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.

Have you ever tried to find a wedding cake bakery in Huntsville Alabama? If you don't know the right place or are new to the town, it can be hard to find the right one. Instead of spending all of your time aimlessly searching for the perfect wedding cake, get started right on your search for a Huntsville bakery that will make your wedding cake. Here are suggestions for getting your dream wedding cake in Huntsville, Alabama:

Start by asking friends and family for suggestions –  Wedding cake bakeries in Huntsville are as unique as the beautiful wedding cakes that they create. Therefore, finding the perfect one is going to take an outside opinion from someone who has used a Huntsville bakery before.

Sample wedding cakes at your local bakery — No two wedding cake bakeries are created the same! Once you know which bakeries you wish to consider, call and make an appointment for a consultation. It sounds a little scarier than it is. A consultation with your wedding cake baker can be the difference between fantastic and flop so call and ask for a sampling and consultation before you make your final decision.

Research the wedding cakes that you like — It's always helpful to know what wedding cake styles interest you before your consultation with the bakery. This will also help you know that you are picking the right one. Some wedding cake bakeries in Huntsville specialize in unique designs while others are more traditional. Finding the one for you means knowing which style of wedding cake you want first.

Have allergy information on hand during the consultation — If you think your Great Aunt Gertrude will have a bad reaction to a very sugary icing, this information should be known during your consultation. Any allergy information or taste preferences should be mentioned during the initial visit to your wedding cake bakery.

That's it! Now finding your ideal wedding cake is as easy as visiting a few local Huntsville wedding cake bakeries!

Photo Booths Way Back When

Since 1925, when Anatol Josephino invented the photo booth, kids and adults have been creating photo memories and having fun. In the early days, photo booths in Austin Texas could be found on the boardwalk, in departments stores and amusement parks across the nation. It seems no one could resist the urge to mug for a picture when they happened upon a photo booth. In fact, you probably have a few of these photo booth pictures tuck away in a drawer somewhere right now.

Contemporary Photo Booths Make The Texas Guest List

Why would a photo booth in Austin Texas receive an invitation to a wedding, a prom, a birthday party, a family reunion, a Bar/Bat Mitzvahs or an asundry of other special events. Laugh-out-loud, unforgettable fun, that's what photo booths bring to a party in Austin. Renting a photo booth can inspire fun and create memories at any special event even a quinceanera, anniversary party, holiday party or a fun-raiser.

Austin photographers capture a party guest in a moment of time. However, photo booths will capture your guests in the moment. Photo booths are entertainment and posterity all rolled into one wonderful party accessory. A photo booth naturally brings out the adventure in every guest. These candid pictures are a great way to remember the fun you had at an event.

It not just the photo booth that makes it fun, it is all the props that come with a photo booth rental. Neat hats, masks, boas and other props that guests can wear when they step inside of the photo booth are just a few of the great props that come with renting a photo booth in Austin. Along with the props, many rental companies offer a scrapbook package.

The photo booth scrapbook package adds an extra element of fun. Guests can have their picture taken and then add it to the scrapbook along with a personal message. This makes for a wonderful piece of memorabilia after the event is over.

Photo Booths A Rising Trend

I can see why this new party and wedding trend is quickly rising to the top. It is an easy way to entertain guests as well as create and save memories. It appeals to the young and old alike. It fits well into the scheme of a wedding reception, a graduation party, a charity gala or a sweet sixteen party. As a party or wedding trend, photo booths have real staying power. After all, they have been around since 1925 and people are still drawn to them.

A special thanks goes to Say Cheese Photo Booth who was kind enough to share some of their photos.  I think they speak for all photo booth rental companies when they say "our mission is to inspire laugh-out-loud-unforgettably-fun memories everywhere we go."  That's the attraction of photo booths and why you should have one at your next event.

After prom parties are popular for many reasons, mainly because many teens aren't ready to call it a night with their friends.  By hosting an after prom breakfast, you provide a safe place for the teens to hang out after prom.

