Party Awesomeness | One Charming Party

Archive for the ‘Party Awesomeness’ Category

guest appearance on studio 5: throwing the perfect baby shower

Monday, March 8th, 2010

I was a guest on Studio 5, a local Utah morning TV show, last Friday and I talked about throwing the perfect baby shower. Full disclosure: the show is live and I totally froze when Brooke, the show’s hostess, asked me the first question. As soon as I looked at the cameras I couldn’t remember what I was going to say. I kind of recovered and finished both segments but I’m sad because I blanked and didn’t say a lot of the cool things that I wanted to talk about. Blogging is so much easier. And yes, it was just as scary being on TV as I thought it would be. TV people definitely have a great skill and I’m even more impressed now when I see them on TV.

Here you go if you want to read a summary of what I said on the show or watch the video clip (I still haven’t watched it because I’m too embarrassed to see myself):

For my appearance on Studio 5, I wanted to give another special thanks to these sweet ladies for helping me out:

Megan at Persimmon Floral for the amazing bouquets.
Kelly at Cakewalk Baking Company for the yummy vegan cupcakes.
Karen at Lillybelle Designs for the adorable bibs.
My mom and Eileen Romney for the cute cookies.
Sara Westbrook for the downloads and party photos.
Nicole Hill for the other party photos.
And to my parents for coming on the set with me to try to keep me calm.

Tomorrow I’ll have a giveaway of the bibs from Lillybelle Designs and the homemade banners that I used on the first segment.

Tags: interview
Posted in Baby & Bridal Showers, Party Awesomeness, See Me Somewhere Else | 5 Comments »

freebies

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Here are some downloadable pdf files for you to have for free. Just click on the picture. I punched out the girl and boy tags with a 1 3/4 inch circle punch and I punched out a pink or red 2 inch scallop for the background. You can look at my cupcake topper tutorial for instructions. For the vintage book covers I just cut them into squares.

For my appearance on Studio 5 today, I wanted to give a special thanks to these sweet ladies for helping me out:

Tags: school shower
Posted in Baby & Bridal Showers, Party Awesomeness | 9 Comments »

hosting a friend birthday party & a family celebration for your child? part 2: plan your invites, decorations & food to stretch through two parties

Friday, February 19th, 2010

So you’ve decided to have two birthday parties, one for friends and one for family. To minimize your time, effort, and expense plan for the invitations, decorations, and food to stretch through both parties. And since you’ve already come up with a killer party theme, why not just use it the whole day?

Invitations

A no brainer. Order or make or buy extra invitations so that you’ll have some for both parties. You’re keeping the same theme anyway, right? Easy peasy.

Decorations

Same thing. Once you’ve decked out your house, yard or even just the kitchen table, keep it up so that all of your family can see your cool stuff. You deserve all of the praise that those cute little six year olds didn’t give you. The decorations stay.

Food

The Birthday Cake: I’m a huge fan of having an awesome birthday cake. But sometimes it’s just not worth it when you can serve cupcakes instead and no one will know the difference. But a back-to-back friend and family party is the perfect opportunity to show off your hard work (or the extravagant topsy turvy cake that you had specially made) to a crowd of adoring adults. The kids at the friend party will love cupcakes just as much, so serve them cupcakes–meanwhile keeping the cake in its pristine condition. It can be your table centerpiece or the candleholder for singing “Happy Birthday.” Then your gorgeous cake takes center stage for your family party where everyone will ohh and aww over it. When you’ve had your fill of compliments, feel free to serve the cake.

Party Food: I always use caters for the parties I plan and they require minimum orders of food items. The upside is that you have leftover food to serve at the family party. Places like Costco and Sam’s Club tend to sell food in larger quantities at a lower price, so if you buy some party food there this will give you an ample amount of food for both parties as well. If you make your own party food then it’s just as easy to make a few extra of each item for the second party. You can use the leftover food from the friend party as appetizers or side dishes for your family dinner. It’s hard to see food wasted from picky party kids so this is the perfect opportunity to use the rest of it up. Or you can forgo serving food at the friend party and focus on serving your family a great dinner instead.

