Invitations

Have you noticed in the past few years how the internet has become so central to most of our lives? Most everyone I know has an email address and internet access. So, for your next party, why not utilize this medium for sending out inviations, all for free?

Used to, I would design my own invitations on a word processor and e-mail the invitations myself. But, recently I received in my inbox an invitation to an event that had been sent from a free invitation service online. When I R.S.V.P.'d to the event by going to the link that was on the invitation, I could see who all was invited, who had replied and comments they had made about the upcoming party. There was even a link to get driving directions: everything I needed to know was all right there!

So, for the next event that I hosted, I decided to use Evite's free service myself. I chose a design for the invitation from among a good selection, and filled out the details of the party. The website took care of e-mailing out the invitation on the day I specified and kept track for me who had viewed their invitation, who had R.S.V.P'd, and any comments people made. You can even have a place for people to sign up to volunteer to bring something to the party. You can select to send a reminder e-mail about the party as many days in advance as you choose, and after the party, you can upload photos to share with those who were invited.

Checking at the Evite website to see who has viewed your invitation is very important because it is possible that the invitation could be sent to someone's spam folder and they may never see it. This very thing happened to me. I noticed there was one couple on my list that had not viewed their invitation, so I called them to tell them about the party and mentioned the invitation that had been e-mailed. For this reason, and just because for some events it's probably more appropriate to send a tangible invitation through the mail, I personally will limit my use of Evite to more informal type events.

For someone who is always on the lookout for a good quality bargain I can use in intertaining (and you can't get a better bargain than free!) I think this is a great find! Maybe you'll want to try this yourself for your next event!

Copyright 2008 Entertaining On A Dime

To Buy and Ice Cream Cake...Or Not?

A favorite dessert for entertaining, especially birthdays, is ice cream cake. And are they expensive! An ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins that serves 8-12 people costs around $26! That can eat up your entertaining budget in a hurry! But, did you know how easy it is to make an ice cream cake yourself? It will cost you a fraction of the price of a storebought one, and it really isn't difficult to do!

photo copyright 2008 Entertaining On A Dime

Here's what you'll need to make an Ice Cream Cake:


1 box cake mix, any flavor (don't forget eggs and oil to make the mix!)

1/2 gallon ice cream, any flavor that coordinates with the cake mix

5-6 scoops vanilla ice cream (or other flavor you'd like for the "frosting")

1 container prepackaged or homemade frosting, any coordinating flavor to decorate cake




Before you start, make sure you have freezer space for the cake!

Cook cake according to package directions in 8 or 9 inch pans. (Depending on how you make this, you may have a layer of cake left over--See below)

Cool cakes completely, level the tops of the cakes with a serrated knife, then put the cake or cakes in the freezer. (See below)

Set out the 1/2 gallon of ice cream to soften enough to easily scoop out.

Scoop and pack the ice cream into one of the clean cake pans used to bake the cake. (Leave about 3/4 inch space at top of pan to later place the cake on top.) Use a spoon warmed in water to smooth and level the ice cream.

Place the pan with ice cream into freezer.

When cake and ice cream are frozen solid, remove from freezer. Run a hot spoon over top of ice cream to slightly melt it, then set one layer of cake on top of the ice cream. (Cake will be taller than the pan.) Return to freezer.

Set out, in a bowl, 5-6 scoops of vanilla ice cream to soften (or whatever flavor you're using for the "frosting"). Stir occasionally until it is a spreadable consistency, then place in refrigerator.

Put a few inches of hot water in the sink, remove cake and ice cream pan from freezer. Hold the bottom of the pan in the water for just a few seconds, remove from water, and invert the cake and ice cream onto a cake plate. Return to freezer to refreeze a few minutes.

Remove cake plate with cake and ice cream from freezer. Quickly frost with the softened vanilla ice cream, and return to freezer to freeze, about 30 minutes.

Prepare icing decorating bag and tips with the storebought or homemade frosting. Remove "frosted" cake from freezer, and decorate. Pipe boarders, words, or whatever you'd like. You may need to occasionally put the ice cream cake back in the freezer for a few minutes while decorating, to keep the ice cream from melting too much. Keep cake frozen until about 20 minutes before serving, when you should set it out to soften slightly.

Note: You can use the second layer of cake to place on top of the ice cream once the first layer of cake and ice cream are on the cake plate. If you do this, though, I recommend you frost the ice cream cake with actual frosting, rather than softened vanilla ice cream, as you would a regular cake. You'll be able to feed more people this way. Again, you may have to return the cake to the freezer for a few minutes to re-freeze while decorating. I added an extra layer of cake as frosted with regular frosting in this cake:

photo copyright 2008 Entertaining On A Dime

You can see that the flavor combinations are limitless! Our favorite is chocolate cake with Cold Stone Creamery's Cake Batter ice cream and chocolate frosting. Mmmmm!

Let us know what kind of ice cream cake YOU make! Email me a picture and I'll post it here!


Copyright 2008 Entertaining On A Dime

A Quick Decorative Idea for Any Occasion

Entertaining On A Dime was created to give you creative ideas for entertaining on a budget. Here's an idea I came up with recently, while planning and hosting a going-away party for some friends. You can custom fit this simple decorative idea to any event you might host and you'll only need your computer, a printer and a few pieces of cardstock to create it! Here's what I made:

For my event, our friends were moving away, so I thought it would be a nice touch to include quotes about friendship on cardstock. I found the quotes on the internet. For this particular topic of friendship, I searched for quotes on long distance friendships, and friendship in general. One particular website helpful in finding quotes is Quoteland.com. It has a huge number of quotes all arranged by topic. You can find quotes for virtually any occasion if you do a good internet search!

On your word processor, choose a nice font to match the mood of your gathering, and print the card at the bottom of the page, which will allow you to fold the paper in half to sit upright on the table. Trim the sides to the appropriate size. You can also add images, a fancy border, glue on embellishments...be as fancy and creative as you want!

My event was a pot-luck, so I placed my cards on the dining tables. You can place your cards anywhere you think is appropriate...even on the bathroom counter beside a nice candle!

It's always a plus to add little details, like quote cards, to help set the mood of your occasion. Do you have any suggestions on how to do this? Please leave us a comment and let us about your great ideas!

Copyright 2008 Entertaining On A Dime

Entertaining- The Spice of Life!

It is a rare few who don't enjoy the company of a good friend or group of friends! Whether it be a special occasion, or no occasion at all, the memories created can last a lifetime!

But, entertaining can be expensive! I very much enjoy planning and hosting company in our home and away, and in doing so I've discovered some budget-friendly, simple, creative ideas to share with you for your next occasion! Hospitality doesn't have to be expensive!