We have had a Kentucky Derby watching party the past few years,
wearing crazy hats, picking the winners,
noshing on apps and sipping cocktails…
Of course in early May, everything was shut down
and we were so disappointed…
But when we found out it was rescheduled for Labor Day weekend
we were thrilled!
It has become a family tradition to gather at the beach house
for Labor Day, with HH’s sister and her family,
together we are 12 adults and 11 children
Since everything we do is outside
we felt comfortable keeping the tradition this year
Daytime is spent boating and in the evenings we cookout,
the adults watch sports and chat
while the kids swim in the pool or play in the sand
We couldn’t watch the traditional Alabama football season opener,
which is delayed until September 26
But we could watch the Derby
and have our Kentucky Derby party!!
I got busy and printed out the betting sheets
We have been using these sheets the past few years,
there is a site, here, that generates kooky fun horse names
by entering the first letter of a name and birthday
Each child was included too,
they really have fun picking the winners
Instead of betting with money, we bet for prizes
Everyone chose a horse to win, place and show,
and we watched “the most exciting 2 minutes of sports,”
cheering on our choices!
My financial genius nephew calculated the votes
and declared the winners after the race
Each bag was filled with goodies for the whole family,
fancy BBQ sauces, mustards and other jarred condiments for the guys,
scented soaps and shower gels for the ladies,
and lollipops for the kids
The win and place bags also had goodies from my Society 6 shop,
a tote bag and an acrylic box
There was even a bag for last place,
with 1 bottle of BBQ sauce and a few lollipops
Just for fun I tucked a sheet of “dollar bills” into each bag
Everyone loved their prize bags,
and by sheer luck each category was won
by a family member of each of the different families!
One family couldn’t come at the last minute
and a couple of the boys were doing other things,
so our group was smaller this year,
10 adults and 7 children…
CC had no trouble keeping all her boy cousins in line!!
We kept things simple,
one night we had a shrimp boil with fresh gulf shrimp,
local Conecuh sausage {smoked sausage},
fresh corn and new potatoes
The next night we had hamburgers,
HHjr asked the butcher at the grocery store
to make 3 dozen slider sized burgers,
he combines ground steak with ground beef for a delicious burger
Having the butcher make the patties doesn’t cost any more
and it’s one less thing the cook has to do
We set out a burger buffet line
with buns, pickles, condiments, chips and salad
An easy way to feed gang of kids and adults!
You can also make these Cheesy Bacon Party Burgers for a crowd,
they can be made ahead of time and baked in the oven
No last minute cooking stress!
I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day!
On to football!!
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Meal Plan Monday Love Your Creativity Over the Moon
Between Naps on the Porch, Celebrate Your Story,
All About Home/ Common Ground Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Make it Pretty Monday Tasty Tuesday Oh My Heartsie Girl
Turn About Tuesday Full Plate Thursday Centerpiece Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things Creatively Crafty Creative Cumpulsions