#1) A Cooperative Game of Candy Land: It’s important to realize that you cannot get better at Candy Land, that the cards are random and you do not need to get mad if you lose. Luckily, these kids did a wonderful job following this concept and played in sweet harmony together.

#2) Cute, Preferrably Chubby-Cheeked Babies:  For me, babies are very important to making a party successful.  Some of my friends tend to disagree with me and insist that this opinion will change after I have my own children, but until then — the more babies at a party the merrier!

 #3) DOGS: As long as the dog is calm, no larger than 80 pounds, and could care less that its home has recently been invaded by twice the amount of children and three times the amount of adults.

 #4) Paparazzi:  If your guests are made to feel as important as celebrities, then you have thrown a successful party. Because, who doesn’t want to feel as if every move they make is picture-worthy?

#5) Sk8er boys with great hair (or no hair):  I guess this is a preferential statement. I prefer the mountain man look, but during this specific party, I know a few ladies who really dug Josh’s hair and atleast one lady who really loves this bald man.

#6) Mothers and daughters:  What a blessing to see at any party. Witnessing a beautiful relationship between a mother and her daughter reminds guests of the important bond that exists betwen that relationship and how much influence a strong woman can make in the life of child.

 #7) A Host with the Most: Make sure you have a designated host for your party, and if you are smart, it would be a mild-mannered, cooperative, enthusiastic, almost-three-year-old little boy who is more than willing to share all of his toys with his guests.  Jackson did an excellent job hosting his sister and Tyler’s birthday party (sans a brief crying fit, most likely due to the stress of all the responsibility he was feeling).

#8) A little sorcery or witch craft: This is an inside joke — No, I normally do not condone practicing black magic at parties, but at this particular party, it was awfully cute watching Josh wave his sister’s plastic star wand around and I laughed like crazy when Cory suggested he was practicing witch craft in the other room.

 #9) Best Friends:  What else can I say? A party without friends who love you and have stuck by you is really no fun, so…make sure you invite them to your party.

I ended up choosing a menu from 30-minute Get Togethers by Rachael Ray. The Road to Morocco Double Date Night theme included two recipes: “Quick Tagine-style Chicken with Couscous” and “Green Pepper and Tomato Salad.” (Although this was the first time I have even attempted to prepare anything from this cookbook, I love how Ray has separated the recipes into themes and even makes suggestions for setting the mood and has a variety of menus for variously sized parties and uses a range of ethnic flavors).  For people familiar with Rachael Ray’s approach to cooking a meal, she teaches techniques to keep it 30 minutes or less to prepare.  However, this concept is difficult for me to follow — me, the girl who doesn’t understand the concept of “eyeball it” or “palmful.”  I have to measure everything and re-read directions dozens of times.  This is most likely due to the fact that I don’t have a lot of experience cooking and was never expected to prepare meals growing up.  Earlier in the day, Brad helped me measure, chop, slice, and combine what we could so that it would be easier to complete the meal at dinner time.  Once everything was ready to go, the meal did not take long to cook and tasted excellent!  The side salad could have used some feta cheese or additional dressing, but was flavorful.  For dessert, I prepared Ultimate Carrot Cake from the back of a Betty Crocker Carrot Cake box cake mix minus the nuts per Brad’s request.  Come to find out, Cory doesn’t even like carrot cake.  At least he could feel better knowing that he showed me how the cake stand I received as a wedding gift three years ago can also be used as a punch or trifle bowl.  Go figure!

The rest of the evening was filled with good conversation, belly laughs, and free entertainment provided by the animals.  Best of all, we had a relaxing time with good — make that great! — company.