xmas is on the way

Ok i haven't done any holiday shopping yet, but i'm sure when i do there will be something I forgot to get. So let's come up with a list of things we need to remember.
Your holiday dinner, make a list of everything you plan on making and all the ingredients.
Be sure to go over your guest list and make sure you're not serving anything that someone you know is allergic to.
Don't forget that kid friendly food too.

When you are out buying presents it's always a good idea to get something for that "oops i forgot to get this person a gift"

Stamps for those xmas cards

Lots of tape, ribbon, wrapping paper, and of course the tags.

Batteries for the camera and the video camera charged.

Especially batteries for the toys and gadgets that will be opened on the big day.

If i have forgotten to add something to this list, let me know and i'll post it here.

Paint can have other uses

Well new empty paint cans that is. They can really be an inexpensive way to add to your tables, or use as gift containers, ice buckets etc. Use the Gallon sizes as a chip holder, you could stencil on any saying or design you like to the can, even add a piece of fabric, like a bandana, inside the can as a liner . Do the same thing for smaller snacks using pint or quart sizes. I love the paint cans because you can really dress them up. Try getting some beads large enough to thread on the handle and make it sparkle.

Place cards

With the holidays alot of people like to plan fancy dinners which include placecards for the tables. Why not try and do something a little different this year. I recently made some for my sons football team's party, I wrapped the hershey bars in a football theme and added their number and name to the front. Not only is it a neat little place card but it's also usefull. You can do mini potted plants just add a label with their name, or even make napkin rings with their names on them as well. Be creative and share your ideas with us.

Pumpkin Patch

If you have never gone to a pumpkin patch, you should . My family and I went last weekend and I'm glad we did. Most pumpkin patche's aren't just for picking pumpkins anymore. We went to one called Fir Point Farmshttp://www.firpointfarms.com/, which is an actual working farm, but they have animals for the kids to see, Giants pumpkins, you can even take a horse drawn carriage ride around the farm. The kids had fun running around all the pumpkins trying to find their perfect ones, and for .25 per pound I think they are all perfect.

PARTY FOOD

Of course one of the most important things for any event is the food. Yet we always find ourselves at the last minute trying to come up some new recipe with usually no success. Try planning out your menu a few weeks in advanced and start browsing recipe websites for some new ideas that are easy enough to make. I came across http://www.myrecipes.com/, it's a great little site that even offers how to videos for those of us that are not as talented in the kitchen.

Party tip of the Week

Always remember when having any event to make note of kids that may be attending. Obviously if it is a chidren's party make sure it doesn't last too long, the younger the kids the shorter their ability to stay entertained and happy. If you are having a mix of adults and kids take into consideration the kids need something to do as well. You may even want to designate someone to run some kid activities for you.

Halloween

Halloween is on it's way, and it's always fun to make the house or ourselves look spooky. One tool that might help is cheesecloth.
A great little material that would work for making spider webs, ghosts, even a mummy.
How about making some creepy looking creatures for your windows or walls by cutting out some rats, black cats, or witches out of black card stock and arranging them around the house. Take a couple and put them up just above some candles(not too close dont want to start a fire) and watch the shadows go on the walls.

Party Idea

Always find you or your kids struggle to figure out what kind of party to have, check out Birthday Party Ideas, it has over 150 ideas to choose from submitted by people that have actually had that type of party, with their ideas for what they did, what worked and what didn't.
http://http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/html/party_ideas.html

September's Holidays to Celebrate

Ok here is the list of some September holidays that I think are great reasons to party;

11th: National Neighborhood Day- go ahead and have a neighborhood bar-b-que

13th:International Chocolate Day-No better reason to have a chocolate dessert party

19th:Talk like a pirate day-

22nd:Oktoberfest, Germany-I think the men would like to celebrate this one

Catalogs

A great way to get party ideas and see whats avialable is to order catalogs. I go to many of the top party supply sites and request catalogs, that way i can always have them as a reference for ideas, pricing etc. It's also great for your kids to look at if they aren't sure what kind of party they want. Even though they will mostly carry the same stuff, one of them will have a little more, plus you can compare prices as well. I would suggest getting them from Shidigz.com, M and N International,and Oriental Trading company.

