A "Pop"pin Out Party

Since my daughter's due date was the day before Thanksgiving, the monthly dinner girls decided THEY would plan the December monthly dinner. Little did we all know, Miss Jenna arrived 2 weeks early, but the plan was already in place, so we stuck with it.  This dinner party was so much fun and no stress for me!  Some super creative ideas the girls came up with as they hosted a She's
"Popped" Popcorn inspired dinner party.  Here's a photo of my little girl... (isn't she a cutie!)

I am a HUGE popcorn lover, so this theme fit perfectly with my likes. I also "popped" Jenna out after only 3  1/2 hours of labor and only 25 minutes after walking in the hospital, so the theme truly did fit my experience!

Decor:  The table was set with a white tablecloth and popcorn related centerpieces. The main centerpiece was a popcorn ceramic bucket that I received as a gift years ago.  The girls filled it with tissue paper and then popped popcorn on top.  They placed a scalloped vase on each side tied with a red ribbon and filled with popcorn kernels and a tea-light.

At each place setting, the girls used a piece of red and white striped scrapbook paper as a place mat, a red napkin, and a typed menu.

The place card was these super cute popcorn bags filled with popcorn!  Yummy and cute!  The bags were purchased at Michaels.

A side table was set up with two huge bowls of popcorn and salt shakers filled with various toppings.  The four seasonings were cinnamon and sugar, cocoa, Parmesan cheese with Italian salad dressing powder mix, and the cheese packet from a Macaroni and Cheese box.  My favorite was the Italian seasoning...so yummy!  The girls placed favor bags for guests to try out different kinds.  We realized quickly that the toppings didn't stick without butter, so we melted some butter to sprinkle over before adding the seasoning.

Added decor:  The girls had a small baby shower for me a few weeks ago, and each guest made a onesie for Jenna.  Iron-on material was adhered to the back of fabrics and the girls cut out the designs of their choice for the onesie.  My girlfriend, Michelle, the host of the shower, then sewed around the edges to finish each one and make it so they could be washed and not fall off.  She brought these to the monthly dinner and we hung them up as added decor.  I absolutely LOVE this idea for a shower, and I cannot wait for Jenna to wear these cute onesies!

Menu:  The menu was also popcorn inspired. We started with a green salad with "baby" tomatoes. Instead of croutons, we had garlic Parmesan popcorn.  The garlic Parmesan popcorn was delicious on the salad as well as by itself.  To make it, you air pop popcorn and then mix it in a zip lock bag with Italian seasoning packet, Parmesan cheese, melted butter, and a little bit of granulated garlic powder.

For the main dish, we had popcorn crusted chicken tenders, popovers, and "un"popped corn.  The popovers really did look like giant popped popcorn, and they tasted great.

For dessert, we had Nutella "Pop" Tarts.  These were made with short dough, which is like a sugar cookie dough, but a little flakier.  Nutella was placed in the middle and a second rectangle placed on top and glazed with egg wash before baking.

Favor:  The favor was popcorn balls on a stick.  These were like Rice Krispie treats, but made with popcorn.  My friend also added M&M's and peanuts to it.  As you can see, my oldest daughter dug right in and finished it all!  The tag attached to each one read, "Thanks for "poppin" by for the party."

This was such a fun party.  The girls, especially my good friend Deanna who did all the cooking and most of the planning, created such a neat dinner and theme.  The food was delicious, and I absolutely love the creativity.  Baby Jenna and I thank you!!