The article below was originally published by Andrea Wyn Schall on her ‘A Wynning Event’ blog. Andrea, owner of A Wynning Event has been a special event planner for over 15 years, and she is the event planner for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She has taken her knowledge and special event experience and written an easy-to-read book called Budget Bash. Budget Bash gives helpful tips, menus, recipes, design, theme, floral ideas and more for wedding and special event planning.
Summer is such a great time to entertain. You have the warm daytime sunshine as well as refreshing nights. Here are some summer party ideas including a couple of cocktail catering presentations to help you with any special event planning for summer cocktail parties.
Create conversation and interaction with your special event planning. One refreshing cocktail catering presentation for cocktail parties is to present a new twist on an old idea. Skewer a piece of cooked shrimp and instead of serving it with a bowl of cocktail sauce serve the shrimp in a shot glass already filled with the sauce.
Other summer party ideas that include shot glasses for cocktail catering are soups, whether they are hot such as lobster Saki shooters (I recently enjoyed at a cocktail party) or cold soups such as shots of gazpacho or cucumber.
For cocktail parties where you may want to serve a refreshing natural and nutritious dessert, why not accompany a platter full of fresh fruit with a shot of a fruit smoothie?
More summer party ideas for cocktail parties include serving refreshing melon balls wrapped with prosciutto or cucumber cups filled with humus, seaweed salad or salmon dip. (For quick and easy cocktail recipes check out pages 80 to 86 in Budget Bash.)
Lollipop-styled desserts are another cocktail catering suggestion to add to your special event planning summer ideas. Brownie bites, chocolate chip cookies or bread pudding are all delicious bite-sized desserts you can serve on a stick and tray pass or present on a platter at a dessert buffet. Clean up is easy too since no silverware or dessert plates are needed just a simple cocktail napkin!
Other desserts that can be served in small individual portions with a creative flair are crème brulee, chocolate pudding or tiramisu presented in demitasse cups with demitasse spoons.
Summer party ideas for your special event planning décor can be fast, easy and inexpensive. Instead of using a tea-light with your glass votive, drop a Cymbidium orchid in the glass instead. Or place an orchid weighted down with water and colored glass beads in a small glass vase.
Floating candles in water are always fun for your table décor and you can use colored glass beads on the bottom or add a flower in the container as well. A great decor idea for cocktail parties I recently read about in Real Simple magazine is to use parchment paper as a luminary wrap with a votive candle holder. For information and instructions, just pick up the August 2010 issue. (More quick and easy décor ideas can be found in Budget Bash.)
I hope you found these special event planning ideas for cocktail catering helpful for your next summer event. Summer party ideas do not need to be complicated or take much of your time. Cocktail parties are a great way to gather a group of friends for an intimate and casual event, and when you throw your next cocktail party remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun & economical to all!
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