Planning A Halloween Party

Every year around this time, I start thinking about planning my Halloween party. It's an annual event for me and my friends and relatives always keep their calendar open of it. So you know it has to worth it every year. Once I pick my date, I start looking for themes. I'll share some my suggestions for your own Halloween party planning.

Party Planning Process

The process is a simple one. Though not every decision within that process is. But keep to your process so you won't miss a step and end up crazy at the last minute.

• Set the date - even if this involves checking with most of your guests for their availability. 
• Decide on a theme - Halloween itself can be the theme, but you can also have some fun with other themes, like costume contests, zombie invasion, ghoulish food tasting.
• Gather your guest list - including making sure all addresses are up to date.
• Order the Invitations - this is more than just date, time and place. Tell you guests the theme, notes about contests, the party style (i.e. pot luck, sit down dinner, cocktail party, etc.)
• Plan menu - if you're serving all the food and drink (or most of it), you'll want to make sure that you have time to order specialty items, like food molds, dry ice, Halloween glasses. 
• Determine what foods can be made early and frozen, then plan to get them done.
• Decide on what home decorations you want to use. Again, this might require some ordering of fun items like creepy cloth. So plan this early.
• Make timing decisions - when will you decorate outside and inside, when will you purchase food and drinks, etc.

Make Sure to Plan Your Own Fun at the Party

As the host or hostess of a Halloween party, you often are so involved in food and drink preparation that you forget to enjoy your own party. It's very important that that stops! You don't throw a party for the work, you throw a party for the fun. So plan in your own fun.

Make sure food is prepared well ahead of the time guests arrive. A little replenishing of a buffet table is one thing, cooking while your guests are having fun is a different thing.

Delegate some of the chores to friends or relatives.  Assign the job of keeping the ice bucket refreshed to someone else. You'll find most of your guests will be happy to help in little ways. So plan for those little ways and delegate. You'll enjoy the party much more yourself.

Planning for a Winter Formal, Themes and Ideas

Winter formals are such a fun event for any school to hold. A dance set in the midst of winter gives students a great event to look forward to. The big holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas are over, the second half of the year is in gear but many schools are looking at a long run before Spring break comes up. That makes winter dances a great option.

Planning for Winter Formal

The planning process for any dance or formal takes place well in advance. With the committee in place and meeting regularly, the second order of business is the theme for the dance. First, is always the date!

Certainly, the theme doesn't need to be winter wonderland, but that's a fun and easy way to plan a dance or formal. Snowflakes are simple to make and hang. Even crystal ice structures can accent the decor.

Winter Formal Themes

Within the general theme of winter wonderland, there are lots of options to make the dance theme more unique than in years past. Here are some ideas for you:

• Snowflakes and Stars
• Ice Palace
• Snow Under the Moon
• Winter Sports Themes: Skiing, Snowboarding, or Ice Skating
• Mountain Resort
• Ski Lodge

For each of these, transforming the school gym or auditorium into a whole new world isn't hard. Backdrops and props can easily be used. 

Winter Dance Invitations and Ideas

I'm a big fan of making use of dance invitations for ideas. The designers of those invitations are great at adding in special touches that can be used for themes and decor. Some may be the perfect ones for your winter dance, others may spark the ideal theme and decorations for you.

Make this year's Winter Formal the talk of your school. New ideas and new themes will make it the perfect evening for all.

Christmas Party Invitations

Every year about this time, we start looking toward those Christmas parties. Getting our invitations ordered is one of the early steps to a great party. And that's for several reasons.

The Best Invitations are the Best Choices

You really do want to take a little bit of time to choose the best invitations for your Christmas party. There are so many choices that you need to filter through. You want to browse some, find the ones that fit your party theme or style best and then make your choice.

All of this takes some time. Don't rush it. Enjoy picking just the right invitation.

Christmas Party Style

Often, I look through many Christmas party invitations to get ideas for what style party I want to elegant Christmas party. Maybe instead of a full-blown party, a cocktail Christmas party is better suited.

have that year. Some times, I like the idea of an

But, I've also had lots of holiday open house parties. These are fun for a nice late afternoon event where people can come and go during the time. It doesn't put such a hardship on their time, but they can still attend.

Using Christmas Invitations for Party Decor and More

When I'm starting to plan my Christmas party, I look at the current decor options I have. There are times that I can find the perfect invitation that will match my own party color schemes and decor ideas.

One year, I knew for sure that I wanted to have a vintage style for my Christmas party. Then it was a matter of finding the vintage Christmas invitations that worked best. I even had menu choices that worked for that vintage theme.

The Order Early Principle

Ordering your Christmas party invitations early means you have less of a chance of being disappointed. People do make mistakes. One time I put the wrong year on my invitations! A friend had the wrong order ship to her. If you order early, you have plenty of time to correct these mistakes.

So take advantage of the time, and pick out your invitations early. Then have less stress on your own overall holiday planning and events.

