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This lighted Fountain becomes an instant centerpiece
This Cupcake chair cover designates the birthday chair of honor
A low centerpiece allows guests to see one another and carry on a conversation with those across from them.
This dessert tower makes any cupcake take center stage
If you can't be there for a big day send this surprise basket
Keep drinks cold with this attractive piece
Send a message in a bottle
Pizza Supreme
Joanna
Buy Pizza Supreme
This Golf Party Island is an inflatable 5-hole mini course that sets up in minutes for hours of fun.
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A party can be a wonderful way to share your creative talents with just a few people or a house full. You don't need an excuse to entertain but sometimes a theme
can make all the difference in coordinating the menu with the decorations and the invitations. Here are a few suggestions:
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is the last hurrah before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday or call it the feast before the fast either way, it's a good excuse to party.
You can find some
history
and inspiration in New Orleans,
or find its
Catholic roots here. Check here for your party
pinatas, costumes and supplies
Invitations
Consider using a mask as the invitation - writing on the back or using one as a template to create your own.
Decorations
Think purple, green and gold beads, coins, and masks.
Food
King Cake
Birthday
From 1 - 100 a birthday is cause for celebration.
And gifts can be personalized such as for this
New York Times Birthday Puzzle (choose the appropriate year)
Invitations
Children's Birthday Party Invitations to print out
Send your invitation written on a blank puzzle and let your recipient put it together.
Decorations
Perfect for a birthday celebration is a
Colorful Balloon Bouquet.
50th Surprise Birthday Party Ideas
Themes
Finally, my years as a Den Leader paid off!
I planned the party around a theme - Games.
I learned from scouting that the more structured
the activity was the better behaved the boys were.
I wanted to have the party at home rather than at
the Roller Rink or Laser Quest as in years past.
Invitations were sent out announcing all the
usual details. I had fun printing them up on the
computer as if they were awards.
What are games without prizes? I had one
for every participant, including the
birthday child. They were displayed unwrapped
for all to see. I set the games up with a point
system so that whoever ended up with the most
points got first pick of the prizes.
Suggested Games:
1. Balloon Basketball - Use balloons and a
wastepaper basket. Score as with basketball
except deduct 5 points for broken balloons.
2. Grab Bag - Good photo opportunities with
this game. Fill a pillow case with an
assortment of old clothes the sillier the
better (hats, helmets, sports equipment,
stockings, scarves, suspenders, vests, etc.)
Play this game like musical chairs. As a
whistle blows the child left holding the bag
takes out an article of clothing and puts it
on. Score on amount of clothing worn.
3. Balloon Blowing - Each child gets a
balloon to blow up. The first balloon to
break is the winner.
4. Pinata Party Game - Whether you are hosting an
adult or a child birthday party, the
pinata party game
is bound to be the highlight of the celebration.
Step by Step Instructions:
First, make sure you have everything needed to
play this game, such as a rope, a place
to hang the pinata (a tree branch, a basketball
hoop, two adults holding ends of a rope with a
pinata hanging in middle, etc.), pinata candy
and toy stuffers, a pinata buster stick and
blindfolds for the participants.
Fill the pinata with the party favors before guests
arrive at the party.
Organize the kids in a line, starting with the
smallest one all the way to the tallest one.
Only blindfold children that are over 3 years old,
then spin them around a few times, provide them
with the pinata buster stick and let loose to hit
the pinata.
For safety's sake, while a child is hitting the
pinata during the game, all other children must be
kept away (a minimum 15' radius is recommended) from
the hitter. Furthermore, the child should have
completely ceased to hit the pinata before you allow
the other kids to go grab the party favors spilled on
the floor.
Allow each child to hit the pinata at least a couple
of times before you move on to the next child
To make the pinata party game even more fun, the
pinata must be swung up and down, and guests must be
encouraged to misdirect the pinata hitter
(if the pinata is down, tell the hitter the pinata
is up, etc).
Visit
Pinatas.com for great pinatas, party supplies and
fun party ideas.
I also made ribbons for every participant.
Using wide blue ribbon I folded the top to
a point, attached a metal eyelet and threaded
tassels made with embroidery floss. I wrote
the name of each child vertically with fabric
writers in white.
The prizes didn't seem as important to the
kids as the cake and ice cream but I believe
a good time was had by all. I would recommend
having more games than you will have time for
so you can adapt the games for each party.
And check out these
Party Games
I also made ribbons for every participant.
Using wide blue ribbon I folded the top to
a point, attached a metal eyelet and threaded
tassels made with embroidery floss. I wrote
the name of each child vertically with fabric
writers in white.
The prizes didn't seem as important to the
kids as the cake and ice cream but I believe
a good time was had by all. I would recommend
having more games than you will have time for
so you can adapt the games for each party.
Party tradition ideas from around the world.
