Create My Event - Event & Party Ideas Blog

Spa Parties for little tootsies

Spa-inspired parties are a great way to relax and get gooey with your little one. Invite a few of your daughter's closest girlfriends over in their best pajamas and enlist the help of at least one other parent to be the "beautician".

You'll need the following for each girl:
Face cloth
2 cucumber slices
2 pedicure toe separator thingies (yes, that's the technical term)
1 head band or scrunchie to keep their hair off of their face

You'll also need the following supplies:
2 mashed avacados
1 tbs. of honey
2 tbs. unflavored oats
Paper Towels

To make the facial goo, mix the avacado, honey and oatmeal until well blended - and feel free to add more or less of anything. Mix just before using, do not chill.

Let the girls help mix the facial goo in one bowl, or divide ingredients so each girl can mix her own. Smear on faces, add cucumber to eyes and let them chill on the floor, couch or backyard lounge chair. And, while facials are working their magic, they can get their fingers and toes painted.

The honey will keep the mask from drying, so it can be easily washed off with a wet face cloth at any time. Ten minutes will do the trick though! Then, follow up with a fun tea party or brunch to end the day on a special note.

Go all out and offer up terry robes, cute little flip flops and head bands, foot massage, magazines, candles and some zen-like music. I'm relaxed just thinking about it!

Deep breath....uhhhhh...innnnn....and...ahhhhh...ouuuuutttt.

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Info and images provided by the paper-peeps at Anna Bella Stationery.

Giving Hands

If you belong to any type of group or organization such as a book club, bunko group or even a corvette club, here is a great way to create even a stronger bond with in your group.

There are many organizations out there that can use some help. Sometimes, the task of "giving" is a stretch for an individual. Whether it's your hectic schedule or lack of funds, you know you want to help but you also ask "where can I fit this in..." Think of it this way, if you have already carved out time in your busy life to participate in some sort of organization, then giving your time and money as a group may be easier to absorb.
Next time your group meets, bring the idea of giving to the table and see if your fellow groupies would be willing to help.
Here are some great areas that different groups can adopt.

I love this first idea, so I will list it first. Adopt a Soldier at www.soldiersangels.org. This organization is a volunteer only group founded by the mother of a Soldier. Commitment to this organization has some requirements but as a group this should be very easy. Soldiers Angels asks that you send a minimum of one card or letter per week and at least 1 or 2 care packages a month. Care packages do not have to be fancy or expensive. I grew up in a military family and my father's last tour of duty before retirement was to Iraq 2 years ago. He still talks about the care packages that we sent. "...they were literally, gifts from Heaven...". It was so easy on our part. We sent gum, crossword puzzles, car magazines, cereal, granola bars, razors, band aids and of course pictures. The list of things to send is endless. Your commitment to this organization can range from 6-8 months and sometimes up to a year. Think about it, I think we can all spare a year of giving. Think of how these men and women are giving to you...

Another area to put your efforts is in our school system. Check out the Adopt A Student organization. Once you are registered, you are linked up with a Teacher who has pre-registered her needs as a teacher. Your funds go towards things such as supplies, mentoring programs, continuing education and field trips. I think that this is a great way to help contribute to the school system in this country. You can even take this a step further and find a school to adopt. I can imagine that there are many schools in places like New Orleans that sure could use our help...

There is also something like the Marine Mammal Center which can always use the assistance of a little cash. With this group, you can make a one time donation or send a donation each month. Your donation goes towards the food, medicine, rescue missions, and research of seals, sea lions, dolphins and other marine mammals. Minimum donation is $30. In return, you will receive photos, newsletters and updates on rescued mammals throughout the year.

Finding an organization to adopt is a great way for you or your own group to give back. Most donations to any organization are tax deductible. Tax season is right around the corner...If you don't like any of my ideas, at your next group meeting, think of any area of interest that your group may have. If you Google "Adopt a _____" I am sure your group will find a way to give to those in need.

