A Well Stocked Pantry: Foodless to Fabulous

About a year ago, I was honored with the task of helping a very good friend’s MOH (maid of honor) with planning the Bachelorette Party.  Seeing as how we were all laid back girls, we decided to have a fun night in (trust me it was FAR FROM BORING) instead of perusing the town.

Set Up of Party Decorations

I decided to hold the event at my apartment and I offered to make a cake, supply the games and entertainment for the evening.  The MOH was in charge of food and drinks.  I had decorated my apartment with streamers, balloons, colored lights, and some naughty but fun games.  I had created awesome party favors, decorated the cake, and arranged the table for the food that was to arrive via MOH. 

However.. to my surprise... when the MOH arrived over, about a half hour before the rest of the guests where to arrive to pass off the goodies, she had forgotten ALL THE FOOD!  Yes, not some, but ALL of the delicious finger foods that we had discussed for a couple week prior were NOT with her.  All she brought was Pina Colada mix, Rum and a blender (not even ice!)

With only 20 minutes until the Bride was supposed to arrive, I was a bit frazzled (as you can ONLY imagine!), but then I calmed down and had a solution, because I was prepared.  I had my Mr. Fix it boyfriend (who helped me hang the really high streamers and arrange the colored lights) go get a bag of ice for the drinks.  The MOH was tasked in picking up the “to-be bride” already so I had to pull everything together.  I was left running around my apartment trying to gather up some food. 

Lucky enough I was prepared, thanks to Emily Post!  (Who would have thought that Emily Post would have helped me with planning a Bachelorette Party!?) 

In “Emily Post: Entertaining“ she explains how a good hostess keeps a well stocked pantry for last minute celebrations.

I took this little tid bit to heart and I usually have supplies on “stand by” such as:

Salsa and Chips

Skyline Chili Cheese Dip Supplies (a Cincinnati Favorite)

Crackers

Pretzels

And some toll house cookie dough in the freezer…

Because I already had this food on hand all I had to do was toss everything into a bowl and the dip and cookies into the oven.  I had just enough time to pull it out before the Bride, MOH and other guests arrived.  Although this spread was not as classily table-scaped as one would have hoped, the party was not totally ruined due to a lack of food.  In fact, it was a rather appetizer party if I do say so myself!

This little tip by Emily Post SAVED my friend’s Bachelorette party from being “Foodless to Fabulous.”

Have you ever had this happen to you?  What type of supplies do you keep on hand for unexpected guests?