I love accuracy in everything, so I always make a birthday menu in advance. Even if the guests are scheduled almost for tomorrow, I will still make time for this. It is better to spend an extra 10 minutes writing a list than to go to the store twice because of something you accidentally missed.

What lists are needed?

I write several lists at once:

  1. a list of dishes and drinks that will be on the table;
  2. list of ingredients and purchases;
  3. a to-do list, that is, a sequence of actions so as not to forget anything.

Example: organizing a husband's birthday at home

I will show you how I organized this process for my husband's birthday.

Initially, we decided that we would celebrate this day together in a restaurant, but later my husband said that he would just like to sit with friends and drink beer ... and this is at home ... tomorrow. Does it happen to you? In 5 minutes, the men decided that the restaurant was canceled, and long live home feast. Shock? Stress? No, absolutely.

We specify the number of guests: together with us, we got 6 adults and 2 children. So the menu I counted on this number of people.

If you have more time, it means more opportunity to plan everything carefully and correctly, but if you don’t have it, as in my case, just stop for a few minutes and think about what the people who come to visit you like. I know that two of the guests do not eat liver, two more seafood, etc., so these dishes on the table are not desirable. It is probably impossible to take into account all tastes and preferences, but what guests do not eat for sure is not worth cooking. And vice versa, if you know for sure that your guests love some of your dishes very much, they always eat it first, be sure to cook it!

I don’t really bother with the compatibility of dishes, I cook what I am sure of. Just because it's a beer party doesn't mean there won't be cake or light snack. Less conventions, unless you have to meet some ambassador.

An example of a birthday menu at home

Previously, my menu did not always fit on one sheet. Three salads, three types of sandwiches, 3-4 appetizers, etc. Naturally, all this remained after the holiday and disappeared. What for? To show what I am good hostess? This is superfluous, my guests already know it :)

I'm not calling you to minimalism, I'm calling you to be objective. Just think, would you eat so many dishes at a party? If so, you don’t need to invent anything else and add another extra salad.

Because I have little time to prepare, I chose all the recipes simple and not too labor-intensive:

Salads and appetizers

  • Salad with smoked chicken(satisfying)
  • Spring salad (light)
  • Tomato salad with green dressing (instead of appetizer)
  • Baskets with mushrooms and chicken

hotter

  • Rustic potatoes
  • Grilled chicken wings
  • Khachapuri homemade

Dessert

  • Strawberry yogurt cake

Beverages

  • Beer, wine
  • Juice, compote, tea, coffee

Additionally:

  • Adjika, mustard, ketchup

Recipes:

Making a shopping list

If I cook according to certain recipes, then I select all the recipes I need on the table: I print them out, take them out of folders, or set aside notebooks.

Why do I need it? So I am sure that having written out all the ingredients, I will not miss anything I need, but I will not buy too much either. Often, relying on our memory, we stand at the store counter and cannot remember how many grams of chicken we need for a salad, or whether there is cheese in this dish at all, so we always take more than we need, being safe.

I making a shopping list based on the ingredients of the recipes I need. After reviewing all the ingredients, I write out only what I don’t have at home, immediately indicating how many grams, kilograms, etc. I need one or the other. My list this time looked like this:

Tip: Take the time to rewrite your list to match the departments of the store you go to. I know exactly the location of my favorite supermarket, so I start with fruits and vegetables, then meat products, cheeses and sausages, etc. Those few extra minutes will save you a lot of time in the store. you will not rush around the entire store, but calmly go around it only once.

And one more important point. If there are products on the list that you need to go to a specialized store or market, take them out separately. With such a detailed list, you can send your husband to the store, and do other things yourself.

I think you noticed that on my list chicken wings and potatoes are highlighted in red. That's because we ordered them to be made at a beer specialty store that has a huge grill. If there is an opportunity to facilitate your preparation, and you are sure of the quality, be sure to use this. Price difference from raw foods not as big as it might seem.

We plan a sequence of actions

Important plan a sequence of actions so that before the arrival of the guests do not run around in an apron and a dressing gown, cutting food.

Everything that can be cut in the store should be cut there. Having a sliced ​​​​loaf and sliced ​​\u200b\u200bsausage for sandwiches on hand, you spend 5 minutes, not 20.

I said that I am writing a list of actions, while indicating what the husband can do, for example. And don't forget to include things like hair washing and beauty treatments on your list. You don't want to remember this half an hour before the guests arrive.


What can you do the night before

If possible, do some of the preparatory work the night before: cook compote, bake cake layers, boil eggs and vegetables. In the morning, you can start cooking directly, rather than preparing the ingredients and chilling them.

