housewarming party help

[Ms. Mayhams]

I am having a house warming party next month and I am planing on what I am going to have for food. So far I am going to do all the cooking myself to help save money,
Here is what I have so far:
http://www.food.com/menu/housewarming-party-89165 also I am thinking of having a cheese ball with crackers and a veggie tray.
For drinks I will have Tea and lemon aid.
Is there anything else that might be good for a housewarming party?

[duonyte]

Hi, Mrs. M - you need to make your menu public so that we could take a look at it.

How substantial a spread do you want to make? Something like little meatballs in a sauce in a crockpot is a nice thing to do, but people can get a bit greedy about them.

Little skewers - you can get the bamboo skewers pretty cheap - with a selection of ham or salami, cheese cubes, veggies - or fruit cubes can be made ahead of time. kept in a plastic container in the fridge and brought out as needed.

Pinwheels - fillings in a tortilla that are rolled, wrapped and kept in the fridge; then sliced to serve - these generally go over nice and you can use egg salad or any other kind of filling.

I find that cookies or tartlets are easier than cakes that need to be sliced and plated.

[Ms. Mayhams]

Thank you for let me know about my menu not being public. I am also wanting to impress my family that is going to be there. I would like simple but different.
My son and I have some other ideas out of some of the cook books that I have.

[Shirl (J) 831]

I would KISS: keep it simple.

You want to be able to spend time visiting with the guests. Finger foods are good,ones that can be prepared ahead of time so you do not have to be cooking or standing by the oven.

Cheese ball and crackers are a good idea.
I would go with a punch for your main drink, but also have a supply of other beverages available. When we had a baby shower for my daughter we set up her kitchen table in the corner and placed the Keurig on it, and in a dish all the different pods. We had tea, coffee, water and pop.

You can never go wrong with cold cuts, buns, cheese, pickles. etc.
deviled eggs are good. Potato salad.

I found that when I had to do any entertaining you want to have everything done before hand and free yourself up !

One good suggestion already made is the pinwheels they are good.

Keep in mind if you have a large group of people coming not everyone can eat everything you may have, so have a variety.

As for desserts, again I would set up a special dessert table. Have maybe tarts, cookies, a cake. squares and even a little dish of chocolates. Speaking of chocolates, my husband's Gramma each year at Christmas time sets little dishes of wrapped chocolates throughout the house. On the coffee table, end tables, entrance etc. u get it.

Two more things I find work good: have some soft soothing music playing in the background (low) and fresh air scents throughout the house to make it smell nice. Glade has good ones that release a scent every 20 minutes. It is just warm and welcoming.

Ps.....you may want to buy a guest book and have it buy the door, it is nice to see who dropped in and later on read what they wrote.

Hope this all helps.

[michmama]

Hi Ms. Mayhams,

I would recommend olives, bruschetta and other spreads on toasted french baguettes https://tassos.com/products/tassos-bruschetta-spreads/tassos-red-pepper-spread-coulis

This spread is simply amazing, and the olives are too! I will be sharing them with guests this Thanksgiving, as well as ordering some for my clients! It's also good on small pieces of pita bread or as a vegetable dip.