I was thrilled to be included in an article in the Miami Herald on Throwing a Kid-Friendly New Years Eve Party. Check it out and grab some ideas for next year.
Family-Friendly New Years Eve Party
Creative Football Party Decoration and Food Ideas
The college and NFL football seasons have kicked off, fall weather is in the air, and it’s the perfect time to throw a family-friendly Football Themed Party. We had family in town last weekend to see the Iowa Hawkeyes play at Soldier Field in Chicago. It was a blast! But afterwards, I realized that I should have made some football themed cupcakes or decorated the house for our football weekend. So, to inspire myself for a future football party, I found some super creative ideas online. Whether you’re throwing a party for family and friends to watch that special game or you have a child who’s dying for a football themed birthday party, you’ll score big with these party ideas. Psst! I have a lot more Football Party ideas on my Sports Themed Party Board on Pinterest. Check those out, too.
DECORATIONS
These free football party printables from the Hostess with the Mostess blog are awesome. She has some good looking snack recipes on the site as well so check those out.
These aren’t free but I love the retro design to these Football Party Printables from LilSugar.com.
How cute are these football juice box covers! Kate at the AndEverythingSweet blog tells you how to make them.
Jackie Fo shows how to grab some Astroturf flooring from your local Home Repair and Hardware Store to make a cool looking tabletop on her blog. She has some really cool decorating ideas so check out her site.
You’ll find some great kid-friendly decoration ideas here, as well.
FOOD
These Football Pizza Pockets from PicturetheRecipe.com look so yummy.
This Touchdown Taco Dip looks impressive but isn’t that hard to pull off.
Love these football cupcakes from The Baker Chick.
A healthier dessert alternative would be these Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Footballs from Christy at the From Glitter to Gumdrops blog.
Which idea would you make at your next football themed party? What are your ideas for hosting a football themed party?
I’ll share ideas for games and activities for your football party in my next post, so check back. Or, I have a lot more football and sports themed party ideas on my Sports Party Pinterest Board. Come follow me and get pinspired!
5 Fun, Easy Ways to Entertain Friends, Even If You Hate Entertaining
My husband and I love to entertain. We enjoying cooking, throwing parties, and spending time with our friends … both with and without kids. Entertaining gives us the motivation to clean up the house once in a blue moon, as well. But, every now and then we get frustrated because it seems like we never get invited to anyone else’s house. We finally asked some of our friends about it. Are we bad guests? Do we smell weird? Do we plug the toilet? Do we bring bad wine?
The majority of them told us, no (phew!), it was because they are intimidated about entertaining people at their house. They want to be hospitable and see friends more often, but they are afraid to invite anyone over. It means they have to clean and they don’t know how to cook a big, fancy meal. While we understand and emphathize with the sentiment, my husband and I need to get out of our house every now and then! We want to socialize with friends … in a different setting. I read all of the time that cocktail parties are popular again, people are coccooning and staying in more, and that intimate gatherings are all the social rage. Really? I also heard a comedian one time do a bit about how Americans spend an obscene amount of money on our houses and then never let anyone see them.
So, I have put together 5 fun and easy ideas on ways to entertain friends (ie. invite us over) at your house, without a lot of hassle. Before we get into the ideas, though, get over the fear of cleaning up your house. As long as there isn’t mold growing out of your guest bathroom toilet, your friends won’t judge you. They just want to spend time with you. Your other parent friends are incredibly forgiving. We have piles of toys, papers and other gear laying around our house just like you do. We are also sleep deprived so we don’t even notice what we are sitting on most days.
1. Soup Recipe Party - Make a soup. Your favorite, fail proof soup recipe. Or your Mom’s recipe. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Then, ask your friends to bring their favorite soup and to bring a copy of the recipe to share. Buy some French bread or corn bread as a side. Buy a ready made salad and some bottles of salad dressing. Throw it in a large bowl. Buy some styrofoam cups. Everyone can then use the styrofoam cups as their soup bowls to take a sample serving of each soup at the party. The styrofoam cups sit on a strong paper plate fairly nicely. Pass out the recipes to all guests. Viola! You have dinner served and you only had to make one soup. (You can also do this with chili. Everyone makes chili differently.)
2. Burger Bar - We have these burger bar parties all summer with our neighbors, friends, and family because it is easy. Get some ready made burger patties and buns. Then, buy some wild toppings and set them out on the counter so people can build their own burger. Pepper jack cheese, white cheddar, blue cheese, and smoked provolone are all good. Add bacon (buy ready made), grilled or raw onions, and even avocado slices. Then add sauces – BBQ, chipotle mayo, steak sauce, and salsa. See what you can find at your grocery store. The only cooking you’ll do is throwing the burgers on the grill. Buy some prepared cole slaw, chips, and brownies. You’re done. Low fuss but maximum impact. You’ll seem like a gourmet cook, when all you did was not burn the burgers.
3. Order In - When we have invited friends over and then were too tired to pull off cooking a big meal, we order in from a favorite restaurant. We usually provide the appetizer and dessert ourselves. You can buy some great prepared ones at Costco. Then, we order in the main meal. It’s less expensive than meeting friends at the restaurant because you’ll save money on the drinks, appetizers, and dessert. Nobody cares whether you cooked the meal or not. It’s all about the getting together.
4. Cocktail or Dessert Party – It’s easier to host a cocktail party or dessert party than to plan and cook a full dinner. So, invite people over after 7:30 p.m. for drinks and/or dessert. Bake a cake or a few different cookies, add coffee, and you’re done. Make or buy 3 or 4 different appetizers, whip up a pitcher of cosmos, and you have a cocktail party. Put out some small napkins and you’ll look like a pro. Prep time and clean-up for these parties is a lot easier than full dinners. It’s also easy to buy great tasting appetizers and desserts, if you don’t want to cook.
5. Parties. They’re not just for dinner anymore – - Host an afternoon tea party or cookie exchange. No dinner necessary, just some light snacks. Have a wine tasting party in the late evening and just provide cheese and crackers. Host a card party and provide nuts, pretzels, chex mix, and brownies on the tables. Invite another family over on Sunday afternoon for an ice cream sundae. Entertaining doesn’t always mean dinner, so be creative with your time and theme.
I hope these ideas have given you the confidence to go pick up the phone and invite someone over. Don’t forget about us. Have any other ideas on simple ways to entertain? We’d love to hear it.
A Most Unique Easter Centerpiece – A Cupcake Topiary
I have been collecting what I think are the best of the best Easter craft and recipe ideas to delight and have fun with your kids. I’ll kick things off with this Easter Cupcake Topiary created by Christy from the Girl Who Ate Everything blog.
Is it a recipe or is it a craft? It’s both! I just loved the idea for showing off your cupcakes in such a unique way. It’s THE perfect centerpiece for Easter or for an upcoming baby shower.
While I was checking out the recipes on her site, I found this recipe for Angry Bird Cake Pops. Now you can literally feed your obsession. I LOVE it! My kids were so psyched to see this! As she says in the post, it’s a little complicated to make so I’m just going to look at the picture and drool.
If you have a kid-friendly recipe or craft idea for Easter that you’d like us to share, please send it in! We’d love to feature your creativity and if you have a blog site, we’re happy to give a link back. If you can, take a second and vote for us in the Leading Moms in Business contest. It only takes a click!
Throw a Post Spring Break Kids Party
Now that Spring Break is over, are you feeling a little down in the dumps? Looking for a reason to organize a little family fun? Here’s a unique party idea that will be a big hit with adults and kids alike. Host a Post Spring Break Party. Invite family and friends over to see pictures and learn about everyone’s Spring Break travel fun. Or, if guests didn’t travel for Spring Break, this is the perfect opportunity to host a “Wish I Went on Spring Break” theme party. This party theme is a great way to entertain the kids and let the adults have some fun sharing or pretending, as well.
Get all of my ideas for food, decorations, games, and even goodie bag gifts in the Post Spring Break Family Party Plan I wrote for my friends at MemorableEntertaining.com. This is a free site, but you do need to register to access the party plans. While you are there, check out all of the kids’ party ideas I have contributed to this wonderful site with recipes, decorating and ideas to make your entertaining memorable. My friend Debra, the site founder, is THE Hostess with the Mostest!
Have fun!
How to Throw a Family Friendly Oscar Party
Looking for something a little different and very fun to do this weekend with the family? Why not host an Oscar Party? Whether you invite another family over to help celebrate or keep the fun to yourselves, read my Family Friendly Oscar Party Ideas over at Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA)’s blog.
So, which movie would get your vote for Best Animated Movie this year? Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, or The Illusionist? I’m sticking with dragons.
Would you rather skip the Oscars and just watch a movie? Then check out my video on how to make movie night more fun.
Valentine’s Day Treats for the Kids
There are some amazing recipes out there for Valentine’s Day treats for the kids. I went looking for the ones that would intrigue my kids (and me) the most. Make them ahead of time to surprise the kids when they come home from school on Valentine’s Day or you can prepare any of these recipes WITH the kids for even more fun on Valentine’s Day.
Sprinklebakes.com is a very cool baking site and I just love these flaming Chocolate Cupcakes. While she is pushing them as romantic, I would push them as worthy of amazing the kids. I would definitely keep the liquor and the flame out of the kids’ hands, but having them gaze upon a cupcake that is on fire would heat up Mom’s coolness factor. (Note: Although you need to add liquor to make the flame, the heat burns away the alcohol so kids can still eat it. Or, light some on fire but keep some liquor free cupcakes on the side to serve the kids after the “show.”)
This Box of Chocolates Cake from AmazingMoms.com is pretty cool as well.
Barbara Beery always has some fun and easy recipes for cooking with the kids. Check out her Kid-Friendly Valentine’s Day Chocolate Fondue and Heart-shaped Chocolate Chip Peppermint Scones. Yum to both!
Finally, if you want something healthier and non-chocolate, these Watermelon Heart treats from FamilyFun.com looked super yummy and easy.
What are your favorite treats to make the kids for Valentine’s Day. “>Please share.
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It’s National Chocolate Cake Day!
It’s National Chocolate Cake Day! Yippe! Yahoo! Hurray! I’m off to Portillos to grab a slice of Gina’s Soon To Be Famous Chocolate Cake to celebrate. See you there!
If you don’t live near a Portillos try this recipe for Molten Chocolate Cake, that we found over at the Pioneer Woman’s tasty kitchen site.
