Mother's Day Success

This week was filled with planning, prepping, family and fun. Seeing as all my sisters that live in the state are either mothers or mothers-to-be, I took it upon myself to host Mother's Day this year. I have 5 siblings and two wonderful parents, so all the other holidays are spoken for, and seeing as we don't have any kids, I couldn't think of a better one to take! We had a total of 17 people here today...it would have been more but we had some last minute illnesses :(

There were times this weekend when I didn't think I would get everything done, but gosh darn it, wouldn't you know, I got everything on my list done with 10 minutes to spare! Part of the reason I got everything done on time was do to the planning. So let's break it down.

Sunday- Deep cleaned the house so I would only have to maintain and touch things up prior to the party
Monday - Wednesday- created my menu and grocery list. Including determining appropriate amounts of each ingredient since many recipes were multiplied. I just worked on this when I had free time at night.
Thursday- went grocery shopping at Sam's club for the bulk items
Friday (after work)- Went grocery shopping and cleaned the downstairs half bath- at that point it was off limits for us to use- which means we got a little extra exercise going up the stairs!
Saturday- Cooked/Baked from 7am-3pm (There was no time for breaks as we were going to Carl's parents' house at 5pm)
Sunday- Finished up little things like frosting the cupcakes and making the fruit, veggie, cheese trays, and set everything up.

(Other tasks completed as posted in previous entries as well)

Since it was a casual bbq- no need for place settings today, but some fresh flowers were definitely a must!

Prior to the addition of a pitcher with water and ice:


Prior to the addition of my brother-in-law's homemade salsa and guacamole:


We had every fixin' your heart could desire when it comes to hamburgers and hot dogs!


Including chili in the mini-crock:


Prior to adding my raspberry brownie and chewy brownie towers. The dessert station was on the sideboard in the dining room:



So just a few tips when planning your next party:
*Set a timeline, and don't forget to include some "getting ready" time. No one likes a dirty hostess. I broke down all the tasks I had and the amount of minutes each would take so I knew how long I would have to work.
*Determine what food/drink items will go in which containers and where they will physically go at the party. This will prevent last minute scrambling. Don't forget about serving utensils!
*Keeping it simple doesn't have to mean it's not fancy. Today's main course was hamburgers and hot dogs, but it still looked elegant. Either make the entree fancy and go simple with sides, or go all out with the sides and keep the entree simple.
*And last but not least, if you can possibly muster up the energy, clean up as soon as your guests leave. You'd never know it, but this picture was taken one hour after my family had left. And yes, I did it alone. Keep your focus and cleaning can be done in a jiffy, no matter how big of a mess!