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It’s A Potluck Party

When it comes to hosting a party at your house, there is a lot of work that is involved. You have to get the invitations, party supplies, decorate and worry about the food. However, why don’t you take some of the stress off you and host a potluck party? This is a great way to try out new recipes and save you time in the kitchen. So, Wedding and Party Network has a few tips in making this party a success.

Party Invitations

Potluck SetupIf you’re afraid that you’ll end up with a random assortment of food with your potluck, make it a theme to your potluck dinner. You can choose Mexican, Chinese or Italian. Pick a theme that you know everyone will enjoy. So, once you pick a theme for your potluck, be sure to include the theme on the party invitations.

The Setup 

The party setup is simple. Set up a designated table for the food. It could be your dining room table or you can set up a buffet table. Create or call your local florist for a beautiful table centerpiece and place flower arrangements and candles throughout your home.

Don’t forget to dig out the extra serving platters, dishes, baskets, utensils and have your oven ready. Not everyone will bring their food prepared, so have the oven ready and by having all your dishes out, you won’t be digging around your kitchen trying to find everything they need.

Food Suggestions

Along like any party, an actionable plan needs to be in place for you to be on time and not running around last-minute trying to get everything together.

  • All food should be prepared beforehand.
  • Nobody should be in the kitchen for longer than 5 minutes. This 5 minutes should be spent to pop a casserole into the oven to reheat it.
  • The serving size doesn’t need to equal the amount of guests you are having over. Each person should just take a small sample of each dish since there will be variety.
  • Traditional potlucks include, casseroles, soups, chili, salads and breads.
  • Food doesn’t have to be something fancy, try out recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation.
  • If you have a new recipe that you’ve been wanting to try out, this is the perfect time to try one out and get feedback.

Potluck parties are great for everyone. It can even become a monthly event where you pick a theme and try out new recipes that you’ve been wanting to try for a while. Even if you aren’t a fan of cooking, there’s always the option of hiring a caterer, which is a good excuse for all your friends to get together, have a good time and have a great food experience.

This post is brought to you by St Louis Caterers
Not in St Louis, MO? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network’s handy party planning directory to help you find a caterer near you!

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Mardi Gras Facts

When you think of Mardi Gras, you think of beads, masks, purple, green and gold and a big celebration. However, do you ever stop and wonder how these traditions came about and why we celebrate? Well, Wedding and Party Network has the low down on Mardi Gras. It will definitely get you thinking about Mardi Gras when you celebrate.

The Start Of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras BeadsThe history of Mardi Gras can be traced back to the Romans, specifically to a man named Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville. He actually landed 60 miles south of New Orleans and called it “Pointe Due Mardi Gras” and established “Fort Louis de Louisiane” in 1702. The next year,in 1703, their settlement celebrated the very first Mardi Gras. The next year, they established a secret society called, “Masque de la Mobile”, which only lasted a few years and then another secret society called, “Boeuf Graf Society”. They actually had a procession that was held on Fat Tuesday.

New Orleans was established in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne and by the 1730’s, Mardi Gras was openly celebrated by everyone, however, not in parade form. Within the next ten years, Louisiana’s Governor, The Maqruis de Vaudreuil established elegant society balls, which was the inspiration for the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras balls we see today. The earliest reference to a carnival was referred to in 178. Here is Mardi Gras timeline:

  • 1857 – First modern day Mardi Gras with lit torch parade
  • 1820 – Decorated wagons began to appear throughout parade
  • 1872 – First daytime procession, which was presented by Rex, the King of the carnival for a Russian Duke. This is also the time the flag colors were given, which are purple for justice, gold for power and green for faith.
  • 1896 – Les Mysterieuses, Carnival’s first female organization organizes it’s first ball.
  • 2008 – Mardi Gras is a symbolization to rebuild after the hit of hurricane Katrina.

