Strawberry Shortcake and friends are here to help you host a berry special party.

Strawberry Shortcake Party

Ten Party Pleaser dolls were added about 1984 and consisted of dolls dressed in party dresses with a vinyl pet wearing a party hat. Plum Pudding and Peach Blush were two new doll additions to the line.

The names also would be good food ideas for the party.

Strawberry Shortcake and Custard
Almond Tea w/Marza Panda
Angel Cake w/Soufflé
Apple Dumpling w/ Tea Time Turtle
Cafe Ole w/Burrito
Cherry Cuddler w/ Gooseberry
Mint Tulip w/ Marsh Mallard
Orange Blossom w/Marmalade
Peach Blush w/Melonie Bell lamb
Plum Puddin' w/Elderberry Owl

Strawberry Shortcake - some sewing required
Items you will need:
-Some strawberry fabric (meaning with strawberries on it) to make a cap and dress
-Paint some strawberries on white sneakers with Tulip paint
-Blush for the little girl's cheeks
-A dash of strawberry body spray
Instructions:
Sew the cap and dress. Paint the shoes.

STRAWBERRY HAT CRAFT KIT

PartySupplies / Decorations

RICH & RED

DECORATING IDEAS:

Hang garlands or vines wired with artificial berries at the doorway or over the windows.
Fill vases with sprigs of artificial berries; place them along the center of the table. Be sure the berries are firmly attached to their stems so that kids won't try to eat them.

Purchase 3 red helium-filled balloons to secure at the mailbox or front entrance to your house. Turn them into strawberries: With a black felt-tip marker, mark polka dots all over to represent seeds. On top of each balloon, glue a star of green felt (a hull) and a rolled-up tube of the same felt (a stem).

PARTY STARTERS:
Juice Writing - Put out white paper and inexpensive paintbrushes. Put some berries in a plastic plate; let the kids squash the berries with a potato masher and then paint with the juice.

Extraordinary Berry Baskets
If you haven't collected these and hoarded them, ask your grocer for a stash at a minimal price. If they're the old-fashioned wood baskets or paper-pulp containers, give kids washable markers to draw all over them. If they're the plastic mesh type, let kids weave all sorts of items through the lattice work: strands of ribbons and yarn, pipe cleaners, bumpy chenille sticks, quilling paper, twisted paper--assign an older sibling or an adult to help.

ACTIVITIES:
Berry Picking
Throw jumbo pom-poms in red (strawberries), blue (blueberries), and black (blackberries) all over the floor. Challenge the kids to pick up all three types of berry in each hand before they can put any in their berry basket. This takes coordination! Repeat the challenge until no pom-poms are left.

Blueberry Pieman Toss
Beforehand: Make up some "blueberry" bean bags using two 4"-diameter circles of navy blue felt for each. Sew or glue the edges together, leaving and inch or two open until you insert some small dried beans with a funnel.
(These can also be used for favors). Let kids aim for three bushel baskets, set up various short distances away. On one, draw or pin a picture of a blueberry pie and a 3 for the points it earns. On another, draw a blueberry muffin and a 2; and on the last, a blueberry pancake, worth 1 point.

Berried Treasure
Hide big plastic strawberries, plastic spoons, and a few other plastic trinkets in a sandbox and invite kids to keep what they find.

PARTY FAVORS:
kids can carry berrious goodies home in their berry baskets: A blueberry beanbag; a scratch 'n' sniff sticker; strawberry-scented potpourri bundled up in a square of strawberry-print fabric; a strawberry- or cherry flavored lollipop; and the "berried" treasure they found.

Party Packs
Red and Green Party Supplies

Party Pleasers
Use lots of pink, red white, and lime green balloons & streamers to make rosettes, balloon clusters, arches or columns. Find instructions at Basic Balloon decorations

Strawberry Shortcake's Friends include:

FOOD:
Berry Delicious Sandwiches
Prepare crustless sandwiches with seedless raspberry, strawberry or blueberry jelly.

Berry au Lait
Mix milk with strawberry-flavored powder or syrup.

Berry Sweets
Purchase or make pound cake loaf or angel food cake. Top with whipped cream and whatever berries are available, in season.

Make thumbprint cookies with berry jelly of some kind in the center; serve with raspberry ice cream or sherbet.

Coloring pages make great activities for the kid's or they can be used to design your own party ware. You can use graphics or pictures to create your own original partyware.  Also make posters or stickers to glue to cups and plates and even glue them on a white paper tablecover to create an original theme party look.

