Party Scribbles: “Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!”

I was staying with my older brother for Christmas last year and my nephew got The Hunger Games as a gift. Lacking something to read I asked to borrow it. It was New Year's Eve.

It was the first time I stayed up all night in years!

The next day no stores were open. I literally paced the floor, kicking myself for not getting a Kindle where I could have just downloaded it. The day after I bought Catching Fire and Mockingjay and devoured them in one sitting. I shared the obsession with my daughter, and we have been counting the days until the movie, pre-purchased tickets in hand!

We had a quick Hunger Games inspired dinner for friends last week, I wanted a rustic, homey feel, what I imagined a district might serve versus an elaborate capital banquet.

For the table decor I used a few yards of burlap down the center of the table and gathered baskets from around my home. I made Beef Stew and labeled it Lamb Stew. I'm not a fan of lamb and knew the kids would eat beef stew. Of course there was a big basket of crusty bread from Mellarks Bakery.

Sleep Syrup Bottle Wraps

There were Gatorade bottles marked with Sleep Syrup.

Mellark Bakery Tags & Sign

I made bakery size chocolate chip cookies, wrapped them in parchment paper and tagged them with the Mellark Bakery tags and glued the sign to bamboo skewers. I also made apple tarts which technically aren't tarts, more like folded apple pies but wanted something that were easy to pick up.


Greasy Sae's Special Buffet Tags

When I was thinking of what to serve I wanted a Greasy Sae item. I was originally going to do some sort of casserole. Her "specials" were usually things you didn't want to identify while you were eating them which reminded me of casseroles. But I wanted another appetizer, so I went with hummus and pita chips.

Fruit Cornucopia Buffet Tags

For fruit cornucopias I mixed green and purple grapes, mandarin oranges, blueberries, pineapple, maraschino cherries and put them inside waffle cones. The bonus was the pineapple turned purple from the blueberry juice and looked like the purple melon described in the books. Um, yes I totally meant to do that.


Goat Cheese & Basil

The idea for the goat cheese and basil was this Salad On A Stick recipe. So easy and addictive. There was also a bowl of spring salad greens.


Cupcake Wrappers and Toppers

Cupcake wraps featuring the 12 district symbols and toppers with symbols from the story: girl with a bow, mockingjay, silver parachutes and dandelions. The dandelion symbol is one of my favorite from the books!

Tracker Jacker Anti-Venom & Essence of Nightlock Party Favors

I made labels to fit hand sanitizers that read "Tracker Jacker Anti-venom" and "Essence of Nightlock.

There are also invitations that can be worded for birthday, book club or movie viewing parties.