Ask The Celebration Advisor

"I'm turning 21 on Sunday. What should I do to celebrate?"

-Abby

The Celebration Advisor

Hi Abby,

There are tons of ideas out there that you can do for your 21st birthday. Plan it towards something that you like. Enjoy a nice evening out with close friends or keep it low-key and do a get together at someone's house. Throw a party that is a black tie event, an all white event or go back to your childhood and throw a kid themed party!

Did you enjoy an 80's television show? Well, go with that theme! Feature a fun 80's party that everyone will enjoy getting dressed up for. You can make it a night of things you've never done before, but have always wanted to do. Gather up a group of friends and just go do it. Maybe you want to plan a little getaway and stay in a hotel or plan a spa weekend. There are TONS of ideas out there for a 21st birthday party.

Party Tip: Remember to plan a party fit for YOU!

Beautiful weather is upon us and it's time to get outside. Throw a refreshing party that your guests will love. However, do you want a party idea that features beautiful refreshing colors that would be perfect for a little girl's party or a get together for you and your girlfriends? Host a tea party! Pinks, creams, lace, vintage and pearls are everything you'll need to create a fun, girly tea party. So, Wedding And Party Network is here to offer you some fun tips on throwing an elegant, chic tea party.

What really makes this party work is all the pretty little decorations. It's the little things that count with this party. Therefore, you need to plan and start finding the right decorations you'll need to make this party work.

When you think tea party, think vintage detailing and pastel colors. You'll use beautiful tea sets, find vintage bottles for centerpieces and use elegant lace. All the pretty little details will make this party absolutely fabulous. So, here are a few tips on hosting a gorgeous tea party.

Party Details

You're Cordially Invited: Think floral and pink when finding tea themed party invitations. Your party invitations should take on elegance. Shabby chic design featuring flowers in pinks and creams. Keep it simple and in the theme of a tea party. Send them 2-3 weeks before the party and keep the guest list to a minimum.

Lace & Frills: The key in hosting a successful tea party is the party decorations. You can't throw a tea party with just tea and tea sets. There has to be something more to set the theme of the event. If you're throwing this party for adults or children, decoration is the key. Find a long table and decorate it with a pink table-cloth. Find vintage glasses and place a few flowers in each one along the middle of the table. Cute balloons lining the table, lace as a table runner and tea pots lining the center of the table would be ideal.

All of these items combined will make the ideal tea party. Basically, all your party decorations should focus around this table and the party food table. If you want to place fun tissue pomanders from the ceilings that would be great as well. Always keep in mind, vintage, lace, pearls and pink. You'll have a successful tea party.

Tea, Scones & Pastries:When you think of a tea party, you think of tea sandwiches and pastries. So, stick with this theme. Just play the food up in how you serve it. Create a beautiful visual presentation with tea sandwiches, macaroons, cupcakes, biscuits, scones and pastries. Mini finger sandwiches should be almost bite sized.

Make the sandwich and take a cookie cutter to create a smaller portion and to make it fun and different. If you're serving macaroons, place them in a Styrofoam cone to make a macaroon tree. How adorable. Place the food on vintage cake pedestals or 3-tiered serving pieces to create a great table arrangement. Make everything baked sized, small, simple and of course, serve tea.

Tea Entertainment

Tea Party Treats

Upon your guests arrival, direct them into the powder room. In there, you should have trunks set up that are full of dress up clothes. Beautiful hats, gloves, pearls, feather boas and fun dresses should be featured in this room.

Find these at your local thrift stores, friends and family members to create this dress up room. If this is for adults, have them come decked out in big hats, elegant dresses and pearls. Dressing up for the part will make the party that much better.

If this is a little girl's party, come up with fun ideas that will keep them entertained. Musical chairs, crafts, or pin the top on the tea-pot will do just fine. However, if you're just getting a few of your girlfriends together, great conversation will do just the trick.

This post is brought to you by Miami Party Decoration Providers
Not in Houston, TX? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network's handy party planning directory to help you find party caterers near you!

party food, tea cups & tea set up photos provided by juverna, garlandcannon, claire sutton via flickr.