Start a Family Game Night Club
Here’s an idea for some family fun. Does your family like to play games? Do you know other “gaming” families? Why not start a Game Night Club? I have been trying to start a Gourmet Club with some friends in my area where we would get together every other month to cook, gnosh, and have fun over fabulous food. It would be a great excuse to actually start making those recipes I pull out of my food “porn” magazines. But it got me thinking about a Game Night Club as well. It would save you money since you wouldn’t be going out, you can include the kids so no sitter needed, and you can use the games you already have in your closet. Well, put like that, what are you waiting for?
Here’s how it would work:
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Find 2 or 3 other families to join and pick a consistent date to get together like the third Sunday of every month or the first Saturday of every quarter so that it is easier for people to keep their calendars clear. Consistency makes it easier to plan and creates anticipation.
Choose a host for the first Game Night. You can rotate houses going forward so you only have to clean your house every now and then. The host family provides drinks and a snack. Other families bring a snack to share, as well. Set up a kids game table and an adult game table, if you want, especially if you have big age gaps in the attendees where you need more age-appropriate games. You can also have several tables set up around the house with different games and adults and kids alike can travel from table to table as the games are completed. Try to make sure that no one is sitting out at any time. That leads to boredom which leads to unruliness which leads to a ruined evening. (You know I’m talking about the adults here, right?)
Get some prizes for the winners or inexpensive little trinkets for everyone to get in a festive mood. Candy bars, ribbons or medals, and small drink umbrellas seem to make everyone feel like a winner.
Finally, the host family gets to pick the games. Not everyone will like every game but that is part of the experience – trying new games or playing a game you never would have chosen yourself. When you host, it’s your choice. However, the guests do get some veto power. Anyone can ask to stop a game, but at least one or two others have to agree that the game is lame and then you can move on. Over time you’ll start to recognize the types of games that work well for the personalities and preferences of the group.
Most importantly, have a good time.
Stay tuned, on Friday, we are going to announce a Family Game Night Giveaway. It will be the perfect prize to get your Family Game Night Club started.
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Spice Up Family Game Night with Some Awesome Food
Spice Up Family Game Night with Some Awesome Food
To make your Family Game Night extra special, you need to add some great food. Really, that rule applies to anything but there are some special considerations for choosing the best Game Night food offerings. Are you eating dinner while playing or just looking for some snacks? Are you going to take breaks during game play to eat or gnosh while playing? If you are eating while playing, make sure your food offerings are easy to eat with your hands and are non-greasy. The last thing you want is to get grease stains all over the cards or have your favorite game smell like buffalo sauce for the next 12 years. If you are going to take a break between games to eat, then anything goes.
Here are some suggestions for spicing up your Game Night with the perfect food pairings.
Keep it Simple
If Family Game Night is on Friday after a long work week and you are just looking to unwind, keep it low maintenance by ordering in pizza, making chocolate chip cookie bars, or setting up an ice cream sundae bar. (Read my post on how to set up an awe-inspiring ice cream sundae bar.) Indulge in your favorite munchies like popcorn, Chex Mix, or movie theater style candy boxes. Grab some of those gourmet popcorn toppings to literally spice up your snacks.
If I am out and about on Game Night day I like to stop by my favorite Mexican restaurant and get some guacamole and chips and salsa to go. Nothing says Fiesta! like chips and salsa.
If you are inviting friends over, keep it simple by having everyone bring either a dessert or snack to share.
A Little Extra Effort
If you are feeling more inspired, try out some of those appetizer recipes you keep marking in food magazines and then never making. Game Night is the perfect excuse. Here are some recipes I’m dying to try:
Barbara Beery always offers some great kid-inspired and easy-to-make recipes. I’m dying to try these Popcorn Cupcakes for some baking fun with my kids. Check out her blog for other kid-friendly recipes.
Guy Fieri’s Ham & Swiss Pretzels look awesome and could count as dinner.
Rachel Ray’s Spicy Pigs in Blankets with Chimichurri Dip.
Finally, Giada’s Shrimp and Beef Skewers with Soy, Scallion Butter looked so delish.
Do you have a killer appetizer recipe that you always make when you are invited to a party where you need to bring a dish? It’s easy, everyone raves about it and asks for the recipe but you only get to make it once a year because NO ONE EVER INVITES YOU ANYWHERE! (Hint, hint people!) Well, Game Night is the perfect excuse to make it just for yourself. Here’s my “Go To” appetizer recipe that people always rave about.
Don’t Forget the Drinks
For the adults, have some beer in the fridge, make a pitcher of margaritas, or try out that new drink recipe you’ve been oogling. (See Rachel Ray’s site for some great drink recipes.) Don’t leave the kids out, though. Make non-alcoholic versions of the new drink recipes for the kids. Or, let them have a special drink they don’t normally get. My kids rarely get juice boxes or soda so Game Night is special to them because they can have these high-calorie drinks. Or, make homemade milk shakes. Always a kid pleaser.
What is your favorite recipe for Family Game Night? Please leave us a comment and share.
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Super Easy, Yummy Appetizer Recipe for Super Bowl Party
Have a “Go To” appetizer recipe that you make all the time because it’s easy, travels well, but most importantly is super tasty? I wanted to share mine because I think it would be perfect for any upcoming Super Bowl, Oscar, or “Winter Blah” Family Game Night Parties.
Goat Cheese and Spinach Pesto Spread
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2 cloves garlic
1 1/4 cups fresh basil
1 cup fresh spinach
1/4 cup fresh parsley
3 Tbsp. pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper
8 ounces fresh goat cheese, room temperature
1 3-oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1 jar (7 oz.) sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained, chopped
Crackers or french bread
To make the pesto: Place garlic in food processor fitted with metal blade and process to mince. Add basil, spinach, parsley and pine nuts and puree. Pour oil slowly into processor through feed tube with machine running. Process until combined. Add Parmesan cheese and combine. Add pepper to taste.
Mix goat cheese and cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer or with a hand mixer until smooth. Spread cheese mixture on bottom of 10-inch quiche pan or glass pie pan. Spread pesto on top. Sprinkle with chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Refrigerate, covered for 3 hours or until set. Serve with crackers (I prefer Rosemary crackers) or crostini.
Note: To make this recipe even easier, you can buy store bought pesto. But the flavor of this pesto as well as the deep green color provided by the spinach makes it worth the extra effort.
Prep time: 30 – 40 minutes
Chill time: 3 hours
Yield: 10 appetizer servings
Last Minute New Year’s Eve Ideas for the Family
Still not sure what to do today or tonight to celebrate New Year’s Eve with the kids? Here are some last minute suggestions to bring on the fun.
If you live in the Chicagoland area and have little kids, head on over to Make A Messterpiece today for their New Year’s Eve Kiddie Countdown Celebration. From 9 a.m – 1 p.m., they will be having all kinds of fun activities to help you and your little ones ring in the New Year with a mess. It’s $18 for the celebration this morning which includes all activities and a balloon drop at noon. Get dressed and head on over now. (more…)
Love to Entertain? Check Out MemorableEntertaining.com!
I love to entertain! Whether it is a small dinner party, a casual pizza party with the neighbors, a family celebration, or cool kids party, I love to plan, host and most importantly have some party fun. But I’m a busy Mom so although I want my party preparations to be memorable, I want them easy as well. I want to spend more time having fun at the party than planning it!
So, I was thrilled when my friend Debra Delaney-Kavalos announced that her fabulous site MemorableEntertaining.com was now free to all. I have had a subscription for her home entertaining site for over a year now and it is my Go-To source for ideas on recipes, party themes, or simple, but Wow! decorations. She has some wonderful recipe contributions from local and national chefs. I was excited when she asked me to submit some Kids’ Parties last year because it challenged me to come up with some unique ideas.
Head on over to MemorableEntertaining.com and register to become a user. It’s now a free resource site, but you do need to register. Then check out my Kids’ Sledding Party here.
Does the idea of entertaining at home make you break out in hives? Relax! Read my post on 5 Fun, Easy Ways to Entertain Friends, Even If You Are Afraid of Entertaining.
How to Choose the Perfect Kids Tea Set
There is nothing more fun than a tea party! Dressing up, pouring “tea”, serving cookies, and inviting your favorite friends – real or imaginary – is one of childhood’s greatest pleasures. At least, I think so! Even as an adult one of my favorite things to do is have tea with my BFFs.
If you know a little girl who would love to host her own tea party, then she needs a tea set. There are so many options and sometimes it’s hard to choose the right tea set for a child.
Tea sets come in a variety of materials, sizes and shapes. Porcelain, ceramic, tin, and plastic are the most common. While the first two are breakable, they are also more “dainty” or feminine in design which appeals to a lot of little girls. They are also more like “grown-up” tea sets and little girls definitely want their pretend play to be as realistic as possible. Here are some considerations to hopefully make it easier for you to choose the perfect set.
Toy vs. Heirloom
Here’s my take on this debate. I think buying a beautiful tea set that your daughter or granddaughter can keep as an heirloom to remind them of you is wonderful. However, if the child is young, don’t give it to them until they are older. Or, have Mom or Grandma keep the tea set and host special tea parties for the child when they are younger and then give them the set when they are older. It will be so much more special if they remember using it with you once they get it as their very own.
Giving a young girl a beautiful, expensive tea set that she can’t touch or play with is cruel. She either won’t be allowed to touch it, which then in their eyes they are denied something fun or they will play with it anyway and feel terrible if it does break. Make a tea set gift fun for them! It is the experience of having tea with you or their friends, that they will remember.
The Age Appropriate Myth
First, of all, how old is your tea party cutie? In general, the younger the child, the more durable the tea set should be. Younger kids may not be as dexterous and need a larger tea cup. Even though they have little fingers, it might be harder for them to grab tiny cups.
Most toys give an age appropriate guideline on the box. Keep in mind this is a guide. The manufacturer is afraid you are going to break it and accuse them of not warning you, so they err on the cautious side. You are going to have to gauge whether your daughter or granddaughter can handle a breakable tea set. My son is almost 11 years old but I cringe any time he goes near glass. After all, he is officially the sworn enemy to all snow globes. If he even looks at one, it breaks. My daughter on the other hand has had a ceramic and a porcelain tea set since she was 3 years old and hasn’t chipped or broken a cup yet. She treats her tea set like gold and is dexterous enough to handle it carefully.
