Party Invitations, Party Planning & Event Ideas

Alice In Wonderland Party Inspiration

With the release of the Alice in Wonderland Movie it is a perfect time to share these Tea Party Inspirations. This movie is sure to bring out the desire to plan many Mad Hatter Tea Parties! With the use of vibrant colors, a mix of textures and patterns and an eclectic mix of teacups, you can create a wonderful whimsical event.

Here is a collection of amazing Alice inspiration. Click on the links to see many additional photos with great ideas!

1. & 5. A vintage party not to be missed - from Sarah at the Middleton Family Blog.

2. This lovely Alice in Wonderland Party was created by Lollipop Events.  See more photos and details at HWTM.

3. Mad Hatter magic from A Fanciful Twist. You won't want to miss this one!

4. This party was done by In Good Company. Visit the blog of Amy Atlas Events for additional photos and a entertaining tips.

6. This Mad Hatter Tea Party was created by Party Wishes. See all the details here.

Posted by Entertain Exchange

Winter One-derland First Birthday Party

My son celebrated his first birthday on December 27.  I know as a first time mom I’m supposed to want to go all out and have a big bash for his first birthday, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.  I decided to save the big blow out for his second birthday.  Instead we just had a little very budget friendly “Winter One-derland” get-together with our closest family members.

Instead of sending out invites through the snail-mail I decided to go the quick and cheap route with Evite.com.  I created a “Winter One-derland” logo on Microsoft Publisher using clip-art that I used in the invitation as the main image.  Within an hour all the invites had been sent out and were sitting in inboxes waiting for RSVPs.

 
  
Budget Friendly Tip: You don’t have to be a genius at (the expensive) Photoshop to create cute digital invitations.  With just a little time and patience you can easily create one-of-a-kind invites or invite logos using Microsoft Publisher and the Paint tool found on most computers.  Since it’s becoming more popular to send invitations through email don’t be afraid to use the wonderful inexpensive services of Sendomatic.com or Evite.com.  Some of the most original invitations I’ve seen have been made using these websites.

I hadn’t really planned on decorating much since I wanted to keep the budget really small.  I popped on over to my local Dollar Store to buy some cute snowflake paper plates my sister-in-law had found and while I was there (did I mention this was on December 26?!) I discovered ALL Christmas decorations were on sale for $0.50!  I couldn’t resist the temptation, so I scooped up all the snowflake decorations I could fit in my cart.  I also bought snowflake covered tablecloths and plastic cups with blue and green snowflakes similar to these found at Windy City Novelties.  We didn’t have much snow on the ground, so I stuck snowflake stickers onto our door and windows. 

Budget Friendly Tip: While it doesn’t get much more budget friendly than the Dollar Store, you could make the decorations yourself.  It wouldn’t take much more than a stack of paper in white and blue, plus a pair of scissors to create dozens of snowflakes.  Hang the snowflakes from your ceiling with “invisible” fishing line. You could also shred paper to make your very own snow piles!  I’m also a huge fan of foam crafts.  For a low cost and in a short amount of time I made a “Sammy’s Winter One-derland” birthday sign.  I also made the birthday boy his very own party hat with foam board and stickers.

 
During the winter months I tend to be in the mood for foods that are hearty and remind me of being warm and cozy.  For the main course I opted for Sheppard’s Pie, one of my all time favorite meals.  This was an easy meal to make for a larger crowd.  Plus, it would be easy for the guest of honor, who was just starting to eat “adult” foods,  to chow down on.  I made cupcakes for the birthday cake.  I bought really cute ceramic cupcake pans at AC Moore, on sale for $5 from $20!

 
Budget Friendly Tip: Feeding a crowd is rarely budget friendly.  However, by sticking with a simple menu you can help keep your costs down.  It’s very easy to double or triple a favorite recipe of yours that you already love to make for normal family meals.  If you need a little help converting your “Serves 4” recipe to “Serves 25” check out this Recipe Converter.

Since I wanted to keep things low key, I didn’t plan activities or games for the guests.  We kept the event fairly short, so guests wouldn’t have time to get bored between eating and chit-chatting.  The kids in attendance were kept busy with the Wii.  Winter Sports 2, the Wii game, would be an excellent addition to any Winter One (or Won)-derland party.