I hope these suggestions help. I can’t wait to hear how your parties turn out.

Tags: family parties
Posted in Party Awesomeness | 5 Comments »

hosting a friend birthday party & a family celebration for your child? part 1: should you keep the two parties separate?

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Oh, birthday parties, I love them! The planning, the fun, the chaos. But what do you do when this happens? YOUR CHILD wants to invite friends to a birthday party. YOU don’t want family to feel left out. It’s more practical to have friends over during the day but family can’t come until nighttime, after work. You want to have the party on your child’s actual birthday, but their birthday falls on a Tuesday. You can go back and forth, back and forth trying to make a decision.

When to have a combined party:

1. If it’s a “big deal” age for your child. One, eight, and 16 are a pretty big deal around here.
2. If cousins are the same ages as your kids, so they would be coming to both parties anyway.
3. If you always invite your mom or sister or sister-in-law to every party you have, then you might as well combine.

When to have two separate parties:

1. If hosting one huge party is just going to add more craziness to the mix, and you really can’t handle any more craziness.
2. If cousins aren’t the same age as the birthday child and you’d have to really alter the friend party to include them.
3. If family members can’t attend during the day because of work, school, long travel, etc.

Sometimes kids are better behaved during the day and nighttime parties are just too late for them to be awake (especially neighbor kids or school friends whose parents might think it’s weird that you are having a late night fête for 5 year olds–know what I’m saying?). However, family members are usually comfortable coming over at night after the first event is over to enjoy a more relaxed party. If work schedules and evenings are the only factors, you know that a logical alternative is to just have the birthday party on the weekend or a holiday when everyone can attend. But if you want to have the party on the day of their actual birthday or if it’s just too much to have that many people over, then split it up.

Keep in mind that sometimes grandparents just want more. More time with their grandkids. More involvement in everything their kids and grandkids do. More attention when they are around. They might want to be a part of the friend party, even if it’s just to sit back and watch their grandchild have fun. So go ahead and invite them to be apart of the whole day. After all of the friends go home–serve dinner, spend some time together, and let them have their one-on-one time. They can watch the birthday kid open the present from grandma and grandpa without all of the chaos of friends around. And your child will have more time to ohh and awww over the gift.

I will honestly say that I’m biased and I love birthdays. I say have two parties to extend the fun and prolong the excitement. Let your child have their day, the whole day. Let their friends have a fun party and then let your family have their time too. If you’re up for a long, crazy day then go for it! It only happens once a year.

Friday–Part 2: plan your invites, food & decorations to stretch through two parties.

Tags: family parties
Posted in Party Awesomeness | 3 Comments »

big or small: why a party budget is your best friend

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Don’t say it. You wish that just this once you could throw a party and money wouldn’t be an issue. Believe me, this would be your worst nightmare.

Let’s assume that you have a personal or family budget in real life. This budget tells you how much you can spend on food and clothes so that you will still have money left over to pay your heat, power, rent or mortgage. It provides you with peace of mind and some financial structure. So why wouldn’t you have a party budget? Just like your personal budget, a party budget will give you structure and more importantly, boundaries. And boundaries can give you inspiration. A budget determines whether you will be making your own cake or ordering the unique cake you saw on your baker’s website. Both are a great idea. A budget determines whether you’ll be hiring a clown or begging your husband to dress up like one. And both options work. If you think a party with a million dollar budget will be easier to plan–You. Are. Wrong. More money means higher expectations, which means more stress. (Hhmm, ever been to a wedding?) Less money doesn’t equal stress-free either. Ever have a princess cake that turned out more like the ugly stepsister, homemade ice cream that didn’t ever freeze, or invitations that never got made? I have.

