The big day is here, America! I know that many of you are planning to get together with friends tonight to watch the results (which is a great idea!), so here are a few fun, election-themed entertaining ideas for you to help make your election party extra-patriotic:

Patriotic Food & Drink Signs
Give all your dishes a fun election-themed name like “Uncle Sammies”, “Bipartisan Salad”, or something related to the candidates’ names, then print your own themed menu signs to display next to each dish. istockphoto.com has some great patriotic backgrounds (like the Stars and Strips Paper pictured above) that you can purchase from their site and download straight to your computer.

***

Pictured below... few red, white & blue favorites from around the web:

1. Red, White & Blue Parfaits – I just love the look of these beautiful striped partfaits from Martha Stewart, and you can find the original recipe here, but I’m thinking you could also achieve the same look much quicker & easier by simply layering red jello and cool whip.

2. Flag Cupcakes – Red licorice “stripes” and blue frosting “stars” make for a super-cute election dessert! To keep things easy, just use boxed cake mix & readymade icing for the cupcakes.

3. Patriotic Drink Parasols – These fun DIY drink stirrers will dress up any kind of drink – from cocktails to mocktails to iced tea.

4. Star-Studded Centerpiece - This quick & easy idea features foam & paper stars displayed with simple clip frames.

5. Patriotic Star Napkins - You’ll need 2 sizes of star-shaped craft punches, red paper, white paper, and blue napkins. Punch large stars from the red paper and small stars from the white paper, then glue them together. Roll each set of utensils in a napkin, then attach the star detail to the center of the napkin with tape or an adhesive craft pop dot.

***

If you're planning to serve up some election party cocktails, here are a few ideas for fun drink garnishes:
- starfruit star slices
- simple skewer of blueberries or raspberries
- cocktail picks featuring flags, vote stickers, or your favorite candidate's face (printed from the computer)

Have fun tonight... and don’t forget to VOTE!