it so fabulous that the girls will remember this day when they're planning their future daughter's parties and one that will make your princess throw her hands around your neck and say, "Oh mom! You're the best ever!"

What follows are 5 tips for you in creating the menu of the decade for your princess birthday party.

1. Keep it simple. The last thing you need on a busy day is for you to be running around like crazy trying to make cherries flambé or tiramisu with crème fraise. However, with a little creative planning, you can make something spectacular and still be able to take photos of the lovely girls eating your birthday dainties. There are SO many recipes available at your fingertips that are not only delicious but easy to make with items you probably have in the house or can pick up in your local grocery store at minimal cost (another key!). One of my favorite recipe sites for quick recipes is http://www.freequickrecipes.com, or you can just punch a name of a recipe into your google search box and hundreds of recipes will pop up. Just keep it simple!

2. Presentation is everything. Think about it, mom. A peanut butter sandwich is nice, but, make that sandwich and cut it with petite cookie cutters into various princessly shapes and you have something spectacular. Even just cutting the sandwiches with a glass into a circle and then cutting the circles in half would work. Display them nicely on a glass plate with some red grapes or flowers and it's no longer just a boring sandwich but a delicacy that's a delight to look at AND eat.

3. Throw the "no sugar" rule out the window. Ok, I'll get hate mail for this one but c'mon mom! Your princess only has the bash of the century once a year, so break the rules a little and provide something sweet to eat. Balance it out with a lower sugar drink and other dainties that aren't sugar laden.

4. Make the drink pink! Pink lemonade, pink Kool-Aid, pink soda... anything pink in a clear plastic cup and you'll be the coolest mom on the block. Float a half of a strawberry in the cup and you may as well get a revolving door to your house. You'll be the hit of the neighborhood!

5. Work with a timeline and schedule for the day of the party. A checklist of what you'll be serving and when you need to pull it out of the freezer or fridge, what goes where, etc., and how long each thing takes will insure that you won't forget any of the details and insure that you won't go to open the fridge for a late night snack after your princess is in dream land and see the strawberries that you meant to put in the royal goblets.

The perfect, stress free Princess party menu is within reach, Mom. Just keep it simple, fancy, tasty and pink! Write out a checklist and you're all set for the finest party menu for your princess and her royal maidens.

About The Author

Annette Yen invites you to her website http://www.iloveprincessparties.com to find everything you need for the perfect princess party! (** Note to Publishers: Affiliates of http://ILovePrincessParties.com may publish this article with their affiliate link for that program.**)

This article was posted on August 29, 2006

Fun Baked Birthday Treats

by: Susanne Myers

The traditional birthday cake isn’t the only yummy option you have when it comes to baked goods for your child’s birthday party. We have come up with some other ideas that are more than just a substitute for a birthday cake. They are creative, delicious and just plain different.

Decorate A Cookie

·Sugar Cookie Dough
·Cookie Cutters
·Wax Paper
·Confectioner’s Sugar
·Water
·Food Coloring
·Assorted candies
·Colored Sugar (different colors)
·Sprinkles

Prepare a batch of your favorite cookie dough, or purchase some refrigerated sugar dough. Roll it out and place it on the wax paper. Let the kids cut out cookies using the cookie cutter, then bake them according to the baking instructions for your dough.

Allow the cookies do cool. Prepare “Glue” by mixing the confectioner’s sugar with water to form a sticky paste. You can add food coloring to turn it into different colors. The kids can paint the cookies with this glue, then add candies sprinkles and colored sugar.

Allow them to dry and either let the kids eat them at the party, or place them in plastic bags so they can take them home after the party.

Magic Wands

·Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough
·Star Cookie Cutter
·Popsicle Stick
·Confectioners’ Sugar
·Hot Water
·Food Coloring

Roll out the sugar cookie dough and cut using a star-shaped cookie cutter; bake according to package instructions.

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, and are still soft to the touch, carefully push a Popsicle stick between any two points of the star. This makes the handle for your wand.

Frost the cookies with glossy icing. To make glossy icing, simply sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Slowly add hot water, while mixing, until it becomes a smooth paste. Add a few drops of food coloring to make extra colorful treats. These wand cookies are somewhat fragile, but they're delicious and a lot of fun to eat!

Dessert Pizza

·Sugar cookie dough, store bought
·8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
·1 cup sugar
·1 teaspoon vanilla
·Fruit slices like banana, strawberries, apples and blueberries
·Greased cookie sheet or pizza pan

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Slice up the dough like you're making cookies.

Press the dough into a pizza pan. You should end up with thin, sweet pizza dough. Bake it for about 8 minutes and cool it on a rack.

Combine the sugar, vanilla and softened cream cheese. Spread it all over you pizza crust.

Top with the fruit slices.

There you have it … Three fun baked treats that not only make a great addition to any birthday party, whether you are serving cake or not. They are also a fun activity for the kids during the party. Give one of these a try at the next child birthday party you throw.

About The Author

Susanne Myers

For tips and ideas to plan the perfect birthday party visit http://www.littlegirlbirthdayparty.com and for more kid-friendly recipes delivered to your inbox every week visit http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/info

This article was posted on August 31, 2006