Easter On A Whim

By Poppie

 I realized today that I am hosting an Easter Extravaganza in exactly 1 week at our house!  This if a challenge even for the most amazing hostess, so I wondered what I could pull out of my little bag of tricks.  I admit, I wasn’t feeling very inspired since I only have a week to plan.

What to do, what to do?  Drumming fingers, thinking, thinking…  For décor, how about a switcheroo on the old mantel, that’s always easy and fun, because it’s only been a month since I last changed it! Yeah, the mantel.  Some fresh flowers and a few flea market finds from the past, and presto, a new mantelscape (just made up this word) is on display.  Always an easy fix and the first thing my guests see as they enter.  For other simple decorations, I used the inspiration of my 3 daughters and said, “Create”.  They stepped up to the challenge and produced various decorated foam Easter eggs and crosses (because this is a significant holiday for us) to hang around the wall.  Then I saw a delightful Pinterest idea and created a cute peep show, with homemade strung peeps.  The kids had a blast with this one.

Now to tackle the menu.  Everyone gets together for this important holiday and cooks a variety of their favorites, but I had an AHA! Moment when I thought, I should make some carrot cake - with an abundance of cream cheese frosting, of course.  I made mine in the shape of an egg (naturally) and decorated with frosting in pretty pastel colors. Easy and fun and so good to eat.  We had other goodies as well, but I always think dessert first when it comes to party ideas.

Of course I painted – with special decorating techniques for speckled, stickered, and glittered eggs and stuffed (with a bucket load of candy) a gazillion Easter eggs for our annual Easter Egg Hunt.  I love watching the kids run around “finding their hidden treasures”.  Especially the little ones.  They are too cute to watch as they discover one egg (and just want the one) while the bigger kids run around grabbing all they can get their hands on.

I needed a few extra (and quick) items to compliment my egg-cellent choices so far.  I wondered down to Nobbies and grabbed Easter baskets and a few more Easter supplies that I would need to complete my party area.  They had everything I need to fill my baskets with toys and goodies, grab all my table supplies, and get every in-between item I made need.  I didn’t even have to stop anywhere else, which is convenient when you only have a week to plan things.

This has actually been one of the easiest Easter Parties I have ever pulled off. Note to self – plan a week ahead only!  I hope that your Easter plans go as smooth and you have an (wait for it) Egg-cellent time Easter weekend celebrating with family and friends.

St Patrick's Day Party Ideas

Throwing a St. Patrick's Day Party means going green.  St. Patrick’s Day is a fun and free spirited celebration for everyone, whether you belong to the Irish community or you just enjoy the spirit of this Irish-themed holiday.  Since, everybody's Irish on St. Paddy's Day, it’s a great reason to throw a party for family and good friends!

Invitations:  St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner so get your invites out now.  Keep it simple with a shamrock shaped invitation.  Cut the shape out of green card stock paper; use a pencil to trace the outline of a shamrock cookie cutter and cut along the line. Write the party greeting on one side of the shamrock and add the date, location and time details on the opposite side.  Use this little rhyme as a party greeting:

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind always be at your back
And may that road be the one to our house
For a party to celebrate St. Pat's!

Come join the shenanigans and share the green beer
It's a Saint Patrick's Day Party and we want you here!

Our Irish eyes will be smiling if you join us at our St. Patrick's Day celebration!

Be sure to add “Wear green!” on the invites.

Attire:  Of course, green is the way to go with your St. Patrick's Day gear.  Lads and lassies alike can get into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day by breaking out all their green clothing, pinning on a "Kiss Me, I’m Irish" button and topping it all off with a green leprechaun's hat.  If you’re really audacious, try adding some shamrock tattoos in various places and show guests your green.

Décor:  Start your St. Paddy’s Day decorating with green streamers in various shades to set the mood.  Go all out with a string of green lights (get out your Christmas lights) and shamrock-shaped helium balloons strategically placed around the festivities.  Put up green cutouts of shamrocks and leprechauns on the walls and in the windows.  Suspend lanterns in a rainbow pattern around your party area.  Add Lucky Charms cereal for festive table confetti.  Fill bowls or vases with them to dress up your party.

Ambience:  Put on a CD of traditional Irish songs and print out the lyrics for your guests so they can croon along to classics like "Danny Boy."  Hand out paper and pens and give your guests five minutes to write a limerick, and then read them aloud in your best Irish accents.  If you're the adventurous type, send your guests on a treasure hunt for a leprechaun's pot of gold.  Before guests arrive, hide your treasure (gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins) around the party area, then have guests search for it throughout the party.

