Party Talk

Graduations and Reunions and Barbeques....OH MAY!

May is such an exciting month! It kicks off the whole summer party season with Memorial Day, and before you know it, you are heading to more graduations, weddings, reunions, barbeques, and luaus than you can shake a limbo stick at! All the party hopping can make my head spin, and I’m the Party Girl!

If you think that you are overwhelmed, consider your poor relatives and friends that have to plan these shindigs. You might even have some party planning of your own to do. So the Party Girl (that’s me!) has come to the rescue and made a list of the 5 most essential party planning guides for summer. They will give you ideas for themes, invitations, decorations, menus, games, party favors, and much more!

1. Graduation Planning Guide
2. Luau Party Planning Guide
3. Patriotic Party Planning Guide
4. Western Barbeque Party Planning Guide
5. Reunion Planning Guide

Good luck with all of your party planning, and have a magnificent May!

 

- The Party Girl

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

The Celebrations keep MARCHing on!

Ah, March. Lots of great stuff to celebrate, and lots of great stuff to plan.

• March 9^th is Barbie’s birthday
• March 15^th, it’s Buzzard Day when the Buzzards return to Hinckley
• March 17th is, oh yes, St. Patrick’s Day--the best day to party and not entertain (see my blog about that)
• March 19^th, the Swallows return to Capistrano
• March 23^rd is Easter
• March 28^th is “Something on a Stick” Day.

I see we are all going to be very very busy. Especially on March 28^th.

Yet, we must make time for what’s important. Spending our tax refunds on Graduation! Oh yeah! Don’t kid yourself, it’s right around the corner. And to have the perfect graduation celebration, you must get started with your

Graduation Planning!

Let’s make a list:

Who’s invited?

Based on the number of guests, where will you host the BIG event?

Should your celebrate just your graduation or invite others to participate with you for more fun and less cost?

Should you have a theme? School colors? Sports? The movie Grease? Dr. Seuss’ book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go?” --shall I go on?

Should it be an Open House or at a specific time? Casual or dressy?

Oh my, oh my, oh my! And you thought school was tough. Planning a party is no easy feat. So, feel free to quiz me on anything and everything. That’s what we’re here for…and, for those of you and yours that are graduating during the Crazy 8’s, hats off (another great theme by the way)!  if you want to  chat about  your own experience with graduation parties check out Graduation Party Planning Chat.  Need help planning a graduation party?  See the Graduation Party Planning Guide for themes, decorations, personalized products, checklists, and more!

 

The Party Girl (whose birthday is in March!)

January = Winter Blues; February = Party Central!

Thank the Lord that January is over! What was there to do in January but maybe make a snow angel or two? Nada, nothing, zilch. February is a whole different story!!

Were you in the vicinity of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to celebrate Groundhog Day on February 2^nd? Was your Super Bowl party fantabulous on the 3rd? Did you take my blog suggestion to create your Super Bowl Party with a Mardi Gras theme since Mardi Gras was the 5^th?

Well, Valentine’s Day is next. Chocolate, chocolate and a little more chocolate (with a splash of roses, of course). Gather your friends. Get out the fondue set. Cut the pineapple. Pull out the marshmallows. Set out some penny pretzel sticks, and invite anyone and everyone who has nothing to do. They’ll LOVE you for it (get it???)…

President’s Day is almost upon us as well. Besides the post office and banks being closed not to mention the schools, many people have Monday off. That gives you three great nights to party—Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. If you haven’t reciprocated to friend and foe for all those dinners and soireés, NOW is the time.

Finally, Leap Day is February 29^th. Also known as Sadie Hawkins Day, this is the time to host a Leap Year Ball--the one time every four years when all available women can chase all available men and not be considered aggressive, obnoxious or desperate. Ask him to dance, ask him to dinner, ask him to marry you. All are acceptable. Perfect for National Creative Romance Month, no?!

The Party Girl

This Super Bowl…Get ‘Em Out of the Kitchen!