First thing to do is to set guidelines with your teen. Discuss what is acceptable at the party and what is not acceptable.  Some parties go on all night. While others have a cut off time for everyone to leave and go home.  Take time to talk this over with your teen and if possible get a few other parents involved.  Make the time period and guidelines for the party known well in advance of the event.  This can be done with the party invitations you send.

You can go all out with your decorations or you can be very minimalistic. Either way, you will need to decide whether to go with the prom theme or in a different direction all together. If you want to change it up, try a pajama party theme.  All the teens can come to the party location and change from their prom wear into pj's (you might want some guidelines for acceptable attire).

Deciding which type of food to serve is simple.  Any Breakfast food will do: eggs, bacon, bagels, fruit. Buffet style works best for these types of food and hungry teens. You may want to have several carafes of flavored coffees available or other drinks such as orange juice, milk and soda. To add pizzaz include a chocolate fountain. If your hosting a party for a huge crowd of prom goers, you'll need to rent warming dishes and other tableware.  Of course, the most convenient way to serve the food is to hire a caterer.

An after breakfast prom party is a wonderful way to extend the prom in a fun and safe way.  It is also a way for them to create memories that will last a lifetime.

Medieval themed parties are great for adult birthdays and children parties.  However, I attend the most awesome medieval themed bachelorette party.  A friend of mine wanted the bachelorette party she was hosting to be fun and unique.  By throwing a renaissance party, complete with minstrels and castle motif, she came up with a fantastic way to celebrate the bride's impending marriage to her price charming.  I didn't realize how much fun you could have at a bachelorette party.

How To Host A Medieval Bachelorette Party

Begin with renting event facilities that have themed rooms, this is a good way to go medieval without to much trouble.  Then hire caterers, rent costumes and hire musicians to play Renaissance music during the party. This type of bachelorette party can go to the extreme and be a full blown medieval experience or you can just do a bit by using castle cutouts and decorating with medieval themed items. The party I attend was full blown medieval, right down to the names we all had to call the bride "Lady Kathrine".

Mail out party invitations with a medieval design that say this party is for Lady {insert the brides name}.  Be sure to tell guests that it will have a medieval themed and where costumes can be rented, along with the usual invitation information (time and place).  If your doing this as the bachelorette party (which tend to be smaller groups), you can for-go the formal invitations.  Instead call the party guests and tell them what time the limousine will pick them up to go to the costume shop.  This way everyone can go to the costume shop together right before the party to pick out their outfits.  That is what our party of six did and it was just as much fun as the party itself!

Getting Your Medieval Bachelorette Party Started

I enjoyed the full blown medieval festivities and it's defiantly not as hard as you think.  Just start by finding a costumes shops that will have the the appropriate attire for all party guests or at least the host and bachelorette.  Food is easy when you have the caterer prepare turkey legs, crusty breads, fruits  and cheeses along with other medieval table fare.  Of course you will need drinks wine and ale are a must. You stop there or really go all out with the theme. It is really up to you.  I loved the really elaborate party I attended but even a simple medieval bacherolette party would be fun.

Every bachelorette should have a medieval party. After all,  she has her prince charming why not a party fit for a princess.   In fact, I think everyone should go medieval and have a renaissance party, even if it just a kids party with toy swords and kids playing knight of the round table.

I’m always looking for an excuse to throw a party. For 2009, I decided that the Golden Globe Awards was a great adult party theme to kick off the New Year. I’ve put together some great ideas to make your Golden Globes Party fun and creative without breaking the bank.

First, you can’t have a Golden Globes party without a red carpet. Run down to you’re local store in search for an inexpensive red carpet. If you can’t find one there, you can certainly make your own. A few yards of inexpensive red fabric will do the trick.

Games are always a great idea for any kind of party. Before guests arrive, prepare a list of the Golden Globe nominations on elegant paper in a fancy font. The guests can use this list to select who they think will win each category. Before the awards ceremony starts have everyone turn in their ballot and who ever has the most correct after the show receives their very own golden globe. You can pick up a fake Golden Globe at a local party supplies store or order online. If your budget allows, you could send everyone home with a mini Golden Globe as party favors.

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