When I'm deciding on presentation, I like to think of what would make my guests feel that way when they walk in. I want them to know they are special to our family and we want them to have a great time while they are in our home.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Make It Happen Tip: Presentation is magic!
One of my most favorite details in planning parties is deciding on the presentation. The presentation of your food, decor, drinks, and party favors can be the magic of your party. It can put guests at ease and make them forget about all the To-Do stuff that is waiting at home for them. When you arrive at my party, I want you to feel joy, inspiration and happiness.
When I'm deciding on presentation, I like to think of what would make my guests feel that way when they walk in. I want them to know they are special to our family and we want them to have a great time while they are in our home.
When I'm setting up the 'presentation' of my party, I'm thinking of each food item I plan to serve and what it would be served in. Do I have those things around my home? I will even walk around my home, including my toddler's toybox to see what jumps out at me for a great food holder. Last summer, I used his red bucket at my End of Summer BBQ Bash to hold mini corn on the cobs. It was cute, different, colorful, summerish and useful. Take your time and look thru your cabinets or even walk around your home when you are deciding what to present your food in or on. You just might find something unique and inspiring.
When I'm deciding on presentation, I like to think of what would make my guests feel that way when they walk in. I want them to know they are special to our family and we want them to have a great time while they are in our home.
A Mario Brothers Birthday Party
Need a really fun idea for a boys birthday party? How about a Super Mario Brothers theme! I had so much fun planning and hosting this party. My little buddy turned 9 so we hosted a colorful, exciting Mario and Luigi party for a group of 8 third-grade boys.
I will be posting all the details and sharing how you can make a party like this happen too!
This party was simple and afforable but just took some determination and a little effort.
You can MAKE IT HAPPEN TOO!
Party Tip: Making a Water Bottle look Fun!
Presentation is the key to making a party look great! You can take something so simple like a water bottle, add a little flair to it and voila! Items that you are planning to use or give out at your party can play two roles: drinks and props. For instance, you can dress up a water bottle with stickers, labels, paint, markers or any other enhancements to use it as a prop and not just a drink. You are going to use them anyway so why not make that space more colorful and interesting! Depending on how many guests you have, this can take as little as 5 minutes of your time. So worth it!
There are so many ideas out there on the web with designs and even sites that offer pre-made designs to print for your next event. Or you can go into the font selections on your computer and just create your own, print it out on paper, cut and tape. It seriously took me about 25 minutes total to dress up 8 water bottles with ribbons, puffy paint and a paper name label wrap. That's simple and affordable!
There are so many ideas out there on the web with designs and even sites that offer pre-made designs to print for your next event. Or you can go into the font selections on your computer and just create your own, print it out on paper, cut and tape. It seriously took me about 25 minutes total to dress up 8 water bottles with ribbons, puffy paint and a paper name label wrap. That's simple and affordable!
Party Tip: Stock Up on basics
One of the best tips I can give you for keeping party planning simple and afforbale is to keep the basic party supplies on hand. Shove them in a drawer, a shelf in the laundry room, a bin in the garage or wherever you can make a spot for them.
How do you get these party basics? Head to your local dollar store. Or go to the dollar section at Target. I love to browse the dollar section and see what inpires me for future parties. You will find treasures and unique party favors. I often use party favors as decor. Then, at the end of the party, guests can take them. Once you have these basics on hand, you have endless opportunities. What are the party basics?
Party Basics are choosing a few colors that you know go well together and can be used in many different themes. For instance, I chose red/yellow/green/blue for my basics stash. I can use red and green together for holiday themes, use red for Valentine's, use green for St Patricks Day, blue for father's day, red and yellow for Summer events, blue and yellow for water based parties, or all four together for any themed party.
I then picked up a few bins from the dollar store a few years ago in those colors. I have used them for countless number of parties over the years. There are so many different ways you can use them; holding food, drinks, prizes, goodie bags, flip them over to display stuff on, etc. When you tie a little ribbon on the side or write up a cute label with markers, it turns it into a fun looking display!
Other very important party basics are table covers, balloons, streamers, ribbon, plates, cups, and a balloon weight in those same colors. It takes only a half hour to shop for all this and costs around $30. That's less money than going out to dinner for a family of 4 and this stuff will last you for several parties!