Instant Superbowl Party

Step-by-step guide to planning your superbowl party:

1. Send out your Sendomatic Superbowl invitations today.
2. Order your football pinata and some football rockets for some half-time fun.
3. Make up a trivia game (find a wealth of info at NFL.com) for your guests.  Or use this prepared Superbowl trivia.
4. Print out enough Superbowl buzzword bingo cards for your guests to play during the game. 
5. Be sure to have some prizes for the winners of your party games.  This football cap and football glasses are sure to be a hit.
6. It probably doesn't matter what kind of snacks you provide as long as there is enough drinks and snacks to last the whole game....but here are some tempting superbowl ideas...Bar-b-q pork sandwiches, nachos, or sloppy joes. 
7. Provide noisemakers to keep everyone in the spirit.  Check out these football horns and football tambourines. 

These tips should make for a SUPER-bowl party!!!!!  Go Team!

Sendomatic Design Competion!

What is the design competition?
The Sendomatic Design Competition is an opportunity for any creative individual - designers, students, artistically-inclined hopefuls -  to produce a fabulous original design and win great prizes. The winning design will be spotlighted on the homepage and featured in the Sendomatic Design Library. Let the creative juices flow and send something spectacular!

What do winners receive?
The winner will receive a $200 gift certificate at 2Modern and unlimited use of Sendomatic for one year. 2nd & 3rd place will receive home decor items from Inhabit. All winners will have their design featured in the Sendomatic Design Library.

When does it end?
Submissions are due by Feb. 15, 2007. Between Feb. 16 and Feb. 26 entries will be narrowed down to several finalists. We will notify you if you are a finalist. The finalists designs will be posted and voted on by Sendomatic visitors. So, if you are a finalist, tell your friends about the competition and ask them to vote!

ENTER HERE >

Chocolate Decadence

I don't know about you, but I can't go more than 2 or 3 days without munching on some chocolate. Most of the time, I only need a single chocolate covered walnut to satisfy my cravings but like most, there are other times when I could probably swim in a stream of chocolate, sipping my way through the river of decadence and still not have enough to satisfy my chocolate urges.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. So that is why I am here to offer suggestions for your next chocolate meltdown...

Invite your friends to join you in this ever so sinful indulgence. There are two main reasons. First, you can never have enough chocolate and second you can share your post party guilt with others.
This party is ideal for a quick get together that doesn't require much planning and there's sure to be no clean up since everything will be devoured in no time flat.

Have everyone bring their favorite chocolate dessert. You simply supply the chocolate fountain and fruit for dipping. Someone's got to be healthy after all! Chocolate fountains can be rented and are pretty inexpensive for the pleasure that they bring. Just google Chocolate Fountains or call your local party rental center. Most of rental places that rent tables and chairs have also keyed into the popularity of chocolate fountains.

Any chocolate party would not be complete without champagne, so be sure to have some bubbly on hand for those who really feel like indulging. Oh, my mouth is watering already.

For decorations, find paper plates and napkins that are chocolate colored. Be careful to remind your guests that these are not edible. You never know, when some people start with the chocolate, they just can't stop...

Leave the games out of this party. This one is classy all the way. Besides, who has time for games when there's chocolate on the buffet?

This easy party idea makes for a great Bunko, baby shower or wedding shower theme. Where there is chocolate women will come!

Swap Nights

If you have sisters, you know how much fun it is to "shop" in their closet for "new" clothes to wear.   I am one of the fortunate ones who has a sister who keeps up with the new styles, likes to shop, and filters through her closet regularly to keep her wardrobe organized and tidy.  Sometimes off-the-rack clothing items fit her slim and tall figure perfectly, but after one wash, they shrink in the arms and legs just enough that the item doesn't fit quite right anymore.  I think everybody has had something like that happen to us at one point or another- it is really disappointing.  Luckily, I benefit when that happens to my sister, because sometimes the clothes fit me just right!  I know that it makes her feel better to have her nice clothes go to an appreciative home, which lead me to my latest party idea...

Why not host a clothes swap party????  Invite all your friends, relatives, etc. to clean out their closet and come over for some shopping!  I saw some great e-invitations on Sendomatic.com.  My favorites were the Garden, Clothing, and Plaid Girl Invitations.  To keep the party classy, request that clothes not be stained or too worn out.  Also, let your friends know to bring jewelry and accessories.  This will assure that all your guests will have items to choose from.  At the end of the night, anything leftover can go to charity--- or someone can have a garage sale (and the proceeds can be used for the next event!).

