kids' recipe swap party

Parents always have tricks up their sleeve when it comes to kids' foods. They somehow figure out what to whip up to stop their kids from crying, get them to eat more veggies, and take just one more bite. It's impressive. But sometimes you need to expand the repertoire.

I have a plan. Get some parents together to join forces and swap healthful, kid-approved recipes and tricks for getting kids to eat better foods. I'm calling it a potluck playdate. And with the school year coming up and everybody's schedules getting busier, it's the perfect time to build up the arsenal of go-to foods to feed the fam and fill the lunchboxes.

Here's how to make it fun for the kids and the parents:

• Ask the parents to bring bite-size portions of their kids' favorite food.
• Also ask the parents to send you their recipes in advance.
• Print out all the recipes, and give a set to each parent when they leave.

As the kids snack, the parents get to see which foods their kids like most so they know which recipes to try first. Plus, each child is guaranteed to love at least one dish (the one their parents brought), and that enthusiasm may help encourage any squeamish kids to try the new foods. Sneaky.

Need recipe ideas? Epicurious has compiled a list of nutritious, kid-friendly foods, and the Zoom website has recipes kids can even make themselves. Share your own favorite kid-tested recipes in the comments!

frozen whiskey sours? brrr-illiant

Frozen whiskey sours have a way of disappearing. For example, there was one in a glass sitting beside my computer just a few minutes ago, and now it’s gone. (I drank it.) When I make this concoction for parties, I typically run out within the first two hours of my soiree. And the recipe makes a lot.

The frozen whiskey sour may give the margarita a run for its money in the Most Awesome Frozen Cocktail category. (Nominations for other Most Awesome Frozen Cocktails will be accepted in the comments section below.) There is, in fact, much to love about the frozen whiskey sour. Such as:

A.    You can make it in advance, and it sits patiently in the freezer until you are ready to consume it.
B.    It is very refreshing and a guaranteed hit at a summer party.
C.    It is delicious.

And if you normally don’t like whiskey sours, not to worry. You’ll like this. I’ve never encountered a person who didn’t.

go for the gold

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Okay, show of hands. Who else watched the men's Olympic swimming relay alone and found yourself cheering and jumping around and bummed you didn't have anyone to high-five or chant "U-S-A" with?

Don't make that mistake again. Watching the Olympics is a great reason to invite people over. We'll make it easy for you: Send the Evite invitation above, order in some Chinese food, get doughnuts for dessert (and display them on a platter in the shape of the Olympic rings), put your patriotic pants on, and let the games roll. Good times guaranteed.

See, it's easy. You didn't even have to break a sweat. You can leave all that to the athletes.

party by numbers: housewarming party

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Have a new house, condo, apartment, rented room, doghouse or dollhouse? Here are three quick steps to help you invite people over to warm it up with you.

1. Invitations: Check out our housewarming invitations. The one above is one of our most popular. On your invitation, just write something short and sweet like "I've/we've moved! Come by and see my/our new place." If you're throwing an open house and don't expect guests to stay for the whole time, you can specify that people should "drop in" or "stop by." If you're only serving beverages and snacks rather than a full meal, make that clear in your message to guests by stating "snacks will be served" or "come have a drink with us."

2. Food and Drink: Keep food simple with large platters of small, room-temperature, sweet and savory foods you don't have to spend the party restocking: chips and dip, cheese and crackers, crudité, cookies and brownies. At a daytime party, serve an assortment of beverages, such as coffee, tea, juices, soda and sparkling water. If you want to add a party theme and guests are asking what they can bring, make it a "stock the bar" party, where guests bring a bottle for your collection (cover the basics by buying mixers and some liquor, wine and beer). If you don't want alcohol at your party but still want a theme, make it a "spice up my home" party and ask guests to bring a spice for your pantry.

3. Activities: Here are some of our favorite ideas for housewarming parties.

• Have a painting party. If your friends are handy and willing, enlist their help in sprucing up your new place. Order in takeout and crank up the music to keep your workers happy.
• Tired of your bare new walls? At your party, take a photo of each guest in one part of your new place (a specific chair, nook or doorway) and use those photos to decorate that area.
• Host before and after parties. No need to stress before the "before" party; just set up the folding chairs and laugh at the wallpaper. Then have an "after" party once you get the place set up nicely.

Get more tips in our housewarming party guide.

question of the week: carnival food

When you want to eat some truly unhealthy food, look no further than your nearest county or state fair. Upon entering, the smell of funnel cakes lures you away from the games and rides toward the food stands. Then your eye catches someone with a Flintstones-esque turkey drumstick in their hand, but you're distracted by the whirling sound of the cotton candy machine. It's such a smorgasbord for the senses that you don't know which guilty pleasure to indulge first.

