A Harry Potter Halloween Birthday

Phew, this year, I mean… am I right? 2020 has taken us all for a crazy spin.

I for one was feeling sorry for the folks having birthdays in March-April, and how bad it would be to not get a chance to celebrate…. because obviously my kids in September and October could have the blowout party they want! Welp! Not so much.

So maybe because of that I felt the need to overcompensate in decor this year, and I’m not regretting it!

We are big Potter fans here, and with my son reading through the books, and his birthday so close to Halloween… it seemed like the perfect match!

We only had a handful of kids come to play outside and celebrate how we could! Masks and sanitizer everywhere. But that also meant less baking for me, so I’m not complaining.

Can anyone put a value on a bucket of dry ice at a Halloween party? It was immensely popular.

I loved this cake! The rectangle bottom was actually a dummy cake because I didn’t want to have 3 tons of cake leftover… but it was fondant and buttercream for decoration.

Paul got to help with making wax seals for the invitations! He was stoked.

Enjoy!

The Classic Manhattan

I told my husband I wanted to call this the “Quarantine Desperado”.

But apparently this cocktail has a name already! Let’s get you going with the ingredients, because no one has time to go through the huge story about what we are going through right now, or where the Manhattan originated from, etc. Etc.

Ingredients:

3 ounces of Whiskey (I prefer Rye for most cocktails)

1 ounce Vermouth (mix dry and sweet in equal parts if you have it)

2 dashes of Bitters

1 tablespoon of cherry juice (from inside the cherry jar)

Maraschino cherries for garnish

This recipe could not be more simple. Once all ingredients are added to a mixer with ice, just stir and pour into your favorite glass and add the cherry for garnish. That’s it!

I’ve added a large ice sphere to mine here for the dramatic affect, but also because I love every cocktail to be super chilled. Your choice!

I’ve used coupe glasses for this cocktail because I love how elegant these look. Lowball glasses are also perfect for a Manhattan.

Cheers to another several weeks of Quarantine! However we get through this, is how we get through it. Hang in there, folks!