Does your little girl have an upcoming birthday? Well, stick with the season and throw an adorable little SnowGlam Party for all her best friends. When people think of the winter months, they always think it's hard to plan a birthday party. Well, it's  not. There are so many things out there for your little ones, you just have to know where to start. This party theme is perfect for any little glam girl or even a girl's night in! Here are a few party tips to get you started to make sure everyone has a great time. They'll call you party planner of the year!

Invites Set The Theme: A great invitation to send out that would be ideal for the little girls and even the adults, is a snowflake invitation. These themed invitations will immediately set the tone of your party. Visit your local stationery store for themed invitations, like snowflakes that will set your winter wonderland mood right from the beginning.

Glam Party Decorations: Where to begin? Of course, your main focus should be white. You can either pair white and silver or incorporate a pastel blue or pink into the theme. Incorporate white table linens with silver snowflake confetti. Decorate your tables with Christmas lights, hang snowflakes, scatter fake snow out and set out adorable snowmen in the snow.

If you want to mix in the pastel colors, mix and match the colors of snowflakes that you hang. Mix and match table linen colors and top it off with a beautiful white floral centerpiece or an elegant ice sculpture. How chic! However, the special added details such as the Christmas lights will truly make this party stand out.

Deck the girls out with feather boas and tutus. How adorable and glamorous would the little girls feel. Maybe even the adults too! By adding all these special details together, you'll get one glamorous snow party.

Let It Snow Desserts: For this party, stick with just desserts. It'll be simple for you or if you plan to have it catered, your party caterer will know exactly what to fix. A fake snow-like accent is shredded coconut. Adding it to most everything is a must, even if it's just for decoration.

Keep in mind snowballs, it is a snow theme party after all. Little white powdered doughnut holes are great replicas of snowballs. Scatter them in a bowl or attach them to a floral cone with icing to make a great centerpiece. Accent them with blue and white candy too for the finishing touch. It'll be a snowball tree. Make white cupcakes with edible iridescent pearls or scatter shredded coconut on top. Make a gigantic snowball cake with coconut on top or do white cake pops. To make it even more ideal, have your bakery create adorable gum paste snowmen. Or make them yourself out of marshmallows.

If it's a winter wonderland where you live, serve up snow cones or even snow cream. Everyone will love it! Literally, there are so many dessert ideas that you are sure to come up with from snowflake cookies or to miniature cheesecakes. All while using white and keeping within the snow theme.

A SnowGlam Thanks: Party favors are a great way to end your party. Nothing says glamour better. A little miniature snowball cupcake in an elegant clear box would be great. Cookies would be ideal too. You've already got lots of food, so why not send them home with something delicious that will remind them of your amazing party. Create a gift bag with all the ingredients for a warm cup of hot chocolate.

Even better, create a little gift bag featuring adorable feather boas and pearls. So cute and the little girls will absolutely love these items. They will play dress up all the time at home with them. Party favors are just a great way to say, "Thanks for coming" and for them to carry the memories back home.

A SnowGlam party is such an elegant and chic birthday party, holiday party or great for a girl's night in. Everyone will share lots of laughs, tasty treats and admire the winter season upon them.

This post is brought to you by Jackson Party Cake providers.
Not in Jackson, MS? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network's handy party planning directory to help you find a formal wear supplier near you!

It's often hard to come up with themed party ideas for the boys between the ages of ten and fourteen.  I suggest asking the child what type of party he would like.  Between these ages, the boys are forging closer guy friendships and may or may not be into having girls around.  Speak with your son and ask him who he'd like to have at his party.  Most young men of this age will choose a smaller party with close guy friends.

A few close friends works really well with a basketball themed party.  Some suggestions I can offer would be to rent out the local community center, and let the kids play basketball till they drop.  If you go this route, I wouldn't do a lot of decorating. Instead, buy some t-shirts and have your son come up with a name for his and the opposing team. Also, buy basketballs for each party guest (you can get Jr. basket balls for under $15.00) as a fun party favor they'll be able to take home.  Use a sharpie and on each ball write:

Timmy's  10th birthday

9/23/10

Give the boys some sharpie markers and have them sign each ball. These balls are now commemorative balls, of your son's birthday party.

