With Thanksgiving and Christmas, quickly approaching party that involve gifts are pushed to the forefront of party planning.

In the south, we have a gift giving party called Dirty Santa. In other parts of the country it is called White Elephant party.  Whatever name you want call your party, it has the same rules and played basically the same. The only thing that changes is the name since Dirty Santa seems more appropriate during December and November than July and August. Dirty Santa is a popular party during Christmas because it gives everyone a chance to share a gift without having to take out a loan to pay for them. It is especially popular with large extended families who get together for the holidays.

Sound like something you want to do? Here’s how you do it.

Dirty Santa Party Rules

• Ask everyone to bring a gift, preferably one that either sex might like. The gifts should be wrapped without identification. Half the fun is not knowing who brought the gift.
• Set a price limit on the gift.  Most of the parties I have been to set a price of 30 bucks, but you can go as low as  5 or 10 dollars.  Include the rules and price limit with the party invitations.
• As guests arrive, pile all the gifts in a stack and have each guest pick a number out of a hat or box. (Make sure you have equal guest to presents – you might want to stash one or two extra presents in case someone forgets.)
• After everyone arrives and your ready to play, the person with the number 1 goes  first. They chooses a present from the pile and open it.
• Now the fun part, the number 2 person selects a present from the stack. After they open it, Dirty Santa can be declared and anyone who has open a gift can steal an opened gift and replace it with the gift they have in their possession. As the game goes on, any one can declare Dirty Santa and steal a present from any other guest and leave them with the gift they chose. Once you declare dirty Santa you can’t declare it again.  But someone can declare dirty Santa on you, and take the present you wanted. Each person has once chance to declare dirty Santa, after every present has be picked and each person has declared dirty Santa, the game is over.

Gag gifts are great for this Dirty Santa game.  I remember playing one year,  one of the male guest end up with tiger print teddy.  Novelty or gag gifts add some fun and laughs to this crazy party.  With Dirty Santa or a White Elephant party, you can add to the rules or mix them up and make the party idea yours. It’s a great idea for adult birthday parties, anniversary parties, family reunions, office parties and (of course) Christmas parties.

So – Merry Christmas!  Go out and plan a Dirty Santa party this year!

Ask The Celebration Advisor: Hello, can you give any ideas for a bachelor’s party? thanks ~ secil

The Celebration Advisor: Sure! Here are a few tips for a bachelor’s party that will make “The Hangover” look like a chick flick.

10.  Keep beverages on tap at all times.
Alcoholic or not, men drink and men drink a lot so keep the beverages flowing.

9. Think outside the box for entertainment.
Of course you have your scantily-clad standards, but try to provide other forms of entertainment too. Think party bands and awesome games. We’re not talking Pin The Tail On The Donkey here. Think of games that require a certain machismo to pull off. Make sure it’s macho. Make sure it’s easy to do while drinking.

8. Amp up your drinking games.
If you’re going to have alcohol at your bachelor party,  you have to play a drinking game. It’s like bachelor party etiquette: 101. Keep in mind, though, that you have to make your bachelor party the best. Amp up your games. Go frat boy on their butts with Beer Pong. You could also gather the guys in front of a chick flick and have everyone take a certain number of drinks per “girly” word like “love”, “trust,” or “relationship.” Let’s face it. That may be the only way some of the guys make it through a romantic chick movie.

7. Food, food, food!
Oh yeah. And FOOD!!! Guys only drink so much because they’re washing down all of the food that they eat. It’s simple science really. *grins* Flush out the pork rinds, pizza, and greasy finger foods with a little fluid. Always keep the food coming and the drinks flowing if you want a bachelor party that NO ONE will whine about. A simple party credo for men – “If it’s green, it’s trouble. If it’s fried, get double.”

6. No girls allowed!
Yeah, some of the more *cough* attached men will want to bring their partners, wives, girlfriends, et al. to your bachelor party. No! While it’s not as unheard of as before to have the feminine of the species running around, it’s a party pooper if you want a raucous night with the guys. Even if you don’t want it to be too outlandish, the last meeting of the “he-man woman haters club” is officially YOUR bachelor party.

