Concert Pre-Game Party

The Frugal Husband is freaking obsessed with going to concerts. Like, he thinks that it is his secret job, as though he's a member of an underground musical police force who must see all live performances to defeat an evil force in the world. If it were possible, The Frugal Husband would see a show every night. Well, if he could watch football on his iPhone at the same time. Ergo, The Frugal Hostess always knows that, should she want to attend a concert, even a really expensive one, he will be game. As it were. Thus, the Concert Pre-Game* Party.

Pick a concert. Buy tickets for it. To be frugal, please note this MOST AMAZING FACT: you can use your American Express points to buy tickets from Ticketmaster! (!!!) Yep. That's right, folks; even in times of financial woe, you too can see a show. Convince some friends to do the same. It will be easier if you tell them the Amex/Ticketmaster secret. (And, seriously, not interested in your anti-Ticketmaster rants. Get it, they suck, go on about your business.)

The Frugal Household decided to use Amex points for Paul McCartney's recent visit to Piedmont Park in Atlanta. So did friends the Restaurafarians and the Lotta Francas. Or, you know, who knows what form of currency they used, but they got tickets, and everyone converged on The Frugal Household for a pre-concert extravaganza.


Ingredients
Concert
Tickets (Optional. You can pre-game a show you're not going to; it's just not as good.)
Music of Artist Giving Concert
Somewhat Clean House
Folded Blankets by Door
Assorted Hors d' Oeuvres (As an aside, may The Frugal Hostess just say that she only ever refers to hors d' oeuvres as "whores" in her own mind?)
Make-Your-Own Entree (hotdogs, burgers, sandwiches, bowls of chili with toppings)
Two to Four Composed Salads
Beeeeeeeeeeeeer
Booooooooooooze
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Etc. (Optional....)

Directions and Notes:
1. Play CDs or MP3s of the artist incessantly leading up to the show. It will help build excitement and remind people what songs they hope to hear. In the case of The Frugal Hostess's trip to see Paul McCartney, playing Beatles CDs helped her remember all the words to their songs so she could sing at top volume.

2. The "somewhat" in the Somewhat Clean House just means that you shouldn't stop yourself from having this party if you don't have time to deep clean. You should still pick up, you slob.

3. Place folded blankets by the door only if the concert you are attending will take place outside. Presumably, you will not need them inside a venue. However, if you pre-game appropriately, you will forget to bring blankets unless you literally trip over them on your way out.

4. Assorted Hors D' Oeuvres typically consists of at least two and preferably all of the following: cheese and crackers, nuts, cherry or grape tomatoes, crudite of carrots and celery (and whatever else), chips and salsa, and olives.

5. Make-Your-Own-Entrees are best when you plan to, uh, consume with your guests. Surely you'll be able to grill hotdogs or hamburgers - that's easy - or at least throw out some cold cuts. You may want to get the condiments ready the night before. The Frugal Hostess served exceedingly delicious Zweigel's hotdogs imported by the Lotta Francas from Rochester, NY. The available condiments were: ketchup; ketchup mixed with Sriracha (asian hot sauce); mustard; sauerkraut (SO much better than you think - try it! Plus it's easy to make and lasts forever.); pickle spears; celery seeds; tomato slices; relish; diced onion; and pickled peppers. [De-frickin-lish. Chicago dogs rule.]
For burgers, try blue cheese crumbles, bacon, cheddar, tomato slices, pickle chips, onion, or fried eggs if you have time.
For sandwiches, use any of the above. Duh. You obviously know how to make a sandwich. Right?
For chili, get out Fritos, sour cream, shredded cheddar, sliced avocado, chopped onions and tomatoes, and hot sauce.

6. Composed Salads. That may be a Southern thing. Is it? Composed salads are salads composed of assorted ingredients - arranged rather than tossed. These are like pasta salad, broccoli salad, jello salad (so gross! never eat that!), potato salad, or fruit salad. You know, like picnic salads. A tossed green salad would also not be out of place.

7. Beeeeeer, Booooooooze, Wiiiiiiiiiiiine, Etc. Dude, really? No comment.

Rock on!

*Pre-game is a term (both noun and verb) purportedly coined by sorority girls/frat boys to describe pre-partying before the real party. Don't let its lineage discourage you from using it. It's a great word!

photo by Rich007

Baby Showers

The Frugal Hostess loves babies. In fact, she considers herself something of a baby whisperer. She has hosted many a baby shower in her day, and now she’s going to help with yours.

First, some notes on etiquette. (What? You know TFH is old-fashioned. In some ways. Namely, the ways that don’t exclude frequent dropping of the f-bomb.) Please don’t host your own baby shower. That is so extra tacky and random that The Frugal Hostess is struck speechless. If you are hosting a shower for a friend or co-worker, please ask her who she’d like to invite. And, at the risk of stirring up some controversy, don’t hold a surprise shower for a pregnant lady. Who knows what this will cause….

