Party Invitations, Party Planning & Event Ideas

Sweet Frozen Treats

  

Sure, summer's coming to an end- but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy delightfully frozen treats year-round, especially if they're homemade! I found these recipes to be appealing because they add a unique twist to the basic popsicle, thus giving them a more "grown-up" feel. Serve them at small gatherings, dinners, or as a sinfully delicious dessert for one!

1. Ice Cream & Blueberry Pops

2. Peaches N' Cream Pops

3. Melon Pops

4. Plum Popsicles

Sweet Cuddlecakes

Western Style For A Fall Party

There is a chill in the air and the nights are getting shorter, but many of us are not ready to give up our outdoor entertaining. It does not feel right to move into the true "harvest style" entertaining, so why not a western theme! This is a casual way to continue entertaining outside on those cooler days. With a few Western Style Details, great food and friends  you can have a fun and memorable day! Here are a few ideas to get the party started.

1, 3 & 4 Hoedown from Country Living. 2 Wedding from Brides.com. 5 Texas Barbecue from Country Living. 

 

1 & 5 Hoedown from Country Living. 2 Wedding from Brides.com. 3 Texas Barbecue from Country living. 4. Cowgirl Cookies from Bakerella.

Posted by Entertain Exchange.

DIY Recipe: Fortune Cookies

 

 

Am I the only one that likes to take packages and packages of fortune cookies away from my favorite Asian restaurant? I usually end up having to pay extra because they're just that delicious! Well, I found a pretty simple recipe that adds a gourmet spin to this cultural staple. Head on over to No Fuss Fabulous for more. 

More ideas at Sweet Cuddlecakes.  

Party Idea! Recession Party

   

Party idea! A Recession Party - Invite your friends using this Sendomatic Invitation. Serve hotdogs, have people bring thier own favorite beer, hire a fortune teller, have guests wear tattered clothing. Enjoy even in hard times! Create your invitation here!

Carved Cards for Valentines Day

I thought these Carved Cards by SuckUK were pretty cool. You probably wouldn't want to carve too many of them, but maybe one for a special person, say an invitation to a valentines date? A simple old fashioned heart pierced with Cupids arrow and decorated with the initials of yourself and the object of your affections! How sweet! Made from soft wood and easy to carve.

Make a New Year's Resolution you can (and want) to keep!

Ah, it's that time of year for New Year's Resolutions. They are so easy to make and consequently very easy to break (in fact, 55% of people say they will obtain their goal, but in reality only 12% actually do). This year, why not make a resolution that you can actually keep and help abolish that 12% statistic.

As we well know, the most popular New Year's resolutions (the top 10 are shown below) are just hard to fulfill. I can't tell you how many times I have said "to lose weight" as my New Year's Resolution.

1. Lose Weight
2. Manage Debt
3. Save Money
4. Get a Better Job
5. Get Fit
6. Eat Right
7. Get a Better Education
8. Drink Less Alcohol
9. Quit Smoking Now
10. Reduce Stress Overall

So, with the help of the great team at www.urbanitystudios.com, we decided to create a new top ten New Year's resolutions that will be easy to accomplish (and will be fun too!). Please go ahead and make some of these ideas your own. We certainly won't tell...

Urbanity's Staff New Year's Resolutions (or, uh hum, your resolutions)

1. Send fewer electronic communications; send more hand-written notes
2. Celebrate all of life's little moments (even if it's just toasting the day during dinner)
3. Keep a weekly journal of what you are thankful for
4. Do a better job at staying in touch with friends and family (via phone, mail or personal visits)
5. Use fun, personalized stationery (to help you send more hand-written notes of course)
6. Eat dinner with friends quarterly
7. Buy yourself something small but fun that you otherwise wouldn't this year
8. Be more spontaneous...next time you get an invitation to do something with friends, say yes!
9. Slow down and take time to really focus on what matters
10. Thank yourself weekly for all that you do for others

Now, those are some resolutions we know we can uphold. And the best part? They force us to appreciate everything we have, most importantly our time with our friends and family. 2009...bring it on!

