I think themed parties lend themselves to casual, easy entertaining where children will also be guests. When you have a theme, you can easily come up with the menu, decorations, invitations, games, music, etc.

Some ideas include: Fabulous 50s Party, Mexican Fiesta, Asian Celebration, Around the World, Italian, Mardi Gras, Down Home Seafood Dinner, etc.

I have had lots and lots of casual kid friendly parties...
Cornflake chicken is a favorite. Dip chicken pieces in evaporated milk and roll in seasoned cornflake crumbs ( garlic salt,a bit of chili powder and some dried parsley) lay on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Serve picnic style with biscuits and finger veggies.
Lasagna....salad and garlic bread...
Make your own sandwiches.
Just to name a few...
Linda C

I had a party in Austin for which I asked everyone to come dressed as their favorite Sci-Fi or Comic Book character, and I decorated the living room with styrofoam balls painted in fluorescent paint and hanging from the ceiling to look like planets. I made a flying saucer out of the aluminum pie pans that I tied to the ceiling fan, but it got away. I'm not sure what I served at that party.

I had another party in Austin for my Italian class, and I asked everyone to come as their favorite Italian actor/actress and required that they wear sunglasses. My roommate acted as the papparazzo and took their picture at the door as they signed the guest book (I had two Anna Magnanis) and received their number for door prize drawing. I had written a short script and was going to be Pasolini and have people try out for parts in my new movie (for another door prize), but the crowd was too unruly for that. Some friends volunteered to come early and make ravioli, but they arrived one hour late (still early by Italian standards), and most of the Italians did not arrive until two hours late. The invitations said 5:00 PM - many people arrived on time and left before the Italians arrived at 7:00. I made a couple of pizzas for that party, and that was a big hit.

I like having themes for parties, even though mine were basically for adults. My Italian teacher brought her five your old daughter, and so I had her draw the numbers for the door prizes, and she drew her mother's number first! Then she went into the bathroom and found my toy submarine that I played with in the bathtub and refused to leave the party without it. My Italian teach told me she would return it to me later, and so I let her daughter take it home. At the next Italian class, my teacher returned the submarine to me in front of the entire class. You probably know better how to handle toys than I do, however.

I hope this helps you with some ideas.

Lars

One of my favorite themes is Mediterranean. There are so many options! My usual is smoked eggplant dip and spinach dip with pita, falafel or greek chicken for the main course, tabouleh and tsatsiki, or spinach pies. I buy stuff from the deli to make it easy. They have stuffed grape leaves, marinated feta and all kinds of olives and pickles. For dessert I buy baklava, but there are other options too, some kind of coffee cake or honey cake or something with lemon. You can make kofta which is spiced beef or lamb (or turkey or chicken if you don't do red meat) if you want something on the grill. Syrah is a great wine to serve. I also do this in the summer and serve sangria. It is dead easy to make with 7-Up. You don't have to make it with a sugar syrup and then add soda water and citrus. That's what 7-Up basically is! In the cooler months I make mulled wine and cider for the tea totalers. In the summer I make mint lemonade, vodka opional!

For my last birthday I did what I call the Pasta Buffet. Everything goes in countertop warmers, or chafing stands. Two kinds of pasta, Linguini and Cheese Tortellini, Meatless Marinara and Alfredo Sauces, Sauteed Peppers and Onions, Mushrooms and Black Olives. Sauteed Chicken Breast Strips and Italian Sausage Coins. Garlic and Plain Bread. Ofcourse, Tiramisu for dessert. This was all set out for people to help themselves at their convenience. I had adults and kids and everyone really enjoyed it, and came back for multiple combinations. There are many variations and other Italian items that you could add to this buffet.
Steve

Any kind of "Build-your-own" meal usually works with kids and adults!! :-)
All of the toppings and prep work is easily done ahead of time.

Baked Potato Bar
Chef Salads
Burritos/Tacos
Themed potlucks
Even Pizzas
Premade bread dough, portioned out. Let them flatten and shape it, grill quickly on each side and then they can head for a toppings bar. A little trickier, but could be done for a smaller gathering.

Deanna

Thanks for so many great ideas - you guys sound like you throw some fun parties!
I do the Mexican a lot - that's my standby. I have done lasagna as well. I actually did the lasagna soup that was posted here several times - we did that for trick or treat and it was a big hit. I love the pasta one, I think I could do that - with some additional warmers.
I LOVE the idea of the Mediterranean theme, but have never made anything other than a greek salad! Do you have any recipes to share? We do not have any good delis here that I know of, although I could probably special order some parts of that. That's a great idea too - to have some food ordered in, less for me to worry about.
I love having some new ideas - it will help get me out of the rut and not be so crazed when my husband says he wants to have a party.
Thanks!

