Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Chocolate Lover's Party

I absolutely love chocolate. So, it would only make sense that a chocolate lover's party would sound...amazing to me! I hope you enjoy your chocolate party just as much as I enjoyed planning it!







Invitations:




Supplies- One Hershey bar for each guest (the kind wrapped in foil), computer with printer, paper, tape or glue



Instructions- Take the brown wrapper off of each Hershey bar, but leave the silver foil on the bars. Replace the brown wrappers with your own customized wrapper like the one I have created below (which you are welcome to use, although I'm not exactly sure the measurements are correct). Print the party info on the inside of the wrapper. The size of a full size Hershey bar is 5" wide x 5 1/4" long.

Decorations:

  • Brown and beige balloons, streamers, cutlery, etc.
  • For a girl's party, I love the Paisley party decor from Hobby Lobby- for the quality, it's not a terrible price and you can often get a coupon for 40% off one item.
  • Make a candy bar bouquet!
Supplies: Vase or jar, shredded filler, a piece of floral foam, bamboo skewers, candy bars. Optional: ribbon

Instructions: Fit a piece of floral foam to your vase, then fill the vase with shredded filler in the color of your choice (to cover the foam). Poke the skewers into the foam, then add the candy bars. Decorate with ribbon. Here is a picture of one that someone made.


Games:


  • M&M guessing game- I'm sure you've heard of this before. Fill a jar with a certain number of M&M's and make sure you remember how many there are! As guests are coming in, allow them to write their guess for how many M&M's are in the jar on a sheet of paper. Whoever gets the closest number without going over wins the jar of M&M's- yum!
  • Musical Chocolate Bar- Wrap a chocolate bar in several layers of wrapping paper. Instruct the children to sit in a circle, then let them begin passing the chocolate bar around the circle while music plays in the background. When the music stops, whoever is holding the chocolate bar gets to unwrap one layer of paper. The game goes on until someone opens the last layer- that player wins the chocolate bar!
  • What kind of candy bar? Unwrap several different kinds of candy bars (make sure no one is allergic to nuts) and cut off a small piece of each. Lay them on numbered napkins with the name of the bar underneath. Let all of the children examine each candy bar sample using sight and smell. They must write what kind of candy bar they think is on
Activity:

Make Chocolate Truffles

I got this recipe from a party on birthdaypartyideas.com.

Before the party put 3 cups of semi sweet chocolate and 1 can of sweet condensed milk into a saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Let cool for 2 hours. During the party let each guest roll some of the chocolate mixture into small balls, and then dip the balls in candy decorations. Place each truffle in a paper candy cup and put in a small box for each guest to take home.


You can find mini muffin cups (which would work for candy cups) at Amazon.com (100 for $5.44)

Refreshments:

  • Chocolate ice cream sundaes with hot fudge and chocolate sprinkles
This hot fudge recipe from Desperation Dinners is a family favorite:

3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened baking chocolate
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 pinches salt

Put the chocolate, butter, and cream in a 4-cup glass measure. Microwave, uncovered, on high, until the chocolate and butter are nearly melted, about 2 minutes, stopping once halfway through to stir. Remove from the microwave, and stir until the chocolate and butter finish melting.

Stir in the sugar. Microwave 1 minute, uncovered, on high. Remove and stir well with a wire whisk. If the sauce is grainy, microwave just until the sugar melts, 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Do not overcook. Whisk to stir well.

Whisk in the vanilla extract and salt, and let the mixture cool a little. Serve warm or at room temperature.*

* Notes

Sauce can be refrigerated, covered for up to 2 weeks. Or frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator and reheat in microwave, uncovered, on high, until warmed through, about 1 minute


  • Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting
  • Chocolate chocolate chip cookies
  • Chocolate milkshakes
  • Chocolate pudding
  • Chocolate Chex Mix
  • Fruit dipped in chocolate
  • Chocolate dipped pretzels- Easy to make using milk chocolate almond bark
  • Oreo cookies
  • Any chocolate candies
  • Bagels with chocolate chip cream cheese
  • Chocolate sodas

Must have chocolate fondue at your party? Go for the Wilton Chocolate Pro- much more affordable than a chocolate fountain! (Amazon.com, $26.39)

Favors:

Instead of sending your guest home with a bag of trinkets, invest in a few nicer items for them to take home.

  • Once again, I must tell you that I love Hobby Lobby's party supplies. For just $1.99, you can get ten adorable pink and brown paisley favor boxes.
  • Purchase a large Hershey's chocolate bar for each of your guests- I believe a little under a dollar a piece.
  • Send your guests home with a tube of chocolate Nesquick lip gloss (Amazon.com, $2.50/3), or make your own, using empty lip balm tubes (Containerandpackaging.com, $0.15 each).
  • Hershey's Kisses (a bit expensive)
  • Tootsie Rolls

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