How do you get these party basics? Head to your local dollar store. Or go to the dollar section at Target. I love to browse the dollar section and see what inpires me for future parties. You will find treasures and unique party favors. I often use party favors as decor. Then, at the end of the party, guests can take them. Once you have these basics on hand, you have endless opportunities. What are the party basics?
Party Basics are choosing a few colors that you know go well together and can be used in many different themes. For instance, I chose red/yellow/green/blue for my basics stash. I can use red and green together for holiday themes, use red for Valentine's, use green for St Patricks Day, blue for father's day, red and yellow for Summer events, blue and yellow for water based parties, or all four together for any themed party.
I then picked up a few bins from the dollar store a few years ago in those colors. I have used them for countless number of parties over the years. There are so many different ways you can use them; holding food, drinks, prizes, goodie bags, flip them over to display stuff on, etc. When you tie a little ribbon on the side or write up a cute label with markers, it turns it into a fun looking display!
Other very important party basics are table covers, balloons, streamers, ribbon, plates, cups, and a balloon weight in those same colors. It takes only a half hour to shop for all this and costs around $30. That's less money than going out to dinner for a family of 4 and this stuff will last you for several parties!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Breakfast in the Park Party
You'll want to grab a table cover, cups, plates, napkins, some delicious sprinkled (or your favorite) donuts, a few of your favorite fruits (like strawberries, bananas, blueberries), some milk, juice and water. You can grab all of this at your favorite local grocery store, Target or Walmart in 20 minutes or less! You could even go a different direction and host a cereal party with all different kinds of cereal available.
Make It Happen Tip: When hosting a breakfast party, you probably won't want to serve cake or cupcakes since it is morning time. Instead, set the donuts up in the shape of a cake, stacked on top of each other, and use that as your cake. Don't forget to bring your candles and matches to let the birthday boy/girl make their special wish!
Congratulations! You MADE IT HAPPEN!
St Patrick's Day - The Lucky Family Box
Are you feeling lucky? Well then, let's tackle a holiday that is coming up.... St Patrick's Day! One of the great opportunities you have for making each day special in your own family is in how you choose to celebrate. Your children don't have to be brand new babies to start a family tradition! Creating traditions now will stick with your loved ones forever. We start new traditions all of the time in our home and my children are currently 11, 8 and 2. You can celebrate the famous March holiday by going all out with explaining Irish history, turning your foods green and wearing green clothes. Or you can pick and choose what works best for your family or go with a simple celebration that is just for fun. No matter what you choose to do, the point is that simple celebrations at home create valuable moments of quality family time and memories.
One of our favorite St Patrick's Day traditions is what we call The Lucky Larkey Box. It is a simple FREE activity that any family can do. For us, the Lucky Larkey Box represents the special things/moments/aspects of our lives that we feel lucky about. It is another way of showing and teaching gratitude.
Prep work/Gathering Materials: (This will take less than 5 minutes of your time, assuming you know where these items are). Gather the following items: any size shoe box/photo box/any box will do. Grab your glue, scissors, paints or markers, and 8 pieces of green construction paper. Most families with school-age children will have these supplies in their home so it won't require shopping time or money spent. If you do need green paper, glue, etc, run over to your nearest Dollar Store or Walmart and grab some. Once you have these items at your table, call your family in to let the celebration begin!
Quality Family Time: (this could take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or two depending on your family). Now that you have your family gathered at the table, you'll want to explain that you're hosting a fun, creative tradition for your St Patrick's Day family Celebration. Let them know this activity, the creative portion, is actually part of the celebrating. A celebration doesn't begin once all the streamers are in the place and the food is out on the table. A celebration begins even in just dreaming up the concept of a reason to celebrate and creating the display like a Lucky Family Box.
There are 5 sections of the box that you'll be decorating (the 4 sides and top of the box). Mom or Dad will cut the pieces of green paper to fit each of those areas.This doesn't have to be perfect. Just freehand that cut with the scissors and voila, you're ready to decorate! Then, give each member of the family one of those papers to decorate. They could put on stickers, draw gold coins, a pot of gold, leprachauns, paint it or anything their wonderfully creative minds can come up with. For the person who is decorating the paper that will go on top of the box, you can use markers or any kind of paint to write "The Lucky ..... Family" or something similiar. Mom or Dad will also need to cut a slit on the top of box and on the paper that is being glued to the top of the box to put our Lucky Slips in later. Once each person finishes decorating their side, it can be glued onto the box and you are done! You have created your own Lucky Family Box.