So look at the age guidelines on the tea sets, which are usually set for a worst case scenario and make a judgment call on whether she can handle a more fragile set. What’s the worst case scenario? She breaks a cup and you need to buy a new one. I’d rather see my kids playing and enjoying their tea set than worrying about breaking it. If you find a tea set you love and are worried it might get broken, buy 2 sets. That way you always have a back-up and no one has to worry.
Size Does Matter
Tea sets come in different sizes. There are mini tea sets which really are more collectible items or doll-size so your dolls can pretend to have tea. Your child will not be able to drink out of these. We sell this Mini Crown Tea Set which is perfect for a doll tea party. If you are buying the tea set online, it should say the size in the product description. If not, don’t hesitate to email or call, to get a better sense of the size of the tea set.
Who’s invited to the party? Believe it or not, it’s hard to find kids’ porcelain tea sets that have 4 cups. Most only have 2. We only carry one porcelain set that has 4 cups. Our plastic and tin tea sets do include 4 cups so you might want to look at tea sets in other materials, if you need more than 2 cups.
You can always buy mismatched porcelain tea cups at estate sales, flea markets, or second hand stores to add more cups to your set. I know I needed to invite ALL of my stuffed animals to the tea party or they would get upset.
Drinkability
Here’s the million dollar question. Is your child going to drink out of the tea set? When your child is younger, they have no problem pretending. They don’t need liquid in the cup to have a good time. When your child hits 5 years old or older, they might want to be a little more “grown-up” and serve the tea at their party, drinking water, ginger ale, root beer, or juice out of the tea cups. It’s as much fun to pour as it is to drink. If that is the case, you need to make sure that the tea set is food safe, FDA-approved, and water resistant. If the set is plastic, make sure it meets all BPA, phthalate, and lead safety standards. Basically, it needs to be non-toxic. While a tin tea set may be non-toxic, once you add liquid to it some tea sets start to leak or rust.
If she wants to drink out of the tea set, look for a cup size that is at least 2” in diameter. You won’t get a lot of liquid in these cups, about 2 ounces, but it’s enough. The porcelain tea sets we sell at Chocolate Cake Club, like our Daisy Tea Set, fit this bill.
If you really want to put a “drink” in the cups, at least 4 ounces, then our Green Porcelain Tea Set or our Green Toys Eco-Friendly Tea Sets are a better bet.
I hope these considerations have helped you to choose the perfect kids tea set for your little girl’s first or next tea party. We’ll be adding a post on How to Host the Perfect Tea Party next week so come back for tips on how to make your kids’ tea parties even more fun and unique.
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Our Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Party Ideas on WGN TV
I was thrilled to be invited to WGN-TV today to share my ideas for a Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Party. Watch the video and let me know what you think. What do you normally do for New Year’s Eve? If you stay home with the kids, how do you celebrate?
For more information on my party ideas, check the write-up on the WGN site or my last blog post.
Include More than Just Family in Your Family Holiday Traditions
To make a holiday tradition more fun and memorable, don’t forget to “Make it a Party.” No one said that you have to limit family traditions to just family. Some of our favorite Holiday traditions involve our best friends or neighbors:
- Every Christmas, we have a gift exchange with some of our closest friends. It’s like Christmas Eve Lite.
- We always try to invite friends to our Holiday meals who might be home alone that year.
- We also meet our best friends every year for the Fourth Presbyterian Church Holiday Concert (http://www.fourthchurch.org/concerts.html#december)in downtown Chicago. We have gone for several years now and the kids love it. We head down to the Church for their Tower Brass concert and then walk around Michigan Ave. looking at the lights before grabbing dinner. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the season and experience the beauty of the city during the Holidays. (This year the concert is Dec. 18th at 5 p.m.)
- Our neighborhood had a tradition of having a house decorating contest with a snowman theme. Each house on our block tries to decorate with as many snowmen as possible. We would all meet for a party at a neighbor’s house. During the party the whole group would put on their coats and march around the block in the dark and the cold, voting on which house had the best snowman “spirit.” Try it with your neighbors this year and let the competition and laughter begin.
- Last year, one of the neighbors organized a Caroling party for some Holiday fun.
- Every year two friends and I meet up for a Girls Night Out Holiday Tea at a swanky hotel downtown. While we might not pull it off every year, it does get us talking and reminiscing during December, so we don’t lose touch. I look forward to the thought of Holiday Tea just as much as actually having it. (more…)
Thanksgiving Decoration Ideas for the Kids Table
On Thankgiving, did you ever have to sit at the Kids’ Table? I distinctly remember being banished to the dark, dank basement to eat with the other messy kids on major Holidays. I didn’t like it. So, I was thrilled when I saw TipJunkie.com’s post on Kids’s Table Decorating Ideas. Some of these ideas are so cute and creative!!!!! If our kids table had looked like this, I would still be sitting there as an adult.
So, get crafting and your kids are sure to be thankful that they aren’t eating in the dark, boring basement.
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7 Ways to Save Money on a Kids Birthday Party
Whether you fall into the camp that believes kids birthday parties are out of control and way to extravagant or not, here are some ideas on how to spend less on your child’s birthday party, so that you can spend that money on something else …. like taking the family to a show or a buying a puppy. (OK, maybe not that.)
1. A Scribble is Fine. I like a beautiful invitation as much as the next person but let’s face it, it’s going into the garbage as soon as the party date has passed. For adults, a party invitation sets the mood for the event. For kids, it just tells Mom when and where to bring her child. So, why not take one of your kids drawings, write the party particulars on the bottom, make copies, and call it a day. Or save even more money and a tree by sending an evite. Above you can see the invitation my daughter made for her Spa Birthday party.
2. Stand Up for the Cake. For every one of my kids’ birthday, I just make a chocolate cake and then put their toys on the top of the cake to decorate it. Plastic horses, fairies, Star War or Lego guys are all perfect to decorate a cake and make it fit the party “theme.” The kids think it is so cool to show off their favorite toys on the cake. The cake cost me $5.00.
3. More Does Not Equal Better. Limit the number of kids. Don’t feel like you need to invite every kid in your child’s class or on their sports team or who talked to your child at the playground. More does not equal better for either Mom or the birthday child. Too many kids is overwhelming for all. Only invite the number you are comfortable supervising. My rule of thumb is if I’ve never met the other child’s Mom, I am certainly not going to ask them to plunk $20 down for a gift for my kid. They aren’t invited. I certainly don’t like buying a gift for a kid I’ve never heard of, so why would they. “Stephen, who?”
4. Kill Two Birds With One Stone. (No birds were harmed in the creation of this tip.) Make sure one of your birthday party activities is also the take home favor for the party guests. If you tie dye T-shirts at the party, the T-shirt is their party favor. If you decorate pirate chests, the kids takes home a nice pirate chest. If you have a cookie decorating party, the kids take home a bunch of cookies. Don’t buy an extra goodie bag! You’re covered already.
5. Don’t feed the animals. If you plan your party time right, you don’t have to feed the guests a full meal. Plan your party from 2 – 4 p.m. and you only need to serve cake and some munchies. Don’t spend the money on pizza or hot dogs.
6. Reuse and Recycle. Use the games, toys, and activites you already have at home to entertain the kids at the party. Have a tent? Set it up in the backyard or the dining room and they’ll play for hours. Have a Wii? Host a Wii tournament. Have a karioke machine? Throw a Diva party. Have a lot of tea sets? Host a Teddy Bear tea party. Have a cool telescope? Stargazing party! Have a million loose Lego pieces? Throw a Lego Party where you just dump all of those miscellaneous pieces on a table and tell the kids to have at it. (Actually, this is a great goodie bag idea. Collect all of those extra Lego pieces laying around that you can’t match up with any kits and put them in a baggie to give out as party favors. The kids love it and you can walk on your carpet again.)
7. Treat Bags are for Landfills. I’m sorry but when my kids bring home one of those plastic bags filled with candy, pencils and plastic spider rings, they immediately go in the recycle bin. Moms, you don’t have to give anything – there is no rule or birthday fairy who punishes those without treat bags. Don’t waste your money. If you didn’t do an activity where the kids could take something home already (see #4) and you do want a parting gift, keep it low key. Just buy a big candy bar and tie a ribbon around it. Or go to Half Price Books, buy old comic books and hand those out. (This was a HUGE, HUGE hit at my son’s last party.) Or I like taking a photo of the guest with the birthday child and either having someone print it during the party to take home or send it to them in the thank you note. That is something that will get saved.
I hope these tips have helped you keep the kids birthday party budget from spirally out of control and convinced you to get a puppy. (Adopt don’t buy, and you’ll save even more money.)
Easy Ideas for Kids Birthday Parties at Home
Kids love their birthdays and especially look forward to their parties. Moms maybe not so much. But, no need to worry. Consider having a really cool, really fun party right at home with these easy to implement ideas. Not convinced? Read our 11 Reasons to Have Your Kid’s Birthday Party at Home.
While hosting a home birthday party requires some creative steps and some extra clean up, it can be affordable, completely unique and totally fun. The theme ideas are endless, such as outer space, bugs or even a party revolving around your child’s favorite color to provide even greater opportunities to make it a one-of-a-kind event. Who wouldn’t want a birthday party that is Tangled Up in Blue?
Our best advice? Get you child involved. They will be thrilled to have input into their own special party. And they are typically so creative that they may put things together that you may never have thought of. If they choose a unique combination of Sponge Bob and dinosaurs, why not? Nobody else will have that same party. Sometimes, the best ideas are the silliest.
We found this great idea over at Parenthood.com to get you in the creative mood.
A boy wanted to have a Surprise Party, where he was in on the surprise. The guests were the ones who were surprised. Their parents were in on the secret and the boys were picked up at their homes – unaware that they were being taken to a birthday party. When they arrived, confetti flew, balloons were released and the birthday boy yelled, “Surprise!” The theme then continued with guessing games, treasure hunts and food that all had an element of surprise.
Or, you may want to try a Teddy Bear Tea Party where 4-year-olds all bring a favorite teddy bear or stuffed animal from home and award each one prizes for the floppiest to the furriest to the most silly. The games, cake and the goody bags all can revolve around a stuffed animal theme. As an activity the kids can make party hats for their bears, set up the tea table to look fancy, and make cut out cookies using teddy bear cookie cutters.