Let’s get started

1. Acknowledge that the grass will always be greener on the other side. The simple, inexpensive pool party that your friend had for her daughter probably looked effortless and you might regret spending so much time and money on your pool party. Or the unbelievably gorgeous catered tea party that you saw in a magazine might make you break the 10th commandment (Thou shalt not covet) and you might start foolishly selling your valuables on Ebay to get the money to recreate it. But I am here to tell you that whatever someone else did, does, or will do doesn’t matter. This is your party, not a competition.

2. Ask yourself these questions: What do I normally spend on a party? When I think about how much a party should cost, what’s the first number that comes to mind? What amount do I feel comfortable spending on this party? In my mind’s eye, what do I see this party costing? However you phrase it, there is always a dollar amount somewhere, at the back of your head that feels right to you. Start there.

3. Now ask yourself these questions: Is this amount realistic (either too high or too low)? What can I afford to spend on this party? Can I use some of my family’s food money to cover the cost of the party food? Can we skip going out to the movies this month and use that extra cash for the party? Determine the amount of money you can spend on the party.

4. Estimate. Estimate. Estimate. How much will the cake & cupcakes cost? Are you going to serve any food? Don’t forget to add in the little stuff. Balloons from the party store. Napkins in the party colors. Cupcake liners. Copies from the copy shop. The two spools of ribbon you’ll need to tie on all of the favor bags. Whatever. And plan for a few last minute surprises. Inevitably you’ll find the most amazing thing that is perfect for your party and that your party can’t live without. And you’ll find it at the last minute, either after you’ve spent all of your party money or requiring rush shipping to get there in time. Not that I’d know anything about that. Ahem. But if this often happens to you, plan for that now.

5. A good trick for balancing costs is to pair two things together. Let’s say that you have $50 set aside for invitations and take home favors. You can spend $40 on cool swimming party invitations with a beach ball and sand tucked inside every envelope (plus extra shipping) and buy $10 worth of candy to send home with the kids as their take home favor. Since they’ll be getting a shovel and pail for the sand sculpture contest anyway, there is no need to spend a lot on ONE MORE THING to take home. Or you could make your own teapot invitations, print them at home, and hand deliver them. This would cost about $1. Then you could splurge and buy all 7 guests an awesome mini tea set that cost $7 each. Balance it out to make things easier.

Things I balance: invites/take home favors. food/cake: serve inexpensive popsicles and order an awesome dolphin cake vs. serve over-the-top dainty tea party food and make your own mini cupcakes. table centerpiece/decorations: use the dolphin cake as the table centerpiece and focus your time and money on killer decorations vs. ordering a gorgeous flower arrangement for the center of your tea party table and borrowing your mother’s china to set the table as your decor. activites: do a couple of small activities that are free like swimming in your in-laws’ pool and eating those popsicles then add in a more expensive activity like a sand castle building contest with real sand, shovels, pails, etc. vs. doing 2 similarly priced crafts like embellishing tea party hats & gloves.

You probably do this anyway and don’t know it. It basically goes like this: “If I spend a lot on this, I need to cut back on that.” Of course you could choose to do the cooler, more expensive option for every pair (good thing you have a budget and you know that you can afford it) or you could choose the less expensive option for every pair and keep costs down. But from my experience most people want to splurge on a few things, but not everything. Balance.

6. If you find yourself over budget as you are pre-planning your party, take a look and see if anything can do double duty. Can you use all of the pool gear you already have for decorations and not buy anything new? Instead of one large floral arrangement on the tea party table, could your florist make a bunch of tiny flower bouquets for the same cost that the girls could take home instead of a mini $7 tea set? And don’t forget to look around your house for things you can use to improvise.

Your party budget can be your best friend if you treat it right. Budget Best Friends 4-evah.

Tags: budget
Posted in Party Awesomeness | 8 Comments »

i love activity stations, people

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

If you are planning a party with lots of guests, which I do not advise and discussed in my recent post “keep party guests to a manageable number”, then activity stations are your best friend. And for small parties too. For example, if you have invited 12 kids, you could have three stations with 4 kids at each. But if you’ve invited 24 kids (don’t do it, really) then you could have four stations with 6 kids at each, or however you want to work it to keep the groups manageable.

