Valentine's Day Party Ideas

Are you planning an intimate romantic dinner for two? Or an all-out Valentine's Day party for friends and family?

Either way, you can use these tips and ideas for a memorable Valentine's Day celebrations that are both fun and romantic:

If you're planning a special Valentine's night dinner for your special honey, all the decorations you'll probably need are vases of red roses and a few votive candles to set the mood.

For a larger crowd, break out the red hearts and balloons. And no Valentine's Day party would be complete without a cute, mischievous Cupid included in a party table centerpiece.

For a romantic dinner menu, be sure to include traditional aphrodisiacs including clam or oyster appetizers, asparagus, artichokes, arugula or avocado salad, or ANY dish made with truffles!

Plan on serving Wine or champagne for an extra festive Valentine's Day. Kick off your grand night of celebrating by having the bar stocked with ingredients to make classic romantic cocktails such as a Kir Royale, The Red Kiss or Death by Chocolate.

Set the mood by loading up the CD with romantic songs just right for Valentine's Day or browse romantic music compilations to download online.

For a big, festive red-and-white themed dinner for friends and family go with what else? - Italian - featuring savory spaghetti marinara dishes, or elegant shrimp scampi. For a larger group, nothing's easier than a big heaping pan of lasgna or baked ziti.

Looking for Valentine’s Day dessert ideas? For a red-and-white theme, red velvet cake is a sensuous and eye-popping favorite. If in doubt, think chocolate: as in chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate cake, chocolate fondue and chocolate heart-shaped cookies.

Party favors? Send guests home happy with small, inexpensive sample boxes of Godiva chocolate (fancily tied with a red ribbon) always make for a perfect Valentines Day favor. Also

consider making a custom mix of red hots, chocolate kisses. and "Be Mine" candies wrapped in red cellophane for guests to take home as a sweet memory of your Valentines Day bash.

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New Year's Eve Family Night Activities

Although New Year's Eve is most often reserved for adult partying, the night can also be filled with fun and entertainment for the whole family fun at home with just a little planning.

Keep food easy and appealing for everyone, i.e., chips and dip, a veggie platter, chicken fingers, deviled eggs, shrimp cocktail, or simply order in a pizza! Also have plenty of champagne ready for the adults, and fixings for 'mocktails" for the kids such as Virgin Pina Coladas or Shirley Temples.

In addition, follow these tips and suggestions for a New Year's Eve party game & activity ideas that will have family and younger guests cozying up to loved ones and family friends as they welcome in the New Year ....

New Year's Eve Predictions

For older teens and adults familiar with how to play, break out the Ouija board or tarot cards for a spooky night of fortune telling.

Introduce the younger kids to "Magic 8 Ball" and stand back for the giggle-producing results as the classic novelty toy mysteriously answers their questions about the future.

New Year's Eve Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a great ice breaker, and usually result in lots of laughs - as holiday revelers compete to find items hidden throughout the house, in the backyard, or around the entire neighborhood. (Tip: alert the neighbors so they don’t think there are intruders in their backyard!)

Depending on how well you’ve hidden your ‘treasure”, items in a New Year's scavenger hunt can be awarded separate points for ease, or difficulty. The party contestants who amass the most points are named the winners, so be sure to have prizes ready for the highest scorers.

Suggestions for items to hide for a New Year scavenger hunt might include: a party hat, streamers, noise makers, plastic champagne glass, a clock, Happy New Year card, Happy New Year balloon, drink stirrers, coasters, chocolate coins, a calendar, or silver bells to ring in the New Year.

New Year's Eve Pinanta

Who doesn't love a pinata? No reason not to have one on New Year's Eve for a fun kid competition.

Make your own homemade pinata using 1. a large shopping bag, 2. New Year's Eve clip art 3. paper glue 4. stapler.

Instructions: download and print out a picture of a New Year's Eve party hat, Father Time, or other holiday clip art and glue it to the shopping bag. Further decorate as you please with tinsel or glitter. Fill your decorated shopping bag with candy and staple the bag closed. String up from the ceiling using heavy cord. Provide a pinata stick or plastic baseball bat, line up the contestants - and stand back!

Happy New Year!

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Christmas Family Night Games & Activities

Yep, everybody's a kid at Christmas. And why not? It's the time of year for shaking off day-to-day cares and letting down your guard, especially when you're partying with family! Just don't make the mistake of thinking a holiday get-together can be pulled-off without a little planning.