 The History Of The King Cake

Along with Mardi Gras, comes various traditions, including The King Cake. It’s a coffee cake style pastry that is decorated with three colors, green, purple and gold. However, the fun is really inside the cake. Each cake has a plastic baby baked inside of it and the one who gets the baby in their slice, you must supply the cake the next year. It’s origin can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Europe and was delivered by settlers in the 1870’s.

The History Behind The Beads

So, where did the throwing of the beads come from? The tradition was adapted during the Rex parade when they threw handmade, glass necklaces. Since then, it has only grown and so has the bead industry. Also, the parade “Krewes” have only gotten more elaborate with the throwing of beads into the crowd. They are now throwing trinkets into the crowd, plastic cups or frisbees to make their float memorable.

So, here is the history of Mardi Gras. How will you incorporate these traditions into your party and will you make a tradition of your own? This is definitely a great time to get everyone together to share in these fun festivities.

This post is brought to you by Miami Party Planners.
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!

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Inspirational Friday – Mardi Gras

Here at Wedding and Party Network we want to give you inspiration for your wedding details. The details are what sets your wedding apart from anyone else. The colors, theme, detailing and style all creates your wedding day style. So, today’s Inspirational Friday will focus on Mardi Gras! This is the time for a fun celebration filled with purples, golds and greens, beads and a King Cake. A fun carnival celebration for the month of February.

When it comes to hosting a Mardi Gras party, think all things purple, green and gold. These are the official colors of this huge celebration. Think carnival style for your party decorations. For party decor, use beads, masks and confetti. Also, talk with your florist and they can come up an elaborate arrangement and event centerpiece that will definitely get your theme across. Don’t forget the Cajun style food and the King Cake!

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Celebrate National Gumdrop Day

There are many holidays that are celebrated each and everyday. Now, they may not be as big of a deal as some, however, you can still celebrate them. Holidays, such as, National Cupcake Day or National Chocolate Day are both great holidays to celebrate. So, why not celebrate National Gumdrop Day, which is today! Wedding and Party Network has the details on hosting a gumdrop party that everyone will enjoy!

A Little Background On Gumdrops

Sweet GumdropsGumdrops are a tasty, chewy and flavorful candy. They normally are cone-shaped and come in brightly, fun colors and are coated in granulated sugar. They also come in a variety of flavors like grape, lemon, orange and cherry. The history surrounding this candy is uncertain, though some people believe that a man named Percy Trusdale invented this candy. This candy is truly enjoyed by everyone and is a sweet treat to be enjoyed.

How To Celebrate

To celebrate, you can go low-key or even have a little celebration at dinner. Starting off the day with the gumdrop theme is great. Strand gumdrops on string and hang them over the dining room table. Just a hint of gumdrops to start your money is great. Also, don’t forget to incorporate the flower of the day, lavender, into this day. You can use this flower into your centerpiece or hide it in your child’s lunch.

For breakfast, create gumdrop bread, which is basically you taking your favorite bread recipe and adding gumdrops to it. Next up, pack up the lunches and fill them with their normal, everyday lunch and add a sweet treat like gumdrop popcorn balls, squares or gumdrop pops to add a bit of surprise to their lunch. It’s always nice to receive a sweet treat in your lunch when it’s not expected. Don’t forget to place the flower of the day into their lunch box or backpack.

To finish off the day, create a great dinner and a fun gumdrop inspired dessert. You can go with gumdrop cookies, gumdrop cakes or gumdrop party cakes. There are great desserts out there for National Gumdrop Day and the desserts are a sweet treat to end the day with.

When it comes to celebrating National Gumdrop Day, incorporate these sweet candies into everything. Fun decor and tasty treats will help you celebrate this fun holiday!

This post is brought to you by St Louis Caterers
Not in St Louis, MO? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network’s handy party planning directory to help you find a caterer near you!