5. If it can be delivered, it’s golden.
Don’t worry about having the food picked up or making a last minute beer run. If you plan on making this an all-nighter, you’re not going to want to wake up and clean up the ruins of a guys’ night out. Keep it simple by hiring a caterer to bring over the food, that is unless you have a chef among you that wants to spend his time in the kitchen instead of with the guys. If you hire a caterer (a smart move), let them what kind of spread you would like and stick to that. It’s really THAT simple.

4. Have a designated drive (if alcohol will be present).
If you plan to drink, plan on having a driver or a bunch of overnight guests. No one wants to get hurt or have a friend hurt, especially that close to the groom’s big day.

3. Keep it simple.
Guys don’t require a whole lot. Shocking, I know, but true. Most men do not want a lavish spread and a fancy party that lasts three days and requires the most expensive ball room in the city. Some guys like that (which is great—go for it!) but most just want a fun night with their Y chromosome having friends.  Work with your vendors to keep the night flowing smoothly. Don’t overthink it.

2. Keep the entertainment coming.
Don’t stick to one activity the whole night. Plan a few activities that are relatively short but entertaining at the same time. If you don’t get to all of them, fine. It’s far better than having a bunch of bored men lounging about, staring somewhat enviously at the fly on the wall’s level of entertainment.

1. Have fun!
I think this one speaks for itself.

You may also be interested in these cool ideas for bachelor parties:

Asian Inspired Bachelor Party
Fishing Themed Bachelor Party
3 Tips for Bachelor or Bachelorette Parties

Dad’s do you feel left out when it comes to planning a party for your child?

You are not alone. Many times, Dads feel left out when it comes to planning kids parties. What they don’t realize is moms are tired of planning every party for their child. This year try reversing the roles. Dads let the moms sit back and watch as you do it all.

Dads don’t panic you can plan it. Yes you can.  For dads looking for children’s party ideas, I’ve got four easy steps to building a great party.  Use the following steps as the building blocks in constructing a great kids  party.

STEP 1 – Party Theme

Start with a theme (a concept for the party – pirates, star wars etc.) which help focus the other basics steps and guide us in planning the party.  For our example, the party will have a construction theme.

A construction party consists of the parents helping the party attendees to build an item.  You can choose to build any number of things.  For children ages 3-5, build a truck or a car with construction paper. Using pre-cut paper trucks and cars have the children color and draw in wheels or special features. You can cut cars and trucks from your old car magazines and let the kids glue them to old milk cartons as a way to build their own car.  For kids 6-10, build bird houses out of Popsicle sticks. All you need are popsicle sticks, glue and some craft paint.  You can buy bulk popsicle sticks at most craft stores. These are just a couple of theme suggestions. When choosing a theme draw from your own and your child’s interest.

STEP 2 – Party Invitations

Invitations should include a minimum of four things: Who, What, Where, When.

Begin by setting the date and the place. Once you’ve got that you can decide about whom to invite. Most experts say for children 3-5 invite their age plus 1. So, if your child is 3 invite four, 4 invite 5, 5 invite 6.  With children 6 and over you can use the rules given or invite the amount of kids you feel comfortable entertaining.

Invitations should be personally delivered or mailed at least 2 weeks prior to the event.  I also suggest picking an invitation that displays the theme. For our example it needs to be something that represents a construction theme.  Hanny Manny invitations would be a good example of a construction theme or even ones that have Tonka Toy backhoes or dirt movers on them. You should be able to find kids theme invitations at party or stationary supply stores.

STEP 3 Party Decorations:

When choosing decorations work from your theme. You’ll notice that when you were choosing your invitations the party store carried theme decoration as well. You will find that items like napkins, posters, plates, cups and other theme party decorations will compliment the Hanny Manny or Bob the Builder invitations you have already selected.  If you can’t find character or decorations based on your theme, use colorful streamers or balloons to dress up your party area. Although not necessarily a decoration, party favors are a must.  Now is the time you will want to pick up the party favors. The best kids party favor is a small gift bag containing candy, toys or fun items for each child.

Step 4 Party Food:

A little food goes a long way with kids since most kids 3 to 10 years old would rather play than eat. I recommend with younger kids in this age group you serve cake and ice cream only.  But the cake should be specially designed around the theme. As for drinks, I suggest bottle of soda and water or juice boxes.  Be sure to contact your bakery one week ahead, so they can create your party theme cake.