Planning a Rock and Roll Birthday Theme

Imagine a party with dancing to rock and roll music, wearing poodle skirts, black leather jackets and saddle shoes. Yep, I'm talking about a rock and roll party. It makes a fun theme for a birthday celebration.

I helped my sister plan a fun rock and roll party for my brother-in-law's 50th birthday party. The theme was chosen very specifically because it was his 50th birthday. You know the idea. From the 1950's!

Besides picking a great rock and roll birthday invitation, she included right on the front of the invite that this was also a costume party. She asked all the guests to dress in 50's style. And let them know right on the invitation that dancing was going to be part of the party.

We even made his birthday cake in the shape of a huge old-fashioned record. We got plenty of fun food ideas just from that! She put together a pair of saddle-shoe-decorated dips. I don't know the full recipe, but I do know that she piped out cream cheese to make the shoelaces. OK, she does have a talent for creative food decorating.

The whole party planning got kicked off with us browsing the rock and roll party invitations. There were so many fun ideas that we saw on the invites. Then narrowed them down to the perfect party for a rock and roll theme.

Since she could customize these invites so easily, every one of the guests came dressed appropriately and prepared to do some wild dancing. The Twist and the Mashed Potato were the most popular!

If you're thinking about a rock and roll party theme, you can easily get started by browsing the invitations. Get the kind of ideas that you need to make your own party a great hit. Just like my brother-in-law's party.

Celebrating 50 Years of Marriage with a Party

When it's time to celebrate your parent's 50th wedding anniversary, it's time to do it up right. 50 years of marriage is a huge milestone that not very many couples achieve. So give them that very special party.

Yes, gold is the traditional color for 50th anniversaries. It's that golden wedding anniversary that makes the color scheme so easy and beautiful. Whose parents don't deserve elegance for this milestone? So an elegant party is perfect. Gold and black color scheme make an elegant party!

The invitations for a 50th anniversary are gorgeously done in gold. And they make it easy for your to plan the party decorations. Everything gold, of course. Golden stars hanging from the ceiling. A golden 50 as part of the centerpiece. Even gold tablecloths with black napkins are ideal.

I talk gold and black for a reason. The woman can wear a golden dress while the man wears a black tuxedo. The honoree couple become a big part of the color scheme.

But, elegant 50th anniversary invitations include lots of gold and white as well. Many of the decorations available are gold and white. So there is another color scheme to work with.

Actually, gold can work with so many different colors. So you aren't limited if your parents have different favorite colors than black or white. I like to make use of the 50th anniversary invitations to give me more great ideas. For example, I found satin sashes as part of one invite. Since teal is my mother's favorite color, I accented the gold with teal satin sashes. Stunning was her description.

So get planning. And make use of the 50th anniversary invitations to help you with the elegant decorations and color scheme. Your parents will love it!

Prom Invitations: Tropical Themes

This is the time of year when prom committees are busy. First up is that all important theme for the annual school dance. For many on the planning committee, coming up with a great theme is the hardest thing to do.

Most schools have years and years of themes already done. So coming up with something that is new and exciting is not easy. If your school hasn't done a tropical theme recently, then you are in luck. Tropical themed proms are fun, romantic and memorable.

For any event that I plan, I have fun making use of the design elements in the invitations to help with the decorations and menu. And a tropical theme has plenty of elements to choose from.

Palm trees are a great choice. The beach look works great, too. But don't overlook things like sunset over the ocean, an island paradise, even a pirate idea with a treasure chest as part of the picture-taking area.

Tropical themes can have anything to do with the ocean, the beach or an island. Even an ocean cruise ship or a naval ship can be part of your tropical theme.

Take a look at some of the fun tropical prom invitations to get your ideas for decorations and menus. Your prom this year can be better than ever as you transport your guests to different world.

Hosting a Bachelorette Party, Tropical Theme

Tropical themes for any party are so much fun, but a tropical theme for a bachelorette party is my idea of great fun. A bunch of friends gathering together to celebrate with the future bride. Then add in the beach, an island oasis, even a cruise and you have the makings for an amazing party.

One of my favorite themes, for so many parties, is tropical. The decorations are easy to do. Using things like palm tree looks, seashells, even sand and beach toys makes it easy. The drink menu is fun. Tropical drinks can work great with or without alcohol. If you can't get those little umbrellas, then put together a fruit garnish instead. Easy!

The menus are probably the most fun. Sea food is a natural. Plenty of tropical fruits and lots of fresh vegetables. Simple menus are best in my view.

If a tropical theme bachelorette party is what you are hosting, start with the party invitations. You can make use of the design elements from the invites to add more to your own party planning. There are plenty of options to choose from. Maybe vintage invites are what you prefer. Humorous party gatherings are one of my favorites. But then maybe art deco is more your style. That's the best part. All of these and more are easily available for your own tropical theme bachelorette party.