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Roaring Dino Birthday Party

When it comes to celebrating a birthday party, make sure the theme of the party matches the child’s personality. You want them to look back and be happy that they had a great birthday party. No one wants to look back and wonder why their parents ever thought that theme was appropriate for one of their birthday parties. So, when it comes to planning a birthday party, you want to have as many option as you can to pick from. How about a roaring dinosaur birthday party for your little one? This party is sure to please and is absolutely adorable!

Dino SandwichesParty Invitations – Of course, your party invitations immediately show off the theme of the party. So, if it’s a dinosaur party, create a dinosaur, dino egg or even a dinosaur footprint with all the party’s details. If you’re creative, you can design your own. However, if that’s not your thing, you can always visit your local party store and you’ll find a variety of party invitations to choose from.

Dinosaur Party Decor – Of course, think about dinosaurs for your party decor. You don’t have to go all out if you’re throwing this for a little girl, however, if it’s for a boy, dinosaurs around the party are a must. If it’s for a little girl, choose colors like pink or purple and green for the party colors.

Blow up balloons and use colored twine and dip it in ModPodge, wrap around the balloon, let dry and then pop it. The result looks like a dinosaur egg, which you can place around the party. You can even make those tissue balls and hang them from the ceiling. Use tulle or mesh and balloons for decor.

For the boys, you can do the same decorations and then add dinosaur footprints everywhere, dino blowups, posters or create a jungle setting. These party decorations combined together makes the perfect setting for this theme.

How Dinosaurs Eat – When it comes to the food, you can keep it simple. However, put a fun twist on it and use dinosaur cookie cutters and cut your food out with those, like sandwiches, burgers and your cookies. Other than that, keep it simple with vegetables and fruits. For the birthday cake, you can either do cupcakes or a party cake that goes with the dinosaur theme. You can even create a dino cake for the birthday boy or girl and create cupcakes that feature eggs for the guests.

Dino DigParty Activities –There are cute party activities that go along with this party theme. First off, start with an egg hunt. You can either do this indoors or outside and place candy filled eggs throughout the entire house. You can even make a scavenger hunt out of this if the kids are older. Next up, get a sandbox or even smaller containers and hide dino bones or plastic dinosaurs in them, give the children paint brushes and some shovels and let them go to work on their dinosaur dig. All the kids will truly enjoy this!

Say Thanks – To say thank you for coming to my party, create dinosaur tails for them. How cute is that? You can make one for the boys and girls and even hand out a dinosaur egg with candy.

This party can go either way for a boy or girl. Plus, it’s absolutely adorable and the theme has some great party decorations and activities to go with it. Your little one will remember this and love the fact that they had a dinosaur themed birthday party.

This post is brought to you by Miami Party Planners.
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!

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February Newsletter – All You Need Is Love

Volume 3 Issue 2

Running behind on finding the perfect Valentine’s Day gift? Need some last-minute ideas? Wedding and Party Network has our top picks for last-minute Valentine’s Day Gifts that are sure to please no mater who is on the receiving end.

Candy, Flowers & Jewelry – You never can go wrong with these items. These are all still popular gifts that you can find almost anywhere you go. They offer tons of unique chocolate, like spicy chocolate or organic chocolate. So, skip the box of chocolates and go with something unique and flavorful that they’ll enjoy. This goes for the same for flowers and jewelry. Find something that matches their personality, instead of the regular roses and tennis bracelet.

Wine, Dinner & A Movie – Get a bottle of nice wine, make dinner from scratch or order your favorite take out and rent a movie. It’s a great, low-key night in and is nice since you won’t have to fight the crowds out at the restaurants or try to find a last-minute dinner reservation. It’s much more special and intimate.

Photos – Finding the perfect picture for a gift is always a great way to go. You can create a scrapbook of your most memorable times together or have your favorite picture blown up into a canvas or placed into a frame. Photos are always a wonderful gift and they never fail at making that recipient smile.