I cooked compote in the evening to cool it down, baked a biscuit, and made croutons for salad in the cooling oven. Also boiled chicken fillet and eggs. In the evening, it is better to clean the house, wash the bathrooms and wipe the dust. Tomorrow you just might not be in time.

If I cooked the wings at home, then I would pickle them in the evening too. I usually marinate the wings in a mixture of vegetable oil, soy sauce, ketchup and honey with garlic.

If possible, then in the evening you can cook the whole cake, it will perfectly stand in the refrigerator until the next evening. If not, then start from this point in the morning.

Morning

In the morning it is necessary to do the remaining preparatory work, namely, cut the eggs and chicken fillet for salad and baskets.


I trained myself to cut the same type of food for several dishes at once, for example, all eggs for all recipes. Naturally, I take into account how many of them are needed for which dish, and I divide them into different salad bowls. It really saves time - you only wash the grater, board and knife after this product, and not 3-4.


You can also do with cheese and other products. At this stage, I also cook mushrooms so that I no longer have to be distracted by snacks.


It is important to do it in advance stuffing for baskets , then you just have to lay it out in baskets and bake. cook salad with smoked chicken. Since all the ingredients are already cut, it will take quite a bit of time.


What is important to do during the day

In order to switch, and simply not to miss this moment, you need to set aside all the necessary dishes that you need for serving. I put it on a chest of drawers in my room, checking to see if anything needs extra wiping or rinsing along the way. Of course, it is better to accustom yourself to thoroughly wash and wipe the dishes after each feast, then before the holiday it will take only 5-10 minutes.

Prepare the tablecloth and napkins. Refrigerate drinks if necessary.


Whisk dressing sauce spring salad and tomato salad .

cook spring salad , for which mix 4 diced boiled eggs, sliced ​​​​radish rings, thinly sliced ​​\u200b\u200bcucumbers. Separate a third of the green tomato salad dressing, add sour cream and dress the spring salad. Garnish with quail egg halves.

Transfer the adjika to the bowl (if there is no adjika, take care of another sauce for the wings in advance).


What to do in the evening

An hour before the arrival of guests, you can start cooking sandwiches . Sharing a family recipe. At first glance, the combination is strange, but try them, you will definitely like them. Lubricate the loaf slices with a thin layer of butter, mayonnaise or tartar sauce, lay the sausage slices and top with a slice of kiwi. Garnish with half an olive.

How long did it take for this dish? On the strength of 5-7 minutes, because. only kiwi had to be cut. Such sandwiches look spectacular on the table, kiwi gives sourness and emphasizes the taste of sausage. In this recipe, it is best to use boiled smoked sausage.


If you decide, like me, to make khachapuri, then put the dough on the kneading. We need about 40 minutes to knead and rise. We will do the main work when the guests have already gathered.

While the bread machine is running, spread the filling in baskets . When the guests are already at the table, put the dish in the microwave for a few minutes.

cook tomato salad , it is quite simple, so it is prepared quickly.


It's time to set the table. You can put appetizers and salads, sauce, sandwiches.


It only took me a few minutes to heat up the wings and potatoes. The table is set, the guests are assembled.


If you, like me, decide to treat your guests to khachapuri, then it's time to roll out the dough. They bake pretty quickly. So the guests will not have time to deal with snacks, as you serve them with heat and heat on the table. No fuss, but no one will leave hungry.


I hope that in this birthday menu at home you will find something useful for yourself, making it easier for you to prepare for a holiday or a feast. Put on a beautiful dress, a radiant smile and meet the guests!

Merry and joyful home holidays!

Want to have a great birthday party by inviting relatives and friends, but don't have enough money? You should not give up on your dreams.

If you think in advance about how to hold the upcoming event and set the table, you can save a decent amount and get good gifts. The plan for the birthday and the menu should be taken care of in advance.

The list should include the following items:

  • where to invite guests - at home, in a cafe, to the country house or to nature;
  • whom to invite;
  • entertainment list;
  • budget menu.

Regarding these points, the cost of the holiday is planned.

Budget birthday

Winter, spring, summer and autumn perfect option birthday celebrations with the invitation of relatives and friends - at home, if you save a little money in advance every month.

If you start doing this six months or eight months in advance, denying yourself insignificant expenses - an extra trip to the cinema or a bottle of beer in the evening - you will be able to prepare for the holiday. In addition, the presence of close relatives seeking to congratulate, itself implies the option when an aunt is asked by the mother to “bake that a delicious cake”, and from the side of the pope - to make that “wonderful salad”.

Usually, those who are asked are moved by the recognition of their culinary skills, and are unlikely to be asked to make amends.

In the most “difficult” case, they can be told that they don’t need a gift, just let them come.

This will help to reduce the cost of the holiday menu.

