Back to School Party

It was a semi-last minute idea, but I decided to have a small Back to School party for Nick.  I quickly fired off an email to a few friends before I could change my mind and start to worry about all the boxes still left to unpack.  Considering we only moved three weeks ago, I think the house is in pretty good shape … and what better way to kick it into high gear than to entertain?

While making an effort to keep the shindig small, I also wanted to keep it simple.  There are still kitchen items I have yet to uncover, so I didn’t want to go crazy with an all-out affair.  Definitely not ready for that yet.  The first thing decided was dessert (but of course!).  After all, if I think Rainbow Cake is the perfect way to end the school year, it stands to reason that it’s the perfect way to begin it as well, no?  (Hence the pretty stack of dirty dishes in last night’s photo round-up)  To both serve as an activity and make sure the kids had something fun to eat, I went with make-your-own pizzas for dinner.  Menu aside, I think the biggest surprise for everyone was the fact that I don’t have a rolling pin.  No, it’s not lost.  Not still in an unpacked box.  Just.don’t.have.one.  When it comes to kitchen things, I don’t like having a lot of extra things in terms of tools, gadgets, machines and what-not.  The main uses for a rolling pin (aside from the need for it last night with the pizza dough) is for making bread and rolling out cookie dough for cut-out cookies, neither of which I really do.  A plastic cylindrical cup did the trick nicely for the pizza dough and was really easy for the kids to handle. A little tomato sauce, heaps of mozzarella and a smattering of mini pieces of pepperoni and into the oven it went.  For the grown-ups, I made a version with pesto and fresh mozzarella from the farmer’s market.  By the end of the night, every last speck was gone.  My kind of clean-up!

I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that tomorrow Nick is heading off to the second grade.  Where the heck did time go?  I still remember when he took his first steps… it’s like the first picture of Madeline from last night’s post – all the sudden she doesn’t look like a baby anymore.  They’re both growing up too fast!  Someone actually asked me today when she is going to go to school – ack!  I am all for savoring every little bit of their childhood as long as I possibly can.

These days, with everyone being more and more conscience of spending money, this Back to School party is the perfect way to entertain.  Very easy, fun, ideal for the celebration and affordable.  All told, between using what I had on hand, combined with a few simple things from the store, we fed four adults and 5 kids for under ten bucks.  The kids had fun, the grown-ups got adult conversation and it was the perfect way to kick-off the new school year.  Priceless.

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