A Pizza Making Party + National Pizza Day

Today is February 9, National Pizza Day!  What better way to celebrate than sharing tips to hosting your own pizza making party.  Making pizzas never gets old and is perfect for any type of gathering for all ages.  Fancy toppings and sauces make it a grown-up affair but for kids, keep it simple with store-bought pizza dough, red sauce, meats and fresh cheese.

My favorite types of parties have the guests doing all the work and when it comes to making pizza, everyone is on board.  Take a lot of stress off of yourself and find a local pizza spot or community kitchen where you can host your event.  One of my favorite party places has a full working kitchen with lots of counter space.  With just a few balloons and a fun party table, most of the work is already done.

For the party table, I used a roll of kraft paper and tomato cans, saved from pizza sauce making, with basil plants and cherry tomatoes. I do love a double duty centerpiece; guests can use the basil on their pizzas and nibble on tomatoes while waiting.

For the pizza confetti, I used various sizes of circle punches on cardstock for the crust, sauce and cheese.  The triangle toppings are from the pizza garland set I used on the counter.  Just like a real pizza, I trimmed the circles with a paper cutter for the slices.

Each box is filled with pizza dough, small containers of sauce, a mini rolling pin and mini coloring pencils for writing on the kraft paper.  You know you have to keep both kids and adults busy while they wait.

Mini cookie sheets are the right size for creating personal sized pizza; line it with parchment paper so the pizza removes easily.

Pizza toppings are normally placed in a specific order, not for neatness but because the sauce keeps the dough moist and the cheese provides a bed for the toppings to rest on and not dry out or fall off.  The garnish is not cooked so it is applied last after baking. Often, younger kids will apply everything all willy-nilly, so be sure and direct the proper order for maximum pizza-ness:

• Pizza Dough
• Pizza Sauce
• Cheese
• Pizza Toppings
• Garnish

Here’s a list of great (and by no means, comprehensive) options to inspire your guests to mix and match to their heart’s content!

Meat

• bacon
• beef
• chicken
• chorizo
• ham
• meatballs
• pepperoni
• prosciutto
• salami
• sausage
• turkey

Seafood

• anchovies
• crayfish
• lobster
• oysters
• prawns
• salmon
• shrimp
• smoked salmon
• tuna

Garnishes

• basil
• bay leaf
• chives
• cilantro
• coriander
• cumin
• dill
• oregano
• parsley
• black pepper
• rosemary

Feel free to round out your menu with drinks (or wine) and a dessert pizza and your party is set! Do you have any fun pizza party tips?