Category: Party Ideas

It seems as if school just got out, but here we are with less than a month to get the last of our summer fun on. Soon it will be one busy football, dance or cheer schedule after another along with homework leaving little time for easy summer nights. The best way to enjoy these last days of summer fun is to go out with a bang and host an End of Summer luau!  Here’s how to host your best luau to usher in the upcoming school year.

Gather all your buddies with a fun e-vite or traditional invitation letting them know it’s time for them to grab their best luau gear and head on over to celebrate! Check out this beautiful invitation by MiniStore on Etsy.

To set a fun tone for your guests, line your front walkway or driveway with Tiki torches letting your guests know that fun is about to ensue. You will also want to have a variety of island music downloaded and playing from the time the first guest arrives to when the last guests leave. Hang rope fishnet against a wall or in a corner to add a fun touch. Add a few seashells to really jazz it up. Scatter beach balls in the party area to get guests in the party mood or create this easy beach ball garland from Make Life Lovely. Make sure all your tables are covered with a raffia table skirt to give them a finished look. Leis can double as decorations and a fun takeaway for your guests.

String up some colorful paper lanterns for added decorations to any space. Think bright and fun! Party Place can also create you a one-of-a-kind balloon decoration just for your party like this one from www.borderart.com.

When deciding upon your food, stay in theme and choose things like fruit kabobs with pineapple, grapes and other tasty fruit that skewers well. Other food options are chicken chunks with pineapple salsa. Of course, you must serve every drink with a paper umbrella.

Keep the party fun with great decorations from the Party Place. Stop by one of their locations today to get your luau on!

Mardi Gras parties are steadily creeping up from the South and gaining popularity.  Tasting the Cajun cuisines, hearing the Zydeco music, and seeing the bright colors makes you want to experience it again and again.  Reliving Mardi Gras and celebrating the southern tradition creates an exciting evening!  It’s also nice that it falls right in the middle of winter, so it gives a reprieve to the cold and dreary days.  You can enjoy it with a group of friends or a simple family gathering—either way it’s worth celebrating.

“What’s all the fuss about?” you ask.  ‘Mardi’ is French for Tuesday and ‘gras’ is French for fat.  This is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian season of Lent—46 days before Easter.  Many Christians fast during Lent, refrain from eating meat on Fridays, and/or rich foods containing, eggs sugar, butter and milk.  So Mardi Gras season is a time to eat decadently and feast anytime following the Twelfth Night after Christmas or another name for it is the Epiphany.

Mardi Gras-themed parties are some of the least expensive and easiest to decorate.  Must haves for a party are masks and the traditional color of purple that represents justice, green represents faith, and gold represents power and last, but most important are beads, beads, and more beads!

The food can be a bit more involved as many of the traditional cuisines require a lot of ingredients, but well worth it!  Traditional menu items are Jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, and anything else Cajun.  My menu this year is consisting of Grits a Ya Ya, Jambalaya, red beans and rice, and, of course, a King Cake with a little tiny Baby Jesus hidden inside. The tradition is that the person who finds the baby Jesus will have good luck for the rest of the year.

I have compiled a few Mardi Gras family fun ideas for you:

PHOTO CREDIT: projectforpreschoolers.com

• Kids can make their own masks from paper plates. Cut eye holes and attach ribbon for tying on or tape on bamboo sticks for handheld masks before decorating.  All you need are markers, stickers, beads, and feathers along with scissors and glue.

PHOTO CREDIT: www.neworleansmomsblog.com

• Host a shoebox parade. Save shoe boxes or ask guests to bring a shoebox to decorate.  Take the lid off and turn the box upside down to decorate.  Slip the lid onto the side of the box to create the back of the float.  Give the kids paint, glue, feathers, jewels, markers, and let them create their own Mardi Gras magic. For details on how to make the perfect shoebox parade float, check out neworleansmomsblog.com.

Get yourself on down to Party Place for all your Mardi Gras party goods!

1. First and foremost, your guests are key to the event being a success. It is a must hat you invite people that will embrace their role and dress the part. Had my guests not been so great, the party would have been a complete flop.
2. Next, decide on the type of party you want to have. I went with Night of Mystery because some friends of ours had used this particular company. They have tons of themes to choose from, but I wanted to do something set in the roaring 20s. Don’t order the party at this point though, because you will need to know how many guests are actually coming.

3. Send an initial invitation about a month in advance asking for an RSVP. Again, this is a must, because the parties will have a specific number of people that will need to come to make it a success.

4. Once you get your RSVPs back and know how many people you have, then you will order your party. We had 25 guests, so we needed to order one of the larger parties. The packet you receive to download is full of details to help you have a great party.

