Create My Event - Event & Party Ideas Blog

Spa Party

Everybody loves to be pampered, so here is a fun and inexpensive party (especially for young girls).   Set up spa stations - if your doing it for your daughter, enlist some other mom's to help.   Have one station for pedicures, one for facials, manicures, hair styling, and make up.   Each participant spends 15 minutes at each station, then rotates. 

Be sure to provide spa fare, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, possibly some healthy tea sandwiches, fresh lemonade, and water infused with cucumber slices.  For party favors, give little bags of lip gloss, pedicure supplies, lotion, bubble bath, etc.

For this spa event, my Sendomatic.com favorites are the Glitz, Girls, and Ballet invitations.  Don't forget to light scented candles and play soft, relaxing music.  Even though the spa patrons will be busy chatting, a spa trip is just not the same without a People or Us magazine to read. 

Your guests will LOVE this party, so start planning for the next one now!

Bargain Birthday Invitations

Parties these days can get very expensive and kids don't even notice the difference between an expensive and an inexpensive party.  Here is one way to keep the cost down on your kiddo's party... free invitations.

Kidsturncentral.com has great free birthday invitations that you can print out, fill out, and mail.  My favorite is the dinosaur.  They have free invitations for other occasions too (http://www.kidsturncentral.com/birthdays/invites.htm).

My favorite site for E-invitations is www.sendomatic.com.  You can invite up to four email addresses (which is perfect for an infant or toddler's birthday party) for free.  I especially like the fact that Sendomatic doesn't advertise, spam or share my email address.  For birthday parties there are so many invitations to choose from (http://www.sendomatic.com/birthday.html).  And, of course, the designs are funky and hip, so they look like you spent a lot of money to send them!

For a more personal (but time consuming) touch.  Have your child make her own invitations.  I like to buy the blank note cards from Wal-Mart (in the craft section).  I think they are under $2 for a pack of 8.  Family members really like receiving the personalized artwork and your child will feel that she/he really helped with the party planning.  It also gives you and your child a great craft for a rainy spring day!

Money Matters

Sometimes money seems the most appropriate gift. Not only is it really easy to give, but who says "oh, darn, money for my gift?"

I find money, Savings Bonds to be specific, a great gift for young gift recipients. Baby's and toddlers really don't know the difference between opening 2 gifts or 10 gifts. Savings bonds are a great way to give now and give later. Parents are always happy to receive Savings Bonds for their children. Anything will help when the child gets older and needs some cash for that first car or expenses related to a higher education.
When giving a Savings Bond as a gift, here are a few things you should know:

1. Savings Bonds can be obtained at any banking institution. They are also available online.
2. You will need to know the full name of the gift recipient.
3. You will need the social security number of the gift recipient
4. The minimum purchase is $50 for a bond issued on paper, or $25 for a bond purchased electronically via Treasury Direct.
5. Savings Bonds earn money monthly in the form of interest. The interest is paid when the Bond is cashed.
6. At the time of purchase, a bond can be registered to a single person ("single ownership"), registered to two people ("co-ownership"), or can be registered to a primary owner and a beneficiary ("beneficiary").
7. Interest paid on these bonds is exempt from state and local income taxes.
8. A good site for lots of information on savings bonds is www.savingsbonds.gov

Birthday Starts With B

I was recently invited to a kids birthday party for a 1 year old. Not being a mom yet myself, I marvel at the effort that goes into baby's first birthday. Let's face it, most 1-year olds that I know will not recognize the blood sweat and tears of dear mum and dad. The money and energy spent can be saved on birthdays later in life. Give yourself a break and go really simple for your baby's first birthday.
The mom for this particular party had a cute idea. Baby's name is Remy so everything at the party was themed the letter "R" and color Red. The invitations were Red with little Raspberries. Ok, granted they were home made so a bit of effort inserted here... She decorated the house with Rainbows and big fake Ruby's. It was fun to eat the Red Rose birthday cake and sip Red drinks in the Spring sunshine.

Not only is this an easy theme to cover, but it gives your baby a color theme for the day which is much more easily absorbed by her little mind than Princess this or Sponge Bob that. Color recognition begins very early, I do know this...color theory classes were for more than just mixing paints to see what you come up with...
If you plan to invite other young toddlers, a great activity for them is to supply them with paper and red crayons. They will be happy to doodle in only red. Don't forget to dress baby in the appropriate color theme for their first party.
Have fun. I did, and it wasn't even my party.

Ahoy! A Treasure Hunt!

