After we got the menu ironed out, and I had a list of the food the other girls were bringing – I matched them up with Dr. Seuss names.  This is what I came up with:

• Hash Brown Nests – Horton’s Nests
• Mini Cinnamon Rolls – Seussical Rolls
• Apple Juice – Beezlenut Splash
• Deviled Eggs & Ham – Green Eggs & Ham
• French Toast Casserole - Katroo Cake Bake
• Granola & Yogurt – Sneetch Treats
• Fruit – Truffula Fruit
• Biscuits – Who Cakes
• Gravy – Yot in a Pot

Now, we were in business.  He fired up the hot glue gun and started with the foam ball.  It went together perfectly well and I was in love! Then Todd started with one of the plastic ball Truffula trees.  He put the hot glue on and I heard an awful sizzling sound followed quickly by the sound of air escaping.  Uh-oh!  Not good…….. apparently plastic balls do not like hot glue.  They are not friends!  Todd managed to mostly plug the hole with the hot glue as it cooled but the red Truffula Tree started to droop.  I kinda wanted to cry, but it did not go completely flat, just wasn’t perfectly round.  Ok, I could deal with that.  He was scared to try it again with the other plastic ball Truffula tree, but we didn’t have much choice, I told him not to use as much hot glue.  This one didn’t bust, thank goodness! Last thing was to secure them in the red metal buckets.  Todd used florist foam to secure them and then covered the base with rice.

Now, for the How-To instructions.  The food label cards, I created in Photoshop.  I found these fabulous digital papers at Etsy, Thing 1 and Thing 2.  It is really not easy finding Dr. Seuss printables.  There are digital kits with the Dr. Seuss colors, but none that included the Dr. Seuss character images, copyright issues I’m sure!

After I bought the first set of digital papers, a steal at $1.99!  I found another set of digital papers on Forever Joy Designs blog.

I then turned to Google to find the Dr. Suess characters to add to my food label cards.  I found lots and lots of images, it was hard choosing which ones to use.  Also, I realized that none of them were .png files which meant that I had to edit every single one in Photoshop.  Some of them I also had to alter the colors or even add the colors.  After all that work, I wondered if someone might want to use the characters I found and altered.  If that someone is you, you can download them from my Free Printables page.

The banner I created with a cutting file template from www.thedigichick.com called Banners Set 1.  This would be a lot simpler if I had the Silhouette Cameo that is on my Wish List, but for now I use Photoshop and clip whatever digital scrapbook paper I want to use to the banner, print then cut out.  For my banner, I used “Oh Happy Day” so we could use it for something else besides a baby shower in the future.

I decorated the red metal buckets with some other digital files I found online.  This was a freebie pdf file from this blog, Wanessa Carolina Creations.  She has sooooo many amazing free printables for parties!  You must go take a look!!

3 cups uncooked macaroni
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
4 cups grated cheese
1 2 oz. jar chopped pimientos, drained
1 cup mayonnaise
½ stick butter, melted
1 sleeve Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350.
Cook macaroni as directed.
Combine 1st five ingredients, pour into greased casserole dish.
Mix crushed crackers with melted butter, spread on top of casserole.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Chicken & Dressing

6 cups cornbread
3 cups Pepperidge Farm Herbed Seasoned Stuffing
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
3 eggs, beaten
1 stick butter
4-6 cans chicken broth
4-5 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

Saute celery and onions in stick of butter.
Stir all ingredi`ents together. Add more or less broth to make it just moister than you want to eat it.
Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.

Serves 8-10

Apple Dapple Cake
1 ¼ cup shortening
2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 ½ cup chopped pecans
3 cup chopped raw apples, peeled
Mix together shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, salt and baking soda.
Add flour mixture slowly to wet mixture.
Fold in pecans and apples.
Bake in greased tube pan at 350 degrees for one hour.

Topping
1 ½ cup packed brown sugar
½ or ¼ cup milk
¾ stick butter

Mix all ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over cake, let stand 2 hours.

The entertainment provided by the kids at Supper Club is always……entertaining!

I did snap a few pictures, but the quality is not that great still.  I need to start a fund for a new camera!  Anyway, first up is the Altered Lunchbox I made for Catherine.  I still need to print the photos of all the guests and stick them to the other side of each of the cards – but you get the idea.  Next is the decorations.  I made the invitation, altered a candle, made a pennant, and candlelit paperbags to line our sidewalk.