Make A Day Trip – If you share a special location that you both enjoy to go to, plan a little trip. It’s a great time to get away and can easily be planned last-minute. It could be your favorite park, mountain top or even amusement park, just pack a little lunch and head out for the day,just the two of you.

There are lots of great ideas out there for Valentine’s Day, even if it is a last-minute gift. You just have to get creative and think outside-the-box. Make sure to match the gift with their personality and style and they’re sure to love it!

If you are planning a Valentine’s Day party, let Wedding and Party Network help!


We’re Social:

How Does Everyone Else Celebrate Valentine’s Day?
We all think that Valentine’s Day is all about showing the love, reds, pinks, purples and candied hearts, however, is that how everyone else celebrates? What do other people around the world do to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do they all plan romantic dates and give each other chocolates and flowers? Read more about How Everyone Celebrates Valentine’s Day

Show Love On Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is a day for love. It’s about showing the people you love how much you do care for them. However, everyone thinks that this needs to be shown EVERYDAY, not just on this one day out of the entire year. For those who only get around to it a couple of times a year, this day included, you need to go all out. Read more about Showing Love On Valentine’s Day

Flowers & Quotes – A Great Combination For Valentine’s Day
Not a clue on what to do for Valentine’s Day? It can be a stressful time trying to come up with the perfect gift for your sweetheart. However, it doesn’t have to be so stressful. Wedding and Party Network has came up with the perfect combination for Valentine’s Day. Read more about Flowers & Quotes

Chocolate Covered StrawberriesRockin’ Valentine’s Day Party
The holidays are over, so what’s next? Time for a breather or you can go ahead and start planning a rockin’ Valentine’s Day party! Planning a Valentine’s Day party is stressful. You may be unsure on what direction to take with your party, such as, you may want to get away from all the love and romance and just make it fun. Read more About A Rockin’ Valentine’s Day

Wine & Chocolate Pairing Party
Many say that wine and chocolate cannot be successfully combined, but others beg to differ. The key is to find the right combinations of the two decadent treats. In fact, the trend is growing so rapidly that many are throwing wine and chocolate tasting parties. Read more about Wine & Chocolate Pairing

Setting The Mood For Valentine’s Day
A romantic night in for two, yes please! We’ll take that any day over crowded restaurants, dinner reservations months in advance and the lack of intimacy. A dinner for two at your house or his is the perfect setting for a romantic evening in. However, you can be stressed about what to cook, how to decorate and even where to begin when planning your special night in. Read more about Setting The Mood











Pink Floral ArrangementOld Post Office Event Center – A Beautiful Background For Your Event
One of the most important details of any special event, whether it’s your wedding day or special party, the location is one of the most important details. It tells your story. Your venue represents you, your party, theme and everything. Read More about Old Post Office Event Center

Get The Party Started With Entertainment Inc.
When planning a special event or wedding, you want everyone to have a great time. Sure this is your event, however, you always take into consideration about ALL of your guests having an amazing time. You want your event to be memorable and the talk of the town.
Read more about Entertainment Inc.

Blue Jeans To Bridal Alterations – Providing You With The Perfect Fit
Finding the perfect wedding dress for your big day is an absolute must. You want to find your dream wedding gown. A dress that you’ve always dreamed of since you were little. This is your wedding, therefore, feel like a princess on your day. Do you take into consideration about how your wedding dress will fit?
Read more about Blue Jeans To Bridal Alterations


Chocolate Covered Strawberries (Catering Creations By CruLaRo), Bed Of Roses (Flowers Plus), Balloon Heart Column (Crossroads Florist), Candy Buffet (The Chocolate Chick Company), Pink & White Table Setting (La Petite Jaune Fleur), Heart Portrait (Shannon Kaye Photography), Pink Floral Arrangement (Waterbrook Florist),

For more vendors in your area, visit Wedding And Party Network for all of your wedding and party planning needs!

