We recently hosted a youth group party at our house (would you believe how much food they put away?! haha) and I thought I’d share my food “game plan” for the evening. As summer approaches, I find myself wanting to do more entertaining, and one very easy way to do that is to invite people over for appetizers/finger foods and games. Here are some ideas to get you started!

– veggie platter and dip (cucumbers, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, grape tomatoes, red/green/yellow peppers, radishes, etc. with French onion or another kind of dip)

– fruit platter and dip (in-season fruit, such as strawberries, cantaloupe, pears, peaches, pineapple, apples, green and red grapes, blueberries, etc. with cool whip/lemon juice dip or something else like vanilla yogurt)

– cheese and crackers (cubes of two to three types of cheese, wheat or Ritz crackers)

– tortilla chips and salsa (about as easy as it gets; sour cream and guac optional)

– lunchmeat pinwheels (flour tortillas spread with thin layer of cream cheese topped with lunchmeat, rolled up, sliced, and secured with toothpicks; serve with mustard on the side)

– warm cheese pastry (wrap a block of cream cheese with crescent roll pastry and bake until golden brown; serve with a knife and crackers such as wheat thins)

– cheese fondue (find an easy recipe; serve with French bread cubes, veggies, and/or Granny Smith apple chunks)

– lemonade made from frozen concentrate makes an easy (and delicious) beverage!

A few tips:

Don’t forget to set out little plates, napkins, and toothpicks!

Try to use in-season vegetables and fruits to help save money. If blueberries are $4.99/pint, use apples instead!

Do as much ahead-of-time prep work as you can (i.e., cube the cheese, chop the veggies, put the salsa in a bowl and cover it in the fridge, etc.) so that at the last minute you can focus on the things that have to be done at the last minute (hot dips, cutting up certain fruit, etc.).

Remember that what people are going to remember about coming to your home is not the fancy food you made or how clean your kitchen was, but the memories they made while they were there. Don’t spend so much time in the kitchen that you neglect your guests!

What are your favorite party appetizers? What tips do you have for making entertaining fun but not stressful? Feel free to leave your ideas and recipes in the comments section, or post a link to your blog!