Buon Apetitio!

Get yourself together for a family get-together! Julie Gallagher, our Children’s Party Expert and owner of “In Good Company” www.ingoodcompany.co.za shares her ideas for creating a fabulous, easy as pie pizza party that’s a whole lot of fun for all the family.

To purchases the recommended accessories to help complete your look visit www.ingoodcompany.co.za

 THE SCENE
Create an Italian café vibe by covering tables with checkered tablecloths (Checked Oilcloth Dinner Tablecloth R375 each) and string red and white bunting around the room (Fabric Bunting R120). You can easily use these supplies again, as this red-and-white colour palette works well for both Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

For table or buffet centerpieces, fill mini metal buckets with potted fresh herds like basil and parsley and colanders with fresh tomatoes and coloured peppers. Make empty Olive oil or wine bottles into candlestick holders by pushing dinner candlesticks into the spout and pre-lighting to have that already-dripped look.

Make your own Italian place mats by printing colour copies of the Bon Appetito Printable – a free download is available at http://www.ingoodcompany.co.za/downloads/category/62-pizza-party and lay one at each place setting.

THE FOOD
Start off by serving antipasti: on a wooden breadboard display a variety of salamis, cheeses and olives. One can also dice up tomatoes, garlic and basil and spread onto bread for bruschetta or make a sandwich salad by alternating slices of tomato and mozzarella cheese with basil leaves.

For the main course, set up a make-your-own-pizza station, where guests can create their own edible masterpieces, featuring salami smiley faces or hair made of grated Cheddar cheese. Each guest receives his own prebaked mini pizza base, made with store-bought refrigerated dough, and chooses from a selection of toppings.

Offer Italian wines for the adults complete with a moustache corkscrew (R145 each) and a typical aperitif like Sanbitter in traditional café glasses (R80 for 6).

Time for dessert? Serve individual scoops of gelato or ice cream in paper cups (Sambellina Ice Cream Cups R70 for 12) or sugar cones and allow the kids to garnish them with various toppings, like red and green sprinkles.

THE GAMES
Moustache Madness
Let everyone channel the Super Mario Brothers with stick-on moustaches (R60 for 6) or make paper ones using the free Moustache printable – http://www.ingoodcompany.co.za/downloads/category/47-moustaches

For added fun decorate retro striped paper straws with these too (Retro Stripe Paper Straws R50 for 25).

Meatball Race
Have everyone form teams and deliver a “meatball” (a golf ball or a racquetball) on a spoon to a designated location and back without dropping it.

Bocce Ball
Each player gets a ball and one person throws a starter ball roughly 2 to 3 metres ahead, then each guest tries to throw his ball as close to the first ball as possible. The closest wins! (Garden Bocce set, available for hire R50, or buy Carpet Boules R90).