1950s Fun for a 50th Anniversary or Birthday Party

October 24th, 2009 0 Comments
By emdot

By emdot

Celebrating a 50th anniversary or a 50th birthday is exciting.  Some people like to celebrate these occasions with a formal event where people get dressed up in nice dresses and suits and ties.  However, if a fancy affair doesn’t thrill the couple or birthday person, throwing a 50s party might excite them.

If you’ve never experienced the 1950s, the movie Grease and the sitcom Happy Days are great reference points for costume ideas.  You’ll see girls dressed in poodle skirts, knit sweaters, saddle shoes, and bobby socks.  If they’re dating an athlete, she’s probably wearing his lettermen jacket.  Some boys in the movie and television show wear cuffed jeans and white t-shirts with the sleeves rolled up.  

 Making the party a sock hop and playing tunes from the era will add authenticity to your event.  Once your guests arrive, have them to leave their shoes at the door and hit the dance floor.  You can even organize a dance contest for couples.  You’ll definitely want to check out the dance contest in Grease for dance moves.  Also, before the party is over, you must teach everyone how to Hand Jive.

Set up a soda fountain area and serve ice cream floats and soda.  Also, have hula hoops available for a hula hoop contest and bubble gum in dishes for blowing bubbles.   You can even put candy out on the tables from the 1950s, like Mike and Ikes, Tootsie Roll Pops, Candy Lipstick, and Button Candy.

 Choosing a 1950s theme for a 50th anniversary or birthday party will be fun to plan and attend.  What are some of your ideas for a 1950s inspired party?

October 24th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Birthday Parties, Party Planning, Party Themes | Comments (0)

Picture Perfect Children’s Birthday Parties

October 16th, 2009 0 Comments

Photograph by photographix.ca

Photograph by photographix.ca

Taking photographs at your child’s birthday party is essential.  You’ll want to have the special day captured on film, so you, your family, and your child can enjoy remembering the excitement of the day.  Below are a few picture tips for your child’s birthday party.

1.  You should always have a designated photographer at your child’s birthday party.  Ideally, the photographer shouldn’t be you.  You should be free to enjoy your child’s birthday party without worrying about taking pictures.  If someone else is photographing the event, you should end up with a few pictures with you in them and even a few with you and your child.

2.  Using a digital camera allows for some keepsake possibilities.  If you own a computer printer or a picture printer, photos can be printed before the party is over.  Your photographer can take a group photograph and print a copy for each child.  Before your guests leave, you can give everyone a picture before the party ends.  The photograph can be placed in a mini photo album or in a picture frame.   You can even have the children decorate picture frames, and then put the group photo in the frame.  Each child will have his or her own decorated party favor to take home.  If you don’t want to give out picture frames or photo albums, you can make a label on your computer that says, “Thanks for coming to my birthday party.”  Once the pictures have printed, place the label on the back of the picture. 

3.  Having disposable cameras in a bowl or placed around the birthday party area is fun for children of all ages.  They’ll enjoy taking pictures of the party and will get shots that many adults wouldn’t think of taking.   You can have a designated bowl near the front door, so the cameras can be dropped in it before your guests leave.  If you don’t want to use the disposable cameras during the party, kids will enjoy taking one home with them as a party favor.

Finally, always make sure that at least one camera is ready for your child’s birthday party.  You don’t want to miss a great photo opportunity because you didn’t charge your camera or didn’t buy any film or a new card the day before the birthday party.

October 16th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Birthday Parties, Party Planning, Tips | Comments (0)

Bobbing for Apples

October 10th, 2009 0 Comments
By Selma90

By Selma90

When I was growing up, bobbing for apples was an autumn game staple.  You knew if you went to any party during the fall, a tub or pool full of floating apples promised fun for children and adults.  We didn’t worry about sharing germs; everyone was more concerned about having a good time. It’s been years since I’ve seen children chomping down on floating apples and with good reason.  People realized bobbing for apples isn’t sanitary.  Despite this realization, apples can still be included in your fall festivities.

Including apples in your celebration can be as simple as putting a variety of them in a bowl as a centerpiece for your fall event.  Later, you can use these apples for a game of Name that Apple and have guests compete to name each apple variety.  Other options include making candy apples, apple fritters, or apple pies and serving them to your guests.  Cold or warm homemade apple cider can be your beverage of choice for an afternoon event.  If you’re looking for an apple craft to make during the festivities, covering apples with cinnamon cloves makes a fragrant deodorizer.   

You can still do a variation of bobbing for apples.  You can give guests apples to place in front of themselves on a table.  Have your guests compete to eat their apples without using their hands.  The water may be missing, but your guests will still have a great time munching on their apples.

October 10th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Party Planning, Season Celebrations | Comments (0)

Mermaid Party Tips

August 7th, 2009 0 Comments
by David Sifry

by David Sifry

If you love oceans, the beach, and seashells, you’ll enjoy planning a Mermaid Party.   You can reference Disney’s The Little Mermaid for inspiration and even for party supplies.  However, using your own passion for the “sea” create an underwater paradise. 

