Throwing a tea party, add a play cottage…

Throwing a princess party? How about this castle and carriage…

Throwing a rocket party or Toy Story party? How about this rocket ship…

These playhouses are sustainably made from 80% recycled cardboard, and come with a set of four markers for decorating.

What fun!  Sure you could make your own out of an old refrigerator box, but if you don’t have the time or inclination, $35 a playhouse seems worth it to me.

I also really like props.  Props instantly get people to relax and have fun.  Ask yourself, who doesn’t love getting their picture taken in a big pink boa?

In fact, I’ve already written about my love of photo booth props here and here, but a photo booth trend I’m also a big fan of is the “empty picture frame.”  Not only are they easy to make (just empty out a big framed picture, and you’re in business) but I also think you get some visually interesting shots.

Take a look at these picture frame photos from some parties on our site and see what you think…

Tiffany N’s Cupcakes + Cocktails Party

Kristy’s Super Grover Rave

Mattie B’s Roaring 20th Birthday

How great would these mustaches, glasses, and lips look as part of your next party photo booth?

The great thing about these ones is they’re no only fun, they’re classy and gorgeous too.

I saw this sprinkler-themed party idea on Martha Stewart and had to blog about it.

Sprinkler themed party

For anyone with kids but no pool, what a fun way to have an outdoor party in the heat.  The key is to have a lot of sprinklers so the party starts to feel like a water park.  You can even add a Slip N Slide for more fun.

Slip N Slide

And it’s easy to tie in a water/fish theme with invitations, food, and favors.

I like the idea Martha Stewart has of DIY fish towel favors.  Cute and functional.

DIY towel favor

Aren’t they just beautiful?

Courtesy of fanpop.com

Courtesy of Miss Catty Cakes

Courtesy of Annie's Eats

Courtesy of Kell's Kreations

Courtesy of Cre8acake

Courtesy of Salt Cake City

Courtesy of Tantalizing Treats

Courtesy of Tara's Cupcakes

Courtesy of cakecentral.com

What speaks to me about it is that it’s homemade, low key, beautiful, fun, and all about love.  What could be better?

I asked Katie, from NSW Australia, how she created it, and here’s what she said:

What was your inspiration for the party?

I can’t remember my exact inspiration for the party but I know it was just coming out of winter and I wanted to get outdoors and into the sunshine! Also a lot of our friends were also having night time engagement parties and we wanted to do something a little different.

We wanted to create a laid back picnic feel, where people could dine on the grass, enjoying the sunshine and where we could spend a lazy Saturday afternoon with our friends and family. Unfortunately the weather didn’t co-operate for us and we ended up having to bring in shelters and no-one really ‘picnicked’ on the grass (instead on chairs) but we had fun just the same.  I created a mind map for the event and starting listing all the ideas that came to mind when I thought of a picnic party – and it kinda grew from there.

Here is what i wrote on my blog:
“simple
a little country (to compliment our wedding which is being held in the country)
picnic style
a red & orange colour theme
and a M+K= <3 theme (which many of our guests cleverly used too!)”

Can you describe all the different things that went on during the party?

You can find a lot of info on this on my blog: www.alittlebirdtoldmeso.blogspot.com (under wedding) I have listed all the things we did in seperate posts.

Food: Morgan’s cousins acted as servers and brought out trays of yummy food. For mains we served chicken ceaser salad and anglo-asian lamb salad in noodle boxes (which were left over from another party) It was YUMMY. Also yummy was the home made lemonade which was drunk out of straws with flags which guests were asked to write their name on.

Homemade lemonade in jelly jars.

Games: We set up lawn boules on the grass, random balls and I’m pretty sure Morgan put some cricket equipment out too. The homemade twister quilt was also a fun game for kids and adults alike.

Homemade Twister sign

Homemade Twister game in action.

Another easy ‘game’ was leaving buckets of chalk on the driveway to help keep our littlest guest occupied. They loves it and created a whole ‘hopscotch land’ and covered the rest of the driveway in M<3 K!

The kids played with sidewalk chalk

Photo booth: We hung a sheet between two palm trees, put our camera on a tripod, created some felt mustaches from an online tutorial and had guests take silly photos of themselves. It was a lot of fun and we got some of the best shots of our guests from here. I plan on scrapbooking them with notes from the guestbook.

