Party Talk

April Showers Bring May Flowers....and events to match!

It’s April, it’s spring! I love spring and the events that come with it. April showers bring May flowers…but they also bring Opening Day, Earth Day on April 22^nd, Cinco de Mayo, of course (May 5^th), graduations and showers galore—the baby and bridal kind! (Or vice versa!)

What am I excited about? Cinco de Mayo! Oh, I love the food. Oh, I love a fiesta. And, OH, I love how easy it is to have one. Check out our planning and decorating guides for fabulous tips and a step-by-step guide. And even though the 5^th is a Monday, you could probably start Saturday the 3rd and celebrate right on through. Who’s to know?

Meanwhile, like I said, spring brings lots of weddings, graduations and Mom’s to be! Faced with planning a shower or graduation, most of us have no idea where to start. Well, here’s a newsflash: START with a theme. It will make your life as a party planner so much easier! Trust me.

Graduations: Some people use high school or college colors or a combination of both, while others stick to the interests of the graduate. Party411 has planned everything from a sports theme to a theatre theme and even a theme that uses the city where the graduate will next reside. Once you’ve determined a theme, everything becomes so much easier—choosing the invite, the colors, the refreshments and more.

Baby Showers and Bridal Showers: I don’t know about you but when I’m invited to a general shower, I just don’t know what to do with myself. I am so theme-oriented (I guess that comes from this line of business), that I get stuck on what to buy, how to wrap, etc. Showers with a fun theme allow you to create not only a fun atmosphere but add some activities that include more than just opening the gifts, oooh-ing, ahhh-ing and going home!

From baseball to holidays to life’s milestones, there’s plenty to celebrate. But if you have nothing coming up and you want to just party for the sake of partying…check out our April Calendar—and invite your friends to celebrate spring at its best!

The Party Girl

Gear up for Graduation Parties!

 

Many families are getting ready to see their children graduate this summer. This means lots of graduation parties! If you are throwing a graduation party this summer and haven’t started yet, don’t panic! Here are a few steps to get you started…

1. Set the Budget  Like any big party, this is an essential first step. I've graduated three, and half the time I think I shouldn't throw a party and just put the money in an envelope, and half the time I lean towards throwing the biggest graduation bash ever. The best choice is probably somewhere in-between. Bring family and friends together to celebrate this great accomplishment but keep it informal enough so that it's fun and relatively inexpensive.

2. Where will the party be held? There are 3 basic choices. Your final choice will depend on your budget, how much time you have, and how many people are attending.

· You can rent a hall. If you are having lots of people, this works very well.

· You can make restaurant reservations. Perfect for smaller events.

· You can host the party at your house. The most common option. This can also be the least expensive option while still giving you great opportunities to make it special.

3. Who is doing the cooking? A big decision is whether you want to prepare the food yourself or have the event catered. If you have lots of help, cooking can save you money and let you prepare the graduate's favorite meals. But cooking for a big crowd can be scary, time-consuming, and, let's face it, not a whole lot of fun. Catering can be the solution. It can also be expensive. More and more we are seeing a combination of the two. For example, my Mom's family is tremendous at making pizza and cookies. And if I didn't let my aunts bring food they would be very upset. So, pizza and desert is covered. I make a fruit salad and a garden salad. We order chicken and pasta from the caterer and we have great food for an open house, the cost is good, and my aunts are happy!

4. Should I hire entertainment? We've seen lots of graduation parties with DJs and even bands. Really, it depends on where the party is at, how many people will be there, and can they entertain themselves. With an open house or at a restaurant, this is probably not necessary. At a hall, this could be a way to go.

I hope this helps to get you started. You can see the full Graduation Planning Checklist for more planning ideas. You can even print out a pdf version of the checklist to keep with you when planning, which will make things easier.  Or look through the Graduation Party Planning Guide for more inspiring ideas!

Good luck!

Win a Friday Fiesta!

To show you how much we love our guests that visit Party411.com, this month we are giving away a Friday Fiesta!  Enter for a chance to win a fabulous Friday Fiesta. The lucky winner of the Friday Fiesta will receive

• 5 quarts of ¡Hola Fruta!, the new super premium, all natural, pure fruit sherbet from Pierre's
• 50 Bowls
• 50 Spoons
• 100 Napkins
• 2 Ice Cream Scoops
• 1 Table Cover
• 6 Signs / Invitations
• 25 - 55¢ off coupons for ¡Hola Fruta!
• and 1 Pair Maracas

Olé! Enter here!

