Daily Party Dish : Theme Parties

Posts categorized "Theme Parties"

February 09, 2017

10 Dessert Ideas for a Nursing School Graduation Party

I came up with so many nursing school graduation party ideas for my friend Tamara's grad party! She wanted to have several different desserts, so I made sure to make a few that tied in with the nursing theme. In fact, I ended up creating this fun marshmallow cake - I used raspberry filling for "blood" and decorated with nursing theme paper topper and some kid's doctor kit toys. This cake became an eye-popping centerpiece for my nursing theme party table, and it was so easy to make!

I came up with ten more dessert ideas for a nursing school graduation party. A few of them are sure to cure your sweet tooth!

Jello Shot Syringes: Fill these party shooter syringe shots with raspberry jello - guests will love this nursing theme twist on a party classic! Use this recipe to get started.
White Chocolate Thermometers: I also made these fun white chocolate covered pretzel sticks, or "thermometers", for my party table. Decorating with homemade royal icing to make the pretzel look like a thermometer was simple! Wrap them in cellophane and tie with a ribbon, and you have a sweet favor for family and friends to take home.
Personalized Cookies: The grad "calls the shots" with a Graduation Nursing School Theme Custom Cookie! Cookies make fun favors at each place setting or displayed on the dessert table. Plus, they match all of our nursing school graduation party invitation and favors.
Nursing Theme Candy Bar: Set up a candy bar where guests can grab nursing themed treats and sweets! Marshmallows are "cotton balls", skittles are "happy pills", lemon heads are "urine samples" - you get the idea! Have graduation nursing school theme favor bags handy so guests have a place to put their goodies.
Hospital Food: Serve individually packaged servings of Jello, ice cream, and pudding. They're everyone's favorite foods when staying at the hospital!
Scrubs Cake: Take a sheet cake and cut off the top three inches, using them to make scrubs "sleeves" on the leftover rectangle of cake. Frost with green or pink icing to make a scrubs cake!
Red Cross Cupcakes: For a no-hassle dessert, frost cupcakes with white icing (or buy pre-made ones at the store to keep it simple!). Give the cupcakes a nursing themed twist by using red licorice to make a red cross topper.
Body Part Suckers: Use these body party molds to make chocolate suckers! Try the brain, heart, stomach, or bone molds - fun!
Tylenol Cookies: Use a cookie cutter to make oval shaped sugar cookies, and decorate half the cookie with white royal icing and the other half with red to make Tylenol cookies!
Personalized Lollipops: The grad can leave a special message to family and friends on this sweet graduation nursing school lollipop.

Whatever you decide to make for your nursing graduation party, make sure to choose something sugary to cure everyone's sweet tooth! Check out more ideas from this nursing theme party below:

Posted at 07:30 AM in Christine's Posts, Graduation Parties, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 02, 2017

Nursing School Graduation Party Favor Ideas

I wanted to make sure to celebrate my friend Tamara's graduation from nursing school, and now that she "calls the shots", it was time to come up with some amazing nursing school graduation party ideas! I decorated a green and pink party table, and decided to hand out chocolate bars packaged in these graduation nursing school candy bar wrappers. They were such a fun and personalized touch to the party - I chose a custom message for Tamara, her family, and all of her friends!

Along with chocolate, each person received a "Happy Pills" favor. I scored these glass prescription bottles from my mom (who's a nurse) and filled them with Skittles. An easy label completed the look, and these Happy Pills matched my nursing theme perfectly! I also set up a nursing themed candy bar where guests could grab their favorite treats. Clear jars filled to the top with delicious candies made the candy bar table look amazing! Make sure to include a few of these themed goodies - each with its own little sign, of course:

Clogged Arteries: Red licorice, Twizzlers, or Red Vines
Antibiotics: Mike N Ikes
Urine Samples: Lemon Heads, gold wrapped Rolos or mini Reese's Cups (any yellow candy will do!)
Kidney Stones: Malt Balls or Milk Duds
Cotton Swabs: Marshmallows
Kisses for Your Boo Boo: Hershey's Kisses
Gauze: Cotton Candy
Red Blood Cells: Red Hots or Red Gummies
White Blood Cells: Life Saver Mints
From the Doctor: Safety Suckers, DumDums, or Blow Pops (because everyone wants a sucker when they go to the doctors!)
An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: Caramel Apple Pops
Thermometers: Pixie Sticks

Don't forget to pass out graduation nursing school theme favor bags, so your guests can easily pack up all of their goodies! I love how these favor bags were personalized to match the chocolate bar favors, too.