Now, you'll take 2-3 more pieces of green paper (or any color you'd like) and cut them into little strips or squares. These slips will be for each family member to share what they feel lucky about in their life. We call them the Lucky Slips.
There are several different ways to enjoy The Lucky Family Box.
1) You can create this box on St Patrick's Day and all sit around the table and share what each of you feels lucky to have, be, or do in their life. Once you've shared it, you can slip the paper into the box. Make sure to display your box somewhere that your family can be reminded of their creativity and all the wonderful things they are lucky for!
2) You can create the box at the beginning of March. Each person will write what they feel lucky for on the slips and put them into the box each day leading up to St Patrick's Day. On St Patricks Day, your family can open the box and go around the table with each person reading one strip and the rest of the family trying to guess who felt lucky for that. It's a great after-dinner activity and sends your kids off to bed with feelings of being loved and grateful.
3) You can create a different box year after year or keep your first one to bring out each year and it can become a treasured family heirloom. We enjoy keeping the previous years slips in the box so we can open it the following year and see all the stuff we were grateful for then. Then, I'll put those papers into a manilla envelope, write the year on the front of it and store it away in a file drawer or family memories bin in the garage. You do not have to keep these though. You can throw out the box and slips each year and do this wonderful activity fresh every St Patty's Day! Make It Happen for your family however it works best!
Make It Happen Tip: If you wanted to take your celebration up a notch while still keeping it cheap and simple, you can go to your local dollar store and buy a green table cover, a pack of green cups and plates. That costs only $3 and will make your party extra exciting for the kids! Whatever other trinkets you may find there (like Shamrock Headbands, 4 leaf clover necklaces, funny green clover glasses, or a little pots of gold to put your coins in) are just icing on the cake!!
One of our favorite St Patrick's Day traditions is what we call The Lucky Larkey Box. It is a simple FREE activity that any family can do. For us, the Lucky Larkey Box represents the special things/moments/aspects of our lives that we feel lucky about. It is another way of showing and teaching gratitude.
Prep work/Gathering Materials: (This will take less than 5 minutes of your time, assuming you know where these items are). Gather the following items: any size shoe box/photo box/any box will do. Grab your glue, scissors, paints or markers, and 8 pieces of green construction paper. Most families with school-age children will have these supplies in their home so it won't require shopping time or money spent. If you do need green paper, glue, etc, run over to your nearest Dollar Store or Walmart and grab some. Once you have these items at your table, call your family in to let the celebration begin!
Quality Family Time: (this could take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or two depending on your family). Now that you have your family gathered at the table, you'll want to explain that you're hosting a fun, creative tradition for your St Patrick's Day family Celebration. Let them know this activity, the creative portion, is actually part of the celebrating. A celebration doesn't begin once all the streamers are in the place and the food is out on the table. A celebration begins even in just dreaming up the concept of a reason to celebrate and creating the display like a Lucky Family Box.
There are 5 sections of the box that you'll be decorating (the 4 sides and top of the box). Mom or Dad will cut the pieces of green paper to fit each of those areas.This doesn't have to be perfect. Just freehand that cut with the scissors and voila, you're ready to decorate! Then, give each member of the family one of those papers to decorate. They could put on stickers, draw gold coins, a pot of gold, leprachauns, paint it or anything their wonderfully creative minds can come up with. For the person who is decorating the paper that will go on top of the box, you can use markers or any kind of paint to write "The Lucky ..... Family" or something similiar. Mom or Dad will also need to cut a slit on the top of box and on the paper that is being glued to the top of the box to put our Lucky Slips in later. Once each person finishes decorating their side, it can be glued onto the box and you are done! You have created your own Lucky Family Box.
Now, you'll take 2-3 more pieces of green paper (or any color you'd like) and cut them into little strips or squares. These slips will be for each family member to share what they feel lucky about in their life. We call them the Lucky Slips.
There are several different ways to enjoy The Lucky Family Box.
1) You can create this box on St Patrick's Day and all sit around the table and share what each of you feels lucky to have, be, or do in their life. Once you've shared it, you can slip the paper into the box. Make sure to display your box somewhere that your family can be reminded of their creativity and all the wonderful things they are lucky for!