So there you have it dads. A blueprint for building the perfect kids party. Go out and build one today!

These tips for planning a kids party were brought to you by the wonderful local party vendors in the United States and Canada.

This is a fun way to celebrate the milestone of a 50^th wedding anniversary, but you can use the same ideas for any wedding anniversary. Decorate the party place with all things from the year the couple was married. In the case of a 50^th wedding anniversary celebrated in 2009 the wedding year is 1959. Dig up all the information you can on 1959 and use what you find to help choose a theme.

In 1959 for instance TV shows such as Bonanza and Rawhide premiered in that year, so a western theme might be what your draw from for a theme and decorations. You might choose to use Etch A Sketch as decoration on the tables since they were invented in that year. For entertainment you could hire impersonators to play the popular artist from the day, such as Doris Day or Frank Sinatra.

For food again look to the past for what to serve. In the 50’s grilling was a rising trend, so grilled food may be a good choice for this party. Or any other food items that were popular during that time. Do the same with your beverages choose drinks that were popular during the anniversary couple’s wedding year. In 1959 soda pop in bottles were the rage. See if you can find soda in bottles to continue the theme year. Tang was a popular drink as well. For adult beverages, martinis were very popular in the late 50’s.

With a bit of research on your part, a golden opportunity to give a wonderful walk down memory lane to an anniversary couple is a snap. And remember you can do this with any wedding year.

This anniversay party planning idea was brought ot you by weddingandpartynetwork.com.

Halloween theme parties are one of my favorites. When throwing a Halloween party, you’ll need to invest in few scary surprises for your party guest.

Tip #1 – DRY ICE

The most important surprise begin with dry ice.  It creates the ultimate spooky party feeling. You can use it in your punch and with your decorations. Not sure about dry ice but still want the creepy affect of an eerie fog rolling in? Rent a fog machine.

Tip #2 – Get Into Character

Create the ultimate Halloween party atmosphere by hiring some scary characters to mingle with the crowd. There performers can liven up the party with ghoulish activities and spooky skits.  Be part of the fun by renting a character costume for yourself or make it a Halloween costume party. Transform your party area into a Halloween mecca. Decorate with fake spider webs, mini caskets to hold the food, orange and black streamers and black candles placed in a fake skull. Cardboard cut out tombstones for your outdoors and well as indoors.

Tip #3 – Ghoulish Food Equals Good Time

Once you’ve got your dry ice punch, other food and drink ideas are simple.  Serve a blood drink for Vampires (7up™ or Sprite™ colored with red food coloring). Serve your ghoulish dip served in carved pumpkin. (Ghoulish dip can be made from anything but dips with chunks of pimentos, mushrooms, etc. give a creepier effect.) Don’t forget the spooky sweets.  If you’re not good at making creepy cakes and spooky cookies have your bakery make them for you. Serve super spicy bat wings. Okay, you can’t really buy spicy bat wings but you can chicken wings and call them bat wings.

Tip #4 – Treat Them To Entertainment

Although entertainment will vary by age, a Halloween party lends itself to many options. A unique kids entertainment ideas is pumpkin bowling.  All you need for this low-cost form of entertainment is some empty water bottles and a few pumpkins.  Everyone loves to bowl, but teens and adults might prefer a more refined type of entertainment.  Try a murder mystery game.  Halloween entertainment options are endless.

These are basic tips you can use for any type of Halloween party. These same principles for a kids Halloween party or for adult parties.  Just remember with the help of these tips, your local bakery, and a  party supply store, you can throw a wickedly fun Halloween party!

As always Wedding and Party Network, is a great place for ideas when planning your party.

An Awesome Birthday Party For 13 year old Savannah!

A well-deserved gift from her parents turned into one rocking birthday party for a very special girl in Little Rock Arkansas.

What would you do for a teenager who had been the ONLY teen chosen from her state for a leadership training program in Washington DC? Well, that’s exactly the question facing Savannah’s parents as they planned her special birthday celebration. An exemplary attitude and stellar performance earned Savannah a night she’ll never forget.

