Atomic Suburban Labor Day party tips, ideas and recipies!!

Happy Labor Day, and of course, Happy Labor Day Soirees!

I hope this end of summer holiday weekend is filled with end of summer traditions, and exciting thoughts for fall! I know I am so looking forward to all the fall holiday parties and celebrations- some of my favorite parties all year. But before I get ahead of myself, here are some retro Labor day party ideas that are still as fun now as they were when you were in knee socks and loafers... (OK, so I still where knee socks and loafers, but you get the point)



Pull out all the stops this weekend and have a:

"Atomic Suburban Labor Day!"

Find some 1950's cookbooks at goodwill or antique stores, tear out the pages and paste index card invites on each one. Tell everyone to dress in their suburban finest! And send those invites the old fashioned way - in the mail! Everyone loves getting something in the mail that is not bills and that damned field and steam you did not subscribe to!



Plow and Hearth Patio furniture!




Buy some retro printed sheets/ fabric to create picnic table cloths, and spread them out on tables around your outdoor space. No tables? Just place it on the grass with some throw pillows!
(Retro cloth rentals available through Swank Soirees)






Serve drinks in mason jars, metal camping mugs and thermos tops - have nonalcoholic standbys like homemade strawberry mint lemonade, organic peach iced tea and spicy tomato juice! (Drink containers like these available for rental through Swank Soirees)


In addition, serve up a spiked punch option for the adults in the bunch - you can get one of these vintage crystal punch bowls complete with ladle and matching glasses online for around $30 and it will be a smash for all types of parties - apple cider for Halloween, egg nog for the holidays! A true retro summer favorite is Melange Picard Punch - garnished with floating orange slices and naturally colored maraschino cherries, of course! (Rent a punch bowl for less through Swank Soirees)




For noshing, really any backyard BBQ food will be appreciated - with a retro twist! Picnic-ers in the 1950's loved rolling their hot dogs in pancakes! Update this idea a bit with Vegan apple sage sausages wrapped in Lemon kamut pancakes, and topped with organic honey mustard!. My favorite sausages are the Field Roast Grain Sausages - they are soy free (find them at Vitamin Cottage and other local natural grocers). Add some Vegan potato salad, chilled tomato wedges, grilled corn on the cob with a Vegan chili lime butter, baked beans, and for dessert, Vegan Gingerbread and Cherry pie. And don't forget the watermelon! (Find some of these recipes at the bottom of the blog!!- contact Courtney Hayes for a complete listing!)



Now that the kids have had their share of natural sugar, and the adults are nicely "warmed" by the punch, its time for...lawn games!!


Create teams by pulling names out of a hat- mix kids and adults for more fun! Have each team get together and create their team name, and them write each name and their scores on an over sized chalkboard.


Some of my favorite lawn games are:


Sack Race


Egg and spoon race


Water balloon toss


3 legged race


Red rover


William Tell Race (apple on head)


Sweep race (broom and a ball around obstacles)



Winning team gets some great prizes - Large mason jar full of your homemade lemonade, old fashioned style natural candy, and a reusable bag its all placed in for each member of the team!




So what are you waiting for???? Get out there and celebrate the last bit of summer (Or save this blog to do for next year!).

With sunscreen and scraped knees,

Courtney Hayes - Event Designer and Owner of Swank Soirees LLC

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!RECIPES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Strawberry mint lemonade

4 Cups Water
1/3 Cup Agave Nectar
4 cups fresh organic mint leaves
1 quart fresh cut organic strawberries
1 cup organic lemon juice, fresh squeezed


Directions - Place 2 cups water, agave nectar and mint in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into a blender, discard mint. Thinly slice 1 cup of strawberries and set aside. Add 1/2 of the remaining strawberries to a blender and blend until smooth; pour into 2 quarter pitcher. Stir in sliced strawberries and remaining water. Add sugar to taste if needed, stirring until dissolved. Cover and chill until serving.


Melange Picard Punch

For party's of 20 use large punch bowl. Pour 1 bottle Melange Picard into 1 gallon water. Add 1 quart Distilled Dry Gin--Juice of 3 lemon--1 can crushed pineapple. Stir will, place a 6-inch square piece of ice in bowl and decorate with sliced oranges and Maraschino Cherries. Serve in 3 or 4 oz. glasses. (From Vintage Chicks)


Lemon Kamut Pancakes

1 C. Kamut pancake mix (Arrowhead mills has a great mix)
3/4 C. plain or vanilla organic yogurt
2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 C. rice milk

zest of 2 lemons
1/4 C. fresh organic lemon juice
1 organic egg or flax seed egg substitute
3 Tbsp vegan butter melted
Vanilla extract if added plain yogurt


Directions:
Put pancake mix into a large bowl, Mix all wet ingredients together in small bowl. Quickly add the wet ingredients to the mix, stir until mixed. Cook on a skillet pan or large frying pan, as per usual for pancakes- but make sure they are large enough to wrap around a sausage!
(My husbands secret recipe- shh! Don't tell!)


Vegan Potato Salad

20 small organic red potatoes, quartered
1/2 C. organic red onions, minced
1 C. organic seedless red grapes, halved
1/4 C. fresh organic cilantro, chopped
1/4 C. Veganaise
3 Tsp. Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper


Directions:
In medium saucepan, boil potatoes until tender, Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside to cool. Once potatoes are cooled, combine and toss all ingredients! Yum! (from The Garden of Vegan cookbook)



Happy Labor day!