And let's not forget about the frying. Fairs and carnivals are the purveyors of all things fried. A few years ago, people were amazed by deep fried candy bars. Now you can find all your favorite junk foods batter-dipped and fried, from Oreos to Pop-Tarts. And even deep-fried Coca-Cola!

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Bjorn Identity

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This week, I was astonished when a twentysomething coworker had never heard of ABBA. I know! What a dum dum diddle! Especially with commercials for Mamma Mia! airing every other second, how can anyone not know (and worship at the altar of) Sweden’s hottest export (outside of IKEA and those yummy gummy fish)?

Well, the incident at work got this dancing queen to thinking: We need to make sure that future generations aren’t tragically denied the joy of all things ABBA. Do you want the only Bjorn your kids know to be the baby carrier they rode around in? I didn’t think so.

So show some love to the B-man and his bandmates Benny, Agnetha, and Anni-Frid by planning a fun, kids-welcome ABBA-themed party with your friends ASAP!

Find out how, after the jump(suit) ...

ice, ice baby

Things made of ice have always amazed me. It all started when I was 12 years old and saw an ice sculpture of a mermaid on a cruise ship. A couple years ago at a friend's wedding, I was in awe of the vodka ice luge perched atop an entire bar made of ice. I've accepted that these icy works of art probably aren't going to be gracing any of my future parties, but this ice shot glass maker can give me the next best thing without having to wield a chisel or a chainsaw.

These shot glasses are obviously great for frosty libations, but why stop there? I want to use them as containers for chic, little hors d'oeuvres. I'm thinking gazpacho shooters topped with a spoonful of crème fraîche and chives. Or even a prawn dipped into an individual serving of cocktail sauce (double dip away!).

Whatever you decide to serve in them, keep in mind that people aren't going to want to hold these for long — nor can they! Just make it something they can sip and go. Cheers!

boys boys boys

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When a girlfriend and I were hanging out with some guy friends, we decided we were going to watch Blade Runner and not invite them. This mild taunting session continued until we determined we were going to throw a full-scale testosterone-inspired slumber party that was girls-only. In retaliation, the boys threatened to have an all-male slumber party with mud masks, nighties and pillow fights.

In the end, while the utter ludicrousness of the girlie party for guys created a humorous visual image, we knew the fellows would never make good on their threat. But the (admittedly stereotype-heavy) guy-themed party for girls was a party my friend and I actually wanted to throw. It’s the perfect foil to a super-girlie slumber party, and it would go a little something like this:

• Decor should be non-existent. Easy on the wallet and requires no prep!

• Poker should be involved. Maybe also Wii or the board game Risk. (I haven’t heard guys talk about Risk since high school, but I once had to listen to a long conversation of who dominated whom at Risk. This seemed important to the fellows in the conversation, and I remember thinking to myself: This must be a guy thing….)

• Food should be ridiculously unhealthy. My friend and I claimed we would have fried food only at our party. But ordering pizza and buffalo wings from Pizza Hut would be a good route too. Also, as far as I can tell, guys seem to have a thing for Mother’s Cookies. Or, at least, they sometimes bring them to my parties and then proceed to eat them all.

• My friend and I claimed we were going to host a double feature of Blade Runner and Repo Man. (I’ve never actually heard guys discuss Repo Man, but it was playing at a second-run movie theater at the time and got thrown into the mix.) Highlander is a good testosterone-friendly movie as well.

• You need beer. Budweiser will work fine.

shrinky art = big fun

There's a growing trend in the online crafting community: make-your-own versions of favorite childhood activities. We recently covered DIY spin art, and GoodyBlog just featured the Dabbled blog's make-your-own Shrinky Dinks. What a fun and inexpensive party activity for kids — you can make keychains, suncatchers, necklace charms, even holiday ornaments — and for craft-minded adults (love the wine charms shown above).

Some other fun party crafts include making bead necklaces, origami, paper flowers, candles, sand art and decorating your own costume for a costume party.

question of the week: olympic games

Competition on a global scale, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat — the Olympics really has something for everyone. It all kicks off with the opening ceremonies on Friday, which I hear will include performers "flying through the air like Peter Pan." Awesome!

We all have our favorite events that we can't wait to watch. I'll be setting my DVR to record swimming, diving and gymnastics. And new on my Olympic games radar this year: Trampoline. (Did we know it was an Olympic sport? It's like gymnastics with a dash of diving!)

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