Setting up a small favor table near your party's entrance/exit is another great way to display favors. If a candy bar isn't your style, try one of these nursing graduation themed favors:

Graduation Nursing School Lollipop: Leave a personalized message on these graduation nursing school lollipops to families and friends!
Germ Juice: Slap a "Germ Juice" label or a small tag on mini bottles of hand sanitizer.
First Aid Kits: Mini first aid kits that can easily slip into a purse or glove box are practical and thoughtful favors.
Latex Glove Favors: Fill a latex glove with an assortment of candies, and ties at the top with ribbon and a note from the grad.
Doctor Kit Sets: For the kiddos at your party, pass out doctor kit sets you can find for cheap at the dollar store.

Whatever you choose, the guest of honor will never forget this once in a lifetime party. Make it special with a favor they'll remember forever! Once you've decided on favors, check out more of my nursing graduation party ideas below:

Posted at 07:30 AM in Christine's Posts, Graduation Parties, Party Favors, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 01, 2017

Drink Ideas for a Nursing Theme Graduation Party

Clinicals are finished, finals are passed, and the grad has finally walked across the stage and received their nursing diploma! It's time to party! Make sure your nursing theme graduation party has all the right drinks to get started off right. For my friend Tamara, I made sure everyone was hydrated before we celebrated. I displayed these custom graduation nursing school theme water bottle labels on one of my party tables which guests could grab as the night went on. I loved the personalized message I left for friends and family!

Need a few more drink ideas? These are great for any rowdy crew of RNs:

Party Shooter Syringe Shots - Jello shots are always a party favorite, so make sure to have them at your nursing them grad party! Fill these 1 oz oral syringes with a "bloody" vodka shot.
IV Fluid Drink Bags - Newly minted nurses will love shooting their favorite cocktails straight into their veins with these IV fluid bags! Kidding aside, fill these fun IV bags with your favorite drinks, and use the easy dispenser to fill everyone's glass!
Type A and B Blood - Fill jars with red party punch and label them "Type A" and "Type B" blood. Family and friends can help themselves!
Urine Sample - Fill catheter bags with yellow sports drinks or clear soda (add yellow food coloring to make it appear "urine-ish"). Add a "Hydration Station" sign and some sterile urine sample cups for guests to grab a quick (and disturbing!) drink.
Nursing Theme Cocktails - Serve everyone's favorite cocktails, but make these tried and true classics with a nursing theme twist! Liver Transplant (Long Island Iced Tea); Red Cross (Cranberry and Vodka); Hematoma (Bloody Mary).
Nursing Theme Graduation Water Bottle Labels - Leave a sweet message to guests and give them a change to hydrate after a long day of partying!

You'll need plenty more to finish planning your nursing theme graduation party! Check out these posts for more decoration, favor and menu ideas:

Posted at 11:30 AM in Christine's Posts, Graduation Parties, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 31, 2017

Nursing School Graduation Invitation Ideas

For my friend Tamara's nursing graduation party, I chose this fun Graduation Nursing School Invitation to send to all of her family and friends. The "scrubs" green invite matched the pink and green color scheme I chose. (The invitation also comes in blue and pink!) I also wanted to set the right tone for the party, so the invitation wording was very important to me. I really liked a few of these different wording options for a nursing theme graduation:

Nurse's Orders:
Join us to celebrate
Tamara's graduation from nursing school!

She survived!
Tamara is a Registered Nurse -
Join us as we celebrate her graduation!

Cute enough to stop your heart...
And smart enough to restart it!
Tamara is graduating,
Join us and celebrate!

Tamara's ready to call the shots!
Join us to celebrate her graduation from
Cleveland State University.
We're prescribing a celebration!

You've got a prescription to party!
Celebrate with Tamara as she receives her RN!

Once everyone received their invite, we were ready to "discharge" Tamara from nursing school!

After I figured out the invite, it was easy to find all sorts of Nursing School Graduation Invitations and Party Favors to go with it. I chose personalized water bottle and chocolate bar labels and custom favor bags for guests to fill up with treats. It was really easy to coordinate my party decorations - everything matched!

Once I packed all the invites into envelopes, I tossed in a handful of personalized graduation confetti (with a picture of the grad, of course!). It was a sweet add-on, and I even ended up using some of this confetti on the party table, too. If you're looking to make a big statement with your invitation, try a few more of these creative ideas:

Roll up your invite and put it in a plastic prescription bottle. (You can order them in bulk online!) Put a label on the bottle that says, "You've got a prescription to party!"
Send along a mini first aid kit with your invitation - it's useful and matches the theme!
Seal your invite in a biohazard bag (get them here). This'll definitely make your guests look twice!
Toss in a sucker (like you would get at the doctor's office) and a few character bandaids - the grad will be handing out plenty of those once he or she starts the new job!

