Ice Cream Social...Miss Manners June 2018

I hosted an "ice cream social" for the Miss Manners girls a couple of Saturdays ago at my parents' home. My parents basically live next door to us (actually - they've been there 25 years, us only 12), so it was easy to pack up a few boxes full of things and take it all over the day before. 

It was a rather large group - fourteen - so in the beginning, I set two tables. This one is in my mother's larger and more formal dining room. I initially set two tables - eight and six. When two girls called the night before to cancel due to illness, we moved two place settings into the larger dining room and just set them all together in there.

My color scheme was pastels - cool and girly!

I picked up a $5 bouquet of these pastel-dyed mums at Walmart to serve as a base for my floral arrangements. All the greenery came from my mother's yard.

  

Two wooden block signs served as my centerpieces. These came from Hobby Lobby this year and were 40% off.

I picked up two rolls of the pastel print wrapping paper from the Dollar Tree to serve as a base for my tablescapes. It pulled all my colors together perfectly!

Everything else came from me or my mother. I used her white tablecloths. I already had the placemats - the came from Dollar Tree a couple of years ago - and the white chargers. I picked the chargers up at Dollar Tree back around Christmas. The flatware is mother's. It's Oneida, but I 'm not sure what the pattern is called. Pink plates and paper napkins came from Dollar Tree. The paper plates are not thick or sturdy, so I had the girls carry the plates on the charger when they went through the buffet. Mama had the great idea to roll a piece of tape to attach the plate to the charger so it didn't slide off. 

Mother and I both have a set of the ice cream sundae glasses, so we used them. The ice cream cone at each place setting is actually a bottle of bubbles! I found them in a pack of three for $1 at Dollar Tree this past Spring.

I had the pink and green shred in my gift wrapping supplies. After the party, I saved it to use again one day in a clear gift bag. I always have left over paper straws, so I keep them in a box for future use. The frappe bottles belong to me. I have about three dozen. Brack "volunteered" to drink the frappes for me over the course of a couple of months several years ago! They're perfect for kids' parties.

I found the cute striped vase in my mother's china closet. It was perfect for the color scheme!

Here is the table in the smaller dining room after we moved a couple of place settings. Some of the moms ended up sitting here during lunch. The mint-colored tablecloth is my mother's. It actually belonged to my grandmother years ago. It was perfect for the color scheme. I love to use old things!

Another one of the Hobby Lobby signs. These will probably show up in one of my seasonal hutch displays soon!

Aren't the balloons precious? They came from Dollar Tree as well. They already had the confetti in them. We discovered that if you ran your hands over them once they were inflated, it created static and the confetti would stick on the sides and not just settle in the bottom.

Another angle shot of the table.

Closeup of the balloons.

The balloons and flowers look like they were made for each other!

For lunch, we had pimento cheese sandwiches...

corn and black bean salsa...

fresh strawberries...

and chips and homemade dip.

The girls visited in the living room until everyone had arrived.

We had a quick etiquette lesson about how to start a conversation at a party with someone you may not know very well. The girls always listen and practice what they learn! 

They used their manners as they waited their turn in the buffet line.

We often review what to do if you are served something you don't like. They also know not to overload their plate the first time through the line!

Part of our lesson that day was being sure to talk to the people on both sides of you at a luncheon or dinner party.

Before the meal, we practiced different conversation starters so they would have something prepared to say in case they were nervous about talking to someone new.

Such a sweet bunch of young ladies!

For dessert, we built our own ice cream sundaes. I had two trays with identical toppings to make things move more quickly. The cute ice cream trays came from Five Below. They were $2 each!

A picture worthy creation!

The girls were so excited about making their own sundaes.

Who doesn't love ice cream?

Sweets for the sweets!

They were very careful as they assembled their creations.

Each one was a work of art!

Afterward, we braved the heat to visit the horses.

The horses were excited to have some company!

My parents have the best tree for a swing. My SIL is a professional photographer, and she hung a swing one year for Spring pictures. The grandkids have always loved it. Now that they have outgrown it, a new group of kids was able to enjoy it!

Several of the young ladies brought hostess gifts, but these two were especially cute!

One of my friends has a crafting business, and she made the canvas screen and homemade frame.

Her sister-in-law is an artist, and she and her daughter painted this watercolor for me. Is it sweet?

We also did a simple craft which, apparently, I did not photograph. We made cards with ice cream cones on theme. Anyway, we had a wonderful afternoon. The girls always love to dress up and attend parties! I'm so thankful that my mother helped out by co-hosting this party!

I'm so glad you stopped by my neck of the woods!

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