Create My Event - Event & Party Ideas Blog

A Birthday Bash That Gives Back

I'm so glad to be a guest blogger here and for my first post, wanted to share a very cool idea I recently came across. 

Want to host an exciting birthday party with a purpose that lets kids do good for their communities and have fun at the same time?  Kids Care Club have partnered with Quaker Snack Bars to create the Quaker Volunteer Party kit, for ages 5-12, free when you send in any four UPC codes from the boxes of Quaker Chewy® Granola Bars or Quaker® Granola Bites and the mail-order form. The kit includes a How-to Guide, a T-shirt for the birthday child, wristbands, temporary tattoos, activity booklets and achievement certificates for 10 kids. There are five free themed party packages you can download invites, banners and thank-you cards after you receive your kit. We can't wait for our kit to arrive!  Not Just A Mommy

Feelin Foxy?

Set of four lovely, soft, double-layer cloth napkins refashioned from secondhand sheets and hand-printed with water-based inks. Each measures approximately 12" by 7.5". By Cakehouse at Etsy.

Pretty Fly Swatters and Artful Wasp Catchers

Whether you are having a simple family dinner on the patio or an outdoor party with friends, everything that is part of the environment is an opportunity to express yourself. This extends to managing unwelcome critters.

Wasp catchers are now made of beautiful glass and can be found in colors that compliment modern decor. They do their job without toxic chemicals and with minimal intrusion while you entertain.

Like the wasp catcher, the fly swatter is a yesteryear item that is making a comeback as we have become more conservation conscious. Common household types can still be found at your local hardware store. However, I found some options with a bit more style.

Wisteria  has a whimsical, crocheted variety. Hive Modern is where you will find the Dr Sku Fly Swatter by Alessi. This swatter is a piece of modern art and is self standing. Also at MOMA. Henry and Lulu has the most sophisticated swatter on the planet. The Rosendahl model can be yours for just under $100. Charles and Marie brings an Italian product stateside with colorful swatters with the map of Milan!

Lehman's offers wasp traps in olive and amber glass. Olive Barn  has similar round versions in the same colors as well as clear. Wind and Weather has a set perfect for ocean or eco decor. Snapp Dragon has a fun selection in pink, purple and teal hues. Unica Home carries the an ultra modern version inspired by magma stones by designer Pernille Vea.

Both the wasp catchers and fly swatters make unique hostess gifts.

Eco-Chic Weddings, Part 2

Last time we talked about the ins and outs, whats and whys of the eco-chic trend in weddings.  Now, check out these 10 easy, realistic, and affordable ways to do your part and show your planet-love while pledging adoration to your fiancée at the same time:

Ÿ  Consider an outdoor venue like a botanical garden, the beach, or a beautiful park for your venue. The amount of energy used to house a wedding indoors is much greater than one hosted by nature. (Note: You can't then decide to do it at night with generators, full lighting and fireworks. Dialing.)

Ÿ  Contact the Green Hotel Association . They've got a list of hotels that focus on saving water and energy and reducing solid waste when considering both a possible reception venue as well as reserving a block of rooms for your guests.

Ÿ  Research local vintners in your area. You'll get a cool and eco-friendly approach to the wines you serve, or contact Organic Vintners.

Ÿ  Go pesticide free. Being completely organic with your food choices can increase your costs by 20-30% (if not more,) but choosing a few unique organic dishes to serve will have little impact on your bottom line (ask your caterer about buying from a local farmers market or co-op for your event).

Ÿ  Think smaller scale. The biggest environmental impact of a wedding is emissions caused by jets and other transportation your guests will be using to travel to the big day.  Obviously less is more here.  If you can’t bring yourself to run off to the courthouse, think 100 instead of 250.

Ÿ  Consider all natural favors for your guests.  Would a small potted sapling be cool to give as a favor so that your family and friends could take it home, plant it and watch it grow or is this just going too far? (You've got to post a response to this one at least.)

Ÿ  Rethink wearing your Mom’s/Grandmother’s/Aunt’s wedding dress. If she’s cool with letting you take the dress to a seamstress and altering it to fit your style and taste, you'll save money and reduce waste along with what it takes to make a new (one-time-only) gown.  A good seamstress can make magic with a pair of scissors and a few pictures of what you have in mind.  After all, “vintage couture” is pretty fabulous. 

Ÿ  Recycle those blooms. Ask your florist or wedding planner to arrange for all of the leftover flowers to be delivered to a local hospital or nursing home the next day.  In fact, anything at all that might be thrown away should be considered for donation (especially the extra food!) 

Ÿ  Rethink the invite. Send beautiful wedding invitations from www.botanicalpaperworks.com.  These invites actually have flower seeds imbedded in the paper, making them plantable after the last RSVP has been tallied.

Ÿ  Get educated. Visit www.terrapass.com or www.carbonfootprint.com to see just how much of an impact your wedding day will have on the environment when it's all said and done.  You answer a few basic questions and the sites calculate the carbon footprint of the event.  No worries though; you can offset your guilt laden statistic by contributing to several options the websites suggest. A little light reforestation anyone?