For a tween or teen girl, host a Backyard Movie Party. Print or hand make tickets to give the guests, set up a popcorn or sundae bar with weird and cool toppings, and set up lawn chairs movie style or set up tents and let them watch the movie in their pajamas. The girls can play dress up games or karioke too. Give out awards for the best starlets or divas. Here’s more information on how to host a backyard movie party.
Finally, what about an Olympics Party? Set up your bocche ball, baggo game, and other stations around the yard to have the kids compete. Don’t be afraid to make the games completely silly. Make older kids race around in tricycles for some fun. Set up an obstacle course for little ones. Hand out medals to the winners. Here’s more information on How to Host an Olympics Party and Set Up Backyard Olympic Games.
I hope these ideas have inspired you and you’re ready to get planning. If you have any questions or need some additional ideas for games, give me a shout.
Fun Halloween Food Recipes
We love cooking with the kids as a way to spend some quality time together, creating “Chocolate Cake Moments.” This weekend, our goal is to try out some fun Halloween food to get in the spirit of the spooky Holiday and test out some recipes for our upcoming Halloween party posts. We’re also going to be putting our annual Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead shrine together. Check out my posts to learn more about Day of the Dead celebrations or How to Teach Your Kids About Day of the Dead?
On to the food!
TipJunkie.com had a great collection of Halloween food recipes that we are thinking of trying this weekend. I’m voting for the Parmesan Witch Brooms or the Banana Caterpillars.
It’s a big Cub and Boy Scout Camping Weekend so why not try these Halloween Owl S’mores from Living Locurto. They look yummy and easy!
Spiderweb pizza anyone? Gourmet Mom on the Go has an easy recipe.
Both of these sites have some great Halloween fun recipes and ideas so check them out and tell me about your favorite Halloween recipes.
How to Make Ghost Pretzel Halloween Treats
The kids and I are cooking up some Halloween treats this weekend. Last year we had great success making Pretzel Ghosts. It’s easy peasy!
1. Put some vanilla chips or almond bark in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Melt vanilla chips according to package directions.
3. Dip or roll the pretzel logs in the melted white goo and stand up to let the candy coating drip down a little.
Don’t eat them yet!
4. Either stand these up in a paper cup to dry or lay flat on a wax paper covered cookie sheet.
5. When dry, take black icing (not the gel kind!) and draw ghostly faces on your pretzels with a toothpick or other very small icing tip. You can use cinnamon hearts for noses or any other sprinkles that catch your fancy.
These look so cute all bunched together in a cup on the table. They are a perfect treat for a kids Halloween party.
Here’s a similar idea for Mummy Pretzel Treats.
Would you rather bake a Halloween cake instead? No problem, check out our Scary Rats Eating Cheese … Cake.
Celebrate! Today is the Most Popular Birthday
Happy Birthday! Did you know that today is the most popular birthdate in America? According to quite few sites, October 5th is the most popular day to have a baby. Why? It’s exactly 9 months after New Year’s Eve. So, I guess we are really celebrating the memory of two parties.
I don’t know about you but New Years Eve was never a “lucky” night for me. Even before we had kids we never really celebrated that much on New Years Eve. After we had kids, well, we can’t even stay up long enough to watch the ball drop. But cheers to the over 968,000 people who celebrate their birthday today and to over 12,500 new celebrants who are born each year!
Some other fun birthday facts:
- Among the ancient Greeks the big celebrations were for the birthdays of the gods. Only important family heads (men only) celebrated personal birthdays. The Greeks started the tradition of lighted candles on cakes. (Source: Ralph and Adelin Linton (1952). The Lore of Birthdays. New York: Henry Schuman)
- The modern children’s birthday party came from Germany (kinderfeste) in the early 19th century, an era when the individual person was seen as important and when childhood was “discovered” as a special stage of life. These celebrations then spread to the U.S.
(Source: Elizabeth H. Pleck (2000). Celebrating the Family: Ethnicity, Consumer Culture, and Family Rituals. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.)
In an article in the University of Illinois Liberal Arts & Science Alumni Magazine, Elizabeth Pleck, a family life historian, tells us this about birthday parties:
In the early 1800s, well-heeled Victorians seized on the notion of a children’s party as a way to showcase their wealth by simultaneously indulging their children and instructing them in etiquette. Even party games had a socializing function, such as teaching the boys how to lead in formal dance. Party gifts were from parents to child, and significantly, sometimes from child to the servants. The unmistakable intention of the party “was to teach children the manners they would need to assume their place of privilege in society.” Consequently, birthdays were large and extravagant, orchestrated by the mother, usually with the help of a sizable staff.
And we complain about how birthday parties are outrageous and extravagant these days! Which reminds me, have you heard about our Kids Birthday Party Entertainment Kits? We wanted to help busy Moms throw a stress-free birthday party for their kids at home, without losing their sanity and all for under $200! We’ve done the legwork to provide Moms with our pick for the easiest and most fun activities and goodies for a kids’ party. Each kit has everything Mom needs to throw a fun 2-hour party, including a Planning Guide with simple tips and ideas for decorations, additional games, and food. Check out our Pirate Birthday Party Entertainment Kit and Garden Party Entertainment Kits.
Watch the video of my appearance on WGN with more tips and ideas on How to Throw a Kids Birthday Party at Home for Under $200!
What is your favorite birthday party memory?
Choosing the Entertainment for a Kids Home Birthday Party
Did I convince you to host your child’s next birthday party at home with our post on 11 Reasons to Have Your Kid’s Birthday Party at Home? If so, you need to decide on how to keep these kids amused for 2 hours. The entertainment is THE most important part of the party. No, really. Kids could care less about how cool the decorations are. They don’t care that you followed Martha Stewart’s instructions to the letter … and it only took you 8 hours. (It is so sobering when you are feeling so proud of your crafting accomplishments and your kids say “What decorations?”) Save those cool decorations for an adult party where the guests will appreciate the time and effort you put in.
As for food, don’t stress about it. I like to make all kinds of themed party food because it amuses me. The kids don’t care. Kids like pizza. Or, they’d really prefer you skip the pizza and just serve extra cake. Make your life easy and give them what they want, if an elaborate, themed menu makes you break out into a cold sweat.
So how do you choose the entertainment for the party?
Depending on how much time, energy and money you want to invest, you could hire the talent, do the research and plan it yourself, or purchase a party entertainment kit.
1. Hire the entertainment. If you look in the back of your local Family Magazines, you’ll see hundreds of little ads for kids birthday party entertainment. You can find all kinds of fun options from magicians to reptile shows to science parties where things explode to music to tween spa treatments. You can hire a party planner who will do everything for you from the food and decorations to the entertainment. Obviously, that costs the most money but it’s stress-free for Mom. Or you can just hire someone to come in and do their “act.” There are a lot of birthday party entertainers out there, so I would suggest asking your friends who they recommend. If you and your child have already decided on a theme for the party then it makes it a little easier to narrow down the options.
However, don’t overlook thinking outside of the box for your birthday party entertainment. I know someone who just received her massage therapy license. Even though she isn’t a kids birthday entertainer, she was thrilled to go to a friends house and give shoulder massages during a kids party. I’ve been to another party where someone’s Dad is a carpenter and he was hired to show the boys how to build a birdhouse. (Obviously, the person you are asking to entertain the kids should be good with children. Don’t ask Uncle Phil who swears like a sailor. Even if he can make the coolest paper airplanes on the planet.) Call your local beauty school and see if they would send over some students to practice by giving some little girls “up-dos”.
2. Entertain them yourself. If you like to do a little research and plan out games and activities for parties (like I do) then knock yourself out. There are so many great party books or search online to find some terrific ideas on ways to have fun at a kids birthday party. Keep in mind that you’ll need probably 4 activities for a 2-hour party. Create an agenda to make it easier for you to see how much time to assign to each activity. If you are going to plan and run the entertainment yourself, definitely have at least one other adult helping you. There’s no way you can manage the activity, supervise the kids, get the next activity ready, and take pictures all by yourself.
3. Purchase a Kids Birthday Party Entertainment Kit. Wouldn’t it be great to purchase a kit that had everything you needed for a 2-hour party? That’s exactly why I created two, new Kids Birthday Party Entertainment Kits – Garden Party or Pirate Party – to make it easy for busy parents to throw a great kids party by providing everything you need to keep kids amused. For under $200, no less. Each kit has:
- invitations and thank you notes
- goodie bags
- a craft activity
- a game
- an additional activity like music for freeze dance or a cooking kit to make cookies
- a Party Planning Guide that I wrote that has simple tips on planning the party, food ideas, decorations, additional themed games, and party favors (worth it’s weight in gold, if I do say so myself)
In the Guide, I’ve even broken the party activities down into an agenda, so you know how much time to spend on each activity! I also give you enough ideas for other games so you can plug in the activities that appeal most to your child or age group, or to have as back-pocket, extra activities if needed. Pull all of the pieces out of the box, buy some snacks and you are done. It’s easy peasy.
There are other “Birthday Party in a Box” packages online but double check to see if they include activities or just the party decorations. Remember, the hard part is keeping these kids entertained!
If you need more inspiration or are looking for a different theme, check out the great birthday party games, craft activities, goodie bags, and favors we sell at ChocolateCakeClub.com. We’ve got great items for Slumber Parties, Halloween Parties, as well as Race Car, Train, Princess, and Fairy themes.
Have fun planning your party! What entertainment has worked best at your kids’ party?
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11 Reasons to Have Your Kid’s Birthday Party at Home
Kids love their birthdays and especially look forward to their parties with great anticipation. (As opposed to us adults who get cranky every time someone mentioned their impending birthday. What? I’m the only one?) However, you don’t need to spend a fortune at a birthday party mill where your kid is just a name on a party room door. Consider having a really cool, really fun party right at home. Here’s 11 reasons why we think you should host your child’s birthday party at home.
1. Your won’t just be a number on a party room door. I have been to so many birthday party places where the minimal staff only cares about getting you in and out of your party room on time and with no hassle to them. They don’t even bother to learn your kid’s name. It’s your kid’s big day! Don’t make it feel like you are being herded. Especially for the amount of money you just dropped.
2. Big impact, for less. Sure, you can spend $1,000 on a kids birthday party at home without even trying hard, (especially if you rent gold plates and a band), but you don’t have to. You can throw an awesome and more importantly memorable party in your house for under $200. Get a little creative, do a little homework, and concentrate on what matters to your kid – the activities, not the decorations.
