managing costs

I am planning a huge party...and it's consuming me. A huge party for 120 people is a large endeavour. Besides cooking for all of those people, there are the little items that make it a special occasion. This can be a serious drain on an already tight budget.

Luckily we have a theme, and although "Americana" isn't my forte, I am able to plan for anything. Our son has earned the rank of Eagle Scout! Only 1 in 100 boys who enter scouting make the rank of Eagle, so this is a huge deal! We told spouse's mother that the more the merrier for this party and so she called family and invited them - told them it would mean the world to her son (spouse) if they came to celebrate the Eagle Scout. They all listen to Mom. And apparently they all need a spring time trip!

Family that we haven't seen in almost 20 years are coming, and friends who we see regularly are coming too. We have people coming from Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New York, Idaho, Illinois, California and Washington. It's gonna be a great weekend, for as well as the Eagle Scout Court of Honor with dinner, it's also our son's birthday the day before the ceremony! So this is one really lucky kid to get to have all this family here for his birthday party too!

Back to the details. Flowers: I have a hook up at one of the flower fields locally, who will get the white tulips I need, so I can check that off the list. Centerpieces: dollar store clear vases with previously mentioned tulips...check. (And in them, a thin wooded dowel with an emblem attached). Cake: ordered, check. Napkins/forks/knives/spoons: these are from Costco cause the cost is so low. But to find those little paper bands that go around the assembly of napkin/fork/knife/spoon has proven to be much more challenging. But a good tip from the very pregnant woman at Michael's was the restaurant supply store in town! They are now on order - check! Table cloths: red plastic runner from Party City with 1/2 width strip of blue running down center...then blue placemats (that my sister bought so I have to use them) and we are good for tables. The runner is $20 for 33 tables...not too bad! Sis also sent plates for cake and napkins with the emblem and a paper table cover so we will use that for the cake & table...check!

The food is challenging too. I am making lasagna...starting today. So there will be much cooking over the next month. Once I assemble a pan, they are going straight into the freezer in the garage. On the day of the party, they will go into the ovens at 1pm, so dinner will be ready at 6pm. Lasasgna on 200 degrees F will thaw and melt it all together after 5 hours, and they don't need to be babysat. Salad and dressings and bread will be bought the day before, so I am set.
BUT, I need to make at least 1 pan of lassagna vegetarian for my friends that don't consume meat. No problem, except finding a colored aluminum pan to make sure there isn't any confusion when serving...perhaps Target...

With just 5 weekends until people arrive, I have made a huge calendar on newsprint and hung it in the kitchen. All the cleaning details, the cooking, shopping items and arrivals and departures that I need to coordinate are marked on the calendar. The newspaper came in a shipped box - as filler paper. There were 8 sheets in the box, not crumpled, or even smooshed around the mailed item...just laid atop the item. What a stupid attempt to protect the item. But...it worked out for me since I love to recycle. I used all 8 sheets (four for March and four for April) so the backer sheets will protect the kitchen wall from bleed throught when we use a Sharpie marker to line through a completed item, or enter a new item!

So after lunch, and Costco, and many stops, I am beat. I think it's nap time, then off to grocery store to get 2 lassagna pans. Spouse & I are going to make 2 pans tonight together, since child is gone for weekend. Right now, spouse is enthralled in a 12 hour car race...sebring, florida. He is in heaven. After running errands with me, and keeping me grounded on costs, he is blissful listening to the hum and whine of the porsche, audi and ford gt. Everyone's heaven is vastly different!