Invite: Of course the invitation had to have lots of hats. I decided to use red as my main color because I already had a tablecloth in that color. I designed the invitation to have various hats on it - simple and cute to wild and fun. Other than that I kept it simple.
Decorations: Hats, hats, and more hats made for easy decor. I borrowed hats from friends as well as used hats of my own to decorate. I used mostly my kids' dress-up hats for the centerpiece since they are small and more can fit on the table. I just lined them up along the table like a table runner and used some candles/cups to elevate some of them.
For the place cards, I made top hats out of cardstock. I cut black cardstock into a 5.5" x 2" strip to use for the top hat, cut two slices for the name card to slide in, and then secured the cylinder with glue from a glue stick. The bottom circle was 3" in diameter. I used hot glue to adhere the white ribbon and then printed a name card to slide into the top. Super simple and quick to make.
For the napkins, I created a simple origami hat using napkins from the dollar store. I wanted the rim to have a different color, so I just used two napkins in the fold. I stapled the ends of the hat since it was so thick and I didn't want them to come apart. They were still easily broken apart for guests to use during the meal.
For my wine, I designed labels that matched with the theme. For the chardonnay, I changed it to Char-beret and added an image of a French beret. "J'aime le vin blanc" was also added to tie in the French vibe. For the red wine, I used the image of the joker's hat from the invitation letting guests know that it was no joke that the wine was good.
For wine charms, I found clipart images of various fun hats. Printed them, cut them out, and tied them to the glass stems with ribbon.
Menu: I had to get a bit creative to match my hat theme to my menu items. I started with a Kentucky Derby cheese hat appetizer. If you do this theme for a party, create this appetizer because it is super easy to put together and the guests gobbled it up. I bought a brie round for the bottom of the hat and a Boursin garlic and fine herb cheese round for the top. I loosely tied a ribbon around the Boursin, added some parsley for a flower garnish, and spread Wheat Thins around the hat.
The main dish was a Cowboy Hat Stew. Loved this recipe because it was a one pot dish, very filling, and tasty for sure. I used the recipe from Gonna Want Seconds. It was a hit at the party and with 2/3 of my picky children, so I think I will definitely make it again.
Along with the stew, I served a Chef Hat Salad. This is a hearty salad, so after this and the stew we were pretty full. This chef salad was a bed of romaine and iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, hardboiled egg, cucumber, bacon, turkey, and cheddar cheese.
For one more hat, I made garlic bread witch hats out of crescent rolls. Just folded up the bottom of the triangle and curved the top, brushed each with melted butter, seasoned them with Italian seasoning and garlic powder, and then baked them for 10 minutes.
For dessert, we had make your own ice cream sundaes served in mini baseball caps. Many of us were very full after the meal, but there's always room for ice cream, right?
Favor: I decided to make homemade salsa for each guest as a party favor. I put the salsa in small mason jars and added yellow ribbon and a mini sombrero to the top. I purchased the straw hats at Hobby Lobby along with some mini pompoms and used a glue gun to space the pompoms out along the rim.
I didn't give out prizes for the hats, but it was fun to see the ladies wearing their various hats. Hats off to you in 2023. I hope you have an amazing year!