Pizza Party

Here's a quick idea for simple a celebration theme. A Pizza Party!!!! Just about everyone loves Pizza so this party theme is a great idea for birthday's, bunko night or Bachellorete kick offs. You supply the ingredients and oven and your friends can bring the fun.

Purchase pre-made pizza dough at the grocery store or make your own. Pre made dough can be found in the frozen section at the grocery store or near the bread aisle. I like the Boboli pizza crust, because they make a small 8" crust. This way everyone can make their own. The rule of thumb at my pizza party... you eat what you make. If you would prefer to make dough from scratch before the guests arrive or maybe you want to include this activity into your party, visit familyfun.com. There is a great recipe for the "Perfect Pizza Dough" on this site. Just use those keywords to navigate to the recipe.

Before your friends arrive, put together an "assembly line of ingredients in various bowls so that it's easy for people to see their options as well as prepare their pie of choice. I like to provide extra things beyond the standard of cheese, pepperoni and sauce. Try dicing pre-cooked chicken or steak and chop some fresh pineapple or green peppers. Try different sauces like BBQ, Ranch or Thai Peanut. How about basil or pine nuts for a more sophisticated palette The more options, the more creative your friends will get. Don't forget candles for the birthday boy or girl to put on their pizza after it has baked.

If you use this party theme for a kids celebration, supply inexpensive aprons for little one's to wear. It would be extra cute if you could find little chef hats. I found all of these things at kidsaprons.com

Need a fun activity to keep those youngsters busy while the pizza's cook? How about "Pin the Pepperoni on the Pizza" or "Pizza Box decoration contest". Just purchase some new, unused boxes from restockit.com. There you will find multiple sizes of white pizza boxes that will be easy to decorate with pens or glitter...This is a fun activity which can also be done in pairs or teams. Prizes can be awarded to the best box decor.

A Pizza party is an easy way to socialize and eat with your friends. Clean up is easy too...

Manga Manga...

Birthday Parties for 2 Year Olds

I recently planned a birthday party for my 2 year old, being a first-time mom, I definitely made it more stressful than it needed to be.   Here are some of the things that I learned....

• 2 year old children don't have high expectations (if they even have expectations at all!) for their parties, so you won't disappoint them ---- just choose one of their favorite activities (playgrounds, jumpees, petting zoo, etc) and plan the party around that event.
• Get your child involved by having him choose the theme.  Take him to a party store and show him 2 or 3 themes (any more and he may get overwhelmed).
• Only invite a handful of your child's favorite friends- they probably would even be happy with just two of their best buddies!
• Plan the party for the time of day when your child is at his/her best (aka most rested).  Maybe first thing in the morning or right after nap.   Only hold the party for a couple hours...any more and your child will probably start to fade.
• If held at the local playground, you don't have to plan any more activities, but if held in your backyard, set up different stations of toys for the kids to explore.
• Toddlers food preferences are tough to predict, so would steer clear of offering a meal.  Instead, provide finger foods that are always winners, such as pretzels, goldfish crackers, etc.  Don't forget to provide plenty of juice boxes and waters.
• Let you child know what is going to happen at the party so he is not shocked when he gets there.  Some children need to be warned of all the attention or they get overwhelmed.
• Save the cake eating until the end of the party.  It is cleaner that way and the kids won't romp around too much with excess sugar and full stomachs.
• At this age, opening presents at the party is difficult.  The birthday kid usually doesn't want to sit still long enough when their are fun activities around, and the little guests won't sit back and watch, so save the present opening until after the party.  You can take a picture of your child opening each gift and include the photo in the thank you card.
• If you are doing party favors, make them simple.  Don't be too concerned about accommodating all ages of children....stick to basics, like balls, play dough, etc.

Hopefully, these basic tips will make your party planning a lot less stressful.  Remember, your child will love ANY party you put on for him.  Just make sure you enjoy the day too!

Art Party For Any Age Group

Looking for a birthday party theme for the kid in your life? How about working around the the theme of art? Not only does this theme work for many age categories, it also can provide lots of activities to keep the kids occupied.

Start by sending invitations with words like, " you are specially invited to the unveiling of Ella's 4th birthday..." There are some great invitations on sendomatic.com. I especially like the one called "rainbow". It is not specific to birthday, but with all of the creative options on this website for invitations, you can take this invitation and really cater it to work for the art theme. Be sure to include in your invitation, a request that the children wear clothes that can get "dirty". You don't want an upset parent when she sees purple paint on the party dress...