Considering various ways“enter the budget”, you need to remember homemade recipes. Potatoes cooked at home are cheaper than when the dish is ordered in a cafe. No need to try to impress guests with frills, if funds are limited, make 1-2 salads, be sure to hearty hot, delicious sweets.

Olivier recipes allow that sausage can be replaced chicken meat. With sweets - ask for help. Kale salad is worth a penny at any time of the year. No need to save on hot - otherwise the guests will be dissatisfied.

One of the cheapest options for dishes is potatoes with meat in a pot. The table is set like this - 2-3 salads and each guest has a pot. You can put quite a bit of meat in a pot, and potatoes are inexpensive. Yes, and additives when served in pots are usually not asked.

If the invitees are familiar with each other, they will entertain themselves. No, you don’t need to spend money on a toastmaster either. If you learn 3-4 toasts by finding them on the Internet, and prepare 2-3 contests, you can find them there, no one will be bored.

Option - birthday in nature

You can celebrate a birthday in nature not only in summer, but also in winter. True, in the second case, a dacha is needed - one's own or some friend's. The most expensive part of the menu in nature is meat and alcohol. AT summer period it is enough to buy beer for the whole company, in winter you will have to buy something stronger.

A win-win option for a birthday in nature is barbecue, they will decorate any table.

It is unlikely that older relatives will go to nature, usually close friends celebrate birthdays in such conditions. They can be offered not to give a gift, but to bring some part of the products instead. Usually young people are happy to accept this idea - in our time it is quite difficult to choose something worthy.

What will be the menu and what everyone gets in this case is discussed in advance. Otherwise, you run the risk of celebrating the holiday with 4 loaves of bread and without other products. The table will be original, but you will not be able to eat.

Theme parties

Themed parties are also inexpensive. In this case, the company usually gathers with similar interests, in costumes, attention is fixed on the performance. The table can be set, as for a buffet - sandwiches, mineral water, alcohol, sweets.

If you have a beer party during your birthday, then spending will be moderate. The main menu is beer, snacks - crackers, chips, fried nuts - if it does not turn out to be too expensive. You don't have to spend money on crackers.

There are many recipes for homemade crackers that are much tastier and healthier than store-bought ones.

  • A loaf of bread or a loaf of bread is cut into even cubes and placed in an oven heated to 120-130ºС for 5-7 minutes;
  • seasonings are mixed to taste - fresh and dry herbs, crushed garlic, cheese, fried onions, salt, pepper, ground ginger - of course, not all at once, but to choose from - with olive oil;
  • the resulting mixture is impregnated with bread slices;
  • spread on paper on a baking sheet and again put in the oven for the same time at the same temperature.

Parchment for frying is necessary, it absorbs excess oil. Setting a birthday table for a beer party is simple and inexpensive.

How to celebrate a child's birthday on a budget

What is important for children children's day birth? Friends, gifts and sweets. That is why it will not work to save on gifts - it is unlikely that the baby will agree if the mother offers the grandmother to buy a cake instead of a gift.

The way out in this case will be an invitation not for lunch or dinner, but for tea. Adults can set the table in the kitchen, and children can make room for games and entertainment. The more competitions, the more fun.

We offer the following games:

  • take an empty chair;
  • "deaf" phone;
  • tie inexpensive toys on a thread, blindfold children and let them cut them off.

If it is difficult to buy toys - they do not fit in the budget - they can be replaced with sweets, apples or oranges.

You need to keep in mind right away: it will not work to celebrate a children's birthday and not put carbonated drinks, sweets and other sweets on the table.

Practical advice - when choosing a menu for young guests, you should consult with their parents. Kids are offended if there are goodies on the table that are inaccessible for health reasons.

Budget Gifts

If someone has a birthday, and you definitely need to come with a gift, but there is not enough money, you can get out of the situation in the following way:

  • make an original gift - a personalized mug, T-shirt, plate;
  • make something with your own hands - knit slippers for a friend or relative, sew original potholders;
  • present to your beloved man some original little thing “with meaning”.

Parents can buy slippers or a warm blanket as a gift.

Not really a good option- to find something new at home, donated recently and not yet unpacked. You can do this, but where is the guarantee that this “trifle” was not donated by this girlfriend or friend?

You should not refuse to celebrate your or someone else's birthday if there are not enough funds. There are many options for a budget holiday and finding the right one for yourself is not at all difficult.

Birthday is the most important holiday for most of us. But over time, fantasy is depleted, monotonous dishes appear on the table. I want something new, but no less tasty. What should be the birthday menu? What original can be put on the table, surprising the guests?

