Archive | Party Ideas

Tyler’s 12th Birthday – Military Style

September 2, 2014

Well this party is not exactly worthy of a blog post…..but my son only turns 12 once and I thought I should at least document it! This party was very low key, my two boys plus 6 friends for a small party of 8. They are into Call of Duty and anything military right now so that was the theme. The photos are my own, because it was so small I did not call on Maggie for this one…you’ll see a huge difference!

We started out with outdoor laser tag at a local place. The kids weathered the looming storm and got to play for about an hour and a half. From there we came back home where the kids ate boxed MRE lunches (subs and chips) and played Call of Duty until late that night. I was lucky to have stumbled upon a closing army navy surplus days before the party where I scored authentic ammo boxes, engraved dog tags, army patches all for more than 50% off.

Welcome to the Mess Hall!

My handsome 12 year old!

Ready for Laser Tag

A few desserts…. really bad photos! (ugh….note to self, next time, no matter how small the party- CALL MAGGIE!)

Tyler’s cousin Dan just got back home from a tour in Afghanistan. One of his friends took amazing photos while he was there so I printed up my favorites and displayed them at the party. Ty thought it was pretty cool to show his friends.

and last….all of the boys went home with a personalized dog tag and a camo t-shirt that I added real US ARMY patches on to.

Annabelle’s Pajama Party- PART TWO- Breakfast in PJ’s

August 11, 2014

Good Morning Sunshine! This breakfast portion of Annabelle’s pajama party was quite cheerful with this group of giggly girls! The breakfast was simple, muffins, donuts, fruit loops and oranges. You can check out part 1 of the pajama party here!

Photos by Maggie Russo Photo.

If you are having an actual sleepover and not just a pajama party breakfast….a breakfast-to-go favor is perfect to send them off with in the morning!

Thanks for stopping by!

Annabelle’s Pajama Party – PART ONE – Movie, Popcorn & PJs

August 10, 2014

We are just about to wrap up summer vacation here (sadly). Annabelle wanted to have a small get together with her close buddies. She chose to have a fun pajama party. I love this idea because it really can be done three ways…..you can do the traditional slumber party and have a fun night followed by a special breakfast, you can just make it a breakfast time pajama party where guests arrive in PJ’s or you can do a movie and popcorn night pajama party and skip the sleepover part. Take away the ideas that work for you! All Photos by Maggie Russo Photo.

This is PART ONE- Movie, Popcorn and PJ’s. My Next Post will be the pajama party breakfast….stay tuned!

These girls are in girl scouts together so the movie that we chose, “Troop Beverly Hills” seemed just right! All of the girls got a fluffy pair of bunny slippers tucked into pink and white striped boxes to take home. We made movie time simple with pink chocolate drizzled popcorn and orange ice cream floats.

Andrew’s Pool Party 10th Birthday

July 25, 2014

Dive in! Andrew celebrated his 10th birthday this summer with a pool party. He chose red and blue and we used lots of cabana stripes with a few shark accents.

Maggie Russo Photo was there to capture the details and fun!

The favors were simple red squirt guns and the biggest hit of the party was the Snow Cone Table. It was a really simply, un-fussy table…..an inexpensive snow cone machine, a bucket of ice, a couple of syrup flavors, cups and straws. The kids got the hang of it really quick!

We had a “Snack Shack” Table set up that included your usual pool concession…..popcorn, hot dogs, burgers, chips, ice cream and drinks.

The dessert table was simple. Beach ball cookies. Simple cake with paper banner. Cupcakes and candy.

We lucked out and had a few hours of perfect sunshine for the party and just as everyone got safely home the storms rolled in.

Happy Big TEN Andrew! xoxoxo

You can find the printable invite and party set in my shop.

POOL PARTY INVITE

Printable Party Set

16×20 Swim at your own risk sign. {PARTY TIP} MOST Walgreens photo labs will print 16×20 Board Prints in one hour. They are sturdy boards that are great to attach to a fence or prop up on a table without a frame.

A Puppy Party for Annabelle’s 6th Birthday

June 22, 2014

This year Annabelle chose to have a puppy party for her 6th Birthday. The party was held at a nearby park where we set up under the pavilion. Although the crazy winds that day were a challenge, it ended up being a beautiful day and all of the kids enjoyed themselves.

Annabelle chose navy, pink and “tennis ball” green for her puppy party color scheme. We started with her favorite stuffed dogs (and I added a couple new ones as a birthday treat) and started the planning. We set up the dessert table as a “barkery” and the food table was a hot dog bar.

The food table had a hot dog bar, {Annabelle’s favorite} Corndogs, “Pawtato” chips and single serve pasta and fruit salads. It was a puppy picnic.