The ideas for a party theme like this are endless, so I will just highlight a few to get you started. For toddlers or younger children, it's easier to keep it simple. Use artist's tools such as non-toxic paints or crayons. If you provide the paper, young children will play Picasso. But take it a step further and provide inexpensive frames for your artists to display and share with their parents when they get home. For older children, say 5 and up, buy some inexpensive T-shirts and provide fabric paint for everyone to make their own shirt. This is a great take home gift. For the older kids, provide a beading station where the kids can make necklaces or bracelets out of beautiful beads. The craft stores have endless, pre-packaged supplies for this type of activity and surprisingly, some boys will enjoy this activity too. Be sure to provide cool beads like surf boards or sharks teeth for the boys. They can make cool necklaces with boy like charms.

Try hiring a sketch artist or face painter for your party. This will also provide entertainment for the kids. Each kid can take home a small cartoon of themselves with the birthday girl or birthday boy. You can take pictures of each child after their face has been painted and then create a collage for your child to hang in their room

For the eating area, spread the table with butcher paper and place tins with crayons or writing utensils which are age appropriate. Encourage everyone to doodle while they eat. It's fun to see what everyone has come up with and at the end of the party, the birthday girl or boy can hang the banner like art in their room to remember their party.
Food should be easy for this theme. Go Italian, after all, Italy is where a lot of our most famous artist have come from, so celebrate them and eat pizza! For dessert either buy or bake cupcakes but request that the baker leave the frosting off. You can whip up a batch of frosting yourself or ask the baker to provide some separately. Either way, choose a few different colors of frosting and purchase a few tubes of cake decorations and various sprinkles. Let the guest decorate their own cupcakes. See, I just added another activity to the party.

Decorations should be easy for this theme too. Start off by having your birthday girl or boy create a few "masterpieces" on large pieces of butcher paper. Place the art of the same size foam core or thick backed paper to give the piece some rigidity. Stop by the art store and pick up a few easels to display the artwork. Don't forget to have your child sign their piece for authenticity...

What I love about this party theme is that it can work for many ages and it provides a lot of options for activities. In addition, rather than sending each child home with plastic trinkets that will get thrown out the next day, each person has nice mementos from your child's birthday. You can really get creative with a theme like this. Have fun!

Time for Tea

It is cold outside, so why not throw a Tea Party to warm up a few of your good friends?   It's an easy way to catch up with some old chums during this chilly time of year.  Send out Sendomatic.com's Tea Party invitation to 5-6 of your buddies and start looking forward to a fun afternoon!

Break out your fancy china tea cups (or stop by your local Five and Dime and pick up a bargain, eclectic set) and spread out a classy table cloth.  Your tea and snacks will take up much of the table so decor isn't really necessary.

Be sure to have a few different teas for your guests to select from: Regular, Decaf, and Caffeine-free.  Remember...for best flavor, black teas need a bit longer brewing than herbal types. 

Tea sandwiches are a must for a Tea Party.  Plan on 4-6 pieces per guest.  My favorite tea sandwiches are the usual ones, egg salad and cucumber cream cheese.  I like to add fresh dill to my cucumber sandwiches for a special flavor.  I have also seen Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches served at a tea party and they were devoured!  Other sandwich types are Brie cheese and avocado and tuna salad.  I have not always remembered to do this, but it really makes a tasty sandwich when you spread a bit of room-temperature unsalted butter on the bread before adding the filling (to any flavor sandwich).  Be sure to use soft, fresh bread when making your sandwiches.  You can freeze the bread before you stuff the sandwiches so the bread doesn't tear or crumble.  After stuffing, don't forget to remove the crusts with a large knife, then cut the sandwich in smaller bite-sized treats.  Expect each guest to eat 4-6 sandwich pieces.

Make or pick up some sweet treats, such as scones or sweet rolls.  Be sure to cut them into bite size pieces for easy nibbling.  Some tea parties have chocolate truffles and cookies out as well, but I like to keep my parties simple for the hostess (me) and stick to a maximum of 6 different flavors to prepare.

Play some relaxing music and light some scented candles to bring on the Tea Party feel.  I bet you all will vow to have a tea party every month this year!