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An Un-Birthday Bash

Is your birthday coming up or someone you know? However, are you not keen on celebrating it or making it focused on your age? Well, an Un-Birthday celebration is great! Yes, it’s a play off Alice in Wonderland and it’s a fun party theme that absolutely everyone will enjoy! Also, remember, this party can be thrown on any day of the year. Just like in the movie, the un-birthday tea party wasn’t on the Mad Hatter’s birthday. Wedding and Party Network has a few party tips to make this un-birthday bash a huge celebration.

Over-The-Top Party CakeParty Invitations – Your party invitations definitely need a Wonderland-esque theme. Make sure to have a riddle or poem for the wording on the invitation. It can be in the shape of a funky hat, cards, smoke or find inspiration from the Queen of Hearts.

Un-Birthday Decorations – Again, find inspiration through this fun Disney movie. Make tea cups and teapots the center of attention at this party. Use bright and vibrant colors for the table cloths, flower arrangements, which can be made into teapots or made in, fun vases, playing cards strung together, lanterns and mix and match patterns. Don’t forget the signs that point all different ways, and even have them customized for the location. This is the party you can definitely go all out with.

Wonderland Food – Little tea cakes, a tea bar, tiny biscuits, cookies that say “eat me”, fun cupcakes and whatever other appetizers you would like to have at your party. Your food should be whatever you want, except for the little details like the tea cakes and tea bar that goes a long with the theme. The key is how you display your food. Use little tags that say “eat me” or “drink me”. Display the food in varying heights and in different colored platters. Don’t forget to offer a tea bar that features a variety of teas and to tie little tags that say “drink me” on the cups.

Party Activities – For adults and the children, a photo booth is super fun for all. You can get photo booth props such as, big smiles like the Cheshire cat, crazy hats or big sunglasses. You can even make little photo cut outs for your guests to poke their heads through and take a picture.

Dress Code – Of course, you must have a dress code for your party. Include this in your party invitations. This can include fun and crazy hats and even find inspiration through the Alice in Wonderland characters.

Your party will truly be a huge success. With the vibrant colors, unique party accents and tasty food, everyone will truly have a great time, especially in the dress code. 

This post is brought to you by St Louis Caterers.
Not in St. Louis, MO? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network’s handy party planning directory to help you find a caterer near you!

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1st Birthday Party Ideas

What major events do you have coming up this year? Anything special? Well, a first birthday does sound like a big milestone for anyone! However, what will you do to make your child’s first birthday special? There are many, many ideas out there that can make it special. However, you have to find one that fits their personality and stands out from the rest. Well, Wedding and Party Network has our top picks for 1st birthday party themes.

For The Boys…

Monkey Party CakeMonkey Around – Boys are all over the place, especially at the age of one. Therefore, a monkey themed birthday party is perfect! Think all things monkeys. Create trees, place monkeys around and use bananas. Refer to all things monkey. Also, for the food, fix banana pudding, monkey bread and banana cupcakes. However, not everyone enjoys bananas. Therefore, create whatever you enjoy and just use printables that feature monkeys and cute names like monkeying around or monkey crunch.

Hole In One –An adorable theme is a hole in one party, which focuses on golf. Create a blue and green theme and use this color scheme throughout everything. Plant grass in a square vase or just use paper grass and place donut holes on a stick and place them in the vase for a unique food display. Place golf balls out as party decorations, have golf cart rides, golf inspired cupcakes, “club” sandwiches and the party favors can be those plastic golf clubs.

Rock Star –A rocking birthday bash is a great theme for the little ones. You can definitely get creative with this one, using guitars and the color schemed red and black. You can have the little one rock a biker jacket for attire. How cute does that sound? Just place little guitars, drumsticks or music notes on everything. A great party favor is a plastic microphone filled with candy. This is definitely a great 1st birthday party for the little guy.

Barnyard Bash –Who doesn’t enjoy animals? There are tons of ideas for this cute birthday party theme. Think of all the barnyard animals and what you can find in or around the barn. Create a fun barnyard cake complete with all the animals.

