Quarantined Birthday Bach
This pandemic has obviously taken away a lot from people; birthdays, weddings, graduations, bachelorette parties, etc. My cousin, Paige, has felt the force of that. She was supposed to get married this coming October with her bridal shower and bachelorette party this summer. She ultimately decided to move the wedding to next year and cancel the shower and bachelorette party for now. She has been pretty down about it, so we decided to throw her a birthday/bachelorette party for the time being.
Her parent’s just put in a pool at her house, so we had the perfect location. She invited her bridesmaids over for some social distanced swimming and cocktails and asked all of us to wear neon. To make the day extra special I brought some of my supplies. I set-up my gold arch arbor with a bright a colorful balloon garland to go over “the bar”. To make light of the situation, I bought waterproof Yelp Review stickers that said “2020, (one star) very bad, would not recommend”, to put on neon cups. We added neon straws and umbrellas for some extra fun.
A great way to personalize an event is to have signature cocktails. I made a watermelon punch which I called, “Paigey’s Punch” and a strawberry margarita which I named, “Drink You Way to 2021 Margarita”. I listed the recipe below in case you are interested in making a batch:) To top off the bar, I ordered flamingo drink holders that float in the pool.
I know everyone is fighting their own battles right now, so I believe it is so important to celebrate whatever you can whenever you can. Little gatherings such as this are a perfect way to connect with loved ones and feel some sense of normalcy again. Feel free to shoot me a note if you would like to know where I purchased the stickers and flamingos :)
Lindsay
Watermelon Sangria Punch
DIRECTIONS
Slice off the top of the watermelon lengthwise. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop out the top third of the watermelon and transfer to blender.
Blend watermelon until smooth
Add white wine, rum, seltzer, and lime juice and stir until combined, then add limes and fruit.
Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
Cut up the rest of the watermelon to add as garnish to your drinks along with the frozen fruit.
INGREDIENTS
1 Large watermelon
1 (750-ml) bottle white wine, chilled (I used Moscato)
2 c. white rum
1 c. seltzer
1/3 c. lime juice (from about 6 limes)
2 limes, thinly sliced
2 c. assorted fresh or frozen fruit, such as pineapple, blueberries, and strawberries
Strawberry Margarita Punch
INGREDIENTS
1 bottle Champagne or Prosecco
1 (2-L.) bottle seltzer
3 c. frozen strawberries
1 1/2 c. tequila
1 c. triple sec
1/2 c. lime juice
1 c. sliced fresh strawberries
2 limes, thinly sliced
1/4 c. Kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
In a large punch bowl or drink dispenser, combine seltzer and champagne.
In a blender, blend frozen strawberries with tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Add to punch bowl/drink dispenser. Top with fresh limes (reserving some for garnishing glasses) and strawberries and stir to combine.
Rim glasses with lime wedge and dip in salt. Fill with punch, garnish with lime round, and serve.