 

Cinco de Monday!

Cinco de Mayo is on a Monday this year, so what better way to celebrate than with a Cinco de Monday fiesta!

On the 5th day of May, in 1862, the Mexicans defeated the French army at the Battle of Puebla. The holiday Cinco de Mayo is a commemoration and celebration of the victory of the smaller Mexican army over the larger and more modern French army. Although it is celebrated and recognized as a holiday in all areas of Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated most heartily in the state of Puebla where the French were defeated. It is, however, becoming more common to see the celebration stretch to other states within the U.S. and along the border of Mexico where many people with Mexican ancestry are living.

For a fun and colorful invitation to your fiesta, roll up the details of the party in a piece of colorful paper and tie it with a bandanna. Let your guests know that the bandanna must be worn in order to gain admittance into the party.

For an authentic Cinco de Mayo fiesta, try a Mexican buffet so that everyone can sample a little bit of everything. Some foods that you want to be sure to include are chicken fajitas, warm flour tortillas, chili con queso, tortilla soup, Mexican rice, black bean and corn salsa, three-milk cake, flan, and margaritas. Check out these great Mexican recipes.

Check out Party411.com’s Fiesta Decorating411 for ideas on how to decorate your yard or house with festive colors, and for bright and fun party goods for you and your guests to celebrate in! Check out the Fiesta Party Planning Guide for more great Cinco de Mayo fiesta theme party ideas!

 

Harry Potter Party!

Have a Harry Potter fanatic?  Celebrate with them with a Harry Potter theme party.  This Harry Potter party was for a Bar Mitzah.

When guests arrived there were "Jason Potter" movie posters in the lobby. House flags hung in the entry.  For seating, the all the guests are sorted into houses and given matching house laminated passes they wore all night.   

 

They then went under a sign directing them to head to Platform 9 3/4.  They passed a flying car and the Hogwarts Express and then passed under a sign welcoming them into the Great Hall.

We had fun Harry Potter decorations around the party.  From a directional sign points to different areas in the castle, a cutout of Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom to owls all around, it was Harry Potter everywhere!

 

Over the DJ hung a Harry Potter theme DJ sign, complete with lights!  Adult centerpieces were beautiful wrought iron candelabras.  The kids were greeted with a cutout of Dumbledore welcoming kids to the Great Hall!

 

Kids were seated at long tables for their houses.  The linens and napkins matched the house colors. Gold plates were set at each place with gold goblets to match. Centerpieces were overflowing with fake fruit set for the feast.  For an extra fun touch, we had a cutout of each Head of Houses sitting at the head of the table.  And, LED candles hung from the ceiling over the tables.   

Finally an 8' Hogwarts photo op was available for everyone to take pictures with.  (They wore the Harry Potter glasses they found at their tables!)

It was great fun!  You can throw your own party with the help of our Harry Potter theme party!

Party411 can plan your next Harry Potter theme party!  Let us know if you would like more information on any of the products seen in the photos or if you have Harry Potter theme party questions!

See more of Our Parties

April is…

National Humor Month - founded in 1976 by best-selling humorist Larry Wilde, director of the Carmel Institute of Humor, National Humor Month is intended to increase awareness on the way’s humor can enhance the quality of one's life.

April 1^th is April Fools Day - The day my father got married? Yep. The day when you can make people look foolish and get away with it. Why not have a "gullible" party and let everyone come with stories and have your friends decide what's true and what's not.

April 14^th is Do Your Taxes Day (I came up with this one myself) - If you haven't, you better! They are due April 15th!

April 16^th is Charlie Chaplin's Birthday - He was born in 1889. And he was definitely talented. A great excuse to throw a Hollywood theme party featuring a screening of his silent films.

April 22^rd is Babe Ruth’s Pitching Debut - It was on this day in 1914 that Babe Ruth first pitched professionally. So have a baseball themed party in his honor.

And April 22^rd is also Earth Day, so host your own Earth Day celebration, or just get outside and enjoy nature!

See more Stuff to Celebrate for April, or take a sneak peek at May!