If you can't rent out the Community center, you can make a court in your own yard for the kids to play on. If you don't have a basket ball goal,  you can rent buy or borrow one.  You can buy tiny basketballs at the party stores and decorate your home with these.

For party food, you can serve them hot dogs, pizza, sodas, chips or whatever the birthday boy likes.  Keep the theme going with a basketball cake or basketball cup cakes.

As I stated before, at this age they are trying to be all grown up and still be boys.  Choosing to go with their favorite sport is  great way to have  grown up party for tween boys

This post is brought to you by Miami Party Planner providers.
Not in Miami, FL? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network's handy party planning directory to help you find a party planner near you!

With anniversaries and birthdays taking up most weekends, August was a busy party month. One particular birthday party celebrated a milestone birthday.

The party was in honor of my friend Laura, who was turning forty. For me, this celebration was the best birthday party I had ever attended.

Along with Laura's husband, my friend Jessie and my sister planned and hosted this surprise 40th birthday party. Although it was Laura's special day, it turned out to be a special day for all of us.

40th Birthday: Limo Ride and Spa Day

The party theme was simple: relaxation at a local spa. Since the spa is a thirty minute drive from the birthday girl's home, everyone gathered at Laura's house first. To make the 30 minute trek part of the party experience, Laura's husband rented stretch limo to take us to the spa.

Celebrating and Relaxing at the Spa

When we arrived at the spa, we were taken to a private sitting room. The room was serene and relaxing. Although the spa had refreshments for us (coffee and cucumber water, Jessie brought some delicious food, as well as champagne and orange juice to make mimosas.

Our delectable spa party food consisted of sausage pinwheels(these tasted just like biscuits and gravy), mini muffins (chocolate chip and banana nut) and fruit salad.

Between spa treatments, we enjoyed the food, drinks and good old fashion girl talk.  It was a wonderful relaxing time.  We all agreed that we needed to do this for all of our future birthdays.

Partying Into The Night

The spa wasn't the end of Laura 40th birthday celebration.  Later in the evening, we gathered together with our husbands at my sister's home for a birthday dinner prepared by my brother-in-law.

We started with appetizers: prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe, a lovely assortment of cheeses, and a fine wine. Then we enjoyed meal consisting of a delicious grilled beef tenderloin, garlic mash potatoes and a caprese salad.

Of course, every birthday deserves a cake. This birthday celebration included a mocha chocolate cheesecake. While everyone enjoyed the cake, Laura was showered with gifts. What more could a girl ask for on her 40th birthday?

As you can see from the pictures Laura had a great fortieth birthday party. So the next time you are planning a special birthday party think: Spa, Limo, Caterer and Fun.

Tip: Not everyone has a personal chef like my brother-in-law. Hire a caterer to make the dinner and appetizers. Many caterers will do pick-up catering for small groups. This is a cost-effective way to have a great catered meal.

A Roast and Toast themed party is perfect for the Fall season approaching.  Imagine the cool chill in the air, sitting around a campfire and toasting to good friends.  You’ll enjoy this fun, themed party and cherish the moment with your fabulous friends.

Who/What are we toasting…or roasting?

First off, a roast and toast is a themed party where you honor the special guest by telling humorous stories, jokes and toasting to that special person.  It’s a good time to be had by all.

This can be for anything and anyone.  A birthday surprise, retirement party, engagement party, housewarming party; whatever goes!  A 50^th birthday party or retirement would be perfect to roast their past and to toast their future.  Also, an engagement party would be a perfect time to throw this theme out there, roasting and toasting the couple will provide good times and good laughs for all.  Groomsmen will love to roast the groom, while bridesmaids will take the sentimental route, hopefully.  Whoever and for whatever reason, it’ll provide a festive time for the guests and the special guest of honor by providing laughs to be had by all.

RSVP, Please.

Themed, personalized invitations are a fun way to let your guests know that it’s a roast n’ toast theme.  There are tons of fun ways to personalize invitations.  Send out a personalized matchbox invitation; find them at your local party store that specializes in invitations.  Personalize it with the guest of honor; it will let the guests know what kind of party and whom they are celebrating.  Another route is to do a fun caricature of the person, including their weird hobbies and anything else they like.  The invitations will be a fun tidbit of what’s in store.