Just up ahead, have a warm and joyous holiday get-together with our pick of top games and activities that will get the kids and teens giggling, and the adults joining in with happy abandon:

Christmas Trivia

Create your own Holiday Trivial Pursuit game by typing up a list of questions to pose to guests on party night. To get you started, here are some of our favorites:

1. What are the names of all eight reindeer which appear in Clement Moore’s poem “The Night Before Christmas”?

2. In “A Charlie Brown Christmas” what did Lucy want for Christmas?

3. Who yelled “Stop!” at Frosty?

Answers: 1. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen. 2. Real estate. 3. The traffic cop.

Christmas Movie Trivia

Everyone loves Christmas movies. Test party-goers knowledge by reciting famous lines from popular favorites to see who can come up with the most correct responses. Here are a few to get you started:

1. What is the location of “It’s a Wonderful Life?”

2. In “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, who provides the voice for Sally?

3. What actress plays Bill Murray's love interest in “Scrooged’?

Answers: 1. Bedford Falls 2. Catherine O’Hara 3. Karen Allen

Name That Holiday Tune!

Grab the CD player and your favorite holiday music CD. Let contestants guess the title of each song after hearing only a few bars, and award a prize to the player with the most correct answers.

Another way to play: simply type up the most obscure lyrics from Christmas songs or carols and read (or sing!) them aloud. For example: "There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories..." (It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year) or how about "…bells are ringing, children singing…" (Here Comes Santa Claus). It's not as easy as you might think but, anyway, you get the idea. Check out this site for more Christmas song and carol lyrics.

Christmas Pinata

With a little bit of creativity, you can easily make a homemade Christmas pinata using 1. a large shopping bag, 2. a picture of a holiday scene 3. paper glue 4. stapler.

Download and print out a picture of Santa or holiday scene and glue it to the shopping bag. Further decorate as you please with tinsel or garland. Fill your decorated shopping bag with Christmas candy and staple closed. String up from the ceiling using heavy cord. Provide a pinata stick or plastic baseball bat, line up the contestants - and stand back! This one can be fun even for the adults, just make sure you don't serve TOO MUCH eggnog beforehand.

Christmas Bingo

Fun for all ages, game players must first understand the general rules of bingo and how to play. Simply subsitute the traditional numbered cards with a variety of Christmas symbols, words or pictures. Download and print a variety of Christmas bingo playing cards for free here.

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Gross Halloween Food Ideas & Recipes

Sure, everybody likes gross-out food at Halloween, but what are the easiest recipes to follow for homemade yucky food ideas guaranteed to make your guests giggle and (hopefully), gag?

Here are some quick instructions and ingredients for making truly disgusting snacks and spooktacular party treats that will make any Halloween party a hoot:

Mummy pizza

Follow any simple recipe for English muffin pizza, but instead of just sprinkling mozzarella cheese over the top, use strips to make a "mummy wrap" topping. Use slices of black olives and bits of pepper for the eyeballs.

Wormy pudding

Grab a bunch of gummy worms and hide them inside chocolate pudding cups (homemade or store bought). For an added touch, stick more gummy worms on top to make it look like "the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out..."

Witches' fingers

Buy plain premade cookie dough. Roll small pieces of dough out in to a ball and then in to a log shape. Making regular notches to resemble knuckles. Make an indentation at one end and fill with raspberry jam. Top with a slivered almond piece for the fingernail. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Skeleton bone cookies

Pinch off pieces premade cookie dough and roll into 8-inch ropes. Fold 1 inch of each end back to form a small ball and pinch ends to make bone shapes. Repeat to shape all the dough into skeleton bones. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Kitty litter cake

The grossest of gross Halloween recipes, all this requires is a vanilla cake mix, crumbled cookies, and some Tootsie Rolls. Make the cake, top with cookie crumbs and add softened Tootsie rolls to resemble cat poop. Heighten the illusion by serving in a new, clean kitty litter box. Serve with a clean pooper scooper. Yuck!

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Oktoberfest Party & Food Ideas

Nothing says autumn fun like Oktoberfest! A centuries-old tradition begun in Munich, Germany, the seasonal festival is now beloved the world over and celebrated everywhere from Tokyo to Milwaukee.

Host your own Oktoberfest party with these step-by-step tips and instructions, and get ready for some fall fun, feasting .... and lots of beer:

1. Willkommen friends over by printing your own invitations using German Oktberfest clipart of beer kegs, beer steins, beer glasses, bratwurst or party goers in lederhosen.

2. Decorate in the colors of the Bavarian flag, with lots of blue and white balloons. Also consider German travel posters, or printouts of Bavarian food and beer steins to hang on the door and walls.

3. To make your venue look like a traditional German beer hall, line up tables in a long row - for a fun night of communal feasting and drinking. Use a beer stein or beer pitcher filled with fresh flowers, and surround with small German flags as an easy and decorative centerpiece.