Composition of the birthday menu





If you decide to celebrate your holiday at home, then you need to decide in advance what dishes and in what quantity you will cook. However, one should not overdo it here and cook too many all kinds of dishes, most likely, it will not come to most of them. In addition, it should be relatively easy to prepare dishes, especially if you will be doing the cooking alone. Otherwise, you will be so tired that you will no longer want a holiday or a festive table.

The choice of dishes for your birthday depends on the format of the event. Will you sit at the table all the time, or maybe you want to arrange a buffet table, and soon move on to entertainment and dancing. In addition, here it is necessary to take into account the age of your guests and the time of year. The colder it is outside, the more food will be eaten.

Write on a piece of paper how many salads you want to cook, how many snacks, hot. Moreover, try to cook as few dishes of the same type as possible. For example, if you decide to make a traditional salad "Herring under a fur coat", you should not do one more fish salad such as Mimosa.

Traditional dishes for a birthday

  • First, of course, snacks. There should not be too many of them, their goal is not to kill the appetite before the main course, but rather to excite it. Three to five types of snacks will be enough on the table.
  • Secondly, it is of course salads. It will be enough three types of different salads. And it's just great if the base of these salads is different, for example, fish salad, vegetable and meat.




  • Third, cutting. Slicing is not considered a separate dish, but it should always be present on the table. Do not make too many cuts of one product - such dishes quickly wind up and spoil the overall look. It will be enough for 1 plate (depending on the number of people) of meat, fish, vegetable and cheese cuts.
  • Fourthly, a side dish must be present on the birthday table. At least one kind. Most often, this is either mashed potatoes, or potatoes baked with mayonnaise.
  • Fifth, and this is practically the main dish on the table, hot. One kind of hot must be required. But you can cook 2-3 types, for example.
  • And the final chord of the holiday is dessert. On the festive table it must be mandatory. It can be a cake, a pie, a variety of cakes or cookies, ice cream, jelly and puddings. Here, focus on the preferences of most guests. If you do not know their tastes, you can cook two or three types of dessert to please everyone.

Snacks for the birthday menu

Lavash roll with crab sticks


Compound:

  • Crab sticks - 200 g
  • Sausage cheese - 200 g
  • Garlic - 2 cloves
  • Butter - 100 g
  • Mayonnaise - 100 g
  • Lavash - 2 pieces
  • Dill - 1 bunch

    • Cooking:

    • Crab sticks cut into small cubes. Cooled sausage cheese and butter grate and mix with crab sticks.
    • Finely chop the greens, crush the garlic, mix with the previously prepared mixture, add mayonnaise and spices. Spread the resulting mass with a thin layer on pita bread, roll it up, wrap it with cling film on top and put it in the refrigerator for several hours. Before serving, cut into beautiful pieces, obliquely.

    Salad with chicken and pickled mushrooms


    Compound:

  • Hard cheese - 200 g
  • Smoked chicken - 400 g
  • Pickled mushrooms - 50 g
  • Onion - 2 heads
  • Boiled eggs - 4 pcs
  • Garlic - 3 cloves
  • Fresh tomatoes - 5 pcs
  • Lemon juice - from ½ lemon
  • Salt, mayonnaise

    • Cooking:

    • Finely chop the onion, fry it with mushrooms. Cut the chicken into cubes. Three cheese and eggs on a grater.
    • We make sauce. To do this, mix mayonnaise with lemon juice and garlic.
    • We begin to spread the salad in layers, spreading each layer with the prepared sauce and pressing down a little. The first layer is chicken. The second layer is mushrooms with onions. The third layer is the eggs. The fourth is cheese. Fifth - tomatoes.
    • Tomatoes can be cut into shapes to decorate the top of the salad.

    Hot for a festive birthday menu

    Meat with cheese and mushrooms


    Compound:

  • Pork - 600 g
  • Mushrooms - 250 g
  • Cheese - 150 g
  • Flour - 200 g
  • Mayonnaise - 200 g
  • Pepper, salt

    • Cooking:

    • On oiled vegetable oil lay out half the onion on a baking sheet, which we previously cut into rings.
    • We cut the meat like chops, along the fibers, about 1.5 cm thick, beat off, salt and pepper. Put the meat on a baking sheet, on top of the onion.
    • Mushrooms are fried and put on meat.
    • Put the second half of the onion on top, cut into rings, lightly press.
    • Sprinkle our dish with grated cheese on top, pour over with mayonnaise and put in a preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
    • You can make this dish even simpler, and use no raw mushrooms, but marinated. Then they don't need to be fried.

    How to decorate a holiday table?





    Prepared dishes, both salads and hot dishes, cuts and snacks, you can beautifully decorate, giving them additional beauty. Such dishes will seem even tastier.

    Bon appetit and happy holidays!