1.  Make an underwater paradise.  Decorate your party area using blue and green decorations.  Hang up different color fish.  You can make these yourself or purchase precut fish shapes.  If you have seashells, display them around the party area.   Create an ocean picture on the party walls.  Include seaweed, bubbles, fish, lobsters, and crabs in your wall art.  However, if you can host your Mermaid Party at the beach, you won’t need any of these decorations.

2.  Serve fishy food and snacks.  Goldfish, fish sticks, fish nuggets or tuna fish make thematic additions to your Little Mermaid Party.  Blue Jello cut in the shape of fish, sea horses, and starfish using cookie cutters make fun treats for kids.

3.  Make ocean art.  Buy colored sand and clear containers with tops. (You can use plastic water bottles.) Make colorful layers of sand in the containers by pouring different colors of sand on each level.  Once the sand reaches the rim of the container, seal it. 

If you have access to a pool, you can make this a Mermaid Pool Party.  Also, if boys will be in attendance at your party, make it a Mermaid and Pirates Party.  The girls can dress up as mermaids and the boys can wear pirate costumes.

August 7th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Birthday Parties, Party Planning, Party Themes, Tips | Comments (0)

Toddler Time Party

August 7th, 2009 0 Comments
by Waka Jawaka

by Waka Jawaka

The best party for toddlers is an interactive party that includes discovery, play and song.  Of course, with these qualifications, just about every day is a party for toddlers.  What makes a Toddler Time Party special is the intentional interaction with other toddlers and caregivers.  A Toddler Time Party makes a fun second birthday party.

You’ll need balls of various sizes for kicking, throwing, rolling, and tossing fun.  Small balls are especially nice for small hands, and huge balls are great for picture opportunities.  If you decide to have a character-themed Toddler Time Party, look for a ball with the character on it.   

While planning this party, incorporate a few ball races into the party.  Have kids line up on one end of the party area and race to kick their balls to the opposite end.  Don’t forget to blow up a toddler pool and fill it up with colorful balls to make a ball pit.  These balls can be purchased at Walmart and Toys R Us.

Hula hoops are another toy worth including in your Toddler Time Party activities.  Small hula hoops can be purchased at your local Dollar Store in the summer.  With the price for the hula hoop so low, you can pick up enough to give to party guests as gifts.  At the party, let the children hula hoop and roll the hoops.  Hula hoops are even fun to toss up in the air.

Make sure to have a bubble machine blowing during the party.  Toddlers will have fun chasing and catching the bubbles.  Also, buy a few bubble wands to make giant bubbles to amaze little eyes.

 A Toddler Time Party doesn’t have to be elaborate.  You just need enough activities to keep little hands and feet busy.

August 7th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Party Planning, Party Themes | Comments (0)

More Perfect Party Host Tips

August 7th, 2009 0 Comments
By Daniel Voyager

By Daniel Voyager

Perfect party hosts concern themselves with the comfort of their guests.  Yes, they want to enjoy themselves, but a perfect party host can’t be content if their guests are uncomfortable.  Below are two questions to ask yourself when hosting a party.

1.  Have I greeted my guests?  In a small setting, greeting individual guests is simple, especially if you are the only person opening the door when guests arrive.  Let your guests know you’re glad they made it to your party.  Greeting individual guests may be difficult when your guest list exceeds 100.  However, you can make an effort to welcome as many guests as genuinely possible.  If you have access to a microphone, a general welcome is appropriate.

2.  Have I introduced my guests?  It’s possible everyone will not know one another at your party.  When you can, introduce your guests to each other.  Doing this is especially thoughtful when you may be the only person your guests know.  When introducing people, make sure to introduce them using the names the other person should use to address them.  Don’t introduce people by their nicknames unless they prefer their nickname.

Perfect party hosts know the importance of making their guests feel comfortable.  If your guests are uncomfortable, it’s the perfect party host’s duty to try to make them more comfortable.   Greeting and introducing guests are two ways for hosts to care for their guests.

August 7th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Party Planning, Tips | Comments (0)

Princess Party Craft Ideas

August 7th, 2009 0 Comments
by Siti Saad

by Siti Saad

Once you’ve decided to throw a Princess Party, you’ll need to plan activities to keep the little princesses entertained.  Beyond singing songs, dancing, and playing dress up, guests will enjoy making a princess-themed craft.  Below are a few craft ideas.

1.  Decorate tiaras.  Purchase foam tiaras with the plastic coil or plastic headband.  Usually, these are available at Walmart or Michaels for around $1.00.  Oriental Trading carries foam tiaras, also. You can buy twelve of them for around $5.99.  If you choose to buy your tiaras at orientaltrading.com, you can purchase jewel stickers to add glitz to the tiaras. 