This is for a very structured party where all of the kids are the same age.

Let’s say that you are having a magician party. You could divide your 12 party guests into four groups of 3 kids where each group is doing a different activity. Your four stations could be: learning how to juggle, learning a card trick, learning how to find a coin in someone’s ear, and learning how to pull a rabbit out of a hat. You could set a timer for 20 minutes at each station and with only three kids at each, they will have more hands on time. They automatically rotate when the timer rings. Also, this will keep kids from getting too rowdy since there’s a smaller crowd learning each magic trick. After four 20 minute rotations, the party is 1 hour and 20 minutes over, and you have the last 40 minutes to sing “Happy Birthday,” serve cake, and open presents. If you were having an art party, then the rotations would be similar: playing with playdough, coloring a picture, painting at an easel, and stringing a pasta necklace.

When dividing up the groups, don’t let it turn into the old last-one-picked-for-the-baseball-team type of thing. As the adult, take charge and either have the kids number off “1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4” or form the groups quickly by whom they are already standing by. It can be comforting for shy kids to not have to wait for other kids to pick them and it’s fun for social kids to meet new people. Plus they’ll see each other as they mill about in the same room anyway, rotating around.

It’ll work, I promise.

The rotations can also build on each other.

As guests arrive (not usually all at the same time) start the first few kids out by giving them some cookie cutters and dough. They finish and the next group of guests starts. The first group moves on to coloring some frosting while they wait for their cookies to bake, then off to sit on a rug to listen to someone reading a book while their cookies cool, then at the last station they frost and decorate their cookies. Everyone ends up at the table together eating cookies. It builds. A dress-up party would be the same. As girls arrive, they get a tiny bit of make up put on, then they move on to having their hair styled, next is putting on the dress ups, then last having their picture taken.

You get the idea.

Finally, the free form activity stations.

This is great at parties with a mix of ages or if a lot of adults are there. Set up areas where kids can come and go. An example would be a carnival party where kids have to get each activity marked off on their punch card, but they can go to whatever station they want in whatever order they want. They might stand in line to throw a ball at a bunch of bottles, then go to the ring toss where the line is really short. Each station punches their card and after they have finished every activity and their card is full, the reward at the end could be a freshly made cone of cotton candy. All of the kids will end up together eventually on the lawn as they enjoy their sticky, sugary treat (I love cotton candy, it should be served at every party). Another example would be a first birthday party where you have different tables of crafts set up for kids of many ages to make at their leisure. They can make all of the crafts or just two or they can go hang out with their parents instead.

If you are stumped about how to manage a big crowd at your party, or if you just want some structure and good sense of flow, then I say have some activity stations. Now go and make your party fantastic.

Tags: activity stations
Posted in Party Awesomeness | 5 Comments »

keep party guests to a manageable number

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

My mom was always the mother who made me invite everyone to my birthday parties so that no one felt left out. I didn’t always want to invite all of the neighbor kids (especially the ones who were mean to me) but my mom thought that their feelings might get hurt. Sorry Mom, but I respectfully disagree. I don’t think you need to invite every kid to your child’s birthday party. I don’t. So let me explain.

Here’s the scoop:

1. You’ve spent a lot of time and money on your party. This party is about your child, not the neighbor kid.
2. You are a sane person, and you want to keep it that way. Twelve 3 year-olds running around your house will not be fun. No, really. It’s not fun. I think that 6 kids is a good number for parties up to age 5. And then you can start bumping it up and I like to keep the limit at 12 for kids under 12.
3. Everyone wants the attention of the guest of honor. If they don’t get that attention then you might have unhappy or bored guests. Not good. More kids means less chance of interaction with the birthday boy or girl.
4. Houses can fill up fast and you might not have enough room to accommodate that many guests. Keep this in mind. Factor in adults too. Are parents staying or dropping off their child? If lots of parents are staying then you might need to shorten your list even further to allow ample room to be them to be comfortable.
5. This party is about your child having a good time, not a social agenda. So cherry pick your guests and forget the obligation to invite the whole soccer team or the whole school class. An easy place to cut is kids that have never invited your kids to a party. Mail or hand deliver the invites so that uninvited classmates or soccer buddies don’t feel bad.
6. If your child is terribly shy, forcing them to be around a bunch of kids isn’t going to help. All the more reason to just invite a few close friends.

