1st Holy Communion Reception Dinner

[Jikoni]

My daughter is having her first holy communion on the 27th May. I will be hosting dinner at a Chateau that is three minutes away from where we live, the place does not have a proper kitchen, just a grill and a sink. I am looking forward to it without the day turning out to be a really hard working day for me. Grill and salad ideas will be most welcome. Keep in mind that it will be inter-cultural. How does one decorate for first holy communion anyway?Thanks in advance.

 

[Claire]

Much more of a celebration than most of us would have here in the U.S. But as for decorations and food, go with a nice spring motif. Don't get too carried away, you're in a chateau, for heaven's sake, let it be the star. Put out some flowers that are in season at the time, but let the girls and boys in their finery be the real centerpiece.

Make your deserts fruit oriented, especially seasonal berries. I would make up some kabobs in advance -- this is a crowd pleaser since you can make some with just vegetables, some with lamb, some with chicken, etc. It makes the grade as far as the different cultures go. It is also the kind of finger food that children like. As a matter of fact, since your cooking is limited, I'd go with kabobs, period. Put berries and chunks of other kinds of fruit on skewers for the desert, and have some whipped cream or topping (I'd buy the frozen kind and just thaw it for my crowd, they prefer it to the real thing) to dip them in. Then make up meat and veggie kabobs to grill. Then I'd have some kind of starch-based salad (potato, pasta, or rice salad); once again, something easy to make up in advance and easy to accomodate many different cultures and religions. My favorite dressing for pasta or potato salad is half mayonaise, half yogurt, with lots of chopped herbs added, and maybe something tart like pickles or green peppercorns. For rice salad I find converted rice easiest for the purpose, dressed with an Italian-style dressing. Both get whatever vegetables are pretty when I go to the grocers.

All of this stuff is easy to make in advance, and very kid-freindly.

Funny, I don't really remember anything we ate at my first communion. I do remember one of my little sister's, but not the other two.

 

[Swann]

Decorations: White ribbons and flowers. Put some cute pictures of your daughter around the room. Get a large portrait of your dau. with framing that can be signed by the attendees.

Food: Serve your daughter's favorite foods which are probably kid type so all will enjoy the party and easy on you.

 

[Jikoni]

Thanks for your ideas so far.Claire, are you a party planner? Well the dinner was not meant to be a big deal (we wanted to get home and have a nice leg of lamb with our friends and relatives who will have travelled to witness the do)But my daughter and her best friend decided to bring the two families together for their big day.Our garden would have been fine, but what if it rains, so we quickly looked around for somewhere and found that our village chateau had not been booked for anything that day.

 

[Banana Brain]

Well I'll tell you what's NOT fair, when my sister had her first Holy Communion there was a cake and a party. What did I get? A postcard from Grandma. Not fair. Sorry, OT rant.

For decorations I agree with Swann that it seems more like a lacy ribbon type of party than a cheesy confetti party.
For food, I would bring a cooler and serve mostly cold dishes. Everything Clair said sounds nice, but also get something the kids have probably never tried beofre. Something exotic maybe and popularly liked somewhere else. Baklavah perhaps? Hummus with veggies or pita chips to dip? Chevre in salad or on toast? Mini-quiche? Definatly fancier desserts like Brushetta. It just adds to the formalness of it and makes it feel more special and not like a "little kid" party. All of these things can be found in the frozen food section of trader Joe's.