3. It will force you to clean your house. Thank goodness we entertain often or our house would never get cleaned. A party forces you to pick up the clutter and purge. While it’s a little bit of work, everyone in the house will reap the benefits of clutter-free living. For a month. OK, a day. OK, maybe a few hours.
4. It will distinguish you as a superhero. Other Mother’s will envy your courage for allowing 10 kids into your home … at one time. At the end of the party you may be tired but you will be victorious. “They came. They played. They ate. They left in one piece.” Success! More importantly, when your child looks at you at the end of the day and says “Thanks Mom! I had fun at my party.” You’ll feel invincible.
5. Chance to get your Creativity on. If you’ve been hankering to do some of the cool craft or entertaining projects you’ve seen in magazines or online, this is your chance. Don’t be a party planning wannabe – exercise the noodle and have fun working on your child’s party. If your child is old enough, get them involved. Have them help you make invitations, cook the food, or decorate. It’s a nice way to spend time together and teach your kids party planning skills.
6. Make new friends. When you have a kids birthday party at your house, it’s nice to invite the parents to stay and not only help out (YES!) but also to socialize. I’ve met some great new friends at kids’ birthday parties. Parents seem more inclined to stay if the party is at a home, than in a party place. I guess since there are “workers” at the party places the parents don’t feel like they have to stay and supervise.
7. Kids like to show off their toys. What’s the first thing kids do when a new friend comes over. “Come look at my room!” “Come look at my toys!” “Come see the dead frog in the backyard we just found.” They love to show off their “stuff” and a birthday party is a perfect chance to show off to many.
8. Backyard, back-up plans. Have you been to a birthday party place and the activity or entertainment took a lot less time than you thought? One year, we had my daughter’s party at a Chocolate Shop. The kids made chocolate candy and treats. It was a big hit … for 30 minutes. I thought they would spend at least an hour making their treats. So, we were in a small party room with nothing to do for 30 minutes before the pizza arrived. Fortunately, I had some back up games, but this could have been a nightmare. If you need to kill time, it’s easier to do so at home. You can pull out a movie, send the kids to the basement to play with their toys, or go play on the swingset in the backyard.
9. It’s more memorable. Think back. Which parties do you remember the most? I remember the ones my parent’s threw for me at home. I asked my kids which parties they’ve liked the best and they chose the ones we had at home. Why? They stand out more. They are unique. Kids get tired of going to the same places all the time for their friend’s birthday parties. It got to the point where my kids were turning down invitations depending on where the party was to be held. “Chuck E. Cheese, again? No thanks!” “Pump It Up? Been there, done that.” Wow! How bored do these kids have to be before they start turning down free candy and cake?
10. Not tied to the most popular party themes. Maybe your child doesn’t want a princess/ pirate/ racecar/ fairy party. Most party places and entertainers offer what’s most popular, understandably. However, if your child loves cowboys or owls or puppets or making sushi, you might not be able to find that kind of party pre-made at one of the party places. Host it at home and use your creativity to throw a totally unique party.
11. You waited too long and everything decent is booked. I can’t be the only one this has happened to, can I?
Hey, I’m a busy Mom. I understand that some years you are just not going to have the time to plan and throw your child’s birthday party at home. Or your son is just dying to play Laser Tag. No problem. Have the party at a party place and make your life less stressful. However, I strongly believe that you should throw some of these parties at home to shake up the variety and create stronger memories for you and your child.
We offer Kids Birthday Party Entertainment Kits that make it easy for Moms to throw a super-duper, memorable birthday party for their kids at home, without losing their sanity and for under $200. Check them out. We’re adding more themes as we go and we are going to be sharing Kids Birthday Party Ideas for the next few weeks on the blog.
You might also like these videos …
Tips for Planning a Kids Birthday Party at Home for Under $200
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Tips for Planning a Kids Birthday Party at Home for Under $200
I was a guest on WGN TV Chicago yesterday, sharing tips on how to throw a fun, unique kids birthday party at home without losing your sanity and best yet, for under $200! Watch the video and see if you can figure out which kids are mine.
Click to see the Kids Pirate Birthday Party Entertainment Kit featured in the segment as well as all of our great kids birthday party goodie bags, games and activities.
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Throw a Kids Birthday Party at Home for Under $200
Moms, are you tired of generic birthday parties for your kids at the birthday party mills? You know, the ones where your kid is just a name on a room door and you need to be out in 90 minutes? Want to do something different and more memorable this year? Well, check out this video.
I was on NBC Chicago News last weekend talking about how busy parents can throw a fun, unique birthday party for their kids, at home and without losing their sanity. Oh, and all for under $200! Watch the video and let me know what you think.
We’re kicking off a series on hosting kids birthday parties at home so check back often as we share tips and ideas on how to host a super fun party including planning, food ideas, decorations, special needs party ideas, and fun games and activities.
Day #20 30 Day Summer Fun Challenge: Family Slumber Party
Slumber parties are a blast but why should just the girls have all the fun? Throw a family slumber party where Mom, Dad, sis, bro, and the various pets in the family get to experience the late night bonding. It’s a great and inexpensive way to have fun on a Friday Night and you can also “test” out recipes, games, and movies for a future slumber party that the kids want to have with their friends. It’s very funny to see Dad and brother playing “girlie” games, too.
Here are some suggested activities for your family Slumber Party:
Attire:
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Mix and match pajamas. Everyone should wear pajamas for their slumber party but wouldn’t it be funny if you wore each other’s pajamas? Your kids would find it hilarious to wear Mom and Dad’s large pajama pieces or see Dad trying to wear Jr.’s slippers for the evening.
Games/ Activities:
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Conversation Games- Play a conversation game to get things rolling, like our Truth or Dare or Slumber Party Conversation Games. So, Dad, who was the first girl you ever kissed? Hmm? “What do you mean it wasn’t Mom!?!”
Flashlight Board Game – Pick your favorite board game and play by flashlight or candlelight to make it a little more spooky or special.
Spin the Nail Polish Bottle – If the boys in the family are up for it, this makes a hilarious game. Take several colors of nail polish and place the bottles in the center of the group. One person picks a bottle and spins. Whoever it points at has to paint one of their toe nails that color. Keep going until you have a rainbow of colors on your feet.
Pillowfight – You can’t have a slumber party without a pillow fight. Your little kids will love it. Keep the fighting away from the big screen TV or Dad will be mad.
Custom Made Pillowcase – Even if you aren’t a crafty family or have any artists in the house, it’s fun to make a “You Are Loved” pillowcase for another family member. Pick up some pillowcases and some fabric markers at a craft store. Put everyone’s name in a hat and each of you will pick a name. Now use your pillowy canvas to draw or describe why you love that person. (We do something similar as dinner time conversation when we are having bad days to booster everyone’s spirits. I thought it would be fun to take it a step further and remind a family member why you love them. They’ll be smiling every time they sleep with that pillowcase.
Movies:
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Sleepiest View in the House – Have everyone lay out their sleeping bags on the floor to watch a movie together. Or, if your family room couch is a pull-out bed, pull the bed out and have everyone pile on to watch together.
What to Watch? – The movie you watch depends on the age of your kids or your family’s interest. If your kids are older, you can watch scary movies. If your kids are younger, Monsters Inc. is a great slumber party movie. For a “Girlie” movie – Princess Diaries 2 is a good choice because there’s a slumber party scene.
Home Movies. – Don’t forget that you can watch family movies as well. Our kids still love watching the video of our wedding.
Food:
Popcorn, ice cream sundaes and chocolate fondue are our top picks for a slumber party.
Here’s our recipe for Chocolate Fondue:
-
2 lb. of your favorite milk chocolate bars (we like Ghiradelli’s)
8 oz. dark chocolate bar
1 1/2 cup heavy cream (can use half and half for less calories)
2 Tbsp. vanilla
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Break the candy bars into pieces and place in your fondue or hot pot. Turn to a low setting. Add cream and stir constantly until chocolate is melted and smooth. If you are melting this on a stove top, don’t walk away or the chocolate will boil and be ruined. Add the vanilla right before serving. Then dip away! (Serves 12)
- Hazelnut or almond biscotti (more for the adults)
- Salted pretzel sticks
- Cubed pound cake
- Sliced bananas
- Stem strawberries
- Large marshmallows
For dipping:
Send us photos of your family slumber party. We’d love to see them.
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Day #19 30 Day Summer Fun Challenge: Neighborhood Firepit Party
It’s Friday Night, you don’t have any plans, no babysitter, and you’re sick of movie night. It’s the perfect opportunity to host a Neighborhood Firepit Party. It’s a simple, fun, and easy way to be sociable and amuse the kids, no matter what age.
Our neighborhood is pretty friendly so if you build a firepit, they will come. Before it gets dark, we put the firepit out on the driveway, set up some chairs around the fire and that’s all the invitation the neighbors need. If that won’t work in your neighborhood, type up a quick flyer and have the kids hand it out to the neighbors or spread the word as you walk the dog around the block.
Tell everyone to bring their own drinks and bring some munchies to share. If you start planning earlier in the morning or the day before, people might have time to whip up something, otherwise I love seeing what people have in their fridge or pantry to share at a moment’s notice. Run to the corner store and buy supplies for s’mores. Tell the odd numbered houses to bring the appetizers and the even numbered houses to bring dessert. Our “go to” dish to bring – Guacamole and Chips. We keep our favorite guacamole in the freezer and can thaw it out for any occasion. Costco has some good pre-made guac.
When you have little kids, these parties are great because everyone will keep an eye on the kids. Or the bigger kids in the neighborhood will take them in hand and run some games. Sweet! You can go inside and put them to bed when needed.
The older kids can run around playing hide ‘n seek, ghost in the graveyard, or get a flashlight flag football game going. Set up a tent and let the kids play in the tent. Get out the baggo, bocce or Super Parachute Party Game. If there is a big sporting event on that evening, bring a radio or TV outside. We’ve got a large telescope so it’s fun to bring that out and let the kids take turns looking at the moon.
I love to do these parties right before school starts. The parents talk about who got which teacher, who’s going to be at the bus stop, and what to look forward to this school year. If your child is going into kindergarten, it’s a perfect time to pair him or her up with an older kid to help them on the bus.
Tell us about your neighborhood parties or your “go to” dish.