Favors:  Hand out “Kiss Me, I’m Irish!” buttons or party beads to your guests to wear during the course of the party.  As they leave, hand out little pots of gold (goodluck coins, small treats, and a some party beads in a little pot).

Menu:  Get out your green food coloring; you'll need it to dye everything from mashed potatoes to beer.  Serve beer in mini mugs or green koozies.   In addition to green-colored treats, serve traditional Irish favorites like corned beef and cabbage and lots of potatoes; perfect for this lucky holiday.  For  a sweet snack, try a rainbow cake (recipe here) and add chocolate gold coins around the cake.

Let Me Count The Ways!

By Poppie

As I pondered blog ideas for February, of course, the subject of love came to mind.  I am not normally a sappy person (I didn’t even cry during Steel Magnolias), but I did want to focus on that all too powerful emotion that intertwines our family life, acting as a glue that holds us all together through thick and thin.  Love, amore, affection, adoration.  No matter how you say it, this one word says so much about our passions.

There are so many ways to express how we feel about those we love, but I thought I’d list a few of my simple, inexpensive favorites here.

1)     Stamp out the love – Add a spot of cheer to your letters with a stamp featuring your child’s smiling face.  Take a picture of your child holding her Valentine message and either edit yourself or have a professional do it.  Make stamps, postcards, whatever you desire to send your message of love.

2)      A girl’s best friend - Jewelry is always a big hit, but who can afford it?  Make red and pink macaroni necklaces for your little sweeties.  Hey, it works when they give them to you.

3)      Letter of love – Write a special note to your sweetheart or child and put in a tiny bottle.  Have them discover it in various places – in the bathroom cabinet by the toothpaste, in the mailbox (make sure they get the mail), or by their favorite electronic device.  A fun twist on this is to use pre-messaged sticky notes with amusing, loving messages. 

4)      A rosy outlook - Red roses are perfect for Valentine's Day but they are so pricy at this time of year! Fluffy carnations make great substitutes. Or make your own flowers with bunches of tissue paper.

5)      Extended love - Get trendy and add some fun hair extensions or feathers in red and pink to your child’s hair so they will look extra fashionable at their school party.  Bonus points if you show up with extensions in as well.

Use these ideas to help set the mood, and your loved ones will soon be delighted at your expression of love.  Here’s to an oh-so-sweet Valentine’s Day!

Party.

Party

by Dottie

Party. What comes to your mind when you think of that word? For some reason, the first thing I think of is my youth. My mom was the queen of all things party when it came to her family and she still is. We had the most fabulous birthday parties every year. She never hesitated to give us exactly the kind of party we wanted. We picked the theme, the kind of cake and ice cream we wanted, the entertainment, location, guests, decorations, favors…just about everything except the budget!  Knowing my mom, she gave us these elaborate parties for next to nothing and you’d never be the wiser!

It’s hard for me to even think of which birthday party was my favorite.  Was it my 7th birthday party when I had a magician?  Was it my 8th birthday party sleepover when my stepdad told us scary stories and my uncle was outside make noises in the bushes? Was it my ice skating party in 6th grade where I was showing off in my new skating dress and I fell and jammed my thumb between the ice and the wall?  The roller skating party where we thought we all though we were so cute flirting with some jr. high boys til my dad caught us and literally dragged us off the rink back to the party room…how embarrassing! Was it the party my mom planned for me in high school on the same night as the homecoming game that I sort of sulked through because I didn’t want to be late to a football game that I went to be “seen” at and not watch?  I don’t know…nothing holds fonder memories than my birthday parties…even the party  where my “friend” proceeded to make fun of me and every single one of my guests to the point where most of us were in tears – 3rd grade girls can be so mean!

What I have learned is this.  No matter how elaborate or simple the party is…your child is going to love it.  No matter how much you spend on decorations or how many tokens you give them to spend at Chuck E. Cheese, they will have a blast.   No matter how many guests there are or how many days before or after their actual birthday the party took place, they won’t remember those details. Even if you planned a party on what seemed to be the most inconvenient night of their life at the time…they’ll appreciate it…one day! What they will remember is that you, their parents, the people that they can always count on, the ones who love them more than life itself, always remembered their birthday and honored them with a special celebration each and every year.  A celebration you put together with nothing else in mind but to make them happy.  Yet, just another selfless parenting act they won’t appreciate until they themselves are parents.

So no matter what the word party conjures up in your mind when you hear it, this is what I think. Parties are about making people happy.  For me, making other people happy,  makes me happy.