You're Having A Party!Written by Arleen M. Kaptur
Fall - a fantastic season with Holiday Party Season just nipping at its heels! What makes a good party and how do hosts/hostesses get through anxiety, worry, and how do they take care of all those details and bring it all to a successful conclusion? A few tips for some really great parties. As a caterer, there are many tips, tricks, and so-called survival techniques. Here are a few: The first thing you do when you would like to have a party is decide on occasion or theme-is it an anniversary, a birthday, a Halloween costume party, or an After Raking Leaves get-together for family and neighbors? Then decide on how many guests to invite. This will greatly affect your table arrangements, menu, etc. More importantly, you must take into account space you have available to comfortably entertain (even small spaces can be used effectively,), and your budget. With regard to theme, once that is chosen your menu becomes easier. The food should directly relate to event. A Trimming Tree party could have fantastic cocoa beverages, while your Hawaiian Luau would make this very inappropriate. A buffet is easier than a sit-down dinner, but space becomes critical. If guests are asked to serve themselves, then they must have somewhere to place their plates, sit, converse, and enjoy themselves. Invitations follow your initial planning. A printed invitation is a more thoughtful way, then a mere telephone call. The written version contains all essential inforamtion, so there are no mis-dates, time, or destination, especially if party will not be at your home. A simple schedule for you is next. Write down all details - decorations, menu, and amenities. This insures that "non" immediates are handled in advance and "immediates" such as fresh flowers, fresh produce, etc. are all last-minute items. Do as much as you comfortably can ahead of time. Make-ahead foods are great and give you a lot more time on last minute food items. Use foods you are comfortable with, but with a twist. In other words, an event is not a good time to try a new, never-used recipe. It will only add to anxiety and stress. Also consider food garnishments and touches. Use food to decorate food! If artificial items are used, they will need to be removed by your guests.
| | How To Help Your Child With First Day AnxietyWritten by Frank W. Thatcher Jr.
Summer vacation is coming to a close. All trips, fun activities, and camps are soon to be wonderful memories. Hopefully, your child or children had a great period of down time and are refreshed and ready for a new and eventful school year.I know many parents are quite ready for new and eventful school year. As much as we love our children, they can be exhausting for some parents. Sometimes down time summer vacation offers breeds some unexpected and even undesirable behaviors. Whatever case, school starting brings a pleasant reprieve for many parents. Happy Day, The first day of school is just around corner. What do we do next as responsible parents? Run to store to buy all necessities to have a successful student. The clothes, tools of trade, everything that could possible be necessary. We help them pack that bag and send them on their way. One major thing many parents tend to forget for whatever reason. You may have prepared your little one with all material items he or she may need, but how about head? Yes, head and I don't mean what's on top. I mean inside. Their beautiful head may very well be filled with a load of anxiety. For some children this anxiety can be very real and overwhelming. For some, it's healthy. For some children however, anxiety of beginning of school can be terrifying. Many different situations that may seem small to adults can be extremely difficult for some children. For sake of empathy, I'll give two examples. First, simple act of getting on a school bus and finding a place to sit can be terrifying. If your child is not most popular or even close, he or she may not know many of other students on that bus. The act of having to walk down that isle on bus while everyone watches and then try to find a seat to share can be sickening for some children. Of course, this happens first thing in your child's day so this could have an impact on rest of day.
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