S'MORES PARTY

It's S'MORE fun with friends and neighbors!

Summer is well underway, so we decided to have our neighbors down for a S'more party. We picked a low-key Sunday evening to host our event.  I love the less formal, more casual way a Sunday night feels.  In the summer, it's a great way to wind down from the busy weekend activities.  It's just so hard to say good-bye to a fun filled weekend sometimes, so putting something extra special at the end of it, makes getting the work week started a little easier, (provided you don't stay out too late).

THE S'MORES BAR
We served the old-standby...."the Original" s'more with graham crackers, toasted marshmallow and milk chocolate... We added a few "fancy" s'mores  in the lineup too.
 We offered:
The "Berry Best" a strawberry toasted marshmallow with chocolate.
The "Grasshopper" a s'more with chocolate graham cracker and Andes mints
The "Caramel Delight" a cinnamon graham cracker with a caramel toasted marshmallow.... We skipped "The Elvis" this time, since we were not sure of any possible food allergies... the Elvis is a s'more with a peanut butter cup and a banana slice.... very delicious.

Here are some photos from last summer's s'more party too... with The Elvis.

The s'mores were a hit and everyone had fun trying the different flavor combinations.

Seeing the kids play, catching up with our friends on all the summertime plans and adventures we've had so far and discussing those adventures that are still to come...It's what summertime is made for...

Using lidded cracker jars, I was able to keep the "gourmet" ingredients organized (and bug free before the party started)  Once our guests arrived we took the lids off and everyone could dig in.

At Hobby Lobby I picked up vinyl chalkboard stickers.... they adhere to the glass, you can write on them with chalk and they peel off with no sticky residue...AND if you keep the pages they come on they are reusable too!!  What a great invention--genius!!

The warm weather had me  a little concerned about the chocolate... I used freezable trays to serve the chocolate on...it kept everything nice and cool.

I made our invitations on PicMonkey, the kids were so excited to deliver them throughout the neighborhood.

If you  plan to host a S'mores party
 (Which I HIGHLY recommend), 

here are some tips and tricks I've gathered:

S'MORE PARTY TIPS

FIRE:  Be sure to let your fire pit or campfire settle, it's really hard to stand around a blazing inferno and lightly toast marshmallows, especially in the heat and humidity of the summer months.  Be sure to get the fire started about an hour or so before guests arrive.

SKEWERS:  Have plenty of skewers or sticks to accommodate multiple marshmallow toasters.  Be sure to have a metal can or container to place hot sticks inside.

STICKY HANDS: are a guarantee with a s'more party-- I liked having baby wipes available for easy clean-up.

MENU:  Make a menu, it doesn't have to be fancy or framed...but its fun to create new flavors for s'mores and the guests really enjoyed trying the recipes out.  Be creative, Pinterest was full of great ideas.

BUGS:  It's nice to have citronella candles burning and bug spray available for guests.  I am a mosquitoes' favorites meal, so I am well aware of the importance of being prepared.

KIDS: We had about 20 kids in our backyard, making s'mores and frolicking with friends...plan ahead and have balls, hula hoops and other fun outside activities available to keep them busy when they are not making s'mores.

ORGANIZATION:  Lidded glass jars were a great choice in keeping things organized, bug free and fresh...there's nothing worse than stale marshmallows!

TAKE IT OFF:  Unwrapping the chocolates and breaking the graham crackers in half  BEFORE guests arrive, makes assembling s'mores a snap.  Any pre-party prep you can manage ahead of time, makes for a smooth running party-- this is true for ALL occasions!

DRINKS:  Guests can get very thirsty playing and eating s'mores, so be sure to have plenty of drinks  We used a galvanized tub filled with ice and bottled waters... easy, accessible and perfect for a warm summer evening.

Wishing you lots S'MORE fun this summer!!!