Posts Tagged ‘party planning’

Planning a shower is the same process as planning any event.  Last summer I shared with you the 5 W’s to planning a party. To  review those tips click on July 2009 at right.

Once you’ve answered the Why, Where, When, What, and Who questions, you can get to the details.   Use this check list so you don’t forget  anything.  If a section doesn’t apply to your event, cross it off!

Theme

• Having one makes the planning easier
• Choose a color scheme

Invitations

• Formal, professionally printed invitations
• Buy ready made invitations where you fill in the blanks
• Make your own
• Send invitations by e-mail
• Invite by phone

Menu

• Will it be catered
• Make everything yourself
• Pot luck

Food and Drinks

• How many courses
• Gather your recipes
• Shopping
• What can be made ahead of time
• Who will serve
• Guests help themselves
• Hire waiters, bar-tenders
• Hosts serve guests

The Table

• Tables and chairs
• Dishes, glassware, flatware, etc
• Tablecloth and napkins
• Will you use real dishes/napkins or disposable
• Sit down meal:
• Plan a seating chart
• Place card holders
• Informal or buffet
• Where will guests sit

Centerpiece

• Flowers
• Order an arrangement
• Flowers from the garden
• Candles
• Other ideas

Entertainment

• Music
• Live or recorded
• Games
• Party favors or gifts

Timing

• What time will guests arrive
• What time will food be served
• If party has a specific purpose:
• What time will the guest of honor open gifts
• When will speeches or toasts be made
• If it’s a surprise:
• What time will the guest of honor arrive
• What time will everyone leave

Clean-Up

It may seem like I’m planning this bridal shower a bit backward.  I did the party favors/place card idea first and now I’m doing the invitation.  As with any party planning, it doesn’t matter the order in which you do something, as long as you first:

• decide on a theme
• make a list of what needs to be done
• give yourself enough time to get everything finished

The invitation sets the tone for the any party.  If you choose to have a formal, engraved announcement, your guests will know what to expect (and how to dress).  If you send out something fun and flirty, they will look forward to a different atmosphere.

Bridal showers should fun, festive and personal.  After all, you’re celebrating a big event for a friend or relative.  Since  initials are the theme, I’m using the first letter of the bride’s name.

I created three  invitations; all of them very easy. You just need a computer and printer.  The third one involves some cutting and pasting and a bit of glue.  Get some friends together to help.  The more the merrier!

Make your own invitations to coordinate with the party theme

You can buy blank stationary or purchase card stock in your color theme and make your own.  Be sure to buy envelopes first so the cards will fit.  Also pay attention to size and weight.  Check with the post office before you begin.  A square envelope requires extra postage.  If it’s too thick, you will pay more too.

The bride's initial in a great font is simple and elegant

Choose a font that reflects your theme or style, enlarge it and print the first initial of the bride-to-be.  S for Sarah.

Go green! The invitation becomes a bookmark!

If you want to go the “green” route, make the invitation useful.  Print the info vertically and it becomes a bookmark. You should be able to get 2 or 3 per page and it will fit in a business size envelope.

Gather colored paper or paint chips and cut-outs of the initial you are using.

If you are more artistic, forget the basic stationary and try shipping tags.
The info goes on the back.  The front is where you can get creative.  Look for decorative papers in the scrapbook section at the local craft store.  Tissue paper works too.  Use the same color you will use in your table decorations.

This invite takes a bit more time and some creative energy!

I recycled old paint chips.  Then printed the “S” on white paper, cut it out and glued it all together.  Use your imagination.  It will be a little work of art.   No one will toss this in the landfill!

All the vital information is on the back. This style becomes a keeper too!

You could send invitations by e-mail, but getting them the old fashion way is such a treat these days.  You can even design your own stamps!

Tis the season for wedding showers.  Although it is all about the bride, if you are hosting the party, you want to welcome your guests to a fun, friendly and beautiful atmosphere.

The best advice for planning any party, big or small is to plan a theme and choose a color scheme.  This is especially a good idea with a shower.  Just like any interior decorating project, a theme and color idea will keep you focused and simplify the process.