Budget Friendly Tip: Had I chosen to have an activity for the guests, I would have saved money by combining the activity and the favor with a Make Your Own Photo Snow Globe.  Oriental Trading sells snow globes kits.  Instead of using the sports template included with the kit, I would have taken a picture of each guest with our birthday boy and printed them out during the party.  Then each guest could insert their photo in their snow globe!  Instant memories and a fun winter decoration for years to come!

 
For more pictures and details visit A Yummy Mummy on a Pink Park Bench.

Holy Party, Batman!

The bat signal went out; my friend C needed inspiration. Like myself, she only has boys and of course we can't seem to shake the super hero party, and Batman is the obsession of the moment. That's ok, it can still be stylish, especially since pretty much all of these ideas can be adapted for any crime fighter. Luckily for her, I'm always bookmarking inspirational ideas...

Setting The Scene
How great is Creative Stirrings' great tabletop where she wrapped presents as Gotham City buildings. Clever napkin tip - scallop napkins to look like bat wings. Disguise ordinary water bottles as Super Water with a simple change of the label.

The Munchies
For the menu, go crazy with a bat cookie cutter. Make bat Jell-O Jigglers from grape Jell-O, bat rolls with pizza dipping sauce, and serve Bat Cream Sandwiches. Make bat cookies, sandwich softened ice cream between two and refreeze. What To Do Keep them busy with a cape-decorating workshop like at Ambrosia Girl's super hero party. Each child was given a package that included a cape, mask, and a stencil of their initial to trace onto felt; check out the free download patterns at Living Locurto. To make it more Batman themed, make black masks with initials in yellow like Cookie Monday's party. For those of you with serious sewing skills, check out My Tiny Sweet Cheeks for making pretty sweet capes.

Send Them Home With A Smile
Loving these bat bean bags from Roots and Wings Co, perfect for a bean bag toss or for party favors . I seriously heart this ridiculously cute Batman envelope treat bag from Just Jenn (which she also provides the pdf), but these bags sewn by Green Jello with personalized name tags are coming in a very close second. Not enough? OK, check out my last superhero party post....Not Just A Mommy!

Everything's Coming Up Daisies

Hi everyone I'm Christina, Tina for short.  I write a little blog called Twitterpated.  It's my creative outlet for all the fun things that make me happy:  parties, crafts, designing, decorating, cooking, etc....  So, you can imagine how thrilled I was when Jennifer asked me to be a regular guest blogger here at Create My Event.  I will be sharing fun ideas with you every Tuesday, and I hope to never disappoint!

I thought I would start out with a party blog that was very dear to my heart.  My daughter's first birthday party.  I realize that the 1st b-day is usually attended by more adults than children.  At least that was the case with us.  Catie was the first grandchild, and one of the first babies amongst our friends.  So basically it was more for my husband and I than our daughter.   She's never going to remember any of it anyway!  So, this is why I chose a fun, colorful and easy garden theme with daisies and bugs.  It turned out perfectly, and everyone had a great time. **Plus, it leaves some of the more fun party ideas available for when she is older and can enjoy them! 

