Imagine a picnic draped in crepe streamers and balloons, with festive checkered table clothes covering the tables, bright red and yellow pails brimming with ice cold chilled drinks, baskets heaping with muffin shaped peanut butter brownies, juicy flavorful burgers with all the fixings that taste as good as they smell, crispy potato chips and heaping veggie pizza irresistible to even the strictest of dieters,  and potato and fruit salads scooped into individual serving cups on a bed of ice just waiting to be eaten. 

Imagine 20 guests, all laughing and smiling, little kids playing, adults chatting it up, and a great big balloon fight that brings them all together.   Now imagine all of that in my 1200 sq. ft. house!

When I imagined what the 9^th annual company picnic for Techie’s business would be,  40 degree temperatures, cold pouring rain, and relentless winds weren’t on the list.  But, that’s what I ended  up with! 

With less than 5 hours to go before show-time, the picnic was moved to my warm and not yet clean house.  I decked the place out picnic style, cleaned the house (i.e. crammed all our crap into closets and drawers and made the beds), and put on my party smile.

Turns out the party was our best ever, which goes to show that you don’t need a ton of money to pull of a great party.  If the food is good and the kids are entertained everyone will have a great time.  For many of our employees it was the first time they had a chance to meet one another or just hang out outside of the office.  

Techie and I had never met most of their families and despite of day of unexpected, and mostly unpleasant suprises, the party was a smash.  Of course the awesome company swag bags we gave our employees didn’t make them hate us either! 

So how’d I pull it off?  Here’s a menu and a list of tips on having a rockin’ company picnic, or family reunion, or even Father’s Day celebration.

Menu:

Burgers & Dogs – Both cost effective and easily jazzed up.  Serve up condiments in bar style garnish holder.  For a festive look and easy clean up serve burgers and dogs in red and yellow hot dogs baskets lined with parchment.

Potato Salad- An easy and fairly inexpensive staple of picnic fare.  Keep the buffet line moving and the cleanup a breeze but scooping out individual servings into pint sized clear disposable plastic cups.  A little garnish adds some sophistication.  Not a tater salad aficionado?  Sally-Lee it like I did.

Peanut Butter Brownies- Add a bag of peanut butter chips to a couple boxes of brownie mix and pour into a muffin pan.  My first batch were hockey bucks.  Make the cake like recipe and fill half way at most. 

Fruit Salad-  Super easy and yummy yummy.  I cut up strawberries, blueberries, green and red seedless grapes, melon balled some watermelon, sliced up a couple of kiwis and tossed it all together with an infused syrup made by mixing a bit of warm water with splenda (just till it’s syrupy and stir well), added a hint of vanilla and some orange zest then drizzled it over the salad.  Garnish with a dollop of whip and a mint leaf.  I had no leftovers…darn.

Make sure you’ve got plenty of drinks.  And if you actually get to picnic make sure to provide sunscreen, bug repellent, and lots of extra water. 

**Tiny Kitchen Tip***

My fab kitchen features a whole 8’ of counter space (if that) so I utilized the sink by filling both basins with ice and nesting the individual potato and fruit salads (in the past of stuck drinks in there).  Be sure to polish it up a bit before you attempt this!

 So what you ask was in the swag bags? 

We had athletic bags (the backpack kind) printed with a collegiate type version of our logo and company name.  Each bag contained three t-shirts and 1 embroidered cap featuring the same design, sunscreen, water, Gatorade, the famed Frisbees, beef jerky, gum, bubbles (for the kiddos), and Burts Bees Lip Balm (the best lip balm on earth). 

After a much too long hiatus from party planning I’m back in the saddle with not one, not two, but three big parties in upcoming months!  Coming very soon to this blog: how to plan a Company Picnic, an unbelievable Spring Themed Surprise Birthday Party, and a Red Carpet Reception.  Of course, as I plan each party you can be sure to see many updates on my creative process as well as photos and maybe even video of the big events. 

Below are photos and party planning tips from the party that rocketed me to fame: Our Luau Themed Wedding (not held in Hawaii)

Our entire budget for the wedding including food was $3000. 

If you’re planning a wedding use the same facility for both the ceremony and the reception to save some dough.

To mask very ugly and carpeted walls we unrolled match stick blinds purchased for $3 each at a Big Lots, removed their hardware and tacked them to the walls.  It instantly gave the room the feeling of being inside Tiki hut. 

To mask a coat rack along the entrance wall we used a green grass table skirt, trimmed down and positioned to look like the edge of a roof.  Gift table and receiving line happened below.

Grass skirts gave an island feel and hid feet and ugly tables at our head table.

I made my own bouquet and cake toppers from artificial flowers.  The artificial flowers were not cheap but withstood July heat and looked beautiful. 

Fabric (purchased on clearance at Wal-Mart) hung across the windows helped set the mood, blocked late evening summer sun, and helped hide unattractive shades.

The best part of having a themed wedding is that it instantly relaxes your guests.   Our guests were asked to wear Hawaiian shirts and flip flops.   The Mr. & Mrs. High Heel wedding was one of kind and our families had a blast.  It was extremely DIY and I will be sure to post more about how I orchestrated, while wearing high heels of course, what people are still calling “the best wedding ever!”  

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have parties to plan and a crown to polish!