Homemade photo booth complete with mustaches.

Guestbook: We hung some twine between some palm trees and cut simple squares out of scrapbooking paper which were pegged onto the twine. We also used the line to display some of our favorite engagement photos.

Wishes were strung on clothes lines.

Quiz: We gathered everyone together and made a silly quiz of our relationship. The idea was that at least one guest knew an answer to each of the questions and guest had to mingle to find the answers they didn’t know. The answered were then read out and lead into the speeches. (there was also a small prize for the winner)

Speeches + toasts: Speeches were a special part of the day. Also a very special was the part where Morgan’s dad prayed over our marriage, relationship and wedding preparation while all of our friends and family joined in.

What were the most fun things to design and create?

I had a lot of fun sewing up the twister quilt. And love the idea how this can one day become a family heirloom and picnic tradition – we have used it a lot for picnics since!

Homemade Twister quilt

Also fun was making the chalkboard signs and flag straws, cupcake toppers, framed signs and any paper related crafts.

The guests all commented on the food actually, particularly Morgans mum’s berry pie.

And I guess the photobooth were a lot of guest had fun hanging around and being silly.

And for the kids it was the chalk on the driveway!

And we really loved getting to sit down together the morning after the party, at breakfast, and reading over all the guestbook notes from family and friends. There were some really funny responses!

What was your budget?

Hmm wow. As our party was about 7 months ago I can’t really remember that one.

But I do know some hints as to how we kept costs down.

Having a party at home was definitely a money saver because it meant no hire costs. We were also lucky enough to borrow all the chairs from church and the ‘circus’ tarpaulin from a friend. So don’t be afraid to ask friends and family if you can borrow.

Instead of buying an ‘engagement cake’ we opted to make our own cupcakes, which were actually just simple packet mixes (although we made our own icing) – they took about 5 hours worth of icing but were worth it.

Homemade cupcakes and cupcake toppers.

We also made all our own food – a joint effort from my mum, Morgan’s mum and aunt, sister, cousins and myself. It was a lot of work but meant we didn’t need to hire a caterer. And cousins helped serve so Morgan and myself could enjoy the party.

Signs were made from scrap wood and left over chalk board paint from another project. And other objects, frames, tables, glass jars were brought in from around the house.

We made the invitations ourselves and found lots of free tutorials online for eg. the envelope labels, mustaches, Martha Stewart banner:http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/click-print-banner
so keep a great eye out for free printables and ideas.

Homemade invitations.

We are also planning to keep our friends and family (they mean a lot to us) quite involved – we will be getting married by Morgan’s uncle and close friends will play music etc.

I wish I could have tasted the food.  How many times have I been to a wedding where the food was just adequate, or not even that great.  What would it be like to be at a wedding and eat food prepared by awesome chefs?

The desserts made by Govind Armstrong where quite impressive, but I have to say I was happy when Jody Adams won the challenge.  She seems modest and hard working, no showboating, which I like.

But I’ve got a couple questions… How do they pick the couple to feature on the show?  Are they foodies, because based on the episode they didn’t seem like it.  And what’s it like to have a reality show filming at your wedding?

Even though I think of myself as a slight foodie, I’m not sure I’d welcome the cameras, even for the free food.  Any thoughts?

First off, you can always start old school.

• For drinks serve cosmopolitans, Manhattans, Long Island ice teas, or appletinis
• For food, Chinese food and sushi are two show favorites
• Send fancy invitations and ask your guests to dress as their favorite character
• For atmosphere, put out boas, scarves, gloves, sunglasses, flower pins, and jewelry
• To create a NYC backdrop, hang twinkle lights and blow up some pictures of the New York City skyline
• Play the show DVDs, the first movie, or the movie soundtrack during the party
• Play the Sex and the City trivia game

But now to make it more current, add some Middle Eastern flavor.