I entertain a lot at our cottage...a lot! Simple , casual, easy is my mantra.

Winter favourites are:

Spaghetti with a choice of three sauces, marinara, meatballs and one with mushrooms and peppers. Hoagie rolls too for those who may like a meatball sub.

A selection of 3 or 4 different soups and a variety of neat toppings like grated cheese, goldfish, croutons, hot peppers...all depends on the soups.

Chile and build your own taco bar

Summer favourites:

Build your own individual pizza or quesadilla on the BBQ

An antipasto platter and lots of cold cuts, cheese slices and rolls to build your own sandwich.

Brats and burgers...what can I say! Make it special with a great selection of interesting toppings. Make a huge platter of toppings, they love it! Fried onions, kraut, red onions, several mustards, hot peppers, cheese slices, tomatoes, pickles. Of course you'll want to have potato salad and deviled eggs!

If you want any specific recipes just yell....we've got 'em!

I have some Mediterranean recipes but can't post for a while, I'm swamped with work right now. I'll try and post some later towards the weekend.
Lpink

Here's my standby for entertaining, always well received.

Baked Greek Spaghetti & Cheese
serves 4-6, or more as a side dish.

1 lb. spaghetti, broken into thirds
1 lb. feta cheese, crumbled
4 TBLSP melted butter
3 eggs beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 TBLSP minced parsley
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Break up spaghetti. Cook in 2 qts. boiling water for 6-8 minutes. Mix all other ingredients together in large bowl. Add cooked spaghetti and mix well. Place in a greased baking dish and bake in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes or until top becomes goldwn brown. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving. I use a pyrex 7x11 or 9x13 baking pan for this. Could use any other type of casserole pan too, like an oval or round one.

Note: This does not store well after it is cooked. It is still yummy reheated but you'll have to add more milk and maybe some parm. cheese to revive the leftovers.

This goes well with greek style lemon chicken, which is just chicken baked with lemon, garlic, onions and oregano.

I make this a lot - it is kid friendly, inexpensive and when I make them on the grill you can feed an army without much difficulty.

Alexa

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Greek Chicken Thighs
Serves 5-6

2-3 lbs chicken thighs (Can be boneless, skinless)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic powder (I use fresh minced)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper

Honey Lemon Drizzle
6 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons lemon juice

In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, garlic powder, salt,oregano and pepper. Add chicken thighs and coat chicken well with olive oil mixture. Set aside until ready to cook. (You can do this ahead of time and just leave it covered in the refrigerator until needed.)

Move oven rack as close to top as possible. Preheat oven to 500.* Place chicken on cookie sheet or roasting rack in a single even layer. Cook for about 8 minutes. While chicken is cooking, mix together lemon juice and honey. After chicken is fully cooked, drizzle honey lemon juice mixture over. Return chicken to oven for another 1-2 minutes, or until it is slightly charred and golden.

For additional flavor, you can drizzle more honey and lemon mixture if you so desire.

* You can also make these on the grill, start them skin side down and when dark golden brown turn them skin side up and baste with the lemon honey mixture until they are done.

Alexa you should post your kofta recipe, I got LOTS of compliments when I served it at a student picnic.
Legomom, both red and white meat grilled are great done Mediterannean style with large pita rounds and then add your own toppings--chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, olives, feta, hummus, tahini, roasted eggplant spread, etc.
You can also make homeade falafel, but I'd hardly call that "easy" entertaining. I can get falafel mix, which is easy. Falafel are deep fried chickpea patties. Spicy and good, but I wouldn't bother with them if I couldn't find the mix. With the mix, you just add water to rehydrate, and then shape into patties and fry. Making from scratch involves soaking, cooking and grinding garbanzo beans, or even mashing up canned ones, which I can't be bothered with when there are easy and good store bought alternatives. I'd rather spend my kitchen time making a salad or desssert. Also, not everyone will like falafel so unless your crowd is hard-core lovers of this kind of food (some of mine are), probably isn't worth the trouble.

Lpink - what's kofta? I will happily share a recipe, but I don't recognize that name! LOL!

Alexa

You know, that spicy ground beef lamb thing on a stick that you grill?