5. Now, comes the tricky part. I wanted to be just as surprised as my guests about who the murder victim and killer were, so I chose to read very minimal information. At times, this proved a bit difficult when assigning characters, but the instructions were detailed and told me exactly what not to read if I didn’t want to know.
6. Once you assign characters, you will need to send them their particular role with a detailed description about their character and costume suggestions. I suggest sending this at least two weeks in advance allowing them time to purchase costumes and accessories if needed.
7. Now comes the rest of the prep work, once guests arrive they will have objectives to complete. Each guest will have their own envelopes with specific things for them to do like creating a bit of drama with another guest or taking a bribe. You get the idea. You will need to have all of this done way beforehand. My daughter and I, of course, wanted to be extra so we chose to seal the envelopes with wax.

8. Any other things your packet has for you to do or gather ahead of time…DO IT! Our packet had money for me to photocopy and give each guest a set amount to bribe other guests or purchase things. For example, the cigarette girl sold Cracker Jacks and cigarettes, but she charged a little extra for clues taped to the merchandise.

Again, once all the initial work is done, you will have the time of your life. I would definitely do it again! One other piece of advice, when assigning guests, if you have enough people try to keep yourself as an “extra” less important role just in case someone cancels at the last minute. That way you aren’t scrambling trying to reassign parts after people have planned on being a specific character.

Party Place has many of the supplies you need to create a fun, Gatsby-inspired party. They have signs and many other things you need like plates, napkins, cutlery, and more! I saw the mini spoons a while back in the story, so I had to find a way to use them.

We chose to serve chocolate mousse for dessert, so I bought the 2 oz. clear cups and the silver mini spoons. The portion was perfect for serving and it turned out to be a great choice for dessert, because the party was in full swing by the time dessert was served.

Get started planning your murder mystery party today and stop by Party Place for everything you need to have a great party.

Take a look at this reception. Yes, it is pretty, but boy do those Edison bulbs help take it to the next level.

You don’t need a large budget to accomplish this, in fact, quite the opposite.  If you spend time executing your details, you will spend less. It is always the last minute stuff that can and will blow a budget. The planning phase is often overlooked but is perhaps the most important detail of any successful event. Before any event, I host, whether it be a fundraiser or a BBQ at my home I always pre-plan the menu and fine-tune the details as I go.  I am a list maker by nature and while I love my smartphone, I seem to stay the most organized with an old-fashioned pencil and paper. However, you need to make a list is up to you, but the main thing is to make a list. Your list needs to begin with the large details planned far in advance, leaving time to plan the small details, making the event perfect and memorable.

I also find it easier to pull an event off if I decide on a theme.  For instance, make the event Italian, a Southern BBQ, a crawfish boil, whatever you choose.  Once you decide, research other events with that theme. Make a board on Pinterest of everything you love about the party theme and spend time researching how you can replicate while adding own unique touch. Party Place offers just about any theme you can think of.

Take these cute Llama Cutouts I found there the other day. An entire party theme can be planned around them. Who wouldn’t want a great llama-themed birthday party like this one from Style Me Pretty?

From these simple cutouts, you can create this great party. Party Place has just about everything you need to help you pull this awesome theme off from the balloons to the plates and napkins.

Remember, the difference in the details goes for weddings, small dinner parties, or anything else you may be hosting.  Stop by a Party Place near you today to check out all the great items for your next event.

For an end of year softball or baseball party, use your team’s color and mascot as a starting point or red, white and blue, because there is something about baseball and patriotism that seem to go together. Set a fun tone for the guests by playing off the concession stand idea and letting guests choose their food from the “concession stand” like this cute idea found on Pinterest.

Party Place has all sorts of great balloons to choose from to make your party even more special and fun. They can create a one-of-kind balloon bouquet just for your event.

Add these cute little trophies to the tables for decorations or put one at each place setting for the players to take home after the celebration.

My girls are older and I miss all those end-of-year parties dearly, but I have also had the privilege of throwing my oldest a high school graduation party and a college graduation party. My youngest graduated from high school last year, so we still have a few years before her college graduation. For any graduation party, I like to keep it graduation-themed while keeping it personal. I made my daughter a collage of pictures from all of her school days, which doubled as a party decoration and later a dorm decoration. You definitely will not want to forget the balloons for this celebration. A balloon bouquet customized to your school colors is perfect for any party big or small.

Whatever your celebration is, make it special by adding a few details like themed-napkins, plates, balloons, and decorations. Stop by Party Place today to get all your end-of-year and grad party needs!

