Here's Some of
The Food

'Our Bigger House'
open house

Charley and Kari Newsom

The Perfect Day
A tradition so commonly celebrated by just about everyone when they move into a new home - an open house. It was a perfect day for one. The sun was out, the sky blue, and a nice breeze to keep the direct heat away. A wonderful day to visit with family and friends; to enjoy yummy food; and to meet new people. A time when we were able to see people that we don't have the opportunity to spend time with that often - and a time to make new memories.

The Last Minute Preps
The day started early for me and my husband. Putting the finishing touches on the yard, some last minute cleaning and baking - then setting up. From 1:00 pm - 8:00 PM, we would be entertaining our family friends while they ate, visited and 'toured' our new home of 3 months - to the date.

The Guests
When the last guests left and we began cleaning up the plates, cups and empty food dishes - I told my husband, "The day turned out perfect." You can always tell you had a successful gathering when you hardly have any food left at the end of the day. Our table was sparse, the drink 'bin' was just about empty and our dog was exhausted from all the visitors in his home. We just sat down in our comfy chairs and talked about the day - at least I talked, my husband just listened and nodded as he about fell asleep.

A Successful Party
How do you have a successful get together where you, as the host, aren't running around crazy all day trying to take care of all the little 'details' that should have been done before the guests arrived? Two words: planning and organization. Maybe two of the most disliked words for some - but they do bring success to the table every time. Click here for a few helpful tips for hosting a successful party.

The Invitation:
We used Evite to create our invitations. This saves on postage and allows us to keep up to date tabs on who's coming and who won't be able to make it. Of course, those who don't have email, we decided to give them a call and invite them personally. To view a sample of our invitation, click here.

The Set Up:
We used our dining room table to display the food and eating-ware. We used all three leafs, covered the table in vinyl tablecloths, then topped it with a nice, white, linen table cloth. We also removed all the chairs from the table and placed them around the family and living room for more seating. We used a large (2' 1/2" diameter) metal bucket on the back porch, filled it with ice and put the canned pop and bottled water in it. It was kept in the shade and even in the warm weather, the ice hardly melted. The punch was placed on a side counter in the kitchen where it was easily accessible, and easy to clean with all the spilling. We kept a 5 disc changer playing random tracks throughout the day, softly of course, which gave it a nice atmosphere. As the sun went down, lights were turned on low and some candles were lit for soft mood lighting.

The Menu:

Our menu consisted of the following items:
Kettle Corn
Cheese Puffs (for the kids)
BBQ Potato Chips
Regular Potato Chips
Gardetto's Snack Mix
Cheese Flavored Snack Mix
Mini Bagels and Cream Cheese
Mini Carrots and Ranch Dip
Deviled Eggs
Medium Black Olives
Tortilla Wraps
Turkey Wraps
Spinach Dip with Sourdough Bread
Chocolate Yum-Yums
Home Made Brownies
Fudge
Rice Krispie Treats

 

Beverages:

Lemonade / Ginger Ale Punch
Pepsi
Root Beer
Ginger Ale
Bottled Water

Thank You
Always make sure you thank each guest for coming. You should thank them when they arrive and when they leave. If anyone brought food, thank them for the food, again, as they leave. If anyone brings you a gift, thank them, again, as they leave your party. Gratitude is a wonderful gesture that allows your guests to see that you really do appreciate them and all they do for you.

Some Pictures of the Guests

	One of our guests, a police officer, shows Cody his badge and gun.