If you don’t want to do the same-old/same-old bridal thing, you gotta think outside the box.

For something truly different, choose an “Initial” theme.  Although you can find lots of things with letters, vintage hankies are unique.  Up until the last few decades, women used to carry handkerchiefs with them at all times.  Now that we don’t do that anymore, you can find tons of hankies at antique shops and flea markets. Ask your grandmother for hers!

Handkerchiefs come in all sizes, colors and initials

The best thing with hankies is they become the party favor and place setting all rolled into one!

Once the guest list is set, you will know which letters to look for.  What you can’t find, you can embroider on an old plain one.  If you or your friends don’t sew, look for an iron-on letters at the craft store.

They can be found in every color and style

If the hankies are big enough and in good condition, use them as the napkin.

If the hankies are big enough, they can stand alone as napkins

Chances are they won’t be, so pair them up with regular napkins.  Use a napkin ring or ribbon.

If the hankies are too small or fragile, fold them up with regular napkins

Use a simple napkin ring or ribbon to hold the two together

White hankies can be paired with your color theme

Or wrap them around a pair of candles…

Candles are great party favors

Or soap!  Two party favors in one!  Be sure to use unscented soap so it doesn’t compete or over power your lunch!

Initial hankies make personal party favors

Tuck in a silk flower for added color

Have your guests find their place at the table, by looking for their initial.  Sort of a grown-up musical chairs (except everyone gets a seat)!

Next time,  invitations!

Tip # 6
Tea light candles are the perfect size for little egg cups.  Set one at each place setting at your dinner table or make them part of the centerpiece.  Every interior design scheme should include candle light!

Here's another tip: leave the tea lights in the metal case. You won't have to clean out melted wax!

Tip 4
If your children are young, you color eggs before Easter Sunday.  If your family is all grown up, bring back the tradition.  Boil eggs ahead of time and have  food coloring ready along with markers, chalk, paint,  glue, bits and pieces of ribbon and any other art supplies you have on hand.  Grown kids can have just as much fun as little ones creating their own work of egg-art!

Write names on your decorated eggs to use as place settings at dinner!

Tip 5
Display your decorated eggs in egg cups and use as place cards at dinner.

Pastels With Punch

Pink and grey are perfect for an Easter meal.

An easy way to introduce retro into your home decorating is at the dinner table.  Unpack grandma’s good china and use it every day.  Sets of dishes from the 50s and 60s can be found for a song at flea markets, resale stores and antique shops.  Make an investment before the market realizes their popularity and their value sky rockets.

Check out the little handle on this bowl. It's a perfect dish for kids.

Speaking of bargains, I love this set of pink and grey dishes I found at Goodwill.  Although they are unmarked, the hand drawn lines are reminiscent of a few decades past.  The best part of collecting dishes, it doesn’t matter if they coordinate with your interior design, dishes do not have to match anything!

The touch of grey keeps the place setting from being too feminine.

What could be more perfect for an Easter luncheon?  The square salad plate offers a nice contrast to the round dishes.  Even if I don’t serve a meal with multiple courses, I still use lots of dishes just to make the setting more interesting.  If you aren’t having a salad, save the plate for dessert.

The most interesting tables have layers and contrast. The square salad plate gives an edginess to all the curves.

If your dining room table has a beautiful finish, no need to cover it up with a table cloth.  These pink linen napkins are big enough to serve as place mats and offer a nice contrast.

The napkins almost looks like bunny ears!

There are dozens of ways to fold napkins.   Tucking a grey cotton napkin into a frosted polka dot glass keeps the table from being too serious.

Instead of the usual Easter basket, serve candy in old-fashion apothecary jars.

Have fun with your centerpiece.  Instead of flowers, fill apothecary jars with jelly beans, chocolate eggs and Easter grass.

Plastic Easter eggs can hold love sentiments, notes of thanks or even gift cards.

Hide little surprises in the plastic eggs for your family to discover while you’re dining.

Celebrate the season the old-fashion way with Retro dishes.

Celebrate the season!

Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.  I don’t have to pretend, I’ve got Irish ancestors and strawberry blonde hair to prove it!  Because of my hair color,  I was always told that redheads should dress in Kelly green but never did until lime became fashionable (I was such a rebel!).   So I decided to create a St. Patty’s Day table using the non-traditional chartreuse.

Create an updated Irish table with lime green

Monochromatic color schemes (everything one color only) can work in interior design and on the table if you incorporate different shades, hues and lots of texture.  I wanted to set my table with what I already had around the house and didn’t have any trouble finding enough for a table for 4!

Place mats are a good alternative to a table cloth

I pulled out an antique side table with drop leaves from my living room for an intimate dinner.  The woven and embroidered placemats cover most of the top when overlapped.  No need to worry about spills or hot food.

Classic white dinner plates can be the foundation for any table

If you don’t have a set of white dinner plates, start looking for some.  I bought these on sale from Pottery Barn a few years ago and have two other sets from Goodwill.  You can never have too many white dishes.

The clear salad plates with a cut vine design came from an antique store. The label said Heisey, but I haven’t been able to verify that claim.  If you know one way or the other, please leave me a comment below.  They are very pretty and delicate and sold as a set of 8.

"Paint" your own dinnerware

No need to purchase special dinnerware for a once a year meal.  Create your own by placing a little design under a clear plate.  I cut out shamrocks from some left over green craft foam I had.   I drew mine free hand, but you can look for clip art to copy.

Napkins are tied with a matching green plastic wire.

Tie a cord around fan folded napkins

My sister gave me some battery-light candles.  No dripping wax or fear of fire (she knows about my passion for lime green).  I scattered some polished glass stones and craft ribbon on the table.

I added a little drawing to the centerpiece. Looks like an Irish village.

I love this little drawing of an antique village.  Could it be Ireland?.

Beer is the beverage of choice to go with corned beef and cabbage and will look great in the cut glass pilsners.  Add a postcard to each placesetting and the conversation will be off to a great start.

Toast to good health and friendship.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And my God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
~Irish Blessing

Create your own award show party

Movie fans all over the country eagerly watch the Academy Awards ceremony on TV.  I’m a big movie fan, but the TV show does nothing for me personally.  I like to see what the women are wearing and who won the major awards and  I’m always curious to find out if any of the movies I’ve seen during the year are nominated. But I can get the scoop Monday on a morning news show.

Create a glitzy and elegant bar

I like to make the event more fun by hosting an Oscar party.  It’s the perfect opportunity for a wine or champagne tasting party (it gives guests something to do during the boring segments of the show!).  Have everyone bring a bottle of their favorite beverage.  Since it’s Sunday night and no one will want to dress up, tell your gal pals to get decked out in all the bling they can find.  The more glitz, the better.  Even diamonds look great with jeans!

I pulled this little bar together in half an hour with things I found around my house.  You know me, I love to entertain so I have lots of stuff to set all kinds of tables, but you will be surprised at what you own too.  It doesn’t matter what your interior design looks like, carve out a little piece of Hollywood glamor in your own family room.

Find any little table for a make shift bar

Gold lame is the foundation for an Oscar theme party

Place a table near your TV for easy access.  I covered mine with a gold vinyl tablecloth I bought at Goodwill (I used it for a Mardi Gras party a few years ago).

Glass reflects the gold and light

Then find all the gold, silver and crystal you have stashed away.  What better occasion to use the “fancy” stuff than a celebrity style party.

Crystal candlesticks can be picked up for a song at Goodwill and antique stores.  Choose a variety of sizes to give height to the table.  I added a pair of mismatched silver tapers, but you can use gold ones too.

Serve drinks in your best glasses

Every table, even a bar needs height

Bring out your best champagne flutes and wine glasses.  A pewter compote topped with a
silver tray makes an elegant way to display glasses.  Throw on whatever jewelry you aren’t wearing.  It’s all about the bling, baby!

Bring out all the gold and silver accessorizes you can find

Even simple snacks look elegant in a cut crystal candy dish.  Pull out all the stops.

Pretzels become gourmet food when served in a beautiful dish!

Scatter gold stars and faux diamonds around the table for more shimmer and shine.

Throw lots of confetti around the table.