By looking at this from another angle and remembering that this party is for your child, I hope that you will see the wisdom of limiting the number of guests you invite to a birthday party. You will be more relaxed and your child will have fun. And that’s the point, right?

Tags: guest list
Posted in Party Awesomeness | 4 Comments »

three common party traps to avoid: part 3

Friday, November 27th, 2009

The final chapter on not throwing a grocery store par-tay.

Skip the grocery store cake (yes, this means warehouse stores too). It’s a dead giveaway. I have been in your shoes. Those cakes are already made or easily ordered. They can make one to match your theme and have it ready to go on party day. It’s super tempting to go this route. Not buying your party cake at the grocery store was always going to be the third part in this series but for a moment I started thinking that maybe grocery store cakes aren’t that bad. Sure, they might have big yellow frosting roses on top, but that’s okay, right? Then I spent 20 minutes on one of my favorite sites, Cake Wrecks, and now I’m standing firm. (If you don’t know what Cake Wrecks is or if you are unconvinced, then you need to go there, now.)

If you really want a cake that is already made, find a fun bakery and have them make one. I have several bakers that I trust and they provide all of my cakes and cupcakes for my parties, even my own childrens’ birthday parties. I usually have them make me a plain cake and then I embellish it myself. If you’re up for making your own, then maybe you’ve heard of a little lady named Martha Stewart. I think she has single-handedly transformed the homemade cake into something spectacular and given all of us the confidence to at least try. Inspired by her cakes, I made my kid’s cakes for many years (until I realized that my limited time on party day was better spent on other party awesomeness). If you go this route you can make some great, theme specific cakes. Like a lollipop garden cake, purse cake, or butterfly cupcakes.

I still haven’t persuaded you? Personally, I know what my bakers put into their cakes. A few use all organic ingredients and there isn’t any weird stuff like preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oil. I can even order gluten-free and other allergy-free kinds. Do I even need to mention that they are made from scratch, not a mix? I trust my bakers. I know my bakers’ names and I know what they look like. They are not anonymous store workers. You are going to serve this cake to family and friends and eat it YOURSELF. You might want to know who is making your food.

Your excuses: “I don’t know how to decorate a cake.” Lucky for you, a million other people actually excel in that area. Go find one. Or take a cake decorating class and practice. That’s what I did. “I don’t have time to worry about this. The grocery store is so convenient.” It’s also convenient to look up real bakeries on your computer and call them with your order from the comfort of your own home. “I can’t afford to pay someone to make a special cake. It’s too expensive.” Then make some cupcakes yourself. From scratch. There are recipes all over the internet. Do a test run a few days before. My kids would love to eat early birthday cupcakes. Buy some fun cupcake wrappers from Hey Yo Yo or Bake it Pretty and make some cute cupcake toppers. I even have directions right here to do that. “But I always buy my cakes there and they’ve always done a good job.” Fine, buy your cake at the local grocery store/warehouse place. But go and look at the ingredients before you get your heart set on it. What’s in the cake? What are you serving your kids? “But my daughter wants a topsy tursvy cake like the one she saw on Cake Boss.” Now we’re talking. You definitely need to avoid the grocery store for that one!

Invest some time, money, and maybe some of your talent into the birthday party cake. This isn’t a wedding, but the cake is still a main focal point of a party. You want to get it right.

Tags: party info
Posted in Party Awesomeness | 1 Comment »

three common party traps to avoid: part 2

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

More on not throwing a grocery store party.