To carry the theme through we had puppy face painting by a very talented face painter, puppy adoption and a puppy craft.

Make a wish sweet girl!

When I asked Annabelle to make a birthday wish list, she thought about it for a while and decided she really did not need anything. She asked if we could collect presents for the homeless dogs. We asked all guests to bring something for the Humane Society instead of gifts. The turnout was fantastic and Annabelle was so proud to deliver the donations.

Ruby’s Fresh Pink and Green Equestrian Party

March 12, 2014

I am sharing this Fresh Pink and Green Equestrian Party done by one of my very creative customers, Katie Skelton. Last year I created a “Best in Show” Puppy party set for her (You can see it here featured on Pizzazzerie). She did an amazing job pulling it all together. This year she came to me with her inspiration board for a pony party in a fresh pink and green color scheme. Once again she made an adorable party with the printables that I created to match her inspiration. Take a look at some of her photos.

Thanks for sharing Katie! I am looking forward to working on many more parties with you!

Sara

Annabelle’s Nutcracker {Sweet} Party

December 10, 2013

My favorite Christmas tradition has always been going to see the Nutcracker ballet. Two years ago I started taking my daughter to see it with me and now it is her favorite tradition as well. Last year we invited her buddies over to kick off Christmas and decorate gingerbread houses….this year we decided to invite them to the LAND OF SWEETS for a nutcracker party. All of the girls looked so sweet in pretty pink dresses and gold shoes.

The girls came over in the early evening for tea and finger sandwiches so I thought china would be a special touch.

Of course the LAND OF SWEETS dessert table was the girls favorite part!

Besides twirling to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies all evening we had a craft. I found these great blank ballerina music boxes for the girls to decorate (on clearance at Target, score!). I bought very inexpensive gems and snowflakes for the girls to stick on themselves. It was a fun activity and a nice little take home gift.

It was such a fun evening with great friends!

If you want to add a little special touch to your Christmas gathering or even the night of ballet at home ….all of the printables are in my shop.

The photos were taken by Maggie Russo Photo and my sister made the beautiful ruffle cake and snowflake cookies.

Hope this inspires you to create your own special land of sweets to make the Nutcracker tradition extra special!

Sara

Christmas Gift Tag Freebie

November 24, 2013

The holidays are FAST approaching and I am in the spirit! This year I am honored to be part of the Tomkat Studio Holiday Gift Guide. You can see my free gift tags along with lots of other holiday gift inspiration here. Be sure to check out all of the goodies!

I created simple Kraft tags with white calligraphy. The set includes two standard gift wrap tags, a hang tag and a mailing label. DOWNLOAD HERE! The neutral colors compliment any wrapping color that you choose. I always have a hard time choosing! This year I did my tree in all gold so my wrapping will be gold and white with a touch of mint. I also tried these tags out with red and kraft paper and I think they work out great with these colors too.

Which is your favorite? I would love to hear how you would use the tags!

And here are the same tags in red. Loving this Target gift wrap!

Masculine 40th Birthday Bar

October 6, 2013

We celebrated my husband’s 40th with a small group of close friends. I did not have a photographer there and I put my own camera down shortly after guests arrive so that I could just enjoy the party. I am just going to share a few DIY projects (with not so great photos).

My first and extremely inexpensive project was the matches. I bought boxes of matches 10/$1 at the dollar store and covered the front and back with fun sayings printed on cardstock. I used assorted candle holders to hold the cigars.

Here are my quick tips to add a little character to your bar set up.

For this party I set up two signature drinks. Rum-n-Coke and Black-n-Tan. I had all of the parts to make your own drink as you pleased and it worked out well.

I used a combination of leather, chalkboard and metal to keep this bar looking masculine.

I printed the BAR banner on kraft brown cardstock and strung up on the front of the table. You can download your FREE BAR BANNER here and print on whatever color works for you.

And my last quick tip to personalize a party like this is to add a menu board. This was the Menu Board for this party, it can be personalized in so many ways. I had this one printed on poster board and finished in one hour at my local walgreens for under $20. You can find them in my shop here and they can be personalized just for you!

Just a couple of special touches is all it takes to make your party personal. Happy Planning!

The invite can be found here in my shop. It has a casual retro style perfect for a manly party!

Warm & Cozy Inspiration Board

October 2, 2013

With the season changing I am adding seasonal elements to both my parties and my home. I used my new Rustic Charm Invite as the jumping off point of this inspiration board. I am loving gray right now and using it as my go to color lately. I love it paired with warm colors for winter and fall. What items would you add to create this style to your home or event?

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