A Campout for All

Food and Decorations are the key components to throw your party over the top.  Keep the party decorations simple.  Run up to your local party store and be on the look out for fun BBQ inspired décor, like red and white-checkered tablecloths or anything Fall inspired; it will add a rustic good ol' camp out feeling.  Another added touch is to place pictures of the guest of honor around the party setting; funny ones are an added bonus.  Lay out card-stock or scrapbook pages so  guests to fill out about the special guest, it’ll let people share their funny stories together or toast to the future.  Just keep it simple and fun.

Party food is such a fun detail that you can play up to set any theme, but for this theme think campout goodies.  Burgers, BBQ, potato salad or letting a local caterer cater to your needs are simple enough.  The main attraction will be the yummy s’mores bar and hot chocolate bar.  This will definitely warm you up from the cool night air.  Have s’more pops already to go for your guests, which are chocolate covered marshmallows rolled around in graham crackers; how cute!  Lay marshmallows out on sticks so guests can roast them over the campfire.  Let them make s’mores the old fashioned way or add special condiments, like melted chocolate, crushed graham crackers, berry toppings, cinnamon and coconut.  Melt in your mouth goodness! Play up the hot chocolate bar with shaved chocolate, marshmallows, whipped cream and sprinkles.  Mmm!  Your guests will be toasting to your great hostess skills too!  Another special detail is the cake.  Get creative or hire your wonderful baker to shape the cake into the person you are celebrating.  Such a fun and special detail to any party, it truly lets the guest of honor know this party is just for them.

All the special touches are just right now lets roast and toast the Fall night away to the special guest of honor and have a jokingly good time!

Smores photo courtesy of Jared via flickr

Sometimes you need to throw a party, but your strapped for cash. In this month's blog, I'll give you a few do's and don'ts on how to do that.

Do's

Party Food: Plan Ahead & Make It Easy

Throw a potluck. Ask your guests to bring a dish. I suggest asking each guest what they are going to bring or giving them suggestions.

I once went to a pot luck where everyone brought a dessert.  Don't get me wrong, dessert is great. But when you're not prepared for a full on sugar high, it gets a bit tough.

Ask Aunt Kay to bring her special chip and dip, John to bring his slow cooker chicken, and so forth.  The key "do" here is to make sure you've got all meal courses covered; appetizers, salad, main dish and dessert.

If guests bring multiple items for a course that is great, as it will give your guests a nice selection of food.

Eco-friendly and Cost-saving Ways To Serve Your Food

If you're having a small party use your own plates and glasses instead of buying disposable ones. Although this means you will have to spend time washing the plates, you will save money and help the environment at the same time. If you'd rather not use your own plates and glasses, search your local party store for some discounted tableware. No one is going to care if their plates or glasses say Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

Get The Word Out About Your Party

For small informal parties email your invitations.  This will save money.  Or you may phone up your guests. You may also buy discounted generic invitations at a local stationery store. For more formal events, you will still want to send custom invitations.

Don'ts

Get A Little Party Help From Your Friends

Don't be afraid to ask a friend to chip in.  You might say, "Hey Sam, if you'll buy the steaks, I'll provided the grill and the drinks for the bachelor party."   Most people will be happy to chip in….anything for a party, right?

Simple Party Flowers

Be Crafty With Your Party Decorations

Not every party has to have glitz and glitter. Use simple homemade decorations, a few simple flower arrangements or none at all.

Parties are about meeting people and hanging out. Sometimes simple is the best.

Whether Big or Small, Simple Or Extravagant, Every Party Is Worthwhile!

Don't think that every party has to be extravagant. Some of the best parties are good, old-fashion potluck socials. Do remember that parties are about socializing and having fun, and that doesn't have to cost much. So go out and throw a party!

Remember the days of childhood when summertime brought catching fireflies in a Mason jar, playing outside 'til it was dark and eating homemade ice cream? I sure do and I think it's time we bring back the old ice cream sundae social.