After sending out your nursing graduation invites, the party planning begins! Find all sorts of ideas for decorations, menus, and favors below:

Posted at 11:30 AM in Christine's Posts, Graduation Parties, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pink and Green Nursing Theme Graduation Party

Nurse, it's an emergency! I have to throw a Nursing Theme Graduation Party! My friend Tamara passed her tests, completed her clinicals, and walked across the stage to receive her well-earned diploma. So, of course, we needed to give her a graduation party she'd never forget. I chose a pink and green theme to tie in with her scrubs and chose a bunch of fun nursing school graduation party invitations and favors to match. I love the nursing party table I created - there are so many cute and quirky touches that the graduate loved!

Bubblegum pink and "scrubs" green were my go-to colors, so I covered my party table with a pink plastic tablecover and used green, white and pink crepe paper streamers to make a statement-making backdrop. (Just use clear packing tape to secure the streamers at the ceiling and the floor - too easy!) I added a graduation nursing school theme banner with a special message just for the grad as well. See Nurse Bones over there? I dug him out of my Halloween decorations and dressed him up in scrubs I found at the thrift store. Don't forget to accessorize with a dollar store doctor's kit!

I personalized my table with all sorts of delicious nursing theme goodies! My cake centerpiece was a snap - it's a three layer cake covered in white frosting. I cut marshmallows in half and used them to decorate the outside edge to give the cake a polished look. Then, I just printed nursing clip art on card stock, attached them to wooden skewers and arranged them on the cake. A pink stethoscope, thermometer and knee hammer from a child's doctor kit gave this dessert a fun touch. Some other fun touches I included:

Personalized Graduation Nursing School Theme Candy Bar Wrappers
Chocolate covered pretzels that I decorated to look like thermometers!
My mom (who's also a nurse) dug up some unused glass prescription bottles that I decorated with a custom label and filled with "Happy Pills" (aka Skittles)
Graduation Nursing School Theme Water Bottle Labels

I made sure to have graduation nursing school theme favor bags for guests to put all of their treats in - they matched the rest of my favors perfectly! I love how this green and pink color scheme turned out!

The highlight of the party table was, without a doubt, the lifesized cutout of the nurse in scrubs! I picked the tabletop sized version and got to choose between three different colored scrubs. Plus, they personalized my cutout so it looked just like Tamara! She loved it and took it home after the party as a special gift from me.

Check out more inspiration for a nursing theme graduation party below, and congrats to the new RN!

Posted at 07:30 AM in Christine's Posts, Graduation Parties, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 11, 2015

Paint Theme Housewarming Party

This past weekend, my sister Kathleen threw a paint theme housewarming party for her mother-in-law Billie. After renovating nearly everything in a whirlwind week and a half (including painting the ceilings and walls, and putting in carpeting and laminate flooring), the large workforce that helped upgrade the condo were ready to let loose and party! The event was paint themed (all yellow!), so Kathleen chose a variety of fun matching Housewarming Paint Invitations and Party Favors.

Kathleen also didn’t want to spend too much money on decorations (she wanted to spend money on more important things, like the renovations), so she came up with a fun and appropriate theme that would reuse many items that had already been purchased for the move - everything from paint chips to bubble wrap to paint cans!

Read on to see how Kathleen planned this housewarming party down to every last detail, from the invitation to the buffet to the sign-in gift, and make sure to take a look at our other Housewarming Party Ideas for more inspiration on how to throw the first of many memorable events in your new home!

Kathleen set a stylish tone for the party by sending out Housewarming Paint Swatch Invitations. Since we painted nearly the entire condo a soft yellow, she chose that as the "swatch" color.

The focal point of the party was the buffet table, which was littered with fun finger foods. We wrapped the table in brown packing paper, and in the corner, we set up a paint can with a cascading yellow table cloth to look like paint. All we had to do to finish off the look was add a couple of paintbrushes!

Another cute (and free!) touch were the paint chip table tents. We put them in silver card holders we had lying around the office!

To finish off the buffet table, Kathleen wrapped a clear glass vase in bubble wrap and filled it with utensils. She also wrapped a small box in brown packing paper, put two pots of miniature daisies in it, and topped it off with packing peanuts. She scattered extra peanuts on the table as confetti!

Another highlight of the party was the drink station. Water with Housewarming Paint Swatch Water Bottle Labels were piled high in a white tin tub. We also had self-serve lemonade and spiked party punch for guests to help themselves.

As a gift for the guest of honor, Kathleen set up a TV on the sign-in table where she played a slideshow of the renovation process. They played it first in front of the whole group, and the video, filled with touching photos, brought on a few tears!

