my DD loves Dora the explorer and tea parties. How can I mix the two? If it were just a Dora party I would have mexican food and have Dora to make an apperance. But how do I turn it in to a tea party without it looking a hot mess, like I just threw something together???
Re: not baby shower related but birthday party
I get that but what about food? I like to go all out for my parties
As a former server and restaurant manager, that really goes all through me. Mess is one thing, but little kids smushing food everywhere? BTDT, and no one ever compensated the way they should.
I agree. Does Dora even eat Mexican food on the show?
I would do Dora theme/decor, cake, games and such, and tea party foods, like sanwiches, cheese, fruit, etc.
People should think about the occupation that they choose? People should also know what's acceptable and what is over the top. I was a server all through college, and the way parents allowed their children to act was ridiculous. They give a small baby a bowl of rice or green beans. The child would then proceed to throw them all over the floor. The other child, bouncing all over the walls, would grind the mixture into the carpet. There would be mushy half-eaten cheerios strewn everywhere. The high chairs were DISGUSTING...I had a baby pee out the side of his diaper. His parents cleaned him up and the seat, but didn't touch the legs of the high chair where it was running down. As a server in a fine dining restaurant, you're paid to bring the food and fill the drinks, along with light wiping up, etc. I had MANY parents actually say to me "haha, this is why we came out...I didn't want to clean up!" And that would be fine, if the tip reflected it. Cleaning crumbs on a table where the bread plate was is very different from cleaning up bio-hazard. And half-eaten food is bio-hazard in my opinion.
It's not supposed to be a janitorial job. It's a serving job. Unless you've been there, you'll never understand what people in the service industry have to go through. People are pretty disgusting. You can say "think about your occupation." But patrons need to think about how they're acting. People shouldn't let their kids act like cattle. Then having some poor girl making $2.13 an hour to scrape food out of a carpet shouldn't be part of the job. That's why the tip should be reflective of the mess.
That sucks!! But hopefully OP is not intending to trash a place, and with a rented space, I believe actual cleaners take care of it, not the servers, because she is doing the food, and not getting it catered.
And I know this. It's a hot-button issue for me because I saw SOOOO many people come through there and do it. They'd rent out our back room and it would look like a cat5 hurricane came through when they left. I know it's not an across the board thing...I just want people to be aware and treat the staff accordingly.
I totally hear you...and I think her vague post came off as, who cares I'm not cleaning, but hopefully that's not the case. I know how it is, and I hate when my mom tells me stories of people who come to her work, get stuff done, and complain so they don't have to tip or pay, knowing damn well the service and end result was fine. Service workers are not appreciated as they should be.
Nor should you in that case. And that's all I was really saying. The service of cleaning up bio-hazard should be paid more than just "good" service, so.. above the 20% mark. If you get crappy service, by all means, reduce the tip way down. I'm not looking for anyone to have a free ride!
No need to get huffy. Like I said, unless you've been through it, you wouldn't understand. But servers do nasty things to patrons. I've seen it. I don't agree with it AT ALL, but it's something to heed because of the fact that it does happen. You may be paying your "hefty" price for a service, but it doesn't stop the wait staff from getting their panties all twisted at having to clean up a disaster zone.
Like a PP said, it was the off-handed way you originally said "I'm paying someone else to clean up so I don't have to." Everyone in the service industry has heard that one before and it usually spells trouble. I'm sure you didn't mean it like that, but past experience has left me a bit jaded on the subject...and for good reason. I'm not talking out of my a$$ here.
How about doing a play on both tea party food and Mexican food.
Instead of little sandwiches, do little quesadillas, or mini tacos and mini burritos. Have a variety in kid friendly flavors and sizes.
Or you could do a nacho bar?
BFP#1 Kaitlyn 11-17-04
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This Momma's Journey
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"It is not server's fault if something wasn't cooked properly."
It CAN BE if the server puts in the order wrong or brings it out with OBVIOUS things wrong with it such as bacon on the side of the plate not crispy when ordered extra crispy or fries overdone that were ordered lightly cooked, not overdone.
My suggestion probably (with the little I know about Dora) would likely be what you'd find in this book, but what about bringing in the Dora theme by labeling all the food, etc. with the Spanish translation? I guess this only works if you're doing more of a food table setup, but it would be a cute way to integrate the two themes...then you could layer it in with decor and Dora cupcakes and whatnot. If you use Dora-y colors for a lot of stuff with just a couple Dora-emblazoned moments, I think it will feel less like a "hot mess"...it won't feel like you just went to Party City and got everything with Dora on it and tried to force it into a tea party.
Other than that, the mini tacos/quesadillas idea is cute and sounds kid-friendly!
THX!