• Serve some middle eastern dishes like hummus, tabouleh, falafel, baba ganoush, and kebabs
• Decorate with sand, blow up palm trees, and toy camels
• Provide colorful scarves for your guests and have a belly dancing contest
• Create a game to see who can point to Abu Dhabi on a map
• Get “Team Aidan” and “Team Big” t-shirts made to give out as party favors

If you have any other ideas, please share.  And if you have a Sex and the City 2 party, let me know.  I’d love to write about it here in my blog.

Just 21 days until opening day… but who’s counting.

It’s exactly what it says, a virtual birthday party for up to twelve people.  It has party games such as Pin the Tail, Hot Potato, Present Frenzy, Balloon Popper, Musical Chairs, and Sack Race.

There are also ten different girl and boy themed party rooms including: pirate, glamour, sports, princess, construction, stuffed animals, monsters, magical forest, army men and music to choose from.

And when it’s time to cut the cake, guest can enjoy a lively rendition of  “Happy Birthday” with a virtual cake on screen.

According to one reviewer on Amazon: “This is basically a series of mini-games for kids with a birthday party thrown in as a way to connect everything. It’s certainly cute, but definitely not a ‘birthday party in a box’ as is suggested.  I would not advise chucking out all your big party plans and inviting some of your kid’s friends over to celebrate with this game.”

Sorry parents, the planning continues…

So to get some insight into what’s hip and cool right now in the world of Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, I talked to two event planners — Terri Bergman on the east coast and Carol Rosen on the west coast — who plan a lot of them.

Terri of Terri Bergman Events, based in Washington DC, says she likes to think of Bar and Bat Mitzvahs in terms of two party areas within one room — one area for the adults and one for the kids.

The adult area is usually more traditional with a seated meal at tables, but for the kids party, she likes to keep it casual.  She create lounges, renting furniture to make the party feel more like a club than an event.

A Bat Mitzvah lounge for the kids designed by Terri

Another one of Terri's lounges

And another...

Basketball centerpieces at a Bar Mitzvah designed by Terri

Lighting and video screens at one of Terri's Bat Mitzvahs

She also likes finger friendly food for the kids: sliders, Chinese food in take-out containers, Japanese food in bento boxes, fries in cones, etc…

And to keep the kids (and the adults) entertained, she likes to have activities going on during the party.  Some of her favorites are:  a casino table, a cell phone bling station, a temporary tattoo or airbrush artist, Guitar Hero, flip books (which I wrote about here), or Dance Heads.  According to Terri, people love personalized activities and they love having pictures or videos of themselves to take home.

When I talked to Carol Rosen of Party Designs by Carol, based in Los Angeles, she said she also likes to do lounges for the kids and sit down dinners for the adults.  She’s a big fan of casual kids buffets, food stations, and candy tables.

A kids' lounge at one of Carol's Bar Mitzvahs

A dramatic table at a Bat Mitzvah designed by Carol

A candy table at one of Carol's Bat Mitzvahs

Lighting used to highlight a room at a Bar Mitzvah designed by Carol

A "red carpet" set up outside one of Carol's Bar Mitzvahs

For activities, she likes setting up a karaoke station or a Rock Band video game station.  She also likes airbrushing, temporary tattoos, and Dance Heads.   But another way Carol likes to get the party started is by hiring DJs that provide trained dancers or “party motivators.”  These dancers get to know the kids during the cocktail hour, then keep them dancing and having a good time throughout the night.

In terms of party favors, here’s where we get an east coast/west coast split.

They are a big thing on the east coast.  Some of Terri’s favorite ideas are personalized sweatshirts, tank tops, boxers, fleece scarves, or beach towels.

On the West coast, favors are not as common.  Carol like to have cards on the table that say a donation has been made in the guests’ honor or she likes edible takeaways like a bag of bagels and cream cheese for each guest.

Please know, the parties I’m writing about are the big ones — we’re talking $50k and up.   Most of us can’t afford them, and according to Terri and Carol, budgets, even in this stratosphere, are coming down.

So use these ideas and photos as inspiration, but don’t be afraid to talk to an event planner if you are having a much smaller Bar or Bat Mitzvah, because believe it or not, with their connections and know how, they can actually save you money.  That’s right… save you money.

And if you don’t believe me, call Terri (on the east coast) and Carol (on the west coast) and ask them yourself.  They’ll be happy to talk to you.