Let's start off with the invitations. I made these cute flower invites myself using plain old Microsoft Word. They were very easy, and it got the ball rolling for the garden theme. I hired our friends over at Nine Photography to come hang out and take pictures during the party. If you have this as an option I definitely recommend it. I didn't have to worry about running around snapping photos all day, I just got to enjoy hosting with my little Bug..
I found this birthday t-shirt at Kohl's, very cheap and it came with a matching bib. I made the pettiskirt for her myself. (Not something I plan to do again anytime soon) At least not until I get a ruffle attachment for my sewing machine. These skirts are very time consuming!!!! It turned out great though.Let's begin with the dessert table. I found brightly colored check fabric at WalMart for $1.50 a yard!! I bought orange, pink, purple and green. These made excellent table cloths. I also used some to cover the back of Catie's high chair and draped the extras across the buffet(kitchen island). I made the cupcakes myself. They were super easy. Just a regular box cupcake mix and store bought icing tinted green.. I piped the icing in a swirl using a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. Then, just sprinkled little jimmies on top. To add an extra little something special I bought already tinted fondant at the craft store, rolled it out with a rolling pin, and using flower cookie cutters, cut out the shapes for the tops of the cupcakes. SOOO easy! I did the same thing for Catie's personal sized cake. I found small flower vases and brightly colored fake daisy flowers to put on the tables. Behind the dessert table I had Catie's high chair set up with balloons tied to it. I hung the birthday banner behind her chair. This was an easy banner to make. I just printed out the letters and then pasted them to some purple felt. I took pieces of hot pink tulle and tied them all together. Above the dessert table and buffet I hung several different sized paper lanterns along with glittery butterflies and dragonflies. All found at the craft store for a few dollars each.On the other end of the table I set up a little candy bar for guests to snack on, or take along for the ride home. The sign was printed off the computer and put in an extra frame I had around. I filled inexpensive vases from WalMart with different candies bought on sale after valentines Day.(how lucky for me her party was right after the holiday) I stuck cute pinwheels in the candy and used these adorable little lady bugs all over the party. They popped up in all sorts of places. :-) I took white paper bags, and using a regular address label and Microsoft Word again, printed out a little thank you message for the guests. On the dinner buffet I had a menu printed out and framed also. I wrapped the silverware up in pretty pink napkins and tied them off with colored ribbon. Using those same checked fabrics, I covered the buffet and set out the food. BBQ for the adults and fun flower shaped PBJ's and chicken nuggets for the  few kids that were there. I had two beverage dispensers I borrowed from a friend. One had pink lemonade in it, and the other had an adult cocktail. I made labels for these also and tied them around the tops of the dispensers with more ribbon..

In the dining room(which luckily for me was empty with no furniture) I set up a large round table for gifts, and 4 square folding tables with chairs for guests to sit and eat at. I covered them with fabric and used daisy clips around the legs. One simple vase on each table with a couple of flowers did the trick. I took about 60 balloons and filled them with helium and just let them float around the ceiling of the dining room. I tied long strings on them and let the kids play with them. I found a cheap inflatable kiddie pool on Amazon.com along with jumping balls. I filled the pool with the balls and voila, an easy tot play area. The kids went crazy for it! They played in there for hours!I gave each child a gift of their own to open while Catie was opening her presents. I made something special for each of them according to their ages. Some got blankets, super hero capes, tutus..Along with little toys and stickers, everyone was happy. This was easy to pull off because we only had about 6 or 7 kids at the party.

This was a fun and amazing party to plan for my sweet little Catie-bug's 1st big bash!  I hope my ideas help with planning your next party! 

Party on!

Tina

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs

This week I received a desperate party planner emergency email from my reader P. Her six-year old has recently become obsessed with the movie Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and wants to change his upcoming party in a week and a half to reflect said obsession. And he ain't budging. I'm strapping on my utility belt and off to the rescue!

Since this movie is about a scientist causing food to rain from the sky, draw on that for inspiration. How about a Mad Scientist cooking party? Donna Hay Kids' Magazine features a very clever party with a few ideas with scientific bases that you can elaborate on while they are prepared; have them help you make Popcorn Explosions a.k.a. colored popcorn.

Create slimey goo dipping sauce by adding a few drops of blue food coloring to ketchup and mustard. It would go perfect with a for a Build Your Own Burger bar.

Have some fizzy fun with this DIY sherbet from the magazine. Their recipe - take 1 tsp citric acid (can be found in the canning section of grocery stores), 2 tsp. confectioner's sugar, 3 tsp. of any flavor gelatin, and 1 tsp. baking soda and layer in a small bottle or vial before you shake, shake, shake.
Set up a Make Your Own Soda bar and let them choose from a few different flavors.

Another direction is a cooking party. Don't be afraid to play with your food; show them how to roll homemade meatballs and mixing sauce for a spaghetti lunch.

Set up different stations to make fun not-foods like Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry, Faux Fish Sticks and Grilled Cheese or for making ice-cream sundaes or cookie-decorating.

Leftovers are plenty for favors. But if you must, how about filling inexpensive plastic measuring cups with food-related candy like candy peas and carrots, gummy fish, etc. Cover them with plastic and tie with colorful ribbon and personalized tags.

Hit up a dollar store or the dollar section of your favorite box store, there is always some form of play food that would also make great favors.

Yes, those infamous 'Cookies In A Jar' that seem to pop up everywhere during the holidays is another great take-home. Feel free to break out of the jar-box; any clear container will do. Acrylic boxes and deli containers are perfect because they are reusable and kid-friendly.