As your guests discuss the bouquet, clarity and body of the wine, be sure they jot down their comments in a wine journal.  In fact, these make great party favors.  Give one to each person as they arrive.  Everyone leaves with details about the bottles they tasted and will remember the ones they liked best.  Tally the votes and announce the winning wine with drum roll and fancy envelope.

Have party journals on hand for guests to write in

Hand out wine journals to everyone

For the fun of it, invest in a movie journal too.  Have each person critique their favorite or worse movie of the year.

You can record the winning movies or write about your favorites that didn't get nominated

I took down the painting I had on the wall behind my make-shift bar (didn’t go with the theme) and added a carved gold frame from an old picture to fill in the blank.  You can use a movie  poster  for a backdrop.

Even an empty frame can be a piece of art!

This frame might not fit your interior design, but it really works for this party!

My challenge was to create a fun party setting without spending any money on props.  You can serve caviar or potato chips, Dom Perignon or diet soda.  Doesn’t matter, get carried away with the theme, invite the neighbors and have fun cheering or jeering!

Make it as glamorous as you can

This setting is reminiscent of the 1930s

The 14th of February is a day devoted to celebrating love.  You can express your affection to that special person in the usual way (go out to dinner, box of candy, over priced flowers) or with a little imagination and for a lot less cash, celebrate at home.

Create a romantic dinner for two.

It doesn’t matter if you are planning dinner or a leisurely breakfast, make it cozy and intimate.  Food in front of a roaring fire is always romantic especially if you are seated at a low table with floor pillows.  You can use a coffee table or in this instance an old wood trunk.  Cover it with a table cloth or a piece of red fabric.

Pull up an old trunk for a cozy table for two

I fell in love with this bold red and white print at IKEA. It's perfect for a Valentine's Day tablecloth.

There isn’t a single heart or flower in this setting.  Instead of placemats, I pulled out old Scrabble board games  Write a message or spell out your feelings for each other with the tiles.

You can use almost anything as a placemat or charger. Have fun with Scrabble boards.

An old muffin tin is the perfect size for extra letters, votive candles and candy (no expensive and fattening box of chocolates here!).

You know you will want extra Scrabble pieces with this dinner. Use a vintage muffin tin for candles and letters.

The valentine card is vintage, but the XOXO says it all.  Use dinnerware you have left over from Christmas.  Square red plates set “on point” complement the square game boards.

You could buy a new valentine, but I love the sappy sentiments on old, vintage cards!

XOXO equals 18 points!

Little copper napkin rings surround softly folded white napkins.  Dinner should be simple.  After all, the emphasis should be on dining, not cooking.  Chinese take-out allows you both to share.

Tuck a pair of chop sticks in the napkin ring.

Add a couple of floor pillows and you have a romantic evening ready to surprise someone you love.

Tell your love how you feel.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning said,

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

I say spell it out!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean you have to pack away all your decorations.  Snowmen and snowflakes are great for the holidays, but they can also brighten your home during the long winter months.  I live in a northern climate  where we get lots of snow, cold weather and more dark than daylight.   Snowmen are the perfect indulgence for this endless season.

• Take them off your mantle and tuck them into little nooks and crannies.  Just by moving them around the house, you’ve created a something new.

Don't pack the snowmen away just yet, move your collection to the bathroom or guest bedroom

When grouping the snow people together, vary heights, sizes and texture for a more interesting display.

• Move part of your collection to the bathroom or bedroom.

This snowman candy dish is perfect for fancy soap in a guest bathroom.

• If you’re expecting guests this winter, display them in the guest room for an unexpected touch.

• Set the table with snow friends.  Position one at each place setting at a winter party.

• Gather your men with a little quilters batting or fake snow on a tray for a centerpiece.

JI just love this snowflake plate my kids gave me for Christmas. I can use it all winter long.

Group your snowman collection on a pretty plate

• Make paper snowflakes (or have your kids do it) to hang in the window.  Line the snowmen on the window sill.

• Fill the empty corner in your kitchen with snowmen.
  

• Don’t pack away the snowmen dishes you used at Christmas time.  Fill them with appetizers at your next football party.

You can’t fight winter, might as well enjoy it!