Party Panache, Last Minute Derby Day

What do you do when you decide at the last minute to throw a little Derby Day bash but don’t have the first horse shoe or red rose?
You shop your house and see what you can find!
I did have some faux pink and red roses that looked festive to me, and I made a print out of the race horses
I grabbed some festive hats for CC, DD, & me,
the only ladies attending
HHjr decided he was not going to be left out, and after seeing some of the bizarre hats being worn, he disappeared and fashioned his own Kentucky Derby bonnet out of hydrangea branches…
“Gigi, Dad is outside making a hat out of branches” Big E reported
Oh no…
It was pretty hilarious…
Last year I found a fun webpage from Courier Journal that generates your Derby horse name from your first initial and birthday
The names are quite silly, but lots of fun and I added a win-place-show area and printed them out to use as ballots
I didn’t think the children would want to vote, but they were into it
and the most exciting 2 minutes of sports was indeed very exciting!
Being last minute,
no time to prepare Kentucky Hot Browns or Pecan Pie…
I did manage to throw some Southern cheese straws in a trophy style MKC bowl
Fresh mint in a silver cup
HHjr cooked pizzas from Papa Murphy’s in the pizza oven
these take and bake pizzas are quite good
DD brought dessert and much fun was had by all!
With a little imagination and help from PicMonkey,
it went from a simple Saturday,
to a special event!
And here we are, Sunday and Cinco de Mayo!
No party today, but tonight’s menu is festive
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Olé
I hope you’re having a weekend full of fun!
🏇🌹🏆🌹🏇
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Meal Plan Monday Dishing it & Digging it, Between Naps on the Porch,
Merry Monday Make it Pretty Monday Celebrate and Decorate,
Tasty Tuesday Oh My Heartsie Girl Full Plate Thursday
Looks like you all had a blast Jenna! Happy Cinco de Mayo:@)
Ole!
Well, how fun was that?!! It always looks like a party’s happening at your place. That pizza oven’s getting its workout, isn’t it, Jenna? I need some fun like that in my life right about now…..
You poor thing, you need a spa vacation and be totally pampered for a while! We are enjoying the patio and pizza oven so much, such a great place to gather!
Jenna, your last minute party looks perfect. HHjr’s derby hat is hilarious. You amaze me with your hospitality and wonderful parties. Have a wonderful day!
thanks Pam, we have a lot of fun…
What a FABULOUS idea! And I have to say, HHJr has the idea! Cracked me up. I love it to the max!
it was hilarious!!
We had a Derby Party last year and this year we went to one. I actually want to host it again next year… adding some of your touches!
HHjr.’s hat was toooo funny!
You can throw a party in no time… good for you!
I want to host one with a little more planning next year too…yeah, that hat was really funny!!
Spur of the moment makes it extra fun! Live, laugh, love, right? Your son has a great sense of humor and his hat was so creative! Keep it going, makes life so much more fun and interesting. 😁 we plan on some good Mexican food today also. YUM!
He is quite the joker, I almost cried laughing when I saw that hat!! Thanks Cyndi!
What fun Jenna …you did good girl and I love HHjr’s hat. LOL Wow! the drama around the Derby this year….I can’t remember anything quite like it happening before. I might have to make up a Derby Table next year based around the happenings this year. LOL
Yes, the drama was something…the kids were getting frustrated waiting to find out the winner, wow, I did feel sorry for the Maximum Security jockey, he looked so devastated when he discovered there was a controversy..
What a fun party, Jenna!Love all the hats!! 😀
thanks, we had a lot of fun!
The ballots are so cute! What a nice touch. 🙂
thanks, everyone gets a kick out of their silly names!
Jenna, I just responded to you email, and then you post pops into my inbox. Love that you hosted this KD Party. It looks like everyone had some fun with the theme. I especially like HH Jr’s festive hat. I’d say he wins the prize. It was very inventive and actually very attractive. Next year you should have everyone style thier own hats and offer a trophy to the winner. All your other details are right on, Jenna. I think it woud be great fun to host a KD Party.
Happy Sunday and Happy Cinco de Mayo!
What a great idea Sarah, yes, next year will be the year of the hat contest! When my son came in with that hat on I burst out laughing, it really was hilarious…he’s really funny anyway, but this one will be hard to top! Thanks Sarah, and Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Super fun Jenna for celebrating Derby Day…so controversial this year, I felt so bad for everyone. I remember those horse generated names 🙂 I agree with Sarah, your son wins the prize. I always love watching the TV coverage to see all the fun hats. Hope your Cinco de Mayo was muy bueno. ♥
I know, that was quite awful! I almost died laughing when my son walked in with his hydrangea bonnent…he is a funny guy anyway, but this just might top them all! We’ve got big plans for next year, going to go all out!
Your Derby day looks amazing Jenna. You amaze me with your talents and ideas! Girl, do you sleep any or do you think of all these wonderful things to do and cook, and bake and make while you are suppose to be sleeping? Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ha ha, now that you mention it, I am pretty tired today!! Thanks Cindy!
Last minute parties are always fun…and if anyone can pull one off, it is you!
oh thanks Karen, we had a lot of fun!
Love the silly horse names! 😄 How fun and creative Jenna!! 🏆
Yes, we’ve already got ideas for next year!
What a fun weekend. Lots of great food and of course the hats. A special day to celebrate. The silly horse names are cute. You definitely pulled it all together.
thanks Linda, it was lots of fun!
You could easily be a high in demand party planner Jenna! What cute ideas at the last minute. I love shopping my house too, so much stuffed away never know what I’ll find! Your son’s a funny guy with his hat. How fun he didn’t want to be left out. Lovely set up, everything was party perfect……..
thanks Emily, it was a a lot of last minute fun! A family friend arrived with his fiddle and the kids were all dancing around the patio. Even though it was raining off and on Ryan was cooking pizzas and nobody seemed to care…I am tired this week though, there has been something every day, baseball playoffs tonight 😴
Jenna, I bet this was so much fun! I also love HHjr’s idea for a hat…pretty creative! Hugs!
Yeah, he is a funny guy!