For The Girls…

Butterfly Ball – A party full of butterflies, fairies and a vintage feel, what little girl wouldn’t love looking back on this party? Your main focus should be butterflies. You can find them in various colors, patterns and designs almost in any store, even home accent stores. Just plan this party ahead so you have plenty of time to look for unique butterflies. Hang butterflies from fishing line throughout the party, attach wings to the chairs, decorate the tables with tulle and place butterflies throughout the food table.

Eiffel Tower CakeLittle Miss Sunshine – You know, the ever popular girly shirts that feature, Little Miss Sunshine, Little Miss Rain or Little Miss Naughty. Well, base the party around Little Miss Sunshine (you can replace the word sunshine with the birthday girl’s name). Think all things yellow for this party. Mix and match fun pastels with the yellow, but keep that the main color of your party. You can create whatever appetizers you may like, feature a fun yellow cake and a candy bar. This 1st birthday party is ideal for the bright and cheery little girl.

Pink Lemonade – A fun little pink lemonade birthday party is great! Think all things pink. Keep this party pretty simple and serve adorable lemonade in bottles or mason jars and keep the food light, like tea sandwiches, miniature cupcakes, vegetable platters and fruit trays. For the decorations, think pink streamers, balloons and even a pink lemonade stand. This party is simple yet perfect for a first birthday party.

1 Upon A Time – Make once upon a time and turn it into a 1 upon a time party. How cute is that? Of course, dress her up in a little tutu with a crown and make the party all things princess themed. You can choose whatever color you like or center it around a certain Disney princess. Take ideas for your favorite princess movies and incorporate that into the decorations, food and party games.

Pinwheels & Pearls –Pinwheels and pearls is a cute little theme that looks great on the invitation and so adorable within the party decorations. Serve up cute little pinwheel food, like sausage pinwheels, turkey pinwheels or jelly rolls. Anything that is related to pinwheels. Even pinwheel cookies and place them on a stick. Think pastels, pinwheels and pearls to place out for party decorations. This party is too cute!

Whenever planning a 1st birthday party, keep the child in mind and try to match the party theme to their adorable personality. What do they love most or what do they remind you of most? This is a very special occasion that needs to be remembered and truly celebrated in fashion.

This post is brought to you by Miami Party Planners.
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!

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Rockin’ Valentine’s Day Party

The holidays are over, so what’s next? Time for a breather or you can go ahead and start planning a rockin’ Valentine’s Day party! Planning a Valentine’s Day party is stressful. You may be unsure on what direction to take with your party, such as, you may want to get away from all the love and romance and just make it fun. Well, Wedding and Party Network has a party idea that is fun, out-of-the-box and everyone will enjoy it!

Valentine's Candy HeartsParty Theme – When you think about this holiday, you immediately think of love and romance. Some people aren’t a fan of this holiday since they don’t have a significant other in their life. However, it’s fun for everyone! Invite your closest friends over and host a Rockin’ Valentine’s Day Party! This theme takes a different take on this holiday by throwing some rocker accents into the party.

Rockin’ Party Decorations – Think guitars and rock and roll. However, keep it within the holiday colors, like red, pink, white and purple. Don’t forget to add some black into it though to give it that rocker edge. Feature a sign with a big guitar, banner with edgy font & designs and incorporate it mainly everything you can. Also, instead of soft colors, choose bright hues.

Fun Party Food – Of course, you can stick with the appetizers you normally serve at your party. Vegetable platters, dips, meat and cheese tray, mini sandwiches or fruit trays are all great items to serve at your party. It’s all in how you present the food. So, for this party, choose brightly colored platters and create little guitars with the name of the food printed on it.

