I have received products from Disney Side at Home Celebrations to facilitate this post. I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.
I love hosting potlucks!
Sure, dinner parties are fun but there is so much pressure to cook all the dishes, plus clean the house. Hosting a potluck gives you the best of both worlds - a chance to gather friends and family for dinner in a low stress setting.
The first potluck I hosted, I was a bit of a wreck. First of all, would the group of moms that I barely know go for the idea? Secondly, would we be stuck with a bunch of food no one will eat or worse, all desserts. Well, all desserts is not such bad idea.
Needless to say, the party went off without a hitch and we started meeting on a regular basis, sometimes with the men and sometimes just us while the kids play. With that in mind, when I found out that I would be hosting a Disney Side Multi-Generational @Home Celebration I knew exactly who I would share it with - the mom group or as the Husband calls us The Hens.
As soon as I got the email, I started pinning. There are so many brilliant ideas and I was determined to do as much as I could but Disney Side made party planning so easy that it was not hard to throw together a great potluck with fun games and decorations!
After hosting several potlucks, this one was by far the easiest! Who doesn't love Disney? Here are six tips I have found helpful planning not only this potluck, but any potluck.
1. Have a theme
Having a theme makes it easy for guests to narrow down their favorite recipes and bring something they really want to share.
This potluck was not just a Disney potluck but a Multi-generational party, perfect for us since we included moms and kids in our party and I took it a step further and tied in Valentine's day and the movie Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story. The kids and I adore this movie!
2. Invites - make it easy
I use Facebook events for those who are on Facebook, but for the moms who are not on it I send a note home with their kid. Disney Side has these cute invites you can download and print to let your guests know that you are showing your #DisneySide at this party. |
| free Disney Side printables: invite, food tent label, banner |
3. Food
It was so weird for me the first few parties to expect food to come to my house so I made sure to make the main course. This alleviates my worry of getting all desserts or munchies plus I share what it will be so everyone has an idea of what will go with it or if they don't like it, they'll know to bring something they will enjoy.Also, be specific on your invite - a vegetable dish, a kid friendly option, appetizer, dessert, wine or beer, and a non-alcoholic beverage. Finally, ask when they RSVP to share which they will be bringing so you have an idea of what will be coming when someone asks, "What can I bring?"
For our Disney Side party, I made jambalaya and since I knew that there would be vegetarians I made sure to mention there would be two kinds - traditional and one using Beyond Meat's Beyond Chicken strips.
Part of my party package included a coupon to try Beyond Meat's line of non-meat products. Not only was I impressed with how great their non-chicken was in the jambalaya, the vegetarians in my group loved it! What they missed most about meat was the texture and most products just can't capture it but this one did and I was happy to have been able to give them another option at our potluck.
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| Guests got into the spirit by bringing Disney themed dishes |
Don't forget to make it easy to label the dishes. Nothing more embarrassing then assuming everyone knows what you made, but no one does. Plus, it's helpful for those with aversions or allergies. Download these cute Mickey Mouse food labels for your guests to use.
4. Make it festive!
Just because it's a potluck does not mean it should be boring! Break out the banners and streamers!Need a banner? Disney at Home Celebrations has one to download, print, and hang. Placement is key, with a little creativity a few cleverly placed decorations will get everyone in the party mood without being in the way.
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| Twinging Tea, HP photo paper, Disney Parks luggage tags and Disney info, and more |
5. Have fun!
We did several things for this party to make it a party. Remember, just because it is an ordinary Friday night does not mean you have to be ordinary!
Disney Side Celebrations has so many printables and we played bingo, did some trivia, and a Disney quote and attraction match-up. I also had Disney movies playing during our party.
6. Be okay if something (or nothing) goes as planned
There is always something that does not go quite as planned but being able to roll with it is just what you need to do or you might as well be having a proper dinner party. There will be guests that cancel and they are usually the ones that said that they will be bringing something that is needed and there will be dishes that no one likes and it's okay.
I thought it would be fun to keep with the Blank theme and frost a Micky Mouse cake all white and use the colored sprinkles that came with my DisneySide kit to let the kids decorate it like in the movie. What I did not count on was that the frosting would harden so much (in a good way) that the sprinkles just rolled off the cake. Still, the kids love adding sprinkles and even after they had their cake they kept adding sprinkles.
Oh, and can I tell you how the kids gasped when I cut into that plain white Mickey Mouse to reveal the tie dye colors from the Cake Boss' cake mix that was also included!
I don't know about you but I'm ready for a Disney Vacation!
For more ways to show your DisneySide check out their website!
Need ideas to show your Princess #DisneySide? Check out our Simple Disney Princess party!
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| pin for later |
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