Creating Food Stations at Your Labor Day Party

As the Labor Day weekend approaches many are thinking of gatherings they're planning to celebrate Labor Day.  Today we offer ideas for adding pizzazz to your Labor Day outdoor party (works for indoor parties too) by using food stations.

If you live in an area that has not been either hit by a hurricane or burned under the merciless sun this summer and can still have an outdoor event this Labor Day, rejoice! And take note of how to make your gathering the most interesting in your neighborood.

Food stations continue to be trendy and can be elaborate, but it's not difficult to add the same interest factor to your Labor Day gathering by using the idea adapted to a more casual setting.

Here's all you need to know:

• Find or borrow (or buy) tables to equal at least three.  Can be any shape, really, and best if not very small.  If you want to make the tables look harmonious, cover them with the same type of tablecloths; or embrace their differentness as part of your decor (maybe using the same centerpiece or decorations on each of the tables to somewhat unify without dealing with tablecloths).
• Look over your outdoor (or indoor) space for your Labor Day gathering--where can you set these three tables so they aren't too close together? A triangle configuration works well.  Don't put more than one table close to the house or you defeat the whole idea. And keep the beverage table or bar as a separate thing.
• When you have your three tables (or more configured), divide up the food so that there is food on each table.  Yes, that's all there is to it, essentially.  You can make this work best by keeping the same types of food on one table.  For example, the appetizers or snacks on one table, the main course and sides on another, and the desserts on another. 
• Tell guests as they arrive something like: "Appetizers over by the X tree, main course will be over by the deck, and the dessert will be over next to the pool," or something like that, identifying by some marker or identifier and even pointing out each table.

What's the point of this?

Well, guests love this as it gives them something to do and they can "investigate" the yard, so to speak, which gives them something else to do, and they see and socialize with people coming and going from this or that station in the yard, so that's another thing to do, and it reminds people of childhood treasure or Easter egg hunts, which makes most people feel good. 

Some guests will even say, "Oh, I never realized how nice your  flowers/bushes/trees/lawn/pergola/gazebo is/are," even if they've been there before, because they never really looked at it in the way that food stations promote exploring a space.

We can almost guarantee that it will make for a more interesting Labor Day gathering.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com