Next, if you are the guest of honor, remember these rules. Get a gift for the hostess(es). Be understanding when she asks you to limit the guest count; she’s not made of money. Remember that your registry, like traffic signals in Italy, is a suggestion rather than a law – people can get you whatever they want, and they really don’t have to get you anything, so take whatever you get and like it. As a wise man once said, “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.”

Finally, all parties must remember that the arrival of a new life into the world is a miraculous, beautiful thing. Marking the occasion should be joyful and fun, not another hash mark to add to the Great Scoreboard of Life. So what if the guest of honor will never get you a baby gift or throw you a reciprocal shower?

Now that the lecturing is over, on to the party. There are all kinds of wonderful themes for baby showers, and hosting one is fun because you can indulge your love of tiny socks or whatever without looking like a freak. Here are a few to think about:

Miniature Baby Shower: Serve miniature versions of the mom-to-be’s favorite foods, like sliders, soup in shot glasses, and cupcakes. Use dollhouse furniture for centerpieces, and send out invitations on miniature cards (you’ll have to tuck these into normal envelopes to mail, but whatevs.)

Library Baby Shower: The Frugal Hostess did this one for a pregnant book-lover. Send the invitations on cards made from children’s books, and ask guests to bring a favorite book to start the baby’s library. Stack old children’s books (bought for cheap at a thrift store) as centerpieces, running pieces of pastel ribbon through the pages and across the table. Place vases of flowers atop each stack. For games, have guests match characters up with book titles. And for your menu, serve items inspired by children’s books, like green eggs and ham. TFH held this party in the restaurant above a famous indie book store, but it’s just as cool at home.

Monochromatic Baby Shower: For some reason, The Frugal Hostess finds monochromatic color schemes extremely soothing. For example, her clothes are lined up in order of color, so that her closet is a fabric rainbow. Thus, the all-pink, all-blue, or, for those parents who want a surprise, the all-white baby shower. Pink showers could serve ham finger sandwiches, pink champagne and lemonade, cupcakes with pink frosting, watermelon, radicchio salad, and radishes with sea salt. Blue showers could do sliders with blue cheese, arugula and walnut salad with blueberry vinaigrette, blue corn tortilla chips and salsa, and stuffed Peruvian blue potatoes. White menu ideas would include a mashed potato bar, clam chowder, marshmallows (roast your own is fun), white bean dip with white tortilla chips, and white pizza. Obviously, the décor matches the color you pick. Think beyond flowers by using scarves, paper, or Christmas ornaments in the correct colors.

OK, OK, these are good ideas, but The Frugal Hostess has one more for you. This is especially good if you and most of the guests are single girls unlikely to want or have babies in the next year. And the guest of honor must be very cool and have a great sense of humor. Or you must secretly hate her. It is elegantly named The Gross-Out Baby Shower. Here’s what you do:

Invitations: Make folded diapers from white card stock. On the inside, cut brown paper to fit, and write the details in white or silver ink. (Pictures and detailed instructions for this coming soon. It’s harder to describe in words than it is to make.) UPDATE: Complete templates and instructions available here.

Food: Split pea soup served in glass containers or baby food jars; cocktail wienies in sauce; veggies and ranch dip; milk punch served in baby bottles; and chocolate mousse.

Games:

1. Diaper Sniffing – Get six real disposable diapers and six different candy bars. Unwrap candy, place in diapers, and microwave for 30-60 seconds (you want a slight melt, not full-on runny). Guests must sniff each diaper to guess which kind of candy bar is in it. So gross!

2. Baby Food Tasting – Get six or so jars of different flavors of baby food. This works best if two are yellow, two are green, etc. Pull off the labels or cover them with your own (you can cut up brown paper bags for this so they aren’t see-through). Each guest gets a tasting spoon and has to guess what flavor is contained in each jar. Yuck!

3. Pinata – Get a piñata in the shape of a baby. Fill it with brown and yellow candy. Just kidding, this is even too disgusting for The Gross-Out Baby Shower.

Sounds like fun! Stay tuned for instructions and pictures, and feel free to subscribe while you’re at it so you don’t miss a thing.

photos by freeparking, peasap, clevercupcakes, and Photo Mojo

Tuesday To-Dos

The Frugal Hostess, as she's mentioned, is a planner. And, since she's cheap, it makes sense to do a lot of advanced planning if she wants to make things herself or look for supplies at garage sales. Here are some of her to-dos for the next week:

1. Start vanilla and vinegar for Christmas gifts. They each take about six months of sitting in the basement. These are super cheap and easy gifts to make, and they are actually useful, unlike some of the CPC that people give as "gesture gifts." TFH will look for cool bottles to put them in at her regular thrift stores.

2. Think about Halloween decorations. Look through craft supplies to see what Halloween items are there. Flip through old magazines for ideas.

3. Pick a date to host a Midnight Supper party. This will most likely be in late September so that dinner can take place outside. Maybe look at a full moon night?

photo by Joe Lanman