When planning a party, you keep up with the latest trends. Even within events and parties, trends change. This includes party invitations. There are really some fun ways that you can invite guests to your party that is creative and truly out-of-the-box. Invitations are such an important part of your party since they immediately show off the theme of your event, therefore, they must be special. Wedding and Party Network has got some great party invitations that are definitely on trend.

Invitation & A Gift – What better way to get your guests more into your party than with a gift? It doesn't have to be big, just attach something small to the invitation. Small paperweights, bookmarks or even a cd with a few songs that conveys the theme of your party are all wonderful gifts to include with the party invitation.

Video Or CD – A creative way to invite guests is to send them a little DVD with a movie on it inviting them. This is really creative and such a fun thing for your guests to pop in their DVD player and watch. This will definitely grab their attention and get them extremely ready for the party. Find a videographer to help you create your own little video montage.

Make sure it goes with the theme. However, if you can't go with the video invitation, think about creating a CD. You can create a song montage with your speaking or even do a mash-up of songs to let them invite your guests over, that may be a little bit of work but so fun to listen to that your guests will listen to it a few times.

Food – If it's a smaller party, think about hand delivering your invitations, which makes it great when you are hand delivering cupcakes or cakes. Write out the details on the cake or spell it out with cupcakes. Your guests will find it truly delightful when you show up on their doorstep with some freshly baked goods and a party invitation. However, remind them to write the details before the eat it all up.

Flowers – Again, if this is a smaller party with not a lot of guests, consider delivering them flowers as part of their party invitation. Make sure the flowers match your party's color scheme and even the design. Having you show up on their door with fresh flowers will truly make their day. They'll definitely be attending your party!

However, pick the party invitation that best fits your party budget and style. Invitations make impressions on your guests and makes them excited for your event.

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This year, the Chinese New Year falls on February 3, 2011 and lasts for 15 days, which are full of celebrations. This special holiday is filled with lots of vibrant colors, unique decorations and tasty foods that can kick off this new year. Would you like to incorporate this holiday into a party theme? Well, let Wedding and Party Network help with these 3 party tips that will help you begin your Chinese New Year Party!

411 On Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is different every year since it depends on the lunar phase. It is also based on a mythology beast called Nian, that would come out and eat people on this day until a man conquered this, which in turn people began to celebrate. This is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar.

It lets them honor their household and hold remembrance for their lost ancestors. However, it has evolved into a big celebration that brings family members together. This celebration lasts for 15 days and has a certain day devoted to family members and ancestors. It ends with a big festivity and their lantern festival.

How YOU Can Celebrate!

There are lots of ideas you can use when creating a Chinese New Year themed party. From the colors, invites, decorations and food; you'll celebrate in true custom ways with a fun themed dinner party.

Invitations: Create red and gold lanterns in honor of their lantern festival, you can easily make this on your own or find something at your stationery store. Also, go with the Chinese zodiac sign that is being featured this year, which is the rabbit. However, you can also stick with all zodiac signs like the tiger, rabbit, snake, dragon or monkey. These items go great with this celebration and all you need to include is the basics.

Festive Colors & Decorations: Stick with reds and golds for your party color scheme. Place paper lanterns, Chinese good luck symbols and zodiac symbols out for party decorations. During this holiday, there are flowers that represent this holiday. Plum blossom, bamboo, sunflower and eggplant are what you can use for a Chinese New Year flower arrangement for your party. Stick with Chinese traditional symbols, signs and flowers to create a themed look.

Asian Style Dishes: Of course, when you are trying to figure out what type of party food you need to serve, go with Asian influenced dishes. This should be all about their culture, especially what type of food they serve. Spring rolls, dumplings, lettuce wraps, stir fry, orange chicken, tangerines, oranges, fish and long noodles are some of the dishes that can be served during your festivities.

Also, when thinking about what food to prepare, think of what they mean in Chinese culture. Chicken & fish symbolize happiness and prosperity, oranges represent good fortune, noodles means longevity and duck means fertility. You'll have a prosperous new year.

Even though desserts are not too popular during this holiday doesn't mean you can't serve up some for your party. Create a tangerine sorbet, mandarin orange pie or Chinese almond cookies. Traditional desserts include a Chinese sticky cake. This is pretty much a rice cake and is served to the kitchen god to ensure good luck for the upcoming year.

However, if cooking is not your strong suit; order Chinese take out. This may be frowned upon in their culture, but it may be just as good to you. Another alternative is hiring a caterer. They will always make sure they serve up traditional Chinese New Year food for your party!

Thanks For Coming: Another tradition that they do is giving gifts in red envelopes, mainly money. So, say thank you to your guests with a red envelope filled with fortune cookies and chopsticks. Such a simple party favor, yet it goes perfectly with this theme!

These are the 3 main party tips in making your themed party a success. However, there are so many more ideas out there. You can have everyone dress up in traditional wardrobe too! This party theme is such a fun and festive event that all your guests will enjoy. It's a time to reunite ties and create a feeling of togetherness.