How to Throw a Funny Baby Shower
April Showers Bring Funny Baby Showers
Do you have a love/ hate relationship with Baby Showers? Sure, it’s wonderful to celebrate a new life coming into the world and a major life change for one of your friends or family members, but they can also be mind-numbingly boring. In my easily-bored opinion, there needs to be more entertainment and laughter at these events. Eating finger sandwiches and watching M2B (Mom-to-Be) open yet another onesie gift is not cool for anyone. The best way to show your love and support is to show the guest of honor a good time. She’s feeling large, overwhelmed, scared, and puffy. (It’s not the itching and the scratching, but the chafing that gets you cranky.)
So, how do you throw a Baby Shower that will have everyone in smiles? We have some fun ideas on how to make it a memorable occasion for Mom-to-Be and all of the attendees.
Games:
They have some very funny games at www.BabyShowerStuff.com.
In addition, they listed some of these games to play on their site:
Baby Limbo: Strap a pillow around your waist and see who can bend the farthest (not recommended for mom to be)
Bottles Up: Especially if you are throwing a couples shower, fill some baby bottles up with beer, and see whcih guy can “suck” the fastest. Women can certainly play too or use tropical fruit juice.
My Water Broke: Hand out an ice cube to each couple and let them use their imagination to see how fast they can get their water to “break.”
At my baby shower, we played Name The Baby Food. The hostess bought a bunch of baby food jars and took the labels off. Everyone had to guess what was in them. Let me tell you how hard it is to guess whether the green mush is peas or green beans. Loser has to eat the food. (Some of it is not bad!)
If you like conversation games, we sell this Box Girls’ Mini Baby Shower Box of Questions Game. The questions will have you laughing and doubting your friend’s parenting abilities.
Design Your Own Baby: Have the guests split into teams and give each 3 baby magazines, scissors, glue and paper. Have them cut out pieces of different baby qualities and put together a picture of what they think the Mother-To-Be’s baby will look like. Have the Mother-To-Be pick which baby would possibly look like hers the best! Give prizes to the winning team! One of the top baby shower games! Of course, you can make this “collage” very funny depending on which pictures you use and how you “put” the baby together on paper.
Pin the Sperm on the Egg Game is pretty darn funny.
If you are going to sit and watch the M2B open gifts, get her something funny to lighten the mood. Here are some of the gifts we sell that not only get people smiling, but also get a lot of “oohs” and “aahs”.
Mommy Needs Sleep Sleep Shirt
Beep Beep Car Seat Cover
Little Monster Hooded Bath Towel
Note: This has nothing to do with funny but I liked them. If you are in a crafty mood, these baby shower favors from DesignerGirl007, are wonderful.
Have any tips on how to make a Baby Shower more fun? Tell us. We’d love to hear some new ideas.
Weekend Family Fun: Oscar Party!
We interupt our Spring Break Family Travel Tips series to throw out an idea for Family Fun this weekend. Going to watch the Oscars this weekend with the kids? Why not make it a party or add more fun to the evening? Celebrate with your kids or invite some friends or neighbors over for some star-studded fun.
Sit and Score
Don’t want to have a party but don’t want to sit like lumps on the couch either? Try some Oscar themed games! A lovely site I just discovered called How About Orange has an Oscar Bingo card that you can download to play. You can also keep score with this beautifully designed Oscar Ballot from Twig & Thistle. Download it for free and thank Kathleen on her site for making it available to us family fun lovers.
Get Up, Get Ready
If you have little kids they probably aren’t that excited since they haven’t seen most of the movies and might have to go to bed early. But you can still celebrate a little earlier in the evening by watching Pixar’s Up movie, which has been nominated for Best Picture.
Puttin’ on the Ritz
Don’t let the stars on the Red Carpte have all the fun! Your kids will love getting all glammed up to watch the telecast. Put some make-up on your little girls and they’ll be thrilled. Have your son be the photographer. Give him an inexpensive instant camera or flip camera and he can film the “stars” during your party.
Eat, Decorate, and Be Merry
As I mentioned earlier in the post, the beautiful Twig and Thistle site has some free downloads to make invitations, popcorn bags, and candy bags for your family and guests. The kids would love making these beautiful, inexpensive party pieces with you.
Then, check out these Oscar Statuette Cookies. Bakerella has come up with an incredibly clever Oscar themed cookie. While there is no chocolate involved, I think eating one would be a Chocolate Cake Moment.
If you are in the mood for a casual party, Celebrations.com has a variety of party themes to throw the perfect Oscar Party. You’ll find games, menus, and decorating ideas. Personally, I like their vintage Oscar party theme.
Finally, every time I have a party now I head over to MemorableEntertaining.com for some great party menus. It is a subscription site but if you love to entertain, as I do, you’ll find some incredible menus that are simple, tasty and memorable. It’s well worth the annual fee. They do offer a lot of free information on the site so don’t be afraid to explore. Debra, the hostess with the mostest, who creates the menus and entertaining tips is amazing at creating impressive centerpieces that are super easy. Why not have some fun with your daughter this weekend, and make one?
I hope these fun ideas have inspired you to spice up the way you watch the Oscars with your family Sunday night. Roll the fun …
Send us some photos of your party, we’d love to post them and share.
Don’t forget to enter our Spring Break Kids Travel Gear Giveaway. Click here to win $120 worth of must-have kids travel essentials and have a blast on your Spring Break trip.
How to Celebrate the Olympic Winter Games with Your Kids
Tomorrow night is a big night for my son and I. The winter games start and The Lightening Thief is out in theaters. Hmm. Thank goodness for the DVR. We’ll have to tape the opening ceremony and go munch popcorn at the movies. I’ll write about the movie after we go see it opening night. In the meantime, Let the Games Begin!
My kids love the Olympics and since my son is a huge Shaun White fan, I’ve been looking for little things to do to get them excited about the event. My son has been playing Mario vs. Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games on the Wii. He has also logged in some good time playing Wii Ski with his friends. He wants to wear his Shaun White T-shirt every other day so I’m logging in some extra laundry time.
My daughter on the other hand, enjoys playing the games at the Official Winter Games site for kids. She loves the little mascot characters.
She Sparkles had some great ideas about how to celebrate the Winter Olympic Games with your kids.
Brian Boitano, the ex- Olympic ice skater and now Food Network host, created some good party ideas for kids.
You can even make your own Olympic Torch so the kids can reenact the passing of the torch by running around the house or the neighborhood. Seriously kids, go run outside!
I tried to get the kids to do their chores Olympic-style, with medals for the fastest dish clearer, the best technique in bed making, or the fastest dismount from their bed in the morning. They didn’t go for it.
What I really like about sharing the Olympics with my kids is the idea of perserverence and the desire to work hard at something. With such short attention spans these days and so much flash and entertainment bombarding us constantly, it is hard to get our kids to see the value in working hard at something. So many things come easy to them and there are so many tools out there to make life easier. While Iim all about making life easier, being able to focus on one thing that they love and strive to be the best at it is a valuable life skill and I like to use the Olympics as a focal point for that discussion. So as we watch the stories of the athletes on TV and all that they went through to make it to the games, I’m hoping the messages are sinking into their brains.
Other than that, my husband and I are going to watch the nightly Stephen Colbert coverage of the Winter Olympics and his sponsored Speed Skating team.
Are you kids into the Winter Olympic Games? How do you celebrate?
Kid-Friendly Homemade Pizza Recipe
We promised to share our killer Homemade Pizza Recipe so you and your family can make pizza for some Friday Night Family Fun or host a Pizza Party. If you have a standing mixer, the dough is super easy to make. If not, it just takes a little muscle power to knead the dough. We love crispy crust so for this recipe we use a pizza stone. You could certainly use this dough in a pizza pan as well, but you’ll have to watch to see when it’s done. The dough comes out a little softer in a pan.
Warning: This is one of those family tradition recipes that isn’t really writen down but we have developed over several years of practice. I’ve tried to write it as exact as I can, but you might just need to eyeball some things and add your own touch.
Pizza Dough:
3 cups flour
1 pkg. yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp. corn meal, extra corn meal for rolling dough
Pizza Sauce:
1 16 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
2-3 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. onion salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried basil
Cheeses:
1 lb. low-fat Mozzarella cheese
1 lb. Mexican Chihuahua cheese
Parmesan cheese
Note: Since low-fat Mozzarella cheese has lost it’s flavor and doesn’t brown nicely, we mix it with Mexican Chihuahua cheese. The Chihuahua cheese melts nicer, is a little saltier, and browns up great! If you can’t find it, mix in whole milk Mozzarella or just use the low-fat Mozzarella. It will taste good, just not brown up as nicely.
1. Dissolve package of yeast in warm water in a small bowl. Mix well.
2. In a large bowl or standing mixer bowl, add all of the dry ingredients and mix well.
3. Make an island in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg, yeast and vegetable oil. Knead dough thoroughly with a standing mixer or your hands. (Use the bread hook attachment on your standing mixer and this is a breeze. You can turn it on and walk away. However, don’t overknead the dough. 3 – 4 minutes is all that is needed.)
4. Let the dough rise in the bowl for at least 10 minutes or set aside if you are going to make a double batch. Put pizza stone in the oven, sprinkle a little corn meal on the stone, and heat to 500 degrees. (The hotter the stone, the crispier the crust. Don’t be afraid to let it really heat up.)
5. Divide the dough into 3-5 balls to make individual pizzas. We can usually get 2 or 3 adult-size 12″ pizzas and 2 smaller 9″ kids-sized out of one batch of dough.
6. Sprinkle some flour on your rolling pin and sprinkle corn meal on a flat surface. Roll out the dough as thin as you like into a circle (or as close to a circle as you can get.) The dough will snap back a little when you go to pick it up and move it. That’s OK but if it snaps back too much, you need to roll it out a little more and make the dough less elastic.
7. Place the circle of dough on a pizza paddle or a large cutting board that has been sprinkled with corn meal. Before you start putting the toppings on, gently shake it back and forth to make sure that the dough isn’t sticking and will easily slide off.
8. Spoon on the tomato sauce, use as much as you like. Add the toppings and cheese. Sprinkle a little parmesan on at the last minute and slide the pizza into the oven on the stone.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes or when the cheese turns golden. Mangia!
