So Much To Make: PARTY IDEAS

Showing posts with label PARTY IDEAS. Show all posts

Monday, February 6, 2017

50th Anniversary Party

50 years of marriage. FIFTY. If that's not worth celebrating, I don't know what is.

My dear in-laws celebrated their big 5-0 last year, and I was able to help put together their party.

I will share some of the ways we made their day memorable through the decorations, food and gifts that honored this amazing couple.

Decorations & Gifts:

These balloons were a big hit. My in-laws had never seen anything like them, and I was so glad I had gone to the trouble of packing them in the car for the drive! I found mine at a local party store, but you can also find them HERE. Most grocery stores will fill them with helium for a small fee.

Two of the decorations doubled as gifts for the couple.

One was a bunch of 4x6 pictures I had printed at Costco. I found pictures from when they were newlyweds all the way up until recent ones with their grandkids.

When I printed them, I chose to have a white border around so they had a more finished look.

Then I bought jute twine and some miniature clothespins and we displayed their picture memories all around the room. They absolutely LOVED this simple but meaningful display. In fact, they took them home still on the twine and hung them in their own home.

The other decor/gift was a memory poster I bought on Etsy. This party doubled as my father-in-law's 80th birthday, so I bought one board commemorating his birthyear, and one commemorating the year they were married. You will receive a digital download of the design, then you can get them printed wherever you choose. I used Costco's 16x20 poster board. It is super durable and reasonably priced.

I bought the "50 Years Ago" design from Digital Board.

I bought the "80 Years ago" birth year design from Little Mountain Top.

These, as well, were taken home with my in-laws and displayed in their home.

Food:

The refreshments were simple, but just right.

We asked in advance what each of their favorite cakes were (carrot, chocolate, and lemon pound were all listed), so we had some of each.

Additionally, I bought several "old fashioned" candies and displayed them in mason jars. Here are some of the candies, along with links to where you can find them:

I used chalkboard labels on each of the mason jars. I love that chalkboard decorations are so prevalent, and they fit with an "old fashioned" theme!

Though the party was simple (by their request), it was filled with love and memories from their many happy years together.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Fancy Nancy - Inspired Birthday Tea Party

Fancy Nancy is a household name for many families with 4-7 year-old little girls--including mine! And I welcome this darling, girly-girl created by author Jane O'Connor as she teaches my daughter to learn and use new vocabulary. Especially "fancy" words like GORGEOUS, ACCESSORIES, and ECSTATIC.

So I jumped on the idea of having a Fancy Nancy-themed party for her fifth birthday. I haven't had this much fun planning for a party in quite a while. I guess I like being fancy, too!

I will share DECORATIONS, PARTY FAVORS, FOOD, and CRAFTS that I used at her party. Get ready to make your party a SMASHING SUCCESS!

First I ordered the following items from Amazon:

These darling little Tea Party Cups were economical and LOVED by all the guests. I wrote their names on them with a Sharpee using fancy, frilly handwriting.

I also ordered this Tea Cup Candy Mold to make as a treat for the girls to take home. You could serve them as a treat at the party, but since ours was held in late-afternoon, I decided to hold off as courtesy to the parents. :)

I also purchased Plastic Bags with Twist-ties, as well as Lollipop Sticks from Amazon so I would be good to go!

Here they are made up. I'm no confectioner, but the little girls didn't care about perfection! I just used melted white and milk chocolate chips to make the forms.

You can't have a fancy party without fancy TIARAS! I was so pleased with these! They stayed on their heads because they were really just toothed headbands.

And my final Amazon purchase was a package of Assorted-size Doilies. It was amazing how much they added to the frilly, fanciness of the decor!

Now for our FANCY CRAFT: Paper Bag Purses

I used shaped scissors to cut rectangular holes out of paper bags. Then I printed out the guests' names in a fancy font and glued them to each bag.

The girls used stickers, washi tape, and lace tape to decorate their purses. This craft was a HIT! And it was a practical way for them to take home their teacup and lollipop when the party was over!

I found a couple of teapots at Goodwill to use in the decor. The rest of the decor was stuff I already had around the house. I used fabric for the table cloths.

For food we served poppyseed muffins, Jello (in individual little plastic cups), and blueberries.

The "tea" was actually strawberry lemonade. :)

I ran out of time to iron my tablecloths. That was my one regret. But I LOVED using my grandmother's dessert plates (the ones with the flowers).

I printed out a couple of pages: "Ooh La La" and a page of "fancy words" from the Fancy Nancy books as decor.

Guests were also greeted with an "Oooh La La" at the front door, so they knew they were at the right house!

My favorite part was just hearing the little girl conversation as they enjoyed their tea-party!

Participating in these link-ups.

Monday, July 28, 2014

FLOAT BAR!

Today I am taking you beyond the rootbeer float....back in time... to the old-fashioned soda and ice cream bar at the drugstore on the corner. Few of these gems still exist. We had one in a small city I lived in in the South a few years ago. But, when the owner died, so did the business, along with the beautiful curved bar with chrome details.

I didn't live in the era of the soda fountain. I'm too young. If you did, or if one still exists in your town, I'd love to hear about some of the drink combos and their names.

Having a float bar was fun summer activity for our family. Everyone was excited to try out their own concoctions. Below are a few that we especially enjoyed. Some of the names are borrowed from actual soda fountain drinks; others are our own invention. :)

This is extremely refreshing. One of those drinks that will always sound good.

Creamy. Fizzy. Yummy.

An old classic. Oldie but goody.

My dad introduced this one to me as a kid. It is also yummy with grape juice. Seriously yummy.

The name says it all.

This was a creative idea we concocted, and it was DELICIOUS.

Different than it's reverse, but just as tasty.

Chocolate ice cream in a float? Can it be so? Yes, it can.

My chocolate-loving daughter especially loved this one.

The possibilities are endless. So many sodas, so many ice creams and sherbets! Invite some friends, pull out the mason jars and straws, and it's a FLOAT BAR PARTY!

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