Now dessert is where you get creative. Feature brightly colored cupcakes with guitar toppers instead of a party cake. Also, you know those candy hearts that come around during this time a year? Use that concept for sugar cookies and place cute sayings like, “love rocks” or “you rock.” Don’t forget to incorporate some guitar-shaped cookies in with it. Have cake pops and spell out words with them or even colorful drinks with fun heart straws. There are so many creative food ideas out there, just remember to incorporate Valentine’s Day, a little rock and roll and display it in a fun way.

Valentine's Day CookiesSay Thanks – Don’t forget to say thanks to your guests. Find little mailboxes and decorate them with guitars and saying for your guests as a little Valentine’s Day mailbox for all their cards. You can even suggest that your guests or the children bring cards for everyone to exchange.You can even have a candy bar and let your guests fill up their mailbox with lots of goodies.

Activities – For the children, let them decorate their own cards or mailboxes. Now for an activity that everyone can enjoy, set up Guitar Hero or Rock Band. The adults and children will love doing this activity together.

Instead of focusing on romance, host an event for everyone that is absolutely rockin’!

This post is brought to you by Philadelphia Bakeries.
Not in Philadelphia, PA? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network’s handy party planning directory to help you find a bakery near you!

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A Timely Dinner Party

It’s time to start planning your New Year’s Eve party. So, do you have any idea on what you want to do? Sure, you can go out, however, every place will be extremely crowded. Maybe you enjoy that or maybe you don’t, whatever you enjoy, you definitely want to have plans for New Year’s Eve. If you want to enjoy the evening in, then why not host a party of your own with a timely dinner party? This party theme fits the holiday perfectly and you can share it with your closest friends for a great night in for New Year’s Eve.

Sparkly Decorations

 

Sparklers

When you think of this big event, you may always think of glitter and sparkle everywhere. It’s definitely the time to bring those elements out. Therefore, incorporate them into your decor is an absolute must.Think glitter, sequins and metallic. Don’t forget to incorporate a few clocks in there as well. Use glittery ornaments, spell out “2012” using Styrofoam and coat with glitter, set up metallic streamers in your choice of color for the party decor.

Use various sized vases, champagne, wine and martini glasses to create unique centerpieces for your party. Fill each one with metallic streamers, glitter, confetti or talk to your florist about coming up with a sparkly centerpiece that will grab everyone’s attention.

You want this party to be elegant, yet fun. You can do this by choosing the right color combinations, like jewel tones, black and silver, black and gold or even a jewel tone pink and aqua. All these colors will create a great setting for the night.
Party Tip – Don’t forget to create signs for your food table to let guests know what’s what. Use elegant typography on color schemed paper that matches your party and attach them to sparklers. Place it in the middle of each dish.

Elegant Dinner

Along with this party, delicious food is a must. If you have some great dishes you would love to share with your guests, create it. However, since this is such a special occasion, you may think about having the dinner catered. Having an experienced caterer that has many options for dinner, along with a wait staff will definitely make the night much more special. A full course meal along with a spectacular dessert will truly make the night special.

When The Clock Strikes Twelve

Unique Food DisplayWhen the clock strikes twelve it’s time to start ringing in the new year. How? You can do the normal party blowers or have a little firework show of your own. Gather everyone up outside and light sparklers up. It’s a fun way to ring in the new year and can also add to the decor of your party. Remember those martini glasses, stick the sparklers in one of those that is filled with glitter and it’s an added special touch.

When planning your New Year’s Eve party, think about having an elegant, low-key party inside your home. This beats the crowds that you’ll face out on the town and you can share it with your closest family and friends. Who could think of a better way to spend this holiday?

This post is brought to you by Austin Caterers.
Not in Austin, TX? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network’s handy party planning directory to help you find a caterer near you!

When the Holidays Meet “I Do”

The holiday season has a magic all its own, so it’s no surprise many couples find themselves beneath the mistletoe. Spending the holidays newly engaged makes visiting with family and friends especially special and sentimental. From engagement party ideas to planning a stunning winter wedding, we’ve compiled a list of ways to celebrate your merry season!