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Archive for the ‘Party Theme’ Category

County Fair Theme Party

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , , on July 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

It is getting to be that time of year when County Fairs are held across the country, highlighting our rural roots and ambitions.

If you want to recreate that experience at home, think about hosting a County Fair themed party. It can be a lot of fun and not that hard to put together.

Invitations

Think outside the norm for some fun invitations. You could send them on blue ribbons, use red or blue gingham cloth to cover the outside of the card or card stock shaped like a barn.

Decorations

Use canning jars filled with sunflowers or wildflowers as centerpieces. Cover your tables in red or blue gingham material. For an extra pop of county fun. Put down bandanas in the center of the table before setting on the centerpieces. You can also use bandanas for napkins if you want to go all-out country. Raffia ribbon is another great choice. If you have kids who are complaining about being bored, have them make sunflower chains by running a darning needle through flower heads and stringing together on plain white thread.

If it is an evening party outdoors, use citronella candles to not only provide some nice lighting, but also keep the bugs at bay.

Games

Create your own carnival area with a variety of fun and easy games.

Pour birdseed in a large pan and sprinkle in a few pennies. Have a contest to see who can find the first penny.

Use canning jar rings and pop bottles for a ring toss game.

Sack races or three-legged races are fun. Do a tug of war game or a water balloon toss.

You can also find inexpensive carnival-like games at Oriental Trading

Shop the dollar store for fun prizes.

Contests

Have your guests bring something to enter in a contest. It could be a vegetable, baked goods or crafts. You could have several categories to choose from. If you do have several categories, select three or so guests to judge each category, splitting up the efforts so most of your guests have an opportunity to judge.

Food

You can keep the food simple and fun. Serve hot dog and hamburgers for the easiest menu. You could also make corn dogs and curly fries, if you don’t mind the frying or the calories!  You can find mixes  for things like corn dogs, funnel cakes and more.Think about fair foods you have enjoyed. It is easy to buy a few bags of cotton candy for your guests to share. Serve caramel apples of chocolate dipped bananas or bowls of homemade ice cream. Icy cups of strawberry lemonade or sweet tea are great beverages everyone can enjoy.

However you decide to plan your County Fair Themed Party, remember to have fun with it and enjoy your guests!

She Who Needs an Elephant Ear!

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Summer Party Ideas for Keeping Cool

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , , , on July 12, 2011| 2 Comments »

If you are like me and sitting in the bliss of ocean breezes is not on your near or distant horizon, you can at least keep your cool as temperatures rise.

Did you know certain foods can help you beat the heat?

Why not host a summer party with a theme of “Keep Your Cool?”

Go Green

As in salad greens. This is an obvious and easy choice for summer meals. Lettuce contains a lot of water as do cucumbers, celery and carrots. The added liquid helps cool you down and keep you hydrated. Set up a salad bar with some basic toppings and make entertaining this way a breeze.

Think Spicy

Food in the tropics are often spicy. The reason for this is because “hot” food such as chili peppers lower your body temp because of capsaicin, a chemical that causes skin to prespire (or glow, as I prefer to call it). That glow cools you as it evaporates. Add a few spicy additions to your salad bar and see how popular they will be. (Except to those of us you have an aversion to spicy foods. I’ll just eat some chocolate to make up for it.)

Hint of Mint

Both peppermint and wintergreen contain menthol which has a cooling effect. Add mint to salads, side dishes, desserts and drinks. My BFF thinks I make peppermint iced tea just for her but I really enjoy it, too.

However you decide to entertain this summer, remember to relax, enjoy your guests and have fun.

She Who Now Craves Peppermint Tea

 

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Fourth of July Party Ideas

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Holidays, Party Theme, Quick and Easy, tagged , , , , on June 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The rest of this week, I’ll be posting Fourth of July party tips and ideas. You may even get a recipe or two if you stick around.

Today, I wanted to post a few cute and fun ideas I came across last week in my travels. Please keep in mind Hubby and I were on vacation and I got to go to at least 75 stores which is about 74 more than I usually do a month let alone a week so I don’t remember exactly where I found what.