A final cute touch was the “sign-in book”. Kathleen set out a tape measure on which guests left congratulations for the guest of honor with permanent markers. It was a useful (and themed!) memento that she will treasure!

Good luck keeping your next housewarming party on a budget, and make sure to save a glass of spiked punch for the Party Girl!

Posted at 07:54 AM in Christine's Posts, Party Planning, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 30, 2015

Casino Theme Birthday Party Ideas

My grandma decided right away that she wanted to go to the new Horseshoe Casino for her milestone birthday party, so my sister and I immediately decided to throw her a bash with a ton of our favorite Casino Theme Party Ideas!

Before heading out to the casino to win big, we wanted to celebrate the traditional way with cake and presents. As the centerpiece for our party (which would also work great for a party room at a casino), we designed a party table with a bunch of great Casino Birthday Party Ideas. Family and friends loved it! Need more ideas for a casino party? Check out our Casino Theme Invitations and Party Favors to help you get started.

Of course, everything from the banner to the balloons to the desserts needed to be casino themed! We chose a black, white, and red color scheme and carried it throughout the decorations. Cards suits made appearances in the casino party theme banner, on napkins, and on the three-sided casino theme party centerpiece.

I loved the casino party theme banner which we personalized with our own wording and then hung as a backdrop. We added some fun casino cutouts underneath to tie in the theme even further!

Cassata cake in red and white matched the color scheme perfectly; plus, it's one of grandma's favorite desserts! I loved the three-sided casino theme party centerpiece which we filled with red tissue paper and cards glued to wooden skewers.

On the other side of the table, we had a Casino Queen of Hearts Centerpiece that we personalized with a photo of the birthday girl when she was 25! We filled the centerpiece with tissue paper and cards and attached a balloon bouquet with black, red, and white balloons of course! (If you're interested, we also have a Casino King of Hearts Centerpiece.)

To finish off your look, just add some personalized money, scatter poker chips as confetti, and purchase some casino theme paper goods. Grandma loved the personalized money - unfortunately, we couldn't use it at the casino!

Grandma felt like a Queen of Hearts at her 88th birthday party! Make sure your birthday boy or girl feels the same way by throwing them a casino theme party, too.

Posted at 07:36 AM in Birthday, Christine's Posts, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 14, 2015

Fiesta Theme 1st Birthday Party Cake Smash

My niece Lizzie just turned one, and of course, we needed to have a cake smash at her first birthday party! Because her party was UNO themed, we knew we needed some amazing Fiesta Party Ideas to add to the cake table that also matched the party’s color scheme: red, blue, green, and yellow!

In the end, we came up with a few First Birthday Party Ideas that we absolutely loved! We DIYed some cupcake stands, made a fringed crepe paper backdrop, hired a local baker to design a smash cake and cupcakes, and even decorated the birthday girl herself. Because we focused so much on presentation and decoration, the cake smash ended up being the hit of the party, and it actually was one of our Easy Fiesta Party Ideas.

We started off with a crepe paper backdrop in the party's fiesta colors: red, blue, yellow, and green. The backdrop was simple to make! We just took a large piece of cardboard (a flattened box works just fine!) and layered strands of crepe paper in each color. (Use packing tape to secure.) Then, we just used scissors to fringe the crepe paper to finish off the look. It was simple to display as well! We just placed it on the back edge of the table and leaned it up against the wall.

I LOVED our super easy cupcake stand! The circular trays were white foamcore (which we traced, cut, and then glued thin ribbon around the edges), and the "pillars" holding the stands were just mailing tubes wrapped in fringed crepe paper. Super simple decoration with big impact that cost almost nothing to make! YUM!

For the smash cake, which a local caterer made to fit the fiesta theme, we even bedazzled a first birthday candle. All we had to do was buy sticky jewels at the craft store and get our bling on!

Of course, we had to dress the birthday girl for her first birthday pictures! The felt UNO hat was handmade by her mom in the theme's colors. And check out that cake! It has four layers, red, blue, green, and yellow ones.

Enjoy planning your little one's first birthday cake smash. Spend time on the decorations and dessert presentation and you're sure to end up with some pretty amazing photos! Want to see more of this fiesta theme first birthday party? Check out more of my posts:

Posted at 07:29 AM in Birthday, Christine's Posts, Decorations, Food and Drink, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 05, 2015

Fiesta Party Ideas: How to Host an UNO Tournament

My sister Kathleen recently hosted an UNO theme party for her daughter’s first birthday. Aunt, uncles, friends, cousins, grandparents, and co-workers were all invited to this fiesta theme event! With almost 100 people attending, Kathleen needed some Fiesta Party Ideas to keep a mixed group of adults and children entertained, and what better way to do that than with an UNO tournament!