Savannah and ten friends could hardly believe it when they climbed into the back of a stretch hummer limo and headed toward Señor Tequila where they had sodas and appetizers. That was just the tip of the iceberg. The girls also attended the Taylor Swift concert that night. They had an awesome time rocking out and hanging together at the show.

Once again, that wasn’t where the fun ended. Seven of the girls had a sleepover at the Marriott Hotel in the River Market district of Little Rock. They ate at IHOP after the show and played around at the hotel until they were too tired to produce one more ounce of teenage energy.

See? Limos are a fun part of a lot of events, not just proms or weddings. They can be a special treat for all ages, male or female, two or twenty guests. When it comes time to do your party planning, look to limousine services for a fun night out.

40th Birthday – You’re Not Old – You’re Like Fine Wine & Cheese – Better With Age

Having  reached my fortieth year (a milestone birthday), my sister threw me a great party. It was subdued, yet a fantastically wonderful party. My Sister invited my husband and a few of my dearest friends over to celebrate my birthday. The black ad white invitation arrived by mail, asking us to attend a wine and cheese party, and to dress in evening wear attire.

She decorated her home with flowers that coordinated with the wines we were going to taste. The serving table was decorated with flowers such as red roses behind a Merlot wine,  white roses for a Chardonnay wine. It was fragrant and beautiful, her home looked like a fine restaurant. The food was delicious yet simple, the rich cheese, the fresh fruits all served by a waiter dressed in a purple shirt with black pants (purple is my favorite color). The best part was the most decadent seven layer chocolate cake she served for desert.

My sister, always the best hostess, hired a wonderful singer/guitar player who softy played through out the night. As we drank the wines and sampled the cheeses, we swayed to the music even singing along occasionally.  This party is a relaxing way way to celebrate a 40^th birthday. 

Sometimes we think a milestone birthday party means big and grand, but big is not what every 40 year old wants. Some like a more subdued party that is rich in food, drink and close friends and family. My sister gave me what I needed a relaxing celebration of my birthday.  Keep this idea in mind you may have a friend or family member that wants to quietly celebrate their age. This allows you to celebrate their milestone without stressing them out with big party.

Though it’s more than a month away, now is the perfect time to plan your Halloween party. This is one time when it’s ok to have cobwebs on the brain because you’re going to throw a spooky, delightfully fun Halloween party. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Plan Your Halloween Party Invitations And Music With Theme In Mind

You’ll want to find Halloween party invitations with a unique design on them. Depending on the expectations of your Fright Night, your party may want a more subtle, fall oriented invitation or may require something more thematic and spooky. Choose the one that’s right for you and being filling out the information necessary to send them to each guest.

Another thing to think about is the music at your party. Of course, there are bound to be classic hits like “Monster Mash” if you’re throwing a jovial party, but consider going outside of the box a bit and selecting slightly more eerie music. Visit your local music store and ask for help selecting music for your Halloween party. Don’t be surprised to find a range of creepy music and silly tunes to fit the theme of your party.

Planning Your Party Decorations

For a Halloween party to really go smoothly, you’ll also want to make sure that you have unique decorations. Again, the level of intrigue in your party theme is very crucial to planning your party.

If you’re going for a very scary evening, plan decorations that excite feelings of uneasiness, creepiness, dark and dreary evenings. If your Halloween party is just an excuse to hang out and have fun, go with more traditional Halloween party decorations.

Traditional Halloween party decorations usually include party supplies that feature pumpkins, cartoonish witches, ghosts, vampires and other creatures of the night. Think orange and brown with a spice of black when picking out your streamers, napkins, plates, cups, and even the color of your lightbulbs. Hey, ambiance is everything at a Halloween party.

Scare The Dickens Out Of Your Halloween Guests — Or Not

More scary Halloween party decorations usually include a bit more planning. These are the same party supplies but with a more adult and dark theme. More blacks, blood reds, some whites, and a mix of other dark and light colors with a theme.

Black, red, white and silver go splendidly together though black and red would be the dominant colors at a scary Halloween party.

Use creativity when picking out these decorations. A fake eyeball in the punch is funny, but you’re going to have to up your game here. Try ideas like these.