The Totally-Wrong-Season-Circus-Party-Mood-Board

Seeing as I'm still hooked on circus, I thought I'd do a circus party mood board...but not for kids - this one is for grown-ups. How much fun would that be? This would be great for a festivus party (for those of you who remember your Seinfeld)...

Guests can dress up in stripey tights and tutu's, strong-man suits, Ring Master and of course clown costumes. For food I would have gourmet hot-dogs, cotton candy, a few kinds of coated peanuts and several varieties of popcorn. Here's a recipe for (I'm not kidding) a "Circus Peanut Margarita"! You have to have a couple of booths (like a ring toss and maybe pop-the-balloon, although that might not be the best idea with the Circus Peanut Margaritas flowing...but you get the idea). Martha (of course) has a great downloadable sheet of vintage tattoo designs that you can make, or just buy a bunch and set out on a table with damp cloths and pre-cut temporary tattoos. Cinda's etsy shop has the most amazing circus signs (vinyl AND original) for around $20...so there's no excuse not to decorate - how much do you love these? And here's a sample of circus music to set the mood. I know its totally the wrong season and totally wrong age-group but I couldn't love it more!

So, go get a babysitter you and host a circus!

credits: top row: amazing vinyl original circus sign by cinda, can't do wihtout clown-topped cupcakes from Hey YoYo (they also have great cupcake liners and retro popcorn bags),Lovely vinatge tattoo girl poster from kReEsTal's flickr page from the Taschen Circus Book. Row Two: Clown Cupcakes photographed by frostedfakes, the most gorgeous circus poster (dontcha love "clownigway" font?) by antigraphic, circus animal paper cups available at plumparty. Row Three: vintage hankie designed by Tamis Keefe (ah, if it were only a tablecloth) photographed by xtinlamb, and of course SEQUINS! in a circus-y kind of design by DharmaLemon, and you can't forget the peanuts!

Host a Dessert Party

A great party idea to get your favorite gal pals together! Nothing says the sweet life like an indulgent Just Desserts Party, and I recently hosted one this weekend. I downloaded these print-and-mail invitations from Real Simple, and just filled in the details.

A palette of pinks and browns set a perfect scene.

Have small, tight bouquets of your favorite pink flower in low glasses or silver vases. I used pink and red carnations. (BTW, the empty baby wipes container was for entering a drawing for a hand-painted martini glass, that I, wait for it, painted by hand.) Pink paper cupcake liners can turn an ordinary strand of white lights into a string of delicate blossoms.

No need for a stuffy tablecloth, instead pretty paper doilies are all you need to set off your dessert stands. Scored mine from the dollar store. And aren't you loving my striped coasters? They're from Social Couture. Have different kinds of dessert locations: fruits and cheeses in the kitchen, pastries on the dining table and a chocolate fountain at the sideboard. I served store-bought napoleons, strawberry shortcake served in martini glasses, homemade moon pies frosted with powdered sugar, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, fruit, and a truffle bar. Check out the amazing truffle recipe I used. I set out bowls of crushed chocolate candies, shredded coconut and powdered sugar for guests to roll their truffles in, then place in parchment-lined candy boxes to take home.

Serve flavored coffees or have a full coffee bar, complete with cream, sugar, cinnamon sticks, vanilla syrup with regular and decaf coffees. We had milk in pretty carafes and sparkling apple cider served in wine glasses.

For an added touch, send guests home with pretty toothbrushes wrapped in clear cellophane, tie the ends with bakery string and a tag that reads: “Sweet Tooth RX”. Or try candy sushi in miniature takeout boxes. I prefer this version that uses donuts and Twinkies instead of Rice-Crispy treats, because those are a pain to make (as if I don't have enough to do already!) Not Just a Mommy!

TIME to celebrate

Hi all!

Denise here and I’m a new guest blogger at Create My Event. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of a blog dedicated to one of my loves...entertaining!

In my opinion there is always time for a party!

You don’t need a birthday, holiday or some other big event to host a great shindig. Sometimes all it takes is a free morning, some creativity and a great group of friends to have a memorable party.