Don’t go down the party aisle at your local grocery store and buy all of the plates, cups and napkins in the character theme. I know how it goes. You ask your child what kind of party they want for their birthday and maybe they say they want a cartoon or popular movie/tv show themed party. You are busy with life in general and are at a loss of how to integrate Wow Wow Wubbzy into a party. You go to the big box or party store for some inspiration and viola, the party is right there waiting for you in the form of pre-made invites, plates, napkins and cups. You can even throw in the tablecloth and matching party favors. Easy peasy. Wait, let’s take a step back and not make any hasty purchases. How do you envision this party? Cool. Fun for your child. Entertaining for your guests. Are these items really getting you closer to your objectives or are they just a quick fix? Let’s be clear, I support investing in reusable supplies. But whether you opt for washable or disposable items, you can bypass the character stuff and sub in key colors. What are the well know color combos associated with that character? Spiderman: blue & red. SpongeBob: blue & yellow. Strawberry Shortcake: pink & green. Use those to your advantage. One character piece can go a long way when paired with its signature colors. You can save money and pull off a killer party this way.

Your excuses: “If I don’t buy the character plates/napkins/cups, my child won’t think it’s a [_______] party.” Give yourself, and your child, a little more credit. Your party doesn’t have to be saturated with a character to get the point across. Be selective. Less is more. “It’s just easier to get the matching tablecloth.” Remember your vision for the party and reach for the solid colored items instead. “If I don’t buy these matching party favors I won’t know what to give out.” Think outside the box. Diego: binoculars. Fancy Nancy: ribbon wands. Handy Manny: candy or chocolate tools. “But I don’t want to make invitations.” It’s okay, just buy the character invites and customize them. I’ve seen Nemo invitations put into clear envelopes with sand added. My sister bought Star Wars invitations, reworded the invite to sound like Yoda was speaking (“Inviting you to my party, I am…”), photocopied it and glued it to the inside. Keep your end goal in sight and go crazy.

Tags: party info
Posted in Party Awesomeness | No Comments »

three common party traps to avoid: part 1

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

I’m calling this series: Don’t throw a “grocery store” party.

Walk past the piñatas. I know you want to stop, but just keep going. Aha. I have your attention now. I don’t really have anything against piñatas. Okay I do. Here’s why. Every party has one little league champ that smashes the piñata before everyone gets a chance to take a swing. And once the piñata is broken candy goes flying everywhere and the fast kids scramble and the slow kids are left empty handed. Do you really want to spend your time re-dividing up the loot? And do kids really need more candy? Piñatas also set up a bit of a competitive spirit (both in the smashing and the candy collecting) that is best avoided at kids’ parties. But most of all I hate piñatas because they lack imagination. Your child has an awesome imagination and so do YOU. Maybe that’s one of the reasons you’ve been so successful in life so far. You can think up creative outfits, creative ways to use up leftovers or maybe just creative ways to get your spouse to clean. You can think of something better than a store bought, over-priced, over-commercialized piñata.

Your excuses: “I’m out of time”—that’s lack of planning not lack of imagination. It’s just as easy to organize a treasure hunt that gets kids thinking and moving as it is to fill a piñata. “I’m out of ideas”—that’s lack of researching. The internet is full of party ideas. Google it. “I’m out of money”—all the more reason to get creative. Piñatas aren’t cheap to buy or fill, but old-fashioned games like red rover are free. “But I honestly can’t think of a better party activity”—then you have a theme issue. Some commercialized themes can paint you into a corner. Maybe you need to switch your party theme. “My child has their heart set on a piñata”– then by all means, have one. But integrate it into the party as a way to start a scavenger hunt, where the individual list items fall out attached to a tiny piece of candy (make sure you have enough for everyone, of course). Or smash open the piñata at the end of the party and have the take home favor fall out. Like eco-friendly nail polish. Or a racecar.

While planning your party, nurture your child’s imagination and your creative spirit and I know that you’ll come up with an awesome alternative to a piñata. And as a bonus, you’ll be one step closer to avoiding a grocery store party.