And no matter which way you go, your party's pièce de résistance are these spaghetti and meatball cupcakes from Hello, Cupcakes! Make them yourself or have vanilla cupcakes ready to decorate as a party activity; check out a great tutorial over at The Junk Drawer. Not Just A Mommy!

Fruit By The Foot

One of my favorite children's books is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, a perfectly simple story about a very hungry caterpillar. And when I saw this awesome fruit chandelier, all I could think about was how to plan the perfect TVHC party around it. A quick search turned up some amazing parties and treats, but then I saw Personally You Parties already covered most of them. Since I'm not about reinventing the wheel, check her out for some great parties. So, I'll add my two cents with more fruit-inspired fun... You must go check the rest of this party; she started the party off right with ADORABLE invites! Using the Eric Carle Birthday Kit, check out this clever setup from Harri's Mom; I love, love love her balloon caterpillar. Cute cupcakes bites for guests accompanied a themed smash cake Check out awesome Alpha Mom's free fruit tag downloads; we've done her lunch box tags, it's nice for the kids to have a 'hug' from you during the day. These are perfect for Valentine's Day, but you can change the juicy puns to fit your party's theme. Not Just A Mommy!

A Fall Hoot-enanny

Needing some clever ideas for a fun fall party? While looking through Matthew Mead's Monster Book Of Halloween, I discovered the cutest Owl-oween Party, but really couldn't you use it anytime? Change the colors to fit the occasion; pastel for a baby shower or gender-specific colors for a birthday, or whatever you like! Thus today's inspiration.... Get The Party Started
They may be for a wizard party, but you can still download and use these scroll invites and place cards. I love the colors of Polka Dot Design's owl invite; this blue and brown owl invite from My Good Greetings has clean lines and simple perfection. Setting The Scene
Bring in natural elements like grapevine wreaths to mimic bird nests and manzanita branches adorned with small owls. Of course you have to use feathers, like this beautiful wreath from Zofia Design. The Munchies
If you have the skills, this owl cake will blow your guests away. Catching Fireflies' too cute owl cupcakes and Bright Ideas' owl cookies have easy tutorials to follow. Transform moonpies into clever treats; serve these chocolate owls or send them as favors. Adorn cupcakes with these cupcake topper downloads from Rock Scissors Paper. What To Do
Check out petit elefant's DIY for a fun party activity; make their felt bean bags and let guests glue on the features. Or set out paper bags and craft supplies for this inspired owl craft. I know that owls don't live in birdhouses, but setting out small wooden birdhouses (check out your local craft or dollar store) to paint would still work. Send Them Home With A Smile
End the party with Favormaker's owl favor box filled with treats or this cute Stampin Up! favor bag.  Not Just A Mommy!

Monster Mash Bash

So, last year's Mad Scientist's Lab Halloween party was a bit much, so I've decided to alternate my holiday parties, so this year small Halloween party, big Christmas party. I fell in love with Target's Monster Mash line, so I let that be my inspiration. Everyone loved the Monster Fingers. You know I love to decorate paper bags. These are filled with themed pencils, glowsticks, vials filled with gummy body parts and these comp books (clearanced for dirt cheap after the Back-To-School rush) I covered with scrapbook paper. These fun monster pillows from Oriental Trading make new friends, especially inspiring while watching Pixar's Monsters, Inc. How cute are these eggs? Perfect for our Monster Egg Hunt!   And the party couldn't be complete without making monster cupcakes! For my second Monster Mash Bash, we made monster trick or treat bags. I made the cupcakes instead, and needed something to do with all the frosting, so I covered cookie balls and made these cute Monster Eyeball Cookies. Come visit my blog for my next Tuesday Tutorial and I'll clue you on how to make them, they are perfect as a last-minute party treat! Not Just A Mommy!

Boos & Ghouls Party

Enter if you dare - get into the spirit of a spooky Boos & Ghouls party, complete with bootiful decor, spooktacular activities and ghoulish food. Use a black and white palette from start to finish.

Get The Party Started
Raid your favorite candy store for the giant lollipops needed for these party invites from HGTV. Have a Halloween birthday? These sweet and scary Halloween invitations from Fun and Sassy Designs also have matching flat note cards and calling cards.

Setting The Scene
Ghostly door decorations made from painted gourds chill the hearts of those brave enough to darken your doorstep.