I recently hosted a brunch at my home with a theme that celebrates simply for the sake of celebrating. The theme...TIME. Although the party I hosted was for a friend’s birthday this theme was specifically created to be used as an anything theme. I went with “TIME to celebrate” but the time theme ideas are endless…

School TIME (for a start of the year party)
It’s about TIME (for the friend that is finally getting married, or a recent graduate)
Free TIME (an especially good theme for a just becasue party
TIME is ticking (an new take for an over the hill party)

The list could go on and on. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts. If you were planning this party what TIME theme would you go with?

This party was simple to put together. If you have been reluctant to throw a party because you’re not sure where to start I’d encourage you to go with this theme - it’s an “any one can do it” idea that your guest will oooh and aaah over.

So it’s about TIME to get started (total pun intended) I found the clocks at Ikea. To brighten them up I hit them with some spray paint in pink, orange and a couple shades of green. These served as my chargers. It was especially fun to watch the clocks tick away as we enjoyed our meal.

The centerpieces were pink and green photo stands (again found at Ikea - a great source for a party) that I tied fun watches to. The watches were found at a clothes store - Forever 21 and came in pink, orange and white with a little bling for sparkle. To fill out the centerpiece I added cupcakes with candles. This proved to be an easy and inexpensive way to complete the centerpiece plus it made dessert easy to serve.

Now all you need to do is throw in your own plates, glasses and utensils and invite some friends over - it’s really that simple. But wait, it gets simpler. Act now and I’ll throw in (said in my best infomercial voice) the chance for you to win these chargers, photo stands and watches so that you can throw your own TIME bash. Head on over to my blog at Little Ant Design and enter the giveaway. But hurry this offer ends Tuesday the 23rd (again, in my best infomercial voice)

This month's challenge

Ahhh, Fall.  The chill in the air, the leaves are changing colors, the fireplaces are burning...it makes me want to slow down, bundle up and sip on a cup of hot cocoa.  However, we all know with kids back in school and the holidays just around the corner, slowing down becomes less of an option.  However, I challenge you to do just that.  Make a commitment to take time every month and enjoy a meal with friends.  This month's challenge: create your very own dinner club. 

After college, a lot of my friends moved away to different states.  I found myself not only having a smaller circle of friends, but also being really busy and not dedicating enough time to my friends (let alone making new ones).  So, I started a dinner club.  I chose eight women that I wanted to get to know better and devised a plan where two women would host a dinner each month.  The hostesses were in charge of everything (food, drinks, etc.) and the hosting pair would rotate, enabling us to all get to know each other better.  Now, four years later, we still meet monthly even with the addition of babies and the demands of school and work.  This has widened my circle of friends and has also made me take the time and have a girls night at least once a month. 

As a side note, my husband was a little jealous of the girl's night (and the fun that we had) so we started a couples dinner club.  A little over two years old, this dinner club is a hoot, hollering great time.   

Getting started (as the following suggestions may help the process):

• 8 is a perfect number, not only for preparing and purchasing food, but also for space.  Many of my dinner club friends can only fit 8 people around their dinner tables, so consider that when choosing your group. 
• Think carefully of who you want to include in your group.  Think of who you would like to get to know better, who is a great conversationist, who is new to town, etc.  This may leave some people out, so be careful when choosing your dinner mates and be clear that the group is small for reason: so that you all get to know each other better and that you don't break the bank when you get together.  Call and invite people to the group one by one and ask them to use discretion around friends you may not have included.
• Buy a stack of recipe cards.  If someone loves a dish, have recipe cards on hand where they can write down what was made for dinner.
• Schedule the dinner the same time every month (i.e. the second Tuesday every month) so that you all know to block that night out.  Also, it is best to avoid weekends.
• Create a rotating schedule where group members aren't paired with the same partner throughout the year.  Mix it up!
• Host the first dinner with someone that you would like to start the club with.  It is at this first dinner that you can coordinate schedules and set the dinners and hostess schedule for the rest of the year.

Don't let Fall turn to Winter and Winter turn to Spring without connecting with your friends. Let the dinner party celebration begin!