Getting ready for the tournament began with party set up. We designated a special table at the center of the party room for UNO tournament play. In front of the table was a bracket board for people to sign up. The bracket board was specially made by Party411.com and was very similar to a bracket you might see for March Madness, only the four brackets were each designated an UNO color – red, green, yellow, or blue.

In order to sign-up for the tournament, guests pulled a card from a special UNO deck. The deck had 16 red, 16 blue, 16 yellow, and 16 green cards. (One card for each of the spots on the bracket.) If they pulled a yellow card, they put their name in a spot underneath the yellow section and then put their card in a “discard” pile. This continued until all of the spots on the bracket were filled.

Then, the games began! Guests took a look at the bracket, found their partner, checked the UNO rules posted on the tournament table, and faced off. The winners then moved on to the next round! The tournament lasted for about an hour as family and friends dueled to the final round. The winner was a five-year-old boy named Brandon (see picture above), and his reward was the taco pinata which had served as a decoration on the taco buffet!

Have fun planning your UNO tournament, and for more fiesta theme party entertainment, check out these posts, too:

Posted at 08:09 AM in Birthday, Christine's Posts, Games, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fiesta Theme Party Buffet and Menu Ideas

Let’s get ready to Fiesta! My sister Kathleen came up with a bunch of amazing Fiesta Party Ideas for her daughter’s first birthday party. The theme was UNO (get it?), and Kathleen decided to have a taco buffet to feed the horde of guests she invited. With around 100 people attending (and no caterer!), she needed an easy set-up where family and friends felt free to help themselves.

Of course, with a fiesta theme, Kathleen decided to have a “Taco Bar” (love the taco pinata decoration)! Ole! Easy Fiesta Party Ideas were a must, so she kept it simple by offering a variety of taco and nacho fixings – guests could mix and match their own tacos to their hearts’ delight.

Below are the menu items Kathleen chose for the "Taco Bar"! It gave guests a lot of mix and match options, so they could build their perfect meal (and you can also check out our Fiesta Party Food for more ideas...):

Taco Shells: Soft corn tortillas, flour tortillas, and hard corn taco shells (a favorite with the kids!)
Nacho cheese and tortilla chips
Ground beef flavored with taco seasoning
Pulled pork
White rice with cilantro
Black beans
Queso dip
Shredded lettuce and cheese
Guacamole
Salsa: Mild, medium and hot flavors along with a pineapple salsa
Sauces: A variety of hot sauces
Spicy taco coleslaw
Sour cream

To start off the buffet, guests grabbed their taco shell - corn and flour tortillas were stacked in a basket and refilled throughout the party!

Of course, if guests didn't want a taco, they could always fill a tray with chips and top it with delicious nacho cheese! Guests were so excited for this novelty treat, and the funny sign was a bonus (and a classic corny joke the hostess likes to tell). A favorite among the kids were the "walking tacos" (see top picture). We made sure to have a sign with instructions - open a bag of Doritos and add your favorite taco toppings (ground beef, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, etc). Mix with a fork and enjoy, all while walking around the party!

Family and friends finished off their tacos with a variety of fun toppings! Mild to hot salsas (check out that verde salsa!) along with spicy taco slaw, guacamole, cilantro, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream gave each guest a chance to individualize.

With all that spicy food, the hostess Kathleen had to make sure guests had something to drink! Fiesta Theme Water Bottle Labels that she had specially designed for her daughter Lizzy's UNO theme party were perfect.

Instead of serving traditional sodas, Kathleen ordered specialty Mexican pops for guests to enjoy! They fit right into the fiesta theme, and the glass bottles were a favorite with kids and adults alike.

DIY faux pinatas were easy to make and also made a big impact on the buffet! Along with a bull pinata, the buffet needed little else for decorations other than this donkey pinata and the taco pinata pictured above. The decorations were in the party theme's UNO colors of course - red, green, yellow, and blue!

Kathleen made the faux pinatas by cutting the donkey and bull shapes from cardboard. She attached rows of fringed crepe paper with glue, and voila! An easy and colorful decoration!

Family and friends loved the fiesta theme buffet - it was the party's main attraction! Everyone went back for seconds and thirds!

Enjoy planning your fiesta party menu! If you need more fiesta theme ideas, check out my other posts on this great party as well as Party411's invitation and favors ideas:

Posted at 07:16 AM in Birthday, Christine's Posts, Kid's Parties, Theme Parties | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daily Party Dish

Party Basics