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Chinese lantern festival photo by Michael Caven via flickr.

While the freezing weather has yet to hit us, lets all enjoy being outside while we still can! Being outdoors is a great place to enjoy memorable times with friends and family and to host unique parties. For the Fall weather, host a small get together that is warm and cozy. What better way to do this? Host a dinner and a movie party! This is a great setup to share with close friends and family and will give you a few hours to relax and take a break from everyone's hectic lives. Here are a few ideas & tips to help you along the way.

Fun Party Decorations

The Smallest Details Create The Party

"It's all in the details," is so true. Even the smallest details can give your party an extra punch, so make sure to go all out and not miss a step. This party theme should be for close friends and family members — a smaller get together. It'll give you guys time to relax and catch up on the details of their lives. First is first:

Invitations: You're sure to find themed invitations at your local stationery store so these won't be a problem since there are invitations for every party theme out there. If you're crafty, create them yourself.

A cute popcorn bucket, ticket stub or even a miniature movie screen would be ideal for this affair. Use the words featuring, which should be the movie title, and co-starring should be all the details of the party. Setting the theme from the beginning is a must.

Movie, Time & Location: Pick an oldie but goodie, those movies never go out of style and everyone still enjoys them. Think of a movie that you could watch a million times, but never get tired of. Timing is a big part of this party. It should be dark enough to give it that movie-setting feel and where you can actually view the movie outside.

The time will all depend on when the sun goes down at your house. Finally, the location should be outside in your backyard since there is so much fun stuff you can do. However, bringing the party inside won't slow you down either.

Party Props: Create a movie poster featuring all the details of the party and point them in the right direction is such an easy task. However, it will just add that much more to your party theme. Since Fall is here, so are hay bales. Are you thinking of it?  Yes, a great movie seat! Set a couple blankets out with them and voila, there you have it.

A great movie seating arrangement. You could even throw big pillows and blankets around to make it even more cozy. A movie outside requires a white sheet or screen and projector to play the movie on. However, if you don't have these items, you can always bring the party inside. Such fun party props to complete your dinner & a movie theme night.

Movie Theme Decorations: Since it's an outside party, think rustic. You have the bales of hay, now just add little details such as pumpkins of different colors and sizes and simple flowers. You don't need much, just keep it simple and cozy with your party theme decorations.

Oh My, Party Food: Of course, you need a concession stand. Get a wagon or a table to serve the food. Popcorn is a must and should be served out of popcorn bags or even brown paper bags. Think of oldie but goodie candy. Tootsie rolls, Hersheys, Twizzlers or milk duds will be a great. Serve them out of paper bags too. Tie stuff up in twine, it will keep with the rustic vibe. Such cute and yummy party food!

Even get creative with your beverages. Serve your drinks out of mason jars. You can even create a hot chocolate bar to warm your guests up with chocolate shavings, sprinkles, whipped topping and marshmallows. Mmm, delicious apple cider would be a great way to warm up too.

This party is a fantastic get together to plan with friends and family. Enjoying each others company with this fun and cozy party theme is a great time for the Autumn weather.

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Hot Chocolate Photo, Apple & Hay Photo & Movie Photo are provided by Je l'ai fait!, methyl_lives & Kid's Birthday Parties via flickr.

Your bridal shower or wedding is an event you will remember for the rest of your life. With Creative Wedding Favors' unique wedding favors, you can give all of your guests a little something to remember your big day.

Creative Wedding Favors offers an array of fabulous gifts for any style bride or hostess: bookmarks for readers, Eco friendly party favors, coffee or wine lover gifts, creative personalized containers and so much more! With hundreds of styles to choose from, every bride will be able to offer personalized wedding favors that match her personality or the wedding theme.

For years to come, Brad and Tiffany's wedding guests will remember their beach wedding when they look at the Thank You Seashell Candle given as a wedding favor. Special momento's can be created with a variety of items from Creative Wedding Favors. Maybe one of their engagement portraits in a White Rose Magnetic Frame to match Jennifer and Scott's lovely, all-white traditional wedding theme? The possibilities are endless!

Creative Wedding Favors also offers a large selection of invitations and save the date cards (Including magnetic photo frame save the date cards!). Their best sellers are themed wedding invitations; the Las Vegas wedding invitations are the too cute!

These little gifts make great party favors too! Use these for many great parties: unique themed parties, anniversary party favors, baby showers, birthday party favors, graduation or Quinceañera favors, and so much more.

Everyone looks for a good reason to celebrate. Cinco De Mayo is just such a reason. After all, commemorating independence is a wonderful reason to celebrate. Although Cinco De Mayo is the celebration of Mexico's Independence from Spain, it has great significance to those in the United States as well. Mexico and the United States have fought shoulder to shoulder to protect the freedom and liberty of their citizens. This wonderful celebration can be enjoyed by anyone from anywhere. It all begins with an authentic Mexican fiesta!

