Planning The Perfect Party With Real Canadian Superstore

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and certainly the busiest! Shopping, baking, Christmas parties, school concerts and more fill up our social schedules and before we know it we’re ringing in the new year and wondering where December went. My bestie turns forty in December and because of the holiday hooplah of events, I wanted to ensure her birthday was celebrated as it should be. So, I set to work planning a 40th birthday party in November instead and with the help of my sister and some friends, got everything I needed (except the booze because Hi, welcome to Saskatchewan!) in one place!

Real Canadian Superstore is, of course, more than just a grocery store and as a busy mom and business owner, I love places where not only can I pick up everything in one stop, but I can elevate my event using the huge selection of quality foods and products available. In fact, the day I did this shop for all my groceries, decorations, party favors for the guests and more, I picked up a foundation that I had run out of.

That’s the beauty (excuse the pun) of Real Canadian Superstore – you can pick up a gorgeous table setting and decor mirroring what you’d find at a home good store, along with the appetizers and desserts you’d find at a local fine foods store. And yes, your makeup foundation too!

First, I looked for table wear and a colour theme and had no problem finding gorgeous items for preparing and serving everything to my guests. A note on the group to come – I have a remarkable group of women in my life, truly. These women range in age from late thirties to mid-seventies, include mothers, grandmothers (even a few mom and daughter duos) and hold professions ranging from journalists to teachers and those in retirement. We, together, are a force and I wanted to celebrate not only my friend’s birthday but also give everyone a day to just BE. No pot-luck, no need to prepare anything, just show up and enjoy a lovely afternoon and evening. So, having all the necessary items for serving and preparing food was very helpful.

Now for the colour theme! Of course, during the holiday season stores are full of the colours of the season, but Real Canadian Superstore has a beautiful selection of colour themes, and as I was telling a friend earlier today, they display everything with coordinating items so well that it makes shopping seamless. You have everything you need well displayed on shelves in front of you, so you look like a master party planner and tablewear designer when everything matches perfectly. For this party, I opted for a royal blue and silver combo. These table runners were perfect!

Not only did I find these coordinating plates to go with the table runners, I also found silver serving trays to give a punch of shine to the table. Effortless! Add to it some cute birthday party decorations, always available at Real Canadian Superstore during any season, and I had my decor figured out in no time.

When hosting a group of about 12-15 ladies, food was of utmost importance to me! I knew we’d be likely spending a lot of time nibbling around the kitchen island, and wanted to ensure we had some great options for savoury appetizers and delicious bite-sized options.

Look how easy it is to create a Charcuterie platter when everything is already sliced and packaged for you like this. It can’t get much easier than opening a package and transferring it onto a cheese board or tray.

Of course, the more cheese the better (if I were becoming a Duchess I’d make sure that quote went down in history with me) so I also picked up more soft cheeses from boursin and President’s Choice. See that Soft Unripened Blueberry Goats Cheese above? Get it now.

Crackers, potato chips, dips and more were all essential as well. These Pomegranite Habanero and Mango Habanero spreads were exactly what I was looking for to serve with cheese and crackers. And – of course – Superstore had cheese knives to use with all the above as well.

Cheese, crackers, Charcuterie boards and more all are wonderful with wine, but I wanted to ensure we had some hot foods as well. At all times of the year, but especially during the holiday season, Real Canadian Superstore has a vast selection of frozen appetizers, so I picked up an Asian platter, sirloin meatballs, and then ingredients to make appetizers like bacon wrapped jalapenos, buffalo chicken dip, and more. Have you seen the selection of President’s Choice bacon in store? While perfect for weekend breakfasts, they also take your appetizers to the next level!

Of course, dessert was important too and because I wanted to ensure everything was simple, stress-free and easy to serve, I opted for bite size dessert ideas including these Candy Cane Cheesecake Pops! I’m telling you now, after the party (which I’ll post about soon!) I went back to Real Canadian Superstore and bought more because they were SUCH. A. HIT.

I can’t wait to show you how we took two full carts piled high with party decorations, tableware, food and drinks and turned it into a beautiful party for my beautiful friend’s 40th birthday. Stay tuned…

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Real Canadian Superstore. All opinions and witty commentary are, as always, my own.