             Every year I have a Super Bowl Party. Every year, every guest ends up in the kitchen for what seems like hours. I hint. I beg. “The game’s on…you missed that play-action pass...you missed the last commercial with the horse, the dog and the parakeet!” Nothing works. Not even a drop kick into the family room (I reserve that for relatives).

 

              This year I have a strategy. Everything will be prepared ahead of time. Everything. My menu will consist of cold snacks, cold meats, cold drinks. To kick off my super bowl party, I’m making signs that represent a football field.

 

My next play? Arrows on my fancy football fields outlining different plays and a playbook for each telling my guests how and where they’ll find what they’re looking for. Want crab dip in pastry shells covered with shreds of cheddar? Well…a 4-3 defense will get you there. Want a beer? It might take a Straight T Formation, but the Bud’s on tap.   

 

Do I know what I’m talking about? Not really, but you get the picture (or the play). What’s important is that the premise is good, and I know one or two football aficionados that will be happy to help me in exchange for a hot meal (not that night, tho! And not cooked by me!!)…

 

See you at the line of scrimmage!

The Party Girl

Auld Land Syne

The holidays are just around the corner. You just might be planning on having a party so I thought I’d give you some unsolicited ideas for a memorable celebration, and not just the standard Christmas Dinner, or the “pass out the hats and noisemakers” New Year's Party!

If you're looking for a unique Christmas theme, check out the Funky Party Themes section for a July at Christmas Time party.

For New Year's there are the usual themes, like luau, to which you can add a New Year’s twist: a group of hula girls singing Auld Lang Syne for unique entertainment, real pineapple centerpieces with New Year’s balloons tied off as inexpensive centerpieces, 2008 glasses in tropical colors…should I go on?

But I’d rather you think outside the box! After all, how many times have you heard your friends say, “I hate New Years!” or “New Years is just another day except that you spend a lot more money to go out!” so on and so forth?

Into football? January 1st is the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl…if that doesn’t scream for a New Year’s fiesta, what does? Have a “Resolutions Reception” asking guests to bring resolutions and share--then regroup next year for the results. Yeah, right!

Feel free to celebrate something that happened on December 31 (like Donna Summer’s birthday or the 45^th anniversary of the TV premiere of “The Match Game”) or on January 1^st (like Cuba Liberation Day, J. Edgar Hoover’s birthday or the anniversary of the first Baby Boomer born on January 1, 1946) as a change of pace. Or have a New Years Tea (January 1^st is the beginning of National Hot Tea Month).

Your turn!  Inspire others with your best New Year's party ideas by posting them below.

 

Happy November from the Party Girl

It’s getting to that busy time of year. Shopping, partying, shopping, partying, shopping, partying—what’s a person to do? Hopefully the shopping will work off some of the calories from partying, but don’t count on that too much. I say party ‘til the cows come home and then worry about it.

Besides the obvious holidays like Veterans Day and Thanksgiving (you know, those “real” holidays when we get no mail), there are other events (like Sandwich Day on November 3^th, or the Anniversary of the King Tut Tomb Discovery on November 4^th) that you’ll find in our Stuff to Celebrate Calendar, perfect for planning a party if you’re like the Party Girl and never ever want to do anything “run of the mill.”

On the other hand, Turkey Day is a MUST but don’t let that put a crimp in your creativity. Like who’s to say you can’t use your Thanksgiving Day dinner to celebrate National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month? Or National Learn Chinese Month? Huh? I can see the menus now!

And before your guests arrive, read “Ten Ways to Get Thanksgiving Guests to Leave” to perfect your Thanksgiving Day celebration. Then…why not turn Thanksgiving leftovers into a party for friends NOT family on the Friday night following? (Read this post in the Daily Party Dish, and you’ll know why!)

Last but not least, don’t forget to have fun. Decorate yourself and your friends. Reach out to those less fortunate. Volunteer at a local shelter, feed the homeless, collect toys and clothes for kids. And stay in the holiday spirit.  Until those cows come home!!