The great thing about being “eco-chic” is that it's not an all or nothing approach to life.  Every little bit helps and there is something in between forest green and white. Maybe we should all be able to look back on our first kiss as Mr. and Mrs. knowing you really were faithful and responsible. But really, what do you think? Are we making too much of this green thing? Do your clients really care about being eco conscious or at the end of the day will "I want what I want" win?

Eco-Chic Weddings

“Eco-chic”…that’s what they're calling it now.  You know a movement, trend, or belief system has really taken off when it gets its own buzzwords.  The inclination to be more globally aware seems to have permeated every aspect of our lives now, all the way to the glory of glories: Your (or Your Client's) Wedding.

As Seinfeld might've said, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that”.  I mean a wedding is really a big deal.  The people, the food, the lighting, the transportation, the clothing, the flowers and décor - it all amounts to well, A LOT!  So to try and be a responsible resident of Planet Earth while planning the biggest day of your life is really not asking too much.  Or is it?

At first blush, the term “Green Weddings” brings to mind barefoot maidens circling a daisy-haloed bride adorned in a dress made from hemp in a wildflower field.  It's one thing to recycle your plastic grocery bags, but quite another to expect 100 of your nearest and dearest to dine on sustainably harvested fish and locally grown organic veggies.  And what if your dream for The Big Day resembles something more along the lines of Father of the Bride than Woodstock? Are you toast?

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of couples getting married who are indeed focusing on the environmental impact of their wedding day.  Some of them are very liberal minded, global warming activists, going all out to ensure that their wedding-day-carbon-footprint is as minuscule as possible. But many other couples view this accomplishment as so unachievable that they figure “Why bother?” It feels futile; you decide to serve organic fruit salad only to discover that the guava and mangoes were flown in from South America on airplanes spewing tons of pollution into the atmosphere.  And those pesticide-free flowers?  Great, but the florist just delivered them in environmentally toxic, clear plastic containers. And what about the cost of going green?  With the current average American wedding nearing $30,000, who has the spare pocket change to order the hybrid Hummer limos in the name of An Inconvenient Truth?

Get this: On average, there are 6200 weddings per day in this country.  The average wedding emits 14.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the air we all share, which, BTW, is more than one single person emits in a full year!  Many agree that it is tragic to actually DO nothing, but it does seem a bit daunting. I'll speak for myself. It seems really daunting. The good news is that going a little bit green is better than going dark.  Rest assured though, the reception does not have to be powered by a windmill in order to be considered “Eco Chic”. 

Up Next:  Stay tuned for 10 easy, realistic and affordable ways to do your part!

Herbalicious Spring Party

We had an exceptionally mild winter here on Long Island and almost all my herbs, with the exception of basil, survived. That gave me an idea for my next bash. How about a herb-themed party?

I will decorate the table with small pots of different herbs: marjoram, oregano, thyme and sage, and tuck a few springs of lavender into the napkin rings.

Make name tags from brown paper and twine or buy these Garden Delight Gift Tags from etsy to tie around pretty jars of herbs that the guests can take home later as a memento of the evening.

Serve

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Salsa Verde
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic; finely chopped
2 cups parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon basil, thyme, sage, oregano
4 tablespoons oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper

Blend herbs and garlic in a food processor or blender until they form paste. Add the oil, a little at a time, and mix well. Add the lemon juice, and season with sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

and Lavender-Honey Ice Cream

with Mint Juleps or Mojitos to drink:

Mojito
Ingredients:
2 parts white rum
1 part fresh lime juice
10 mint leaves
4 teaspoons sugar or 2 tablespoons simple syrup
Club soda
Spring of mint

Muddle mint and sugar in highball glass, add everything else except club soda. Fill glass with crushed ice, add club soda. Garnish with sprig of mint.

The house should smell wonderful, too.

LIGHTS OUT TONIGHT!

See the stars, enjoy the candlelight (soy, beeswax or LED tealights), and fight climate change by simply turning off your lights from 8pm to 9pm this Saturday, October 20, 2007.

This is the first time for the United States. Lights Out events happened earlier this year in Hong Kong, Sydney and London.

** Atlanta
** Boston
** Boulder
** Chicago
** Denver
** Los Angeles
** Miami
** New York
** San Francisco
** Seattle
** Washington DC
are all promoting "Lights Out"!

Everyone is invited to install 1 compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) and turn off all non-essential lights for 1 hour from 8-9 pst.

See http://lightsoutamerica.org

If you participated, WRITE IN AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU DID!
We will post it here at this entry.
We are planning an Thai cuisine candle-lit dinner.

This Halloween Go Green

Go Green with online Halloween invitations from Sendomatic.com. Invitations include scary sounds, funky music and animation! - forget paper invitations this year and go completely electronic. Some favorites:

• Scary Lantern
• Boo
• Devil
• Halloween
• Broom
• Haunted House

Have a ghostly holiday!