Social eating: big bear's birthday party

Last weekend we hosted big bear's 4th birthday party at our house. This meant lots of food, drinks and a whole lot of stress. From my last post, I had a plan to keep a handle on the social eating. My plan was simple, write down what I was going to eat before eating and stick to it.

So how did it all shake out? Did I make a plan? Did I follow it? Did I need a plan?

Actually, the party itself was fine. Typically, I overeat on appetizers, but I barely touched them. The appetizers were in another room. Plus, I picked fairly friendly choices to serve: hummus, tzatiki with crackers, shrimp and a vegetable plate. For dinner, hubby made pulled pork sandwiches, bean salad and coleslaw. For dessert, I had one cupcake from big bear's puzzle birthday cake.

Did I plan beforehand? No. In this case, I didn't really need one for the party. Probably because I had a lot of control over the food choices and it was busy and stressful. However, even though I managed fairly well with the food at the party, leading up to the party was another story. Mainly because of the birthday boys cake (below).

I snacked my way through the baking and decorating process. I also made two trips to the Bulk Barn and helped myself to the smarties and gummy dinasours that I picked up. Plus I made 3 cups of buttercream icing. And I'll admit to partaking in a bit of leftover icing.

What are the lessons learned from big bear's birthday party? Next time, I will make an eating plan for the cake making and decorating. Lucky for me, more practice is coming: little bear's birthday party is in two weeks!

Ok, it's off to bed, I'm nodding off while typing.