This was one of the first things I found and had to have. I think I grabbed it at one of those outlet mall kitchen stores. I think. It is silicone and works really slick. I strongly advise against putting it in the dishwasher. Even the top rack warped it. Still makes the mold just fine, but it doesn’t sit flat or straight.

I used juice to make the cubes. That way when added to punch or pop on a hot day, you aren’t diluting the liquid. Freeze fun colors like red juice or blue Kool-Aid for an unexpected patriot pop of color.

You can also use this mold for jello, mints, chocolate  – all sorts of fun and entertaining items. I was most entertained by the frozen juice stars. They were pretty yummy.

This one is easy – you can get patriotic cupcake papers just about everywhere right now. They are in grocery stores, departments stores, kitchen stores. I think I got these at Wal-mart last year.

The point of all this rambling is do something fun with these besides cupcakes. Arrange them on a serving tray and fill with a patriotic snack mix like Chex Mix with red, white and blue M&Ms. Use them to hold solid berries like blueberries or strawberries. Raspberries can get a little smooshy on you in the heat. Fill them with grapes, nuts, bits of fresh veggies. Put battery-operated tea lights in them and place them around for decorations on your buffet table. Place a Tostito’s scoops chip in each one and fill with cheese, taco-seasoned meat and olives. Put a brownie bite inside and finish with a dollop of whipped cream (use Reddi-Whip in the heat to keep a swirled shape the longest.)

I loved this mini patriotic pinwheels. What I’m going to do with them exactly I don’t know, but the possibilities are so exciting! You could tuck them in a salad or dessert for a fun accent. Put a piece of rectangular florist foam in a long container, cover the top with moss, then poke in stems of red,white and blue flowers and use these little gems for a final accent for your centerpiece. Use them to mark dishes that are extra hot or spicy.

Think outside the box and have fun with your Fourth of July entertaining. You’ll be a savvy entertaining!

She Who Needs to Get Crackin’ on Her Own Fourth of July Buffet Plans

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Flag Day Party Tips

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Holidays, Party Theme, tagged , , , on June 14, 2011| 1 Comment »

Happy  Flag Day!

Are you wearing your red, white and blue? Hanging out your flag?Doing some Savvy Entertaining?

If so, keep things simple and enjoy your guests!

Go for a barbecue menu and make a Cupcake Flag – for dessert. It is simple and easy to do!

Here are some other tips for a fun patriotic gathering:

Use what you have – and add fun accents. Gather all your white, red and blue dishes then mix and match.  Use a tablecloth in red, white or blue (or sheets work, too) create a fun centerpiece using dishes placed at different heights and presto! You’ve got a great looking table. If you don’t have pedestals or cake plates to use, create height by turning bowls upside down and putting plates on top. In the photo above, the only thing I purchased were the napkins (yes, I have a flag scarf and it comes in really handy as a table runner!).

Inexpensive finds – Purchase patriotic pinwheels from the discount or dollar store and place in vases or jars around the gathering. These are fun and whimsical and provide a laid-back accent to your gathering. Hang red and blue crepe paper streamers along with red white and blue balloons around your gathering.

Involve the kids – by having them create the decorations. They can cut stars out of red, white and blue construction paper. Punch a hole in the top and hang with red, white or blue ribbons above a table, along a fence, at the front door – anywhere guests will gather.

Tie one on – your seat cushion or pillows. Liven things up with red and blue bandanas and red and blue fabric you may have on hand. If you are using fabric, cut it in squares to fit a pillow or cushion, trim edges with pinking shears, place a piece on both the top and bottom of the cushion then tie corners with a white ribbon. Do this for your throw cushions, accent pillows or seat cushions. It will bring a fabulous pop of color to your decor.

Hang your Flag – outside as a greeting to your guests and a reminder that you are celebrating the 4th of July to everyone who drives by. Use mini flags throughout your decorating scheme as well.  A nice take-away for guests is a small flag with a bag of patriotic sweets like peanut M&Ms.

She Who Will be Flying Her Flag

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