Affordable Party Decorations

Whether you are looking for a fun activity for your upcoming Super Bowl party, your child’s birthday celebration or a back-to-school bash, there’s nothing more exciting than a piñata.  What’s more, the smash and grab craft is quite affordable if you make your own at home. A piñata is little more than a large papier mache. All you need to make a basic piñata is a balloon, newspaper (cut into approximately one-inch wide strips), liquid starch, masking tape, glue, and crepe paper streamers. To start, blow up a large balloon.  This can be used to make a football shape, a … Continue reading

Party Like It’s 1999

Throw a fabulous New Year’s Eve party blow out for same cost you might have paid 13 years ago. If you want to leave your old budget back in 2012 and have a fresh start in 2013, don’t blow it first thing on an expensive New Year’s Eve bash. Instead, party like a millionaire  even if you are still wearing the 90s grunge look. Recycle Christmas Decorations Most Christmas or Chanukah decorations that are in silver or gold will work well for a New Year’s Eve bash. Work with the decorations that you already have, such as placing silver ball … Continue reading

New Events at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

If you’ve ever been to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party — Walt Disney World’s tickets-only, after-hours, month-long Christmas bash — then you think you’ve seen it all.  While that’s not entirely untrue – most of the major elements of the party don’t change from year to year – visitors in 2012 can expect to see something a little bit different this year.  Disney Parks site Inside the Magic has, well, the insider’s details on the new things you can expect to see at this year’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Of course the biggest thing on everyone’s minds is the brand new Fantasyland … Continue reading

Planning A Toddler Birthday Party

With about a month until Dylan turns three, it is time for me to put on my party planning hat and dream up the details of a special day for him. He has been very interested in trucks and construction vehicles lately, so I am sure that our theme will be something along those lines. Having already planned two birthday parties, I have learned that a few simple guidelines are helpful for parents of young children who are planning a birthday bash. My first tip for planning a party for a young child is to keep it small. Of course … Continue reading

How Much Would You Spend on a Moonbounce Birthday Party?

My seven-year-old daughter, or miss popular as we like to call her, has been invited to a number of fun birthday parties, everything from a hip hop dance party to a rock-climbing party. Her own birthday is coming up, and she wants a cupcake-moonbounce-girlie party for all of her friends, whatever that means. The moonbounce idea was actually her father’s, who thought renting a moonbounce might be fun for the kids. I agree that it would be, but unfortunately, since her birthday is in November (and we live in an area that has dramatic changes in seasons), it will be … Continue reading

My Son’s Birthday Party Part II

While the first tradition I have for my son’s birthday parties involve chocolate cake, the second tradition involves making my son some kind of crazy crown hat to wear for the party! Made out of colored construction paper, this party hat is the envy of all. It is not a traditional crown but more a circular head piece with lots of colorful paper sticking out all over. Every year it is a little bit different than the year before. After making said birthday party hat, I turned my attention to the chocolate cupcakes. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe … Continue reading

My Son’s Birthday Party Part I

Summertime is a very busy birthday season for our family. My husband, son, and I all have summer birthdays. We also have six other extended family members (siblings and parents) that have summer birthdays. Combine the birthdays with the other summertime celebrations (like the Fourth of July) and we get a summer full of parties! We recently celebrated our son’s third birthday. We had a very nice and intimate party with just our family (mommy, daddy, birthday boy, and baby sister) on the morning of our son’s birthday. Daddy had to leave for work mid morning, so I planned a … Continue reading

Making Your Party an Event

It’s one thing to have a party where loved ones gather for some food and fun, but it’s quite another for your shindig to make such a huge impact on your guests that its talked about for weeks, or even months down the road. Maybe you hire a guy to teach your guests how to weave baskets underwater at your next pool party or you rent out an entire petting zoo for your kid’s fourth birthday. Regardless, the object is to make your get-together as memorable as possible. Fortunately, you don’t have to break the bank in order to create … Continue reading

Planning a Graduation Party – Part 2

In my last blog I shared how I had procrastinated on planning my son’s graduation party. I will be having it in July but it’s really not a big deal because now I’m not in competition with all of the parties being held in June. Since I have no experience with planning a graduation party, it worked out great this past week when my husband’s entire softball team and their families went out to dinner. I was able to talk with one mom who had hosted a graduation party a couple of years ago and another mom who has gone … Continue reading

Cleaning Up After a Sick Child

It was a lovely Saturday, or it would have been if I hadn’t woken up to a three year old throwing up on me. Poor little thing. Ivy spend the night last night and got sick in both of our beds. I don’t think my washer has run this much in one day since Hailey was little. Cleaning up vomit is never fun but if you don’t get to it immediately it will stain. So if you have a sick kid, as soon as you get them cleaned up throw the bedding in the tub, especially if it’s the middle … Continue reading