• Any frightening creature that can be remote controlled to act robotic and sound scary is great. Think of fake spiders that actually move, creatures with motion sensors so that they make a scary sound when guests walk by, and other almost-alive decorations.
• Keep the colors dark if you want a scary party. Though it doesn’t have to be pitch black, a little fear of what looms in the darkness sets up the night perfectly.
• Arrange a scary moment like the lights flickering or going off. Your guests will think it’s normal or part of the prank if you do it once. The second time it happens–not so much. This is a wonderful time to play a game of “Mystery Killer” but make sure that guests are in on it by putting it on the invitation. If you skip this part, just let them know during the game that it’s all for fun.
• Have a scary movie playing in one room or sit guests down to watch the movie. For adults, this is a fun time to play a little creative drinking game. Have guests swig a drink of a bloody mary, a blood-red punch, or the beverage of their choice every time a character casually forgets to “see it coming”. I’m sure your guests can think of other fun twists on the game.
• The sound of chainsaws is instantly grating and frightening if you’re in the dark. Work one in and watch a few guests shiver.

Your Halloween party is sure to be a thrilling evening. You know your guests well so tap into what drives them and what frightens them. If your aim is to thrill and chill them, tread lightly but be slightly terrifying. After all, it’s expected of a Halloween party.

If your aim is to razzle and dazzle them but not to send anyone home scared to sleep, perk up your decorations and think of fall colors. Either way, your Halloween party will be a smash thanks to your clever party planning!

These party ideas for a first birthday party came to me while I was enjoying the 18th birthday celebration of a niece. I was thinking back and wondered why didn’t we do a special time capsule that we could bring out for her today.

My time capsule idea is to throw a first birthday party, as you normally would, but you’ll want to have a few extra items:

• Note cards that have the babies name imprinted on them. These cards will be handed out to the party attendees; aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and so forth. Have them write on these cards special sayings or wishes for the baby.
• Also purchase one of those novelty newspapers that has all the big events that happened on the baby’s birthday. Hire a videographer or if you’re into videoing do it yourself. Video all the party and just like the note cards have each party member, give a good piece of advice for the baby that they will need when they turn eighteen.
• Don’t forget to include music. If possible, get a CD with the most popular songs of year. You could play this CD during the party if you like and that way it will also be in the video or you can have the videographer incorporate it into a video production for you.

You can do this each subsequent year for each birthday party, and then at their 18th birthday you can bring out your time capsule of memories. This time capsule captures their life and keeps all the mementos in an easy to keep and easy to add-to way.

I know my sister-in law wished I would have thought of this idea 18 years ago. Oh, I almost forgot! You’ll need a good secure box that can contain the capsule items. Also, label it well so you can keep up with it year after year.

Sometimes you want to throw a party, but you also want to do something to help out a good cause. So by all means do both!. Throw a Charity Party! It will be a fun event for friends and a big help for a good cause.

How does a charity party work? Choose your charity and go from there. For example, my pet charities are PAWS (our local animal rescue group) and The Children’s Home (a home for neglected & troubled children). Once you decide which charity, comply a guest list, a party theme and what you want to contribute to the charity. Your contribution could be items from a food or clothing drive or to raise money.

The Children’s home is in constant need of clothes, toys and household supplies. The goal of the Children’s Home party would be to collect these items. At this charity party, everything would revolve around the party theme kids. All the decorations would reflect children. For decorations, I would choose bright primary colors for my streamers and tableware. The focal point of the party would be a kid’s theme cake like Sesame Street™. On the invitations, I would ask that guests to bring a donation of clothing, toys or household supply for The Children’s Home.

The same basic principles will apply to a charity party for PAWS. An animal rescue charity party can easily be decorated using dog biscuits that are strung together on fish line. Serve the food like dips for vegetables and chips in new clean dog and cat bowls. Serve dog bone theme cookies made by a local bakery as the sweets for the party. Send out invitations that tell why and what the name of charity is and ask guests to contribute by bringing items the charity needs: dog food, cat food, cat liter, ect. The bowls used for the dips can be given to the animal rescue as well.

Charity parties can be extravagant or causal, for large groups or small. They can help celebrate birthdays or just for the fun of it. But, one thing to keep in mind is to have a good time while you help a good cause.