Spookify your living room furniture with white draping and adding ghostly black felt eyes. Replace light bulbs with blue or black-light bulbs, and everything will take on an eerie glow.

Purchase white pumpkins, paint on black eyes and mouths and place them everywhere; in the dark they resemble floating heads.

Country Living shares how to make these pretty ribbon-handled paper cones; on the back of your guests' chairs they do double-duty as treat holders and party favors.

What To Do
Have a younger crowd play freeze dance with glowsticks while dancing to Ray Parker's "Ghostbusters" and color on black cardstock with glow-in-the-dark paint and markers.

Get right to the point and make a spooky ghostwriter from Crayola Model Magic at FamilyFun.

Have a Slime Pit Relay - fill a large cauldron with homemade slime and have teams try to fill their smaller cauldrons with handfuls of slime. Check out the ultimate slime recipe from the slime expert that is Nickelodeon.

Having a teen sleep-over? Host a Haunt-A-Thon with movies like The Sixth Sense, Poltergeist, Amityville Horror and The Shining, guarantees to keep them up all night!

The Munchies
Oh, so many ideas to choose from! White and black food are a must. Of course, you must set up an Oreo cookie bar. Set them on square plates in piles of like-flavors for maximum impact. Serve shots of milk and chocolate milk, alongside clear glass bowls and jars filled with black and white candies.

Add all sorts of other treats to the table like these mini ghost cupcakes, or these Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy ghost cookies from Everyday Celebrating.

Marshmellow treats never looked so good with these White-As-A-Ghost recipe.

For those who need a bit more of a challenge, BHG's meringue spooks are to die-for.

Come visit my blog this Sunday for two special ghoulish beverages to serve. Not Just A Mommy!

Do Me A Favor

Arg! Those cursed plastic character goody bags filled with useless piñata trinkets that end up all over the car or in every toy bin or basket in the house. And somehow, we've all come to believe the success of our kid's party lies in the bottom of those plastic bags. I personally despise them and piñatas...really? Nothing is more fun than dive-bombing for junk, then one child hoards everything, leaving the less-aggressive (read: rude) kids standing around empty-handed.

Think beyond those bags, it's so easy and sometimes just as affordable. Even plain paper bags bulked out with tissue paper and decorated with themed stickers is so much more personable. Take a cue from your party theme. Top off a fishing party with a pail with a twig fishing pole made from stick or string, gummy worms and a few chocolate fish wrapped together in cellophane, tissue paper, or wax paper and tied with a ribbon.

In the Gospel According To Great Parties For Kids, they share a few creative suggestions. Jars of homemade playdough look charming and are perfect for the three and under crowd when paired with a fun-shaped cookie cutter. Add a label bearing it's recipe: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup salt, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1 tablespoon food coloring in a heavy pan over medium heat. Stir as the mixture thickens and, when it comes together as a dough, remove from heat. When cool enough to handle, knead the mixture for a minute or two and it's ready!

When it comes to favors, don't think about quantity or dollar value, think instead about how to present what you are giving. Sports cups filled with felt tips are perfect for a sports party, while a stack of ribbon-topped boxes filled with a few barrettes and a bottle of bubble bath easily found at a local dollar store. A pretty bag with a floral pin attached is perfect as is, and needs no wrapping. The same goes for a miniature water can and trowel, to top off a beach-themed party.

Have fun with clear containers like small acrylic boxes and tubes. Fill with fun candy, crayons, plastic necklaces and bracelets. I did the same for favors for my Around The Clock shower. Shh...scored mine at Michael's. Even a cellophane bag filled with animal crackers or homemade cookies tied with a pretty ribbon seems extravagant. Layer dry ingredients in a larger box so guests can add wet ingredients at home to make delicious cookies from a cooking party. These long tubes from Garnish are perfect for Lego blocks, jelly beans, etc.

I like my guests to work at my party; crafts serve as an activity and a take-home favor! Have them paint small wooden chests, then go on a treasure hunt for gold coins to fill them with. Try painting plant pots and planting seedlings or T-shirt decorating.

Unfinished wooden frames, purchased cheaply at a local craft store, can be painted and decorated with sequins, pom-poms and stickers. Take a picture of each child at the party and give it to them to put in their frame when they leave. Not Just A Mommy!