Here are our favorite Pizza Topping Ideas:
My son: Sausage
My husband: Sausage, mushroom, onion and green pepper
My daughter: Cheese, please
Me: Goat cheese, sliced fresh basil, plum tomatoes, freshly shaved parmesan
If you are looking for something a little more exotic, we also like:
Taco Pizza – taco seasoned ground beef, tomato sauce or taco sauce, monterey jack and cheddar cheeses, (after baking garnish with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, sour cream, and crushed Doritos)
Hawaiian Pizza – canadian bacon and pineapple tidbits
Swiss and Onion Pizza – This is a great appetizer. Carmelize onions. Brush pizza crust with rosemary flavored olive oil, put slices of swiss cheese and carmelized onions on top. Yummy!
What are some of your favorite pizza toppings?
You Might Also Like:
How to Throw a Family Pizza Party
New Year’s Eve Party Ideas for the Family
Looking to ring in 2010 with some fun for your family? Personally, I prefer to go to bed early and sleep in on New Year’s Day to recover from the Holiday season. My kids however, do like the idea of celebrating the arrival of the new year. So, party on we must. Since the crowds are a bit much on New Year’s Eve and I’m usually running on empty, I’ve put together some fun and yet low-key ideas for staying home and celebrating in your family room with the kids.
GENERAL TIPS:
Keep it low-key. You don’t need to go crazy cleaning the house, buying party favors, and cooking to have a fun New Year’s celebration. Read on to see how you can make the food preparation be the evening’s entertainment, keep the decorations easy, and add some inexpensive noise makers. Even if you just end up watching the countdown shows on TV with the kids, they’ll appreciate it.
Make it a party. Definitely invite neighbors, family and friends with kids about the same age over to help celebrate. This keeps everyone off of the road, you can all watch the kids together, and it saves on babysitter money. But keep it casual and easy. Have everyone bring a dish to share. Start the party later so you don’t need to cook dinner, just have snacks and desserts. Invite the kids to come over in their pajamas so it’s casual, and parents won’t have to change their kids’ clothes if they fall asleep before going home.
Time is all relative. Even if you have small children, you can still have fun together as a family to ring in the new decade. Here’s a trick if you have small children who might not make it to midnight. Change the clocks in the house so that “midnight” hits around 9 or 10 p.m. The kids will feel like they got to stay up and celebrate and you will still be able to put them to bed at a decent time. Or have the kids at the party bring sleeping bags so they can go to sleep while the parents still stay up and party a little more.
DECORATIONS:
Decorate a New Year’s Tree
We loved this idea from a Mom who wrote it in to familyfun.com. She had her children help her take the ornaments off the Christmas tree so that they could make a “New Year’s tree.” They took all of the Christmas ornaments off of the tree but left the lights on. They then added curled ribbon, party horns, balloons — basically everything needed for a New Year’s Eve party for the children. What a fun and festive idea and you get a second use out of your Christmas tree! If you are planning on having people over to help celebrate New Year’s Eve, this is a perfect idea on how to decorate.
Pop in the Fun
Kids love noise makers on New Year’s Eve. You can grab some at your local Dollar Store or another idea is to buy a roll of large bubble wrap. Give each kid a piece and let them “Pop it Up” at midnight while the adults pop open the champagne. Skip any confetti or streamers unless you want to spend the next day cleaning. Remember, we said keep it simple.
MAKING TOASTS:
Make a non-alcoholic punch and serve it to the kids in your good champagne glasses or for younger kids get some plastic ones. This makes them feel grown up. If you are really dragging after the Holidays or if you had to work all day, some non-alcoholic punch for the grown ups is good, too. Sparkling grape juice is always good kids to make a toast, as well.
ACTIVITIES:
Pizza Party
Why not have fun cooking together and sharing some laughs in the kitchen by making homemade pizza? Start the new year off with something truly new by trying some unusual pizza toppings. Who knows? It may become a new family favorite. If you have a killer pizza recipe and a pizza stone, you are good to go. If not, we sell a Kids Pizza Making Kit to help with a recipe and the necessary utensils. If you want to cook but are intimidated by making the dough, buy some Boboli pizza crusts and add the toppings or use the Pillsbury Pizza Crust and a cookie sheet. Some fun topping ideas:
- Taco pizza – This pizza is huge hit with my husband and his family. It’s basically taco meat, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, taco sauce, sour cream, and crushed Doritos. Here’s a highly rated recipe for Taco Pizza I found online.
- Hawaiian pizza – pineapple bits and Canadian bacon
- Goat cheese, plum tomatoes, pesto, and sundried tomatoes (believe it or not, my 7 year old daughter likes this)
- Candy pizza – why not? Let the kids add some candy to the pizza for some sweetness. See if anyone likes it. Or melt some chocolate chips and spread it on the pizza dough. Then add white chocolate chips as the “cheese” or tiny marshmallows.
Game Night
Get out the new games that your kids got for Christmas or Hanukkah and play. Give out prizes for the winners. We like movie theater size candy for prizes. Click here for more ideas on planning a Family Game Night.
Record the Year for Posterity
Why not spend the evening capturing your favorite moments of the last year in a scrapbook? Print out some of the best photos of the year and everyone can work together to make a scrapbook of 2009’s family fun. Gather photos, postcards, and travel mementos to use on the pages. By involving the whole family in making the pages, maybe that scrapbook will actually get done instead of having your photos sit in a box or on the computer. While you are scrapbooking, you can talk about things you want to do or places you want to go as a family in 2010.
Dance Party
You don’t have to go to a club to hear the latest bands and dance on New Years. Turn the New Year’s countdowns on the TV and let the kids dance along to the featured bands. Or set up an area in the house as a dance floor and spin the tunes. Create a playlist of the top dance hits of 2009 and groove those holiday feeding-frenzy calories away.
Whatever you decide to do, have a safe and wonderful New Year’s Eve with your family. We look forward to sharing more Family Fun ideas with you in 2010 so we can all have more Chocolate Cake Moments.
Last Minute Kids Halloween Party Activities
Hosting a Halloween party can be great fun for you and your children and their friends. Looking for some last minute activities to keep the little goblins and ghouls entertained? We’ve got your back. Here are a few of our favorite activities for kids ages 2 to 12. As the good party host knows, you need to have a few tricks up your sleeve, especially when children are involved.
Pin the Stem on the Pumpkin – Similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey, cut out a large pumpkin out of oversized orange construction paper. You could also draw one on a 3M Sticky White Pad, like we use at work for meetings, and that way it will stick the wall by itself. Cut stems out of green construction paper and write each child’s name on the back so you know who’s closest. Use a bandana or scarf as a blindfold, turn each child around 3 times and let them at the pumpkin. Whoever sticks the stem closest to the correct spot wins a prize. (Suitable for ages 2-6 years old.)
Spooky Glow in the Dark T-shirts – Head over to the craft store and grab some black T-shirts and glow in the dark paint tubes for the party guests. Let them draw and create a luminous masterpiece. Make sure you do this activity early on in the party so the paint has a chance to dry. Kids will have fun taking turns in the bathroom with the lights out, checking their spooky designs. (Suitable for ages 5 and up).
Catch the Donut Game – We prefer this game to bobbing for apples since there is less mess and no one ruins their costume or makeup with splashing water. Tie a string or yarn around some cider donuts and then hang them from the ceiling, spaced about 2-3 feet apart. (If you can’t hang them from the ceiling, you can tie the donuts to a broomstick and have two volunteers stand on chairs to hold the stick up.) The first child to eat the whole donut without using their hands wins. Note: Don’t use donuts with powdered sugar or heavy amounts of sugar coating. You’ll just create a mess on the floor and on the kid’s costumes, which as we have said is no good. Really, it’s no good. (Suitable for kids ages 5-12 years old)
If you have some other ideas up your sleeve, please, do share. Have fun at your party! Happy Halloween with your family.
Halloween Crafting Fun this Weekend
Looking for some inspiration on Halloween crafts or activities to have fun with the kids this weekend? We’ve got a few ideas for you. First, how about making some mummies?
Halloween Decorations
Mummy vase Halloween decoration
Cut some muslin cloth (or an old white pillowcase) into 1” strips and wrap it around objects in your house to make them look like a mummies. Use double sided tape to secure the ends. Vases, tall candlesticks, and plant bases are all great objects to wrap. Have the kids add googly eyes or draw eyes with a marker and it’s a wrap! (Corny yes, but made you smile.)
You can also cut a mask out of black construction paper, attach a string or elastic thread to the two sides and tie it around a pillar candle to make it look like there are bandits or evil spirits in the house.
Decorate a Witches Hat
Think Bling, yo! Check the discount or craft stores for some inexpensive witches hats or make them out of black construction paper. We like these instructions on how to make a witches hat, if you want to do it yourself. For little kids, give them neon markers and foam sticky shapes to decorate and customize their hat. For older kids, give them glitter, feathers, jewels, pom pom balls, and beads. (Actually whatever you can find between the couch cushions would be good as well. Cleaning and decorating, bonus!) This is a great activity and party favor to take home if you are throwing a kids Halloween party.
Hairy Spider
Here’s a cool idea from our Cub Scout Master for a Hairy Spider. Take a Black Knee High and fill it will potting soil and grass seed. Tie the end to make as close to a ball shape as you can. Glue on some googly eyes and stick in pipe cleaners for legs and antennas. Place your spider on a pie tin or glass dish, water it, set in sun and eventually you’ll have a Hairy Spider. Start this weekend and you might have some “hair” by Halloween.
Sock Skeleton
This skeleton is so cute! Robert Mahar from the Junior Society Blog was recently on the Martha Stewart show demonstrating how to make this very funny skeleton out of an old athletic sock. You can download the template and watch the video on the Martha Stewart site. My daughter and I will be attempting to make one this weekend.
Do you have any ideas for some fun family Halloween activities?
How To Throw a Memorable Family Party
Are you hosting Thanksgiving for your family this year? Planning a Holiday Party for the Neighbors? Looking to throw the ultimate Kids Halloween Party? Do you dream of hosting the party that sets the bar for all family parties to come? (Am I the only one who wants to go down in family lore as the best Thanksgiving hostess?) Well, if you are throwing some parties this year, and I hope you are, we have the ultimate resource for you. MemorableEntertaining.com is a wonderful membership site for those who are passionate about creating memorable occasions.
Debra Kavalos-Delaney is the publisher and boy, does she help make entertaining easy and memorable for busy people like me. I love to entertain but the Holiday season is such a chaotic time with my e-tail business, the kids schedules, and work/ family commitments. I still entertain but find that I don’t have enough time to really plan things out and try new recipes or decorating ideas. In a pinch, I just fall back on the same old same old, which leaves me feeling unsatisfied as a hostess with the mostest.