Quotes on Age
- You're know you're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking
chair you once got from a roller coaster. - unknown
- Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
- WARNING: teenager zone, enter at your own risk - unknown
- The thing is to become a master and in your old age to acquire the courage to do what children did when they knew nothing. - Henry Miller
- I finally got my head together, and my body fell apart. - unknown
- In youth we learn; in age we understand - Von Ebner-Eschenbach
- Time may be a great healer, but it's also a lousy beautician. - unknown
- Age doesn't always bring wisdom. Sometimes age comes alone. - unknown
- Life not only begins at forty, it begins to show. - unknown
- You don't stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because
you stop laughing. - unknown
- There is a fountain of youth; it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people
you love. When you will learn to tap the source, you will have truly defeated age. - Sophia Loren
- Age is important only if you're cheese or wine. - unknown
- The only time a woman wishes she were a year older is when she is
expecting a baby. - unknown
Host a Cookie Exchange
Also called a cookie walk this is a fun way to exchange cookies as well as recipes. The cost of admission? Cookies! The concept is that each guest brings a predetermined number of one kind of cookie and leaves with a variety.
Instructions and recipes can be found
here
Include on the invitation the required number of cookies to bring.
Invitation
For an invitation try writing the particulars on a blank recipe card
When the guests RSVP make sure no one is bringing a duplicate recipe.
Easter Egg Hunt
When my children were little we would hold traditional Easter Egg hunts in the back yard. We sent out invitations to family and friends and the children always had a good time. Some of the things that I tried that worked well included:
- After each egg or treat were found the children had to come back to the deck to "touch base". That way the hunt wasn't over with too quickly.
- Eggs were never hidden more than one step off the lawn to keep small feet out of my flower beds.
- There was one special egg that would hold a winning ticket to some predetermined special prize - usually a large stuffed animal.
- To make my garden more special I 'planted' lots of silk flowers in addition to the real ones. This had an added benefit of improving the photographs.
- I had a lunch prepared buffet style after the hunt for adults while the children ate their candy prizes.
More ideas
here
Teen Pizza Party
Invitations
Send out coupons (like the ones sent out from the National
chains) done on the computer as invitations. Suggest that everyone
bring their favorite topping and/or one you assign.
Food
To keep it simple use premade dough or the kind that comes in a can.
Everyone can assemble their ultimate pizza or teams can follow any one of the ideas listed here:
The classic Italian combination of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil with
available toppings such as mushrooms, onions, olives, pepperoni, green pepper.
Try a Hawaiian Pizza combination of honey-baked ham, pineapple chunks, and monterey jack cheese.
Try a Tex-Mex combination of Salsa, ground beef, kidney beans, onion, green pepper, with cheddar, monterey jack, and/or muenster cheese. Add black olices, sour cream, or chili peppers.
For a gourmet touch try Steak Pizza with steak sauce, small strips of London broil, and onion.
Serve the pizzas with a garden salad, munchies, soda and for dessert?...
Choose either Fruit Pizza - A package refrigerated sugar cookie dough serves as the crust topped with cream cheese, pineapple chunks, bananas, raspberries and then drizzle on chocolate syrup.
Or a Chocolate Pizza - use the same crust and top with choc chips - bake and then add fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
Stock up either a few favorite videos or some favorite CD's and you'll have a fun atmosphere for a festive party.
Wine Tasting
Invitations
Consider the back of wine coasters or scan and print a wine label from your computer adding the pertinent
information. Include the back
of the label - instead of maker or Winery write in your names,
the Vintage could be the date and time of the party. Have fun
with the variety, and description.
Food
Plan on at least Red; Cabernet,
Pinot Noir, or a Zinfandel and White; Chardonnay, or
Sauvignon Blanc.
Breads, fruits, cheese, finger foods and crudités
are a nice addition. Don't forget to buy lots of small cups for the tastings.
Spill
buckets can be provided as a way for guests to pour out any wine
they do not want to finish.
The night of the party set out your food and open any
red wine and chill the white wine.
Usually
people taste wine from dry to sweet, but do whatever feels
good for you group. Some experts suggest serving white wines
before red, sparkling before still, and old before new.
Low alcohol content wines should be served before high alcohol,
and table wines before fortified or dessert wines. An example
might be - White Wines : Champagne, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc,
Semillon, Unwooded Chardonnays and finally, Chardonnays.
Red Wines: Sparkling reds, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Red
blends, and a Cabernet Sauvignon
Have plenty of ice water for those who might want it.
Fiesta
Cinco De Mayo, not to be confused with Mexico's Independence Day on September 16,
is celebrated on May 5th. It commemorates the victory
of the Mexicans over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862.
Primarily a regional holiday celebrated in Puebla it has grown to
include parts of the U.S. with a significant Mexican population.
Consider using a serape as a tablecloth.
Decoration
Click here for all your Mexican Pinata needs!
Afternoon Tea
Invitations
Send them out in the form of a tea bag or in the shape of a tea cup.
Food
Tea sandwiches and English Tea served in a teapot on your fancy china and linens.
Other Party Ideas Include:
A Come as You Are Party
A Come as You Were Party (fill in a Date)
Sports (Basketball, Football etc) Party
Welcome home Party
Pool Party
Super Bowl
House Warming
Burn the Mortgage
Showers
Holiday Open House
Graduation
Host an Academy Awards Party
St Patricks Day Party
A Costume Party for Halloween
An Oktoberfest
Luau
Links
The perfect party dress for your daughter is at Hartstrings.com
Message In A Bottle Invitation
Country Patch Collections
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