4. Search the Web for traditional German & Oktoberfest food and recipes which are a tradition of any German party or Oktoberfest theme - such as weiner schnitzel, bratwurst, sauerkraut, gingerbread, apple strudel and black forest cake.

5. And what would an Oktoberfest be without the beer? Just make sure it's German beer such as pilsner, wheat beer, stouts and lagers.

6. Get everybody in the party mood by playing a German music or drinking song collection CD, or if your budget allows hire a local German band for a memorable live performance.

7. Lastly, no Oktoberfest celebration would be complete without a traditional chicken dance to get everyone up and mingling. (It's even more fun after hoisting a few!)

Prost! – Cheers!

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Cheap Kids Party Venue Ideas

How to throw a a cheap or affordable party away from home for your favorite birthday boy or girl?

It may take some work, but the money you save makes for a fun and memorable party that you may want to repeat year after year.

First, start with a party location checklist to make sure your chosen venue can accommodate the kind of kids birthday party you have in mind:

• Budget
• Number of guests
• Food storage or cooking facilities
• Indoor or outdoor (depending on time of year and liklihood of good weather)

Once you decide on the type of birthday party venue that works best, start thinking about local organizations that may fit your plans and budget.

These may include neighborhood groups, clubs, or places of worship that may offer free or very affordable party space for neighborhood families. Also consider neighborhood playgrounds, community centers, the local YMCA, or even the local firehouse. Most of these venues are open to hosting kids birthday parties for a small deposit or donation.

Helpful hint: If you don't reserve a date and time WAY in advance everything will be fully booked. If so, there is always the local fast food joints like McDonalds. Most chains in suburban areas will offer the use of an indoor or outdoor playground for free, with the only major cost the purchase of a kid's meal for each child.

Meanwhile, if your child's birthday happens to fall during the summer months - lucky you! The warm weather season provides one of the cheapest outdoor venue ideas for hosting a great kids party at a nearby park or beach. Of course, the weather might interfere, so always have a "Plan B" ready in case of rain.

For a great beach party, simply lay out a couple of beach blankets, unload the cooler, take out the sunblock, and party! Don't forget games and activites like sandcastle building or a fun seashell scavenger hunt.

Picnic areas in public parks also make for a fun summer barbecue party. Best of all, hosting a kids party on a weekday (especially in the morning hours) may guarantee that you'll have the whole place practically to yourself.

Finally, in what may be one of the biggest drawbacks to the DIY party venue (unlike party-and-go restaurants where you leave the mess), most free or affordable venues means the final cleanup falls to YOU.

If that's the case, be sure to arrange a special activity that involves the kids and some small trash bags, called "The Cleanup Game". It was devised by one clever mom who routinely gives out a cool prize to the guest who fills up their trash bag the fastest!

With a little ingenuity, finding a kids party venue location - from planning to final cleanup - can result in a fun and easy birthday celebration that doesn't break the bank.

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Elvis Birthday Party Ideas

Yes, the King still lives! His music and films continue to inspire Elvis themed weddings and Elvis birthday parties that are still going strong worldwide commemorating the rock n roll icon.

Celebrating Elvis is as easy as turning the ol' jukebox on (today, that's a CD or DVD player) and letting the good times roll. Decorate with Elvis posters, feature some popular 50's foods, add a party game or two - and you have all the makings for a hunka hunka popular party idea.

Set the mood by selecting a general Elvis theme, or center the party around one of his most popular movie hits like Viva Las Vegas or Blue Hawaii for a fun luau party theme.

To decorate, search online for affordable Elvis posters, rummage around antique shops for old Elvis album covers and records, or simply print out images from the Internet.

And what would an Elvis party be without the party games?

Since music is such an important part of any Elvis party, get the house rockin' with a round of Name That Tune or a hip skakin' Elvis karaoke contest. Prizes can also be given out for the best impersonation or dance moves during the performance. For the non-musical guests, try "Pin the Tail on the Hound Dog" or an Elvis trivia contest. Finally, buy a life-size Elvis cutout so that all guests can gather round for a picture with the King!

Food ideas "Fit for a King" can include fried chicken, 50's burgers and shakes, chicken "love me" tenders, or the famous fried peanut butter & banana sandwiches that Elvis loved so well. And don't forget the guitar shaped cake for a sweet ending to your Elvis celebration.

Say "thank you, thank you very much" by sending guests home happy with a goody bag filled with Reeses Pieces, toy sunglasses, a CD of Elvis hits, and photos from the party for an Elvis party keepsake they'll long remember.

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