Party Tips and Ideas
When your guests arrive do they see the theme that was also on the invitation? Maybe your invitation did not have the exact theme but do the colors coordinate? If you don't think they will remember or coorelate the invitation with the party, they will. Chances are they have the invitation on the refrigerator and they have been staring at it for weeks. Maybe they have it in their car. Your guests needed to confirm time and place before coming today.
So now that the guests are at your party they see the decorations, partyware and even a cake and it all comes together. Your not done yet! Send them home with a favor. Adults love the special touch and kids love them and even expect them. For the kids fill loot bags to match the theme make sure they are age appropriate. For the adults send them home with a treat too. It lets them know you appreciate them coming to your party. Some great examples for the adults are candy bars wrapped in
personalized wrappers. Jelly beans, M&M's or any of your favorite candy in a small box are also a great favor. Placing ribbon and stickers on the boxes to match the color theme are also a nice touch. Your favors can look so good that they actually become a decoration.
Now you have had the perfect party. Enjoy the compliments and please spread the word. Be sure to tell everyone where you got your party ideas and supplies!
Here are some great decorating ideas to make your party a little out of the ordinary without breaking the bank.
- Used colored chalk to write a message on your driveway or walkway. You can either write "happy birthday" or "this way to the party" with an arrow.
- Replace lightbulbs with colored light bulbs to add a little something, use colors that match your theme.
- Make paper circles or other shapes. Punch a hole with a hole puncher and loop fishing wire through it and hang them from the ceiling with a push pin.
- Make a collage of the person the party is for. For birthdays make a collage of every birthday they have had up to this one. For the bridal shower make a collage of the couple. You could use any special pictures they have or ask your guests to bring some. For a baby shower do a collage of the mom to be with pictures of her growing up. Be sure to include lots of baby pictures!
- Buy or make paper lanterns. Hang them outside your front door on the porch lights.
- Hang a garden or banner flag outside your home it tells your guests where the party is. If you don't have a flag pole use a yard sign in the pattern or theme of the party.
- Think ahead about where the guest of honor will be opening his or her gifts. Make sure you decorate the area with balloons, flowers or a party banner. It makes a nice background for the all the photos you will be taking. Make sure it is located near the gifts and that there is somewhere for the guest of honor to sit. Also don't forget to make a list of the gifts and give it to the guest of honor so he or she can write thank you notes.
Decorating your food table gives your guests a great impression. People eat with their eyes first!! A few tips on how to accomplish this.
Put a tablecloth down on your food table. Now add different size boxes you may have laying around the house. If you don't have boxes you can turn your pots and pans upside down. You can also use books, phone books work best. Use different heights when chosing items. Lay them around the table thinking of what food you would like to put in each place on the table. Make it easy for the guests to get each of the food items. Your biggest lift should be in the center of the table and your centerpiece will sit on top of that. Now lay another tablecloth over the items you are using for lifts. You can use the same color tablecloth or a different color, whichever you chose. Now place your food trays or bowls on top of each of the lifts. Looks great right? Don't forget serving spoons, forks and tongs for each of your food items.
Easy and kid friendly food ideas that even the adults love.
- Roll-up sandwiches- Fill tortillas with cold cuts of your choice (ham, turkey or bologna), cheese and shredded lettuce. Add a little mayonaise or ranch dressing to make the tortilla stick together when you roll it. Roll it up, cut it into pieces and serve on a decorative platter.
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Mac-n-Cheese Cups- Make a batch of Macaroni and cheese, whether from a box or from scratch. Divide the macaroni amoung cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Add a bread topping for a little crunch. Now everyone has their own individually sized portion.
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Quesadillas- Make a variety of them. Chicken, veggie, black bean or just cheese. Serve with salsa, sour cream and Guacamole arranged on a platter.
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Sandwiches- Bring back a favorite classic Peanut Butter and Jelly. Finger sandwiches with tuna salad, chicken salad or even egg salad. The trick to these ordinary items is to serve them in a not so ordinary way. Make the sandiches up and then take a cookie cutter and cut the sandwiches into shapes that match the theme of your party. If your sandwiches are to thick then try cutting the bread before you make them. Be sure to get the large sized cutters!
Cupcakes, Cupcakes and more Cupcakes!
Double Decker - Make one regular and one mini cupcake for each guest. You can use boxed cake mix and frosting from a tub. Add food color directly to the tub to get your desired color. Frost each of the cupcakes and roll the edges in sprinkles or nonpareils. Be sure to keep each of the cupcakes in the liner. Place the mini cupcake on top of the regular sized one right in the middle. Add a gumdrop on top of the mini cupcake and place a candle in the center of it. You can get very creative by using different color frostings and gumdrops. Place your creations out for everyone to see. These are simple and very cute!*
Wording Wishes- Make enough cupcakes for each guest to have one or enough to spell out the wish you would like your cupcakes to say. Do whatever quantity is greater. Keep the cupcakes in the liner. Frost half with one color and half with another. You can even do different flavored frosting. Roll the edges in sprinkles. Place the cupcakes out in a row every other color. Use a #8 Frosting tip to pipe letters in the opposite color frosting. In otherwords a red cupcake with white sprinkles and a white letter. White cupcakes get red sprinkles and a red letter. Spell out your birthday wish, wedding wish or baby shower wish. Adorable idea!*
*for illustrations see the May 2007 issue of Parents Magazine
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes - Place ice cream cones with flat bottoms into a muffin pan. Fill the cones with cake batter and bake. After they are cool fill a ziploc bag with frosting. Make a small hole in the corner of the bag and squeeze the icing out. You can make several different color frostings right in the store bought tubs. This is something easy to make and looks great for a party in the summer. You can also use chocolate frosting and it will look like chocolate ice cream. For a finishing touch top them with sprinkles!
Mini Cupcakes- Cupcakes are not just for kids they are a party favorite for bridal and baby showers. Use a store bought or from scratch mix and pour them into mini cupcake liners. Frost each one with a dab of frosting, chocolate or vanilla or mix them up. You could also use pink frosting for a girl baby shower and blue for a boy baby shower or use the brides wedding colors. Bite size is the right size for these adult parties!