Balloons are a perfect addition to any party. Balloons can help fill a space both vertically and horizontally. They are a good cost-effective choice for decorating. Balloons have become more than just the standard balloon bouquet; they can be a beautiful work of art and set your event apart from all the rest. For example, the beautiful balloon garland cover photo by One Stylish Party just makes you want to be a part of that party.

A few years ago, I was in charge of decorating for the ballet studio’s open house. You know how it is when doing things for a non-profit; the budget for things like decorations is low. I decided to try my hand at making balloon art for the table. Mind you, I have never attempted anything like this before, but Google and Pinterest got me through it. I learned a few lessons along the way and thought I would share them with you.

1. Use the air mattress air pump to blow up the balloons beforehand.  Fortunately, I knew I was going to be short on time, so I blew up all the balloons the night before and stored them in a giant garbage bag.
2. For the first attempt, allow yourself twice as much time as you think it will take you to design the piece.
3. No matter how meticulous you are in counting the number of balloons you need, add at least a third more to that count. You WILL NEED more balloons that you think. Repeat…you will need more balloons than you think. For my project, I had 110 balloons and felt that was more than I needed…before I started putting the garland together…I could have used at least 40 more.
4. The balloons need to be complimenting shades and various sizes. This definitely makes for a much better arrangement….more interest, more variation.
5. Chicken wire is your friend. It allows you to shape the design any way you want. Watch out for the sharp edges, to avoid popping the balloons.
6. Clear packing tape and glue dots are also necessities. Use these items to attach the balloons to the wire and to one another to fill spaces.
7. Add something else in besides balloons for interest. I added a few flower stems and greenery in mine to soften the look and make it something unique and special.

Don’t limit balloons to birthday parties or other similar occasions. You can many beautiful things for weddings as well. Like this gorgeous piece from Floating Designs.

or this beautiful balloon garland from Lillian Hope Designs.

If you’re not feeling adventurous and don’t want to try your hand at making balloon art, contact The Party Place today. They can help you design something spectacular for your next event. Halloween will be here soon and there are all sorts of great balloons and balloon art forms that can be created for your Halloween party.

Halloween will be here before we know it. No time to plan a big party? No worries, you don’t have to spend hours planning a get-together for your little ghosts and goblins. If your kids already have a lot of activities planned, why not host an adult’s only party to relax before the big night of trick or treating?

• Haunted House Party – If you are not much of an activity planner, this is probably the best option for you.  It’s all about the atmosphere.  Kids and adults will often entertain themselves and have lots of spooky fun!  One sure-fire way to set the tone for the party is lighting.  Keep things dark, but not so dark that people can’t see.  Use colored lights, black lights, and strobe lights to create the right mood.  There are plenty of options available in all price ranges. You can’t have a haunted house without surprises!  Hang fake bats from the ceiling, seat a skeleton at the dining table to greet your guests, spiderwebs and black cat silhouettes on walls and windows add extra fun.  Drape white sheets over the furniture to replicate an old haunted house.  Tie plastic spiders to the ends of ribbon attached to helium balloons and let them float above your guests.

• Fall Fest Barn Dance – Use bales of hay covered with quilts for seating, pumpkins and corn stalks for decorations, and country music for getting your guests going.  Serve cider and chili for an easy and fun night.  Finish the night off with hayride.

• Pumpkin Carving Party – Invite friends and family to a BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) carving party. Make sure the party is well equipped with everything your guests will need—pumpkin cleaning gear, carving tools, stencils, etcetera. Cover sturdy tables with disposable tablecloths for easy clean-up and a bucket for the seeds (to save for roasting later). If it is a cold day, serve up hot chocolate and lots of Halloween goodies.

Add these details for an extra special touch:

• Witch cauldrons, skulls, and other Halloween props work well as serving containers and help to really bring the party décor together.

• Freeze fake bugs in ice cubes for party drinks.
• Use Halloween cookie cutters, such as bats, cats, or witches to cut out sandwiches and cookies.

• Choose Halloween or fall themed paper dinnerware and napkins to add an extra special touch. If you are short on cash, use sold black paper plates and cups and then splurge on fun, Halloween-themed napkins.

• What is a Halloween party without costumes? Emphasize costumes on your invitations. Give prizes for the scariest, funniest, best couple and best overall or make up your own fun prize categories.
• Candles always give that extra spooky feeling, but keep in mind the ages of your guests. If it is an all-kid party, I would probably omit the candles from the décor or keep them out of reach.

Halloween and fall parties are great ways to bring all your friends together for a fun, laid-back night before all the holiday festivities begin. Stop by any of the Party Place’s three locations and get your Halloween spirit on with us! You can even order online at www.PartyPlaceAR.com.