The Oscars are soon approaching, and you may be having a few of your kid’s friends over to celebrate. It’s a big night and everyone loves to watch the glam and glitz. If you are looking for menu ideas to keep everyone in the “style they are accustomed to” on such an evening, check out the following suggestions:

1. Serve veggies with a variety of dips.
2. Make a salad look like a crown of jewels, with dried red cherries, cranberries, beautiful vegetables and crunchy croutons sprinkled on a bed of lettuce. Serve with a light dressing.
3. Serve popcorn and caramel corn in boxes for everyone’s viewing pleasure.
4. Make cheese fondue and serve with bread, apples, pears, and vegetables.
5. Make chocolate fondue and serve with pretzel rods, strawberries, marshmallows, and pound cake.
6. Make small appetizers, such as mini quiches, wontons filled with cream cheese and served with plum jam, and satay skewers with peanut dipping sauce.
7. Serve melon balls.
8. Serve a cheese platter with a variety of crackers.
9. Pour glasses of sparkling apple cider or fizzy lemonade.
10. Make a batch of star-shaped sugar cookies, and have the kids write their names on them like the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
11. Make a batch of cupcakes and use Red Hot candies to make a star pattern on each one.
12. For more ideas, check out AllRecipes.com’s excellent selection of Oscar party menus based on the movies up for Best Picture this year. It’s worth checking out, especially if adults are attending your party.

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A Super Bowl party is the ultimate sports celebration, so fire up the grill for your main game meal!

Put a twist on traditional football party food by serving homemade Stuffed Pizza Burgers and Maple-Bourbon Glazed Chicken Wings. Complete your menu by serving a green salad, potato salad, and Italian-style pasta salad.

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Kick off your party with all-star Super Bowl appetizers like Baked Vidalia Onion Dip, Mojito Mayo Dip, and Black Bean and Corn Salsa with chips. Football fans hungry for victory will want to fuel up during the pre-game hype on TV.

These hot and spicy recipes from Celebrations expert Jeanne Benedict are guaranteed to jump-start the party before the first down!

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Talk about Eye Candy!  Amy Atlas, an event planner in NYC, specializes in Dessert Buffets.  Check out this site for some sweet inspiration for your upcoming kids’ party.  Candy buffets, in particular, are popular for parties like Candyland, but would also be fun for a Halloween-inspired party too.

Enjoy perusing this site. 

Looking for a really entertaining and imaginative kooking show for your kids?  Check out Clare Crespo’s YummyFun Kooking DVD series. Yummy Clare serves up all sorts of delectable dishes and treats for kids…and it is so imaginative and whimsical.  Think Monkey Pops and Spaghetti with Eyeballs and Bug Candy!  Crespo makes cooking fun for kids and adults!

You can find them at the YummyFun website, which is also full of surprises too.

Here’s a darling tip for your upcoming Oscar festivities. Check out Eleni’s in New York for Oscar cupcakes and cookies…and the best kick: they look just like the nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture! How cool is this treat? The Hollywood quotes are also fantastic! Now this is unique!

If you are looking for recipes with “Oscar” in the name, how about: Read the rest of this entry »