Plannng A Cooking Birthday Party For Girls

As a working mother, I was a loyal patron of a business in my home town called Time for Dinner. You may have something like this in your city. I have heard of similar avenues like, Meal Makers, where the concept is the same; preparing a dinner in advance to be refrigerated or frozen for later use. I used to take my 9-year old daughter with me, as our special time. We loved cooking together which is what sparked the idea for her best birthday ever! We created cooking stations, in our own kitchen, where all girls cooked a meal to take home for their family. Check out some of the ideas that made it a special night of giggles, memories and fun.

Name That Chef!
We created nametags of famous chefs and let each girl take on a pseudo name for the evening. Some names that we used were Martha Stewart, Betty Crocker, Little Debbie, Sara Lee, "Little Chef" (from the Disney movie Ratatouille) and Julia Childs. Of course, you can create your own and have fun with it. This was one of the best adds to the party because it got everyone in the spirit. In addition, the girls stopped using their own names and started calling one another by their chef name, which made for funny conversations all night. "Move over Little Debbie!" and "Betty, I said HALF a cup!" The girls giggled all night.

We did a little research on the different chefs to learn about their personalities and shared it with the party guests when passing out the names. That made for a whole character that the girls could pretend to be. They would say things to one another like, "I thought you were supposed to be shy!" Plus, they learned a little history before we even got started. This is also a piece of the party your daughter can help prepare, Have her do a little research on-line to get her in the works of her own party - kids love to be involved! It really adds to the excitement of the big event.

Also, when labeling the dishes to take home, use their chef name on your stickers. It makes for a nice departure to say, "Okay, who was Martha?" Trust me, it always get a smile. And the girls have fun being someone else - if only by name.

The Menu
The menu can be tricky because food is not cheap! But, with proper research, you can buy in bulk at a Sam's or Wal-Mart pretty reasonably. Our dinner included a punch (drink), a chicken dish as the entrée, a desert (chocolate covered strawberries), and twice baked potatoes. In retrospect, this could have been cheaper. But, with careful planning, you can get the cost down for sure.

Print each recipe on a piece of paper in a swirly, girly font - like a fine menu at a fancy restaurant. Use frames from around the house to hold each recipe. You will be establishing stations and each station in the kitchen needs a recipe by it. This will allow the girls to work independently and feel like they are doing it on their own. (Depending on the number invited, you may want to group 2 girls to work together at each station.)

To engage your daughter further, buy her index cards, or recipe cards to print or write the recipes on, for the girls to take home. This will help the parents know how long to cook something that has been prepared and at what temperature. After the parents eat the prepared meal, they may be asking you for the recipe anyway...and the daughters will love guiding their mom through the cooking as the experts.

The Set Up
Your goal is to set your kitchen up so everyone is not bumping into one another. Establish "stations" where each recipe will be prepared. At each station, ensure the girls have everything they will need to accomplish that recipe without leaving the station. I had to borrow a few things (like extra teaspoons) and made a trip to Goodwill to pick up some cheap measuring cups and kitchen utensils to ensure no station had to share.

Carefully think through the recipe and walk through it in your mind, step by-step to establish what will be needed. Also, consider the amount of time a recipe will take, so you can guide girls from station to station without overlap or delay. For the dish that takes the longest to prepare, use the largest space in your kitchen for that station, so if there is overlap...there is space to accommodate it.

Pre-make anything that takes too long to mix, or requires the stovetop. First, the stovetop is dangerous and someone getting burned at the party would be very bad. Second, the stovetop offers very limited space and a line could be created. Third, if anything takes too long to prepare, or is multiple steps, completing some before the party may help station flow.

You will need disposable containers for each girls item once it is complete. To keep the girls dishes separate, make sure you provide a sticker and marker at each station (or paper and tape) so the girls can label their dishes. We pre-made labels on the computer for each girls dish and purchased a pck of foil containters. (Also, be sure to save space in your fridge or freezer for the finished dishes!)

Checklist for Each Station

- Recipe in Frame
- Measuring Cups/Teaspoon Set
- Mixing Bowl if Needed
- Food/Ingredients Required
- Container for Finished Product
- Labels for the Dish (with cooking instructions and Chefs name)

Party Games and Favors
An easy game to implement is setting a kitchen timer that will ding loudly every 20 minutes. Every time it dings, a winner is selected. You can select a winner based on different things, such as "whoever is holding the golden spoon WINS." Or "whoever is standing at the sink WINS" Or you can make it more challenging by reviewing facts about the dishes, or chefs...and whoever can answer the questions correctly wins! Have a bowl full of nail polish, lip gloss, or fuzzy pens the girls can select a prize from when they win.

Another thing we did, was pour sparkling grape juice in wine glasses for the girls to enjoy while we cooked. At the meal making establishment I patronized, they always gave guests wine to class up the cooking affair. So, we put a kid edge on that and the girls loved it. We played smooth jazz music and really relished our chef-ness.

The party favor is the meal. This is definitely one expense you can save on because the meal itself if a great treat for the girls to share with their family. And...moms will love you for the night off of cooking!

Photo Op
I love a good photo op. The kitchen can be one of the cutest backgrounds, too. Make sure you have fresh flowers at a station here or there (let your daughter pick and arrange them from the yard.) Light candles all over the kitchen - go for ambiance. Provide matching aprons or paper chefs hats. Perhaps you just provide black bowties, or have everyone hold a white towel over their bended arm like a waiter. And of course, a toast to the birthday girl with their grape juice in wine glasses makes for the perfect shot.

Throughout the meal making, my husband took video footage of the girls "in character" and out, asking them questions like, "What is your favorite thing your mom makes for dinner?" and tell me one memory you have of the Birthday girl that makes you smile..." While I cleaned the kitchen, my husband edited and copied the video for the girls. We called the party, "Dinner and A Movie." Meanwhile, we ordered pizza and after cooking, the girls watched a movie for a sleepover in the living room.

In the morning, we shared the video and they all cracked up and played till moms picked up!

It wasn't easy to prepare and required effort, but so much of the prep, my daughter helped me with - and we had a great time doing it. I hope you do, too! Bon Appetite!