2) You can create the box at the beginning of March. Each person will write what they feel lucky for on the slips and put them into the box each day leading up to St Patrick's Day. On St Patricks Day, your family can open the box and go around the table with each person reading one strip and the rest of the family trying to guess who felt lucky for that. It's a great after-dinner activity and sends your kids off to bed with feelings of being loved and grateful.
3) You can create a different box year after year or keep your first one to bring out each year and it can become a treasured family heirloom. We enjoy keeping the previous years slips in the box so we can open it the following year and see all the stuff we were grateful for then. Then, I'll put those papers into a manilla envelope, write the year on the front of it and store it away in a file drawer or family memories bin in the garage. You do not have to keep these though. You can throw out the box and slips each year and do this wonderful activity fresh every St Patty's Day! Make It Happen for your family however it works best!
Congratulations! You MADE IT HAPPEN!
Finding Simple Way to Celebrate Often
Life's little reasons for celebrating are so much fun! Whether it's a new success, a good grade in school or another fabulous holiday, you can throw together a simple celebration quickly and easily. I'm going to share with you ideas on how, when and why to create a celebration in your home as a way of expressing your joy and excitement with your family and friends. There are the unique moments that happen in your own life that are cause for celebration and then there are the holidays. Holidays are those set dates in the year that give us a little nudge to make that particular day special. Some holidays are based on important people in history, some are based on sharing affection with one another and others celebrate all things green! No matter what particular holiday is coming up, I get excited about celebrating it because I know it is about teaching my kids valuable lessons like family time, tradition and finding joy. The word "celebration" can sound over the top sometimes (and with me, it may definitely mean something over the top!) ;)
However, it can be incredibly simple to create a celebration in your own home. I'm here to help you do just that! I will be posting different holidays and the simple ways you can turn them into a celebration for your family. It doesn't require tons of work or money. It doesn't require getting all fancied up! It just requires a little bit of love, elbow grease and maybe a trip to your local dollar store! I will also post step by step details with each celebration on what I purchased and how I turned it into something that brings joy to me and my family. You'll even have most of the stuff right there in your own house! You just need a jolt of determination and willingness to try. So here we go!
However, it can be incredibly simple to create a celebration in your own home. I'm here to help you do just that! I will be posting different holidays and the simple ways you can turn them into a celebration for your family. It doesn't require tons of work or money. It doesn't require getting all fancied up! It just requires a little bit of love, elbow grease and maybe a trip to your local dollar store! I will also post step by step details with each celebration on what I purchased and how I turned it into something that brings joy to me and my family. You'll even have most of the stuff right there in your own house! You just need a jolt of determination and willingness to try. So here we go!
Make It Happen!
Happy New Year! Are you ready to MAKE IT HAPPEN in 2011? I started this blog as a way to share the joy, laughter and passion I feel about life. Life is what you make of it right? We all have opportunities to make today better than yesterday. My philosophy I try to live by every day is to MAKE IT HAPPEN. You are the only person who can create the life you want. Want more family time? Make it happen! Want more passion in your marriage? Make it happen! Want to see your kids laugh every day? Make it happen. Want to step outside your box? Make it happen! You can bring joy into your life by putting in little bit of effort and a sprinkle of love. Effort means a conscious exertion of power or a serious attempt. Yes, we all lead very busy lives and have a lot on our plate. Yes, we all wish we could be and do what the person next to us is doing. But, my question to you is why can't you have that, be that, do that??? You can! You have to MAKE IT HAPPEN for yourself and your family.
The intention of my new blog (so excited!!!) is to share with you some suggestions, ideas and examples of how you can make life have a little more joy, laughter and passion in it. I love people! I love being with people, talking to people and sharing with people. I hope you find something here that inspires you to add one extra smile to your day or that you can incorporate into your own family experience. Feel free to take any ideas here and make them your own or copy them. Remember, only you can MAKE IT HAPPEN for your family, yourself and those you love in this life.
The intention of my new blog (so excited!!!) is to share with you some suggestions, ideas and examples of how you can make life have a little more joy, laughter and passion in it. I love people! I love being with people, talking to people and sharing with people. I hope you find something here that inspires you to add one extra smile to your day or that you can incorporate into your own family experience. Feel free to take any ideas here and make them your own or copy them. Remember, only you can MAKE IT HAPPEN for your family, yourself and those you love in this life.
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