My son had a blast looking for hidden easter eggs this Easter...which gave me the idea of another hiding game we will have to play at our next party - a Treasure Hunt!    Whether it be in our backyard sandbox or on a nearby beach, I'll hide treats in the sand, rake it smooth, then let the kids at it.    I could bury small toys, candies (wrapped in plastic bags), or other items depending on the theme of the party.   I can envision adults enjoying this game when they find $5 Starbucks, Target, or Barnes & Noble gift cards.  For a girlie party, lip glosses and hair accessories would be great treasures to find.  Just make sure the treasures are not going to break when trampled on and aren't going to cut the "hunter's" hands.  For children, you may need to set a treasure limit so there are enough treasures for everyone.  This game can also be used as the delivery system for party favors too.  So, enjoy the spring weather and start hunting!

Balloon Favors

Kids love helium balloons, so make these easy party favors for your child's next party.  Buy some cookie cutters, some pre-made dry cookie mix, and some helium balloons.  Divide cookie mix and place in plastic baggies wrapped in tissue paper.  Make up some cookie instruction sheets and hole punch the corner.  Attach cookie mix, cookie instruction sheet, and a cookie cutter to the string of the helium balloon.  For an extra special touch, have your child write on each balloon, "Thank you for coming to my party".

Slipper Party Favors

Your daughter will love this party craft and party favor.  Have her and her guests make their own no-skid sock slippers.  Buy a bunch of ankle socks and a variety of squeezable puffy paints (for fabric).  Each guest can decorate the bottom of their own sock with fun designs.   You can also buy a regular fabric pen for them to sign their name on their socks.  The socks need to dry overnight, so this is a great idea for a slumber party- the girls will love them!

Winter Pool Party

Its flu season, and my whole family just recovered from it.  It got me thinking of a great party idea for flu season--- a pool party.  Some of the indoor facilities available in winter for kids parties seem like germ haven to me, but a pool party seems like it wouldn't harbor as many contagions.  There are several indoor pool facilities in my area that offer pool party times and they keep their pools at 90 degrees!  Doesn't that sound like a nice way to spend a winter day? 

You could have a surfin' theme or a Hawaiian theme complete with flowery invitations.    Serve tropical drinks and coconut shrimp skewers.  Play reggae or Hawaiian music.  You could also hand out water toys for the kids favors (at home, they can use them in the tub until the weather gets warm).  The idea warming you up?  Look in your yellow pages and give some of the local pools a call...

I bet your guests will feel like they were on vacation after your party.

Creating Memorable Party Favors

My sister is turning 40 this Spring. What a milestone. While our concerns may be different, I think our stress levels are about the same as this event creeps up. While she worries about the wrinkles that are beginning to appear, I worry about whether chocolate or guava will be a better choice for her birthday cake. I have never thrown a birthday party of this magnitude before and since this is such a memorable birthday for her, I want it to be special from the moment she arrives.

I am sure that many of you have been introduced to Shutterfly by now as a resource for printing your treasured digital photos. This online site also offers a ton of different ideas for party favors such as mugs, playing cards and apparel which can all be customized with your choice of personal pictures.
What I really want to touch on is the Photo Books.

The Shutterfly site allows you to easily download digital pictures into a pre-made template using a drag and drop method. In addition, you can customize your book with titles, backgrounds and page layouts. This is a great way to create something a little extra special for your guest of honor. Shutterfly offers various size books ranging from 12x12 to 8x8.

Since my sister's birthday is such a milestone, I have many pictures that I would like to include in her book. I am going to be using images which were taken looooong before the invention of a digital camera. For the pictures taken some time ago, I will take my prints to my local digital photo shop and have the images scanned onto a disc. Most photo shops today are familiar with this process and make it both easy and affordable. Once I have my disc, I can download my digital images onto my home computer and use them to drag and drop into the Shutterfly website. This way, I can be sure to include some of the classic black and white images that will make this Photo Book truly memorable.

Another gift idea that I will be using for the 40th birthday bash is an 8x8 Recipe book that can also be created on the Shutterfly website. Since this party is all about creating memories for the birthday girl, I thought it would be fun to rediscover some classic dishes which always make my sister feel at home. I have asked her to think back to the days of mom's cooking and recall her favorite home cooked meals. With this information, I will create a fun recipe book for her to take home to her family so that she can carry on the kitchen traditions that we grew up with. What I really love about this idea is that not only will this book be filled with her favorite recipes from Mom, it will also have pictures that she can gaze at while she prepares her meals for her children.

I have used Shutterfly for a few of my photo needs. The prices are always reasonable and the time that it takes for me to create my memories is very reasonable with my busy schedule. I can't wait to get started on the upcoming birthday gifts for my sisters special day. Look for future entries as the plans get underway...

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...