Planning Your Cinco De Mayo Fiesta

• Invitations – Make them festive.  You can buy invitations or create your own. Creating your own invitations can be fun and inexpensive.  Whether you buy party invitations or create your own, make sure they are colorful and festive.  Get creative with your designs. Use maracas, Mexican flags and the colors red, green and white as your part of your invitation theme since these are the national colors of Mexico.
• Decorations – Make them come alive. If you want to make this fiesta memorable, go over-the-top with your decorations! Include sombreros, Mexican colors (red, white, and green), colorful streamers and a lot of party balloons in your decoration scheme.  The more bright and festive colors used the better.
• Food – Make it tasty & spicy.  Food is the main attraction and the one thing everyone looks forward to at a party. Don't limit yourself.  Any type of Mexican food will be a star at this festive party.  Think spicy, think flavorful when you plan the food selections. Chicken molé, tamales, tacos along with chips and salsas are pretty standard fare for a Cinco De Mayo celebration.  Don't forget the sweets.  Cream cheese flan or sopapillas dipped in honey are great items for the dessert table.
• Entertainment – Make it active.  Every celebration needs entertainment.  Add excitement to the fiesta by incorporating activities as part of the entertainment. Teach your guests to do the macarena or have a piñata for the children. At any fiesta music is a MUST! Add a little musical spice by playing cumbia, salsa, or any latin music that you would enjoy.
• The Finale – Light up the Sky.  In many countries, fireworks are a traditional way to end the celebration.  Plan a firework demonstration for the end of the party.

Regardless of the decorations you choose, the food you cook, or music you play, a well planned fiesta is sure to be a great success!

Dear Celebration Advisor: I am wanting to give my sister, who is fighting cancer, a surprise birthday dinner party. My husband and I cannot afford to pay for all the guests. On the invitation how would you word it so the guests know that the cost is $15.00 per person to attend. It is a rather awkward thing to ask so I do want to do it in a non-offensive way. Can you help me??? Thanks for your help! Anita

Reply:

This can be a tricky situation. According to Emily Post, you can't ask guest to essentially pay to attend. It is suggested that you cut the guests list down or find a less expensive venue. However, I don't necessarily agree that a party can't be "dutch treat".

This is how I usually handle those "dutch treat" parties. I don't send formal invitations. Instead I do my invites by phone or even email. When I send the invitation by email it goes something like this:

Sally's birthday is Friday May 8th. I am taking her to Godsey's restaurant for dinner at 7pm. I thought it would be a nice surprise if some of her friends were there to surprise her. I thought you might want to join us. The restaurant is going to reserve an area for our "dutch-treat" get-together. The entrees run anywhere from $15.00-$30.00. Please let me know if you will be joining us.

The most important thing is to keep the tone informal and not to declare host status. If you must send a printed invitation, keep in mind it must still reflect an informal party tone. My suggest is to word the invitation something like this:

The Friends Of Sally Miller
will gather on Saturday May, 10th
at 7pm at Godsey's Restaurant
to celebrate her birthday.

This gathering is a surprise!
To RSVP call
Jane Baker at 870-555-5555

This party invitation wording keeps the occasion tone informal. Notice the status of host is not declared in this invitation. When a party is "Dutch treat", it does not have a host per say. If you feel the need to include the term "dutch treat" on invitation do it at the bottom of the invitation like this

This gathering will be "Dutch Treat"
call Jane For restaurant information

I hope this information will help you plan a wonderful party for your sister. Please keep me posted.

Ok, we know that Valentine’s Day is the worst day of the year if you are single right? Well this year, why not do something to make it fun for all of us single people. Everywhere you go its couples, couples, couples so, I decided this year I would throw a party for Valentine’s Day. Yes… a social mixer. Not only for single people, because that might be awkward, but just a fun party for everyone to meet new people and make acquaintances.

Here are a few party ideas that will help you throw your own V-Day Celebration.

Invitations are great for this type of party because it symbolizes formality and event importance. Continue reading "Valentine's Day Mixers… Singles can have fun too!" »

Invite Excitement With Creative Party Invitations

Of all the responsibilities of throwing a party, the invitation is often the most overlooked—and the most important. The party invitation is the first thing guests will see. It gives them an idea of the theme, atmosphere, and basic information about the party. If you rigorously work to throw a party, you want the invitation to show it!

For every type of party, there are hundreds of invitation possibilities. While creativity at a party is somewhat optional, it is a must for the invitation. It’s the “calling card” for the event. Invitations represent the event in its entirety.

Add A Personal Touch To Party Invitations

Invitations for common events, such as weddings and birthday parties, are opportunities to display some uncommonness and personality. Elaborate invitations are always an option; however, the more personality injected into an invitation, the more effective it will be. For example, with birthday parties, try a snapshot of the guest of honor in his or her youth with information on the back or, for something more formal, place the photo inside of a more intricate invitation.

Find a humorous or endearing photograph from a scrap album, have copies made at any photography development counter, and add the time, date, and location on the back or on the rest of the invitation. Imagine getting a photo in the mail of a friend dressed like a cowboy as a four-year-old and how difficult it Continue reading "Party Invitation Ideas" »