After cruising around the Memorable Entertaining site, I found all of the inspiration that I need to add some more pizazz to my entertaining. And, it saved me time by having everything planned out for me. Signing up and joining her membership site is better than buying more magazines, or trying to dig through your piles of cookbooks for inspiration. Simply go to the site, pick your theme, and all the information you need is at your fingertips. Even better than the magazines, she has plenty of videos on how to create the ultimate tablescapes, recipes, theme party ideas, and more. The site is a lifesaver.
There is plenty of “How To” information and inspiring ideas on everything from how to stock your bar, to creating unique invitations, to finding the best mood music, recipes, and even party games. I was thrilled when Debra asked me to create a Kids Halloween Party for the site. I had so much fun with my kids coming up with ideas on memorable invitations, decorations, activities, recipes, and party goodie bags. Definitely check out how to make Scarrots!
There are a lot of great free resources and ideas on the site but to fully experience the wealth of inspiration (including my Halloween Party write-up, which I modestly think is spooktacular), you’ll need to join. Debra is graciously giving Chocolate Cake Moments readers $10 off of their membership with coupon code 54612941. Sign up for yourself or give the gift of membership to someone you know who loves to entertain.
This Thanksgiving or Holiday Season, knock the socks off of your friends and family with an outstanding party. The awe-inspired look on your mother or sister-in-law’s face is well worth the membership fee.
Tell us, where do you get your ideas for entertaining?
5 Fun, Easy Ways to Entertain Friends, Even If You Are Afraid of Entertaining
My husband and I love to entertain. We enjoying cooking, throwing parties, and spending time with our friends … both with and without kids. Entertaining gives us the motivation to clean up the house once in a blue moon, as well. But, every now and then we get frustrated because it seems like we never get invited to anyone else’s house. We finally asked some of our friends about it. Are we bad guests? Do we smell weird? Do we plug the toilet? Do we bring bad wine?
The majority of them told us, no (phew!), it was because they are intimidated about entertaining people at their house. They want to be hospitable and see friends more often, but they are afraid to invite anyone over. It means they have to clean and they don’t know how to cook a big, fancy meal. While we understand and emphathize with the sentiment, my husband and I need to get out of our house every now and then! We want to socialize with friends … in a different setting. I read all of the time that cocktail parties are popular again, people are coccooning and staying in more, and that intimate gatherings are all the social rage. Really? I also heard a comedian one time do a bit about how Americans spend an obscene amount of money on our houses and then never let anyone see them.
So, I have put together 5 fun and easy ideas on ways to entertain friends (ie. invite us over) at your house, without a lot of hassle. Before we get into the ideas, though, get over the fear of cleaning up your house. As long as there isn’t mold growing out of your guest bathroom toilet, your friends won’t judge you. They just want to spend time with you. Your other parent friends are incredibly forgiving. We have piles of toys, papers and other gear laying around our house just like you do. We are also sleep deprived so we don’t even notice what we are sitting on most days.
1. Soup Recipe Party - Make a soup. Your favorite, fail proof soup recipe. Or your Mom’s recipe. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Then, ask your friends to bring their favorite soup and to bring a copy of the recipe to share. Buy some French bread or corn bread as a side. Buy a ready made salad and some bottles of salad dressing. Throw it in a large bowl. Buy some styrofoam cups. Everyone can then use the styrofoam cups as their soup bowls to take a sample serving of each soup at the party. The styrofoam cups sit on a strong paper plate fairly nicely. Pass out the recipes to all guests. Viola! You have dinner served and you only had to make one soup. (You can also do this with chili. Everyone makes chili differently.)
2. Burger Bar - We have these burger bar parties all summer with our neighbors, friends, and family because it is easy. Get some ready made burger patties and buns. Then, buy some wild toppings and set them out on the counter so people can build their own burger. Pepper jack cheese, white cheddar, blue cheese, and smoked provolone are all good. Add bacon (buy ready made), grilled or raw onions, and even avocado slices. Then add sauces – BBQ, chipotle mayo, steak sauce, and salsa. See what you can find at your grocery store. The only cooking you’ll do is throwing the burgers on the grill. Buy some prepared cole slaw, chips, and brownies. You’re done. Low fuss but maximum impact. You’ll seem like a gourmet cook, when all you did was not burn the burgers.
3. Order In - When we have invited friends over and then were too tired to pull off cooking a big meal, we order in from a favorite restaurant. We usually provide the appetizer and dessert ourselves. You can buy some great prepared ones at Costco. Then, we order in the main meal. It’s less expensive than meeting friends at the restaurant because you’ll save money on the drinks, appetizers, and dessert. Nobody cares whether you cooked the meal or not. It’s all about the getting together.
4. Cocktail or Dessert Party – It’s easier to host a cocktail party or dessert party than to plan and cook a full dinner. So, invite people over after 7:30 p.m. for drinks and/or dessert. Bake a cake or a few different cookies, add coffee, and you’re done. Make or buy 3 or 4 different appetizers, whip up a pitcher of cosmos, and you have a cocktail party. Put out some small napkins and you’ll look like a pro. Prep time and clean-up for these parties is a lot easier than full dinners. It’s also easy to buy great tasting appetizers and desserts, if you don’t want to cook.
5. Parties. They are not just for dinner anymore – - Host an afternoon tea party or cookie exchange. No dinner necessary, just some light snacks. Have a wine tasting party in the late evening and just provide cheese and crackers. Host a card party and provide nuts, pretzels, chex mix, and brownies on the tables. Invite another family over on Sunday afternoon for an ice cream sundae. Entertaining doesn’t always mean dinner, so be creative with your time and theme.
I hope these ideas have given you the confidence to go pick up the phone and invite someone over. Don’t forget about us. Have any other ideas on simple ways to entertain? We’d love to hear it.
Friday Night Family Fun – Game Night
Looking for something fun to do Friday Night with the family? Why not host a Game Night? Start a tradition in your family that every Friday Night you stay in and play games. You can take turns with each member of your family picking their favorite game. Or invite friends and neighbors over for a casual, inexpensive, and very fun evening.
We’ll give you some ideas on how to host some awesome game nights, as well as our top picks for family fun games.
Why Your Family Game Night is going to rock –
Add some great food.
Keep it low maintenance by ordering in pizza, making chocolate chip cookie bars, or having an ice cream sundae bar. Indulge in your favorite munchies. If you are feeling more inspired, try out some of those appetizer recipes you keep marking and then never making. For the adults, have some beer in the fridge, make a pitcher of margaritas, or try out that new drink recipe. (See Rachel Ray’s site for some great drink recipes.) Make non-alcoholic versions for the kids. If you are inviting friends over, have them bring an appetizer or dessert to share.
Serve up some silliness!
Play some games that are just downright silly so everyone will be laughing. Some of our favorite gut-busting games are:
3 Years Old and Up:
Birds, Bugs and Beans – This card game will be a hit with your pre-schoolers, but the rest of the family will love it too. This is a wild, loud, and fun card game where you throw cards down and then react quickly based on which card is showing. You’ve got to tweet for the birds, clap for the bugs, and toot for the beans. Who doesn’t love making raspberry sounds for the Bean cards???
6 Years Old and Up:
Flapdoodle. In this game, you’ll have to use your creativity and imagination to answer crazy questions and do silly stunts. For example, you might have to take off your socks and shoes and have your two big toes talk to each other about potato chips. Crazy characters like Super Ninja Monkey, Pirate Luigi Pepperoni and the Platypus help you cruise around the board. This game is a huge favorite with our kids.
8 Years Old and Up
Snorta
This game is perfect for larger gatherings since 8 people can play. We’ve played it during Holidays when the relatives are over. We’ve taken it on vacation for some evening fun. In the game, each player chooses the sound of a typical farm animal. As cards are quickly flipped over, tongue-tied players stumble and stutter to blurt out the animal sounds of the other players. The fun part of the game is that the animal on the card is not the animal sound you need to make so you get all confused and tongue tied. This game is hilarious. (It’s also a great drinking game for adults but you didn’t hear that from me.)
Put on a Costume.
Why just play a game when you can play the game in a silly way? For example, if you are playing a pirate game, have everyone wear pirate hats or eye patches. If playing Snorta, wear an animal mask. Make them out of paper plates before the game begins.
Round Robin.
If you invite a few families over for Game Night, have them each bring their favorite game. Set up a game in the kitchen, one in the family room, and one in another room. Each person then moves round robin to the next game as they finish playing. That way you’ll end up playing a few different games and not end up stuck playing the same thing all night. Have a kids game table and adult game table if you want and make sure everyone knows which table to move to at the end of their game.
Get those cards out!
Whatever happened to the fine art of playing cards? My parents said that when they were just married and having babies, one of their main forms of entertainment was to invite over friends, also with babies, and play cards. I believe they said they used to line us babies up and throw us snacks as they played cards, although I could be imagining that.
The poker craze brought a newfound attention to card playing again, but it’s not the only card game in town. There are some other very competitive games to try. My husband’s family is from Iowa and they play Eucher. In Iowa, Eucher is treated as if it were a religion. Wikipedia has the rules. Backalley Bridge is another favorite. When playing for cards, use pennies or macaroni noodles for “betting” or keeping score.
(I’ve included links to the rules here but if you are like me, I have a hard time reading the game rules and then actually figuring out how to play it. So, a better strategy is to invite someone over who knows how to play. Create your guest list based on who knows how to play what.)
Prizes!
If you are going to play games, you’ll need prizes. Large chocolate bars or movie-theater size boxes of candy are great prizes to give to the game winners. If you are playing with younger kids you’ll need to make sure that everyone is a winner but for older kids and adults, let the competition begin. You can also play for chores or activities as prizes. If Mom wins, she gets to give a chore coupon to someone in the house so they have to empty the dishwasher. Before the game, have each player write down 2 – 3 coupon ideas. If they win, they get to hand in their coupon to another player. The other player then has to do what it says on the coupon. (You might need to set some limits but feel free to be creative.)
If you have a Nintendo Wii, you can always have a Wii Game Night. We’ll do a separate post on that in the future.
We hope these ideas have inspired you to stay home and play games one night soon. By adding some creativity, you can make sure everyone will want to come to your house on Game Night. We’d love to hear your ideas on how to have a great Game Night at home. What are some of your favorite games?