There are several wonderful summer events in which an ice-cream sundae social would be perfect: family reunions, after a church picnic, at a friend's pool party and even summer birthday bashes.

Nothing says "summer" like ice cream, and nothing tends to bring smiles to people's faces and brings on the laughter like ice cream. So, for your next summer get-together, consider these ideas:

The Ice Cream Sundae Buffet – Set up a "buffet" of different flavored ice creams – both store bought and homemade – with fresh, summer fruits like strawberries, peaches, blueberries and raspberries.

Serve with homemade chocolate, caramel and strawberry sauces, or the bottled ones are just fine too. Provide other favorite toppings, such as jimmies, sprinkles, chopped peanuts and pecans, marachino cherries and whipped cream.

BYOT (Bring Your Own Toppings) Party –  You provide the ice cream, your guests provide the toppings. This is a cost-effective way to have an ice cream sundae social and your guests feel like they did something  to help.

Build-Your-Own Banana Split Party – Just a variation on the buffet, but make sure you have the yummy toppings for the classic banana split, including freshly-whipped cream.

Soda Fountain Social – Serve a variety of soda fountain classics. Recipes are readily available, as are the ingredients for root beer floats, Coke floats, old-fashioned sodas and lime rickeys. Let your guests "order" their favorite and you whip them up like a pro.

So cool down your next party with a ice cream and be the soical event of the year.

Publish Date: 9-22-10

The Do's & Don'ts of Kids Parties!

Children's parties can be a bit tough, even for a well-seasoned party host. This month, we are going to explore the do's and don'ts of children's parties.

Do Plan Some Type Of Entertainment Or Play Activity

One thing I cannot stress enough is have an activity planned for the children. Even a simple game of pin the tail on the donkey is a good planned activity for a kids party.  You may choose to hire cartoon characters or a magician as a way to entertain the children. You may even rent a big screen tv, so the children can play video games. Whatever you choose, the key is having some type of activity or type of entertainment for the kids.

Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help

You will need to have a few adults on the party scene to watch the kids.  Don't be afraid to ask other parents to help watch over them.  Most parents will be glad to help out.  You can reciprocate when they throw the next kids party.

Do Expect A Few Messes And Some Tears

Kids will be kids, and the younger ones will spill and make messes.  Be prepared ahead of time to handle these situations. Here's a hint:  If you have the party at your home and you have lightly-colored carpet, don't serve red punch (the tears shed may be your own). Plan your party so that any mess or spilled punch won't matter.  You can always do an outdoor party or rent the local…

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When you give a party at your own home, it is best to follow a few do's and don'ts.  That way you don 't end up resenting your party guest, and they don't go off grumbling about your bad party hosting.

Do put away any item or items you don't want broken.  For instance, great-grandma's irreplaceable Ming vase.  Accidents happen, and the worst thing you can do as a host is to spend your time hoping no one breaks your prized possessions or heirloom pieces.

Don't leave rooms unlocked or doors open to rooms or areas you don't want guests to be in or see . Humans are well, a bit nosey and curious.  So you must help those who are curious and take away temptation to peek by locking doors.

Do put away pets. Some people don't like pets or may even have allergies.  As a good host, you need to consider your guests.  If you're unable to lock your pet in a room away from the party, then I suggest lodging them at a kennel for the day of the party.

Don't forget to remove your prescription drugs from any of the bathrooms or the kitchen. This is especially important if your party will include children or teenagers.

Do make sure you have enough food and drink. If you're hosting a hors d'oeuvre party, you'll need 10-15 appetizers per person. For a dinner party make sure you have plenty of servings to go around and add about 3-4 extra servings.  You never know who might bring a guest or if someone has a big appetite. You want enough drinks to keep people happy.  You can ask a local wine and spirit store to make suggestions on types and quantities. Don't forget some soft drinks and water.

Don't forget you're the host not the waitperson. For informal parties, it is acceptable to place the food buffet style, and fix the party-goers one drink then tell them to help themselves.  If you're doing a more formal party, you may need to hire bar-staff and wait-staff.

This post is sponsored by Newark, Delaware, caterers.