I wanted to include the text of the invitation here since you cannot read it on the invites.  It is pretty clever if I do say so myself.  However, I cannot take complete credit for it – I found part of the text online on a Fourth of July invite.  Here it is:

We the people, of ______________ (The Anderson’s) in order to form a more perfect party, establish good will, insure memories, provide beer, hot dogs and other good things, promote a good time, and secure the blessings of friendship hereby invite you to a American Style Going Away Party for the Elfick family.

Add alcohol and stir lightly. Pour in iced tea. Stir a few more times and serve.
It was actually tasty. I was kind of worried with that many liquors it would be way too strong, but the sweet tea was the perfect complement.

Food – there was so much! Before everyone arrived, I was looking at all the trays and platters and thought wow, we have lots of stuff leftover. That was so not the case! Practically everything was eaten! We had chicken fingers, shrimp, sausage balls, pigs in blanket, fruit, cheese ball with crackers, deviled eggs, Kahlua cake, flag cookie cake, Southern Caviar, buffalo chicken dip, Party mix, pretzels and nuts. People kept asking me about the Cheese Ball. So, here is the recipe for that:

Soften cream cheese. Add all ingredients except 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Chill, then shape into a ball and roll in pecans. Serve with crackers.
I didn’t have any pecans, so I just left them out and it tasted great. They just add a bit more crunch.

I think that is all I have to share.  It was fun, I would definitely love to host another party, but not a Going Away one for any more friends.  All of my neighbors MUST not move for many many years!

OK, will have to add photos later – can’t get them to work now. boo-hoo

Next up was Julie’s house.  She had some awesome games planned.  The first was the most hilarious, I think.  “Turn Daddy into Mummy”  Each family was given toilet paper rolls and they had to wrap Dad up like a mummy, then all the Dads had to run a race.  Hysterical!  Next was the Pumpkin Carry Relay.  Simple enough right?  small pumpkins held on even smaller spoons, given to children who are supposed to relay race.  Lots of pumpkins hit the ground, but that’s ok, just made it more funny!  Finally was “Pass the Pumpkin”  Julie brought out her iPod stereo, got all the kids in a circle and they started passing pumpkins around.  I was in charge of the music, and I kept forgetting that I was supposed to be stopping the music!  Lael and Dylan were the two left at the end – Yay!

Our house was next.  The kids took off before I could even say Go – so by the time I got there most of them were already in the backyard standing in front of a doughnut on a string.  This game involved yummy treats!  The first child to eat their doughnut without using their hands won a prize.  It was much harder than I thought, but most of them prevailed, eating every last bit of their doughnut.  Next we played Toss the ring around the pumpkin stem.  I got embroidery hoops for them to use to toss, which weren’t really heavy enough to toss.  Oh well, they had fun anyway!  Finally, I had bought face paint to paint on their cheeks or hands.  When I first started painting the first child, I immediately had a circle of a dozen kids chanting, “Me next, I want a ghost, I want a pumpkin, It’s my turn…..”  Thankfully, Aimee stepped in to help.  By the time we finished with that it was time to eat.  We had more than enough food, which is usually the case with parties, but it’s better to have leftovers than not enough!!  After everyone ate, the kids drew with sidewalk chalk, pulled each other in the wagons, or rode bikes and skooters.

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This time he invited the guys from the neighborhood over to watch the UA football game.  They were supposed to be playing poker Saturday night, but there was not enough to play, so Todd said they could just come here.  This was Friday evening.  He said it would not be a big deal, just beer and pretzels or something like that.  Yeah, right – like I can have people over and not feed them????  So, after the soccer game and Connie’s Lia Sophia Party Saturday, Lael and I went to Sam’s.  We got sandwich stuff and some other things and threw together a fabulous event in less than a day!  Yay me!

Here is the Mini Cheesecake recipe.  It is so good, and not really difficult at all!

Mini-Cheesecakes

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. strawberry preserves

Combine graham crackers and butter.  Line 1 3/4″ muffin pans with paper cups.  Spoon 1 tsp. crumb mixture into each liner and gently press.  Beat cream cheese at high speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar and mix well.  Spoon mixture into liners and bake 350 for 10 minutes.  Spoon 1/4 tsp. strawberry over cheese cake and chill.  Makes 2 dozen.