 Oriental Trading sells paper tiaras that can be decorated with stickers, markers and crayons if you need a cheaper craft for your Princess Party.  They cost around 12 for $2.99.

2.  Make wands.  You can by foam star wands from Michaels.  All the princesses will have to do is tie a pretty ribbon around the stick.  Then they can decorate the wands with jewel stickers.  If you prefer, you can cut stars from self-adhesive foam.  Give each princess two stars and a metallic pencil for the rod.  Instruct the girls to take the backing off one star.  Then place the eraser end of the pencil on the sticky side of the star.  Remove the backing off the other star and sandwich the pencil between the stars. They can decorate the stars and add ribbon around the pencil below the star.

The princesses will be excited about decorating their own tiaras or wands.  If time and your budget permits, the girls can do both crafts.  These crafts are worthwhile because the princesses will continue playing with them long after the party is over.

August 7th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Birthday Parties, Party Favors, Party Planning, Tips | Comments (0)

Bithday Parties with Wheels

August 6th, 2009 0 Comments
by xddorox

by xddorox

A birthday party with wheels is fun for active kids.  They’ll be able to celebrate and get their muscles moving.  Below are a few party with wheels ideas.

 1.  Bicycling.  Invite your child’s guests to bring their helmets and bikes for some bicycle fun.  Let younger children decorate their bikes with colorful ribbons and streamers.  Once the bikes are decorated, have a bicycle parade.  Some children will have some tricks they want to show off in a bicycle rodeo.  Let them do them only with parent’s permission.  You can hire someone to demonstrate some bike tricks, too.  Older children may want to have a few bicycle races.

2.  Skating.  You can’t go wrong hosting a birthday party at a skating rink.  Many kids have their own skates, so they can bring them to the party.  Many skating rinks go beyond offering just skating and have game room facilities, too.  When the kids aren’t rolling around the rink, they can play video games.  Check your local rink for party packages.

3.  Skate Boarding.  Check your local area for a skate boarding facility.  You’ll want a spacious facility with ramps of different sizes.  Having your party at a skate boarding facility is safer than setting up ramps in your backyard.  The facility should be safer because the ramps are permanent fixtures.  Once you’ve secured a location, invite your child’s guests to bring their skateboards to the party for a great time.

Parties with wheel are fun way to celebrate a birthday and keep kids active.  They’ll be able to eat up the birthday cake, and then work it off on their bikes, skate, or skate boards.

August 6th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Birthday Parties, Party Planning, Party Themes, Party Venues, Tips | Comments (0)

Visualize Your Party before You Plan It

August 6th, 2009 0 Comments
by jurvetson

by jurvetson

Many people enjoy attending parties, but not as many people like party planning.  Party planning should be fun, even exciting.  It’s an opportunity to make dreams come true and people happy.

 Planning a party can be done in a few days or a few months.  Planning a party depends on your vision.  Visualize the type of party you want to have.  Where do you picture the party’s location?  How many people do you see?  What are they doing? If you can’t visualize the party, you’ll have difficulty planning the party. What sounds do you hear?  Do you want the atmosphere to be casual or sophisticated?  Will the mood be silly or sultry?  If you can picture the party, you can plan the party.

Next, set a budget.  Determine how much you want to spend and don’t exceed that amount.  Once your budget is set, you can look for the products, materials or people needed to materialize your vision.  If you decided you want your party to be vibrant, you must find the decorations, food, and music that reflect vibrancy.  Oranges and yellows might make your color palette because of their energy.   Your music must be lively as well.  Also, your party activities, if any, must reflect the energy of the orange and yellow color theme.

Planning your party will be easier than you expect as long as you visualize the event in your mind.  Then plan according to your vision.

August 6th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Party Planning, Tips | Comments (0)

Debt-Free Party Planning

August 5th, 2009 0 Comments

Celebrating birthdays should be joyous and fun.  That’s one reason may people throw birthday parties.  However, while planning birthday parties, many people lose sight of the joyous occasion because of financial stress.  However, don’t let money get in the way of enjoying birthdays. 

Not having enough money to throw a birthday party on the scale that you’d like to can be disappointing, especially if a child is involved. However, look at your party plans and decide which items can be eliminated so you can throw a party that is financially manageable.  Having dancing poodles, a bouncy house, and ponies would be great party entertainment, but your child can still have a fun party without these amenities.

Even after eliminating items from your party plans, you may find that throwing a party isn’t feasible.  Not throwing a party doesn’t mean you can’t still celebrate.  A small outing with a few friends may be better for your wallet.  Many restaurants offer free meals or desserts for the birthday person. 

Whatever you do, avoid paying for your dream party on credit unless you can pay off the bill before the next one arrives.  You don’t want to be paying for last years’ birthday party when your next birthday rolls around.

August 5th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Birthday Parties, Party Planning, Tips | Comments (0)