Strawberry Pizza
CRUST:
1 stick margarine
1 cup flour
1 tbsp. powdered sugar

FILLING:
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 8-oz. tub Cool Whip

GLAZE:
2 small baskets or 1 large basket of strawberries
1 box Danish dessert glaze (strawberry flavor)
Mix ingredients for crust and pat into a 13-inch pizza pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.
Combine first 3 filling ingredients, then fold in Cool Whip. Spread over entire crust.
Remove stems from strawberries, cut in half and place on top of filling. Make glaze according to package directions. Cool. Place on top of strawberries. Refrigerate.
Serves: 12

Use solid paper good in pink, lime green, red & etc., use a different color for plate, cups, napkins & cutlery.

*PARENT ALERT*
Strawberries are a common allergen for young children. To be safe, check with the parents of all guests to be sure none of the children are allergic to strawberries.

Strawberry Shortcake Party

Strawberry Napkins	Strawberry Tablecover
Strawberry Cups Strawberry Loot Bags	Strawberry Centerpiece Strawberry Party Hats
Strawberry Invitations Strawberry Party Game	Strawberries and Cream Invitations!

SHARE A GIANT STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

CELEBRATE THE FRUITS of the season with this classic strawberry shortcake. We've made it dinner-plate size, with the understanding that it's to be shared. If that's just too hard, you can also make 6 individual-size servings.
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
5 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
3 pt. strawberries, stems removed and sliced
Whipped cream for topping
Chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor or electric mixer, blend the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, salt, baking powder and butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the cream and milk, and mix to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to a 1/2-inch thickness. Form the dough into one circle 7 inches in diameter (or cut out small shortcakes with a 2-inch round cookie cutter). Place the round on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 20 minutes (depending on size), or until the cake springs back. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Place the berries in a non-reactive bowl, toss with the remaining sugar, and let them sit, covered, for at least 2 hours, or until a juicy syrup forms in the bowl. To serve, slice the shortcake in half, then layer with berries and syrup, whipped cream, the other half of the shortcake, more whipped cream, more berries and chocolate chips. Serves 6.

A BERRY TART FOR MOM
A homemade strawberry tart from Family Fun.  Prepared with a ready-made crust and whole strawberries, this foolproof fruit tart meets two important requirements for any Mother's Day dessert: It is both elegant and edible.
SHELL 1 - 9-inch frozen pie crust

FILLING
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

TOPPING
3 cups whole strawberries, washed and hulled

GLAZE
3 tbsp. apricot jam
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Bake the piecrust according to the package directions and then set it aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Spoon the filling into the cooled piecrust, spreading it evenly in the shell. Arrange the strawberries, bottoms up, on top of the filling.

Next, heat the apricot jam, sugar and vanilla extract together in a saucepan, stirring occasionally, until the mixture just begins to boil. Remove the pan from the stove and use a pastry brush to paint each berry with the glaze (a fun job for kids). Chill for 30 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

STRAWBERRY ICE-CREAM HAM
This menu item will give your kids a chance to really ham it up! For the best results, you'll want to prepare a slice the day before. When it's time to present the meal, add it to the plate at the last minute.
Ingredients:
Half-gallon strawberry ice cream
Caramel candy (the kind with the white center)

Directions:
First, cut or peel away the container from a half gallon of strawberry ice cream. With a long knife dipped in warm water, slice off a 1-inch-thick slab (a parent's job) and place it on a piece of waxed paper.

Press a caramel candy into the center of the ice-cream slab. If necessary, use a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth the ice cream and fill in any gaps around the "ham bone." Then shape the sides of the slab to resemble the rounded edge of a real ham steak.

Cover the slice with another piece of waxed paper and fold together the edges of both sheets so that the ice cream is wrapped. Store the wrapped slice in the freezer on a cookie sheet. To serve, gently peel the waxed paper from the bottom and set the slice, unwrapped side down, on a breakfast plate. Slowly peel away the second piece of waxed paper.

STRAWBERRY ANGEL FOOD CAKE
1 10-inch angel food cake, store bought or homemade
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced and sweetened with 1 tbsp. sugar

Using a bread knife, cut a lid off the top of the angel food cake. Save it. Carefully spoon out the center of angel food cake, leaving a round, fillable trench. Crumble the cake you've scooped out into crumbs; then mix with 1 cup cream, whipped into stiff peaks (sweetened to taste); the coconut and the strawberries. Use this mixture to fill the cake. Replace the top and frost with the second cup of whipping cream, whipped.

SERVES: 10
Frozen Strawberry Smoothie
Fresh strawberries
Ice cubes
Vanilla yogurt
Milk
Juice (optional)