School Events

Some of you might be involved with planning school events, or you have kids that are are the homecoming and prom committee, I found a great little company that specializes in just those events. Anderson Events carries everything you need to transform any gym into a great prom or themed function you need, even float decorating supplies. Not only would this work for school events, but you have a little one that wants a princess or prince party this would be a great place to search for supplies,(I did see a princess carriage centerpiece, very cute).http://www.andersonsevents.com/

Summer is ending soon

With Summer ending soon it's always hard to get kids in the mood to go back to school. The last few weeks of Summer Vacation aren't usually filled with anything besides school supply and clothes shopping.
Why not have a end of summer bash! You could have your kids invite their closest buddies over(or to a park) and just let them have fun. Our neighborhood host a end of school year party at our neighborhood park, but why not have one for the end of summer, it's a great way to meet neighbors you haven't quite met yet, and give a chance to any new kids to make some friends before school starts.

Easy decorating

Looking for an easy way to decorate your themed party? Try Scene Setters, they are backgounds you can hang on your walls that really help transform a room. Here is a picture of the ones i used for my sons Car themed birthday. They aren't avaiable in every theme yet but you can find some great ones for kids. Most Party supply stores have started carrying them, you can also find them at Shindigz.com. If you do decide to use these, just make sure you have a little help while putting them up, it's much faster that way. Plus, when you are done with the party you could even move them into your chid's room.

Bright Ideas

I recently purchased a book all about kids parties, because we do spend most of our lives planning kids parties, and i came across a section called Bright Ideas by the M&M/Mars Company. They had such cute ideas for cakes, favors, invitations, and activites to do . Their website BRIGHTIDEAS.COM has all of this information and instructions, you can even make invitations, or like we mentioned before the ever popular e-greetings.

Online Invites

It seems that most of us have gotten so used to the world of the internet that we even send out our party invitations this way. Which is great for close friends and family invites, but I still like the old fashioned way better. I love seeing what kind of unique invitation the person has used, and it gives me an idea to the theme of the event as well,(which can usually help you pick out a gift).
But if you must send out online inites i suggest you use E-vites, they offer a lot of different designs and you can have everyone rsvp with their count of how many are coming, you can even set it up for people to pick what item they want to bring with them if you are doing a potluck.

Tip of the Week

Always looking for the best deals on your party supplies? Why not research some of these party supply direct selling companies, or sites like makes parties.com. Becoming an independant sales rep you can benefit from sales you make but also get a discount on purchases.
A Company like Makes Parties doesn't cost anything to sign up as an affiliate, plus you get wholesale pricing, and commission on sales, and you get an online store already stocked. Take a look at mine to see what it looks like.

http://www.simplywrapd.makesparties.com/

LOOKING FOR RESOURCES

SINCE I STARTED THIS BLOG ABOUT PARTY PLANNING I FIGURED I SHOULD AT LEAST MAKE A LIST OF SOME GREAT RESOURCES FOR SUPPLIES, VENUES, PLANNING, ETC. SO I AM CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH SITES AND MAKING MY LIST WHICH I WILL POST HERE WHEN I'M DONE. IF YOU KNOW A SITE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL INCLUDE IT.

A LIttle Help From a Checklist

Most of us know that trying to plan anything without some kind of list is hard to do. We usually need something to help remind us of what it was we still need to buy or order. But if you are anything like me, I tend to forget where I put that list at.
There is a site that I came across today, while doing some research for my little one's birthday, that has a lot of useful checklists and worksheets for different types of events.
You might want to check it out, print out a few checklists, and start to get organized for your party.http://plannersguide.com/event_planner.htm

Reason to have a party?

Looking for a good reason to have a party check out these national days for the month of August.

Daily:

1 National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

2 National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

3 National Watermelon Day

9 Book Lover's Day - start a book club

10 National S'mores Day - get out and barbeque and roast some smores

15 Relaxation Day - great time for a spa party

More on the topic of themes

One of the things that I take into consideration when choosing any theme, is what are my decorating choices. I'll usually decide on 2or 3 themes that i would like, let's say vegas, mardi gras, and hollywood, I then start researching party supply stores to see what they have to offer. Seeing how many different options I have for supplies ie: centerpieces, wall decorations, favors, odd and end pieces to pull it all together, helps me make choosing much easier.

Deciding on a Theme

This is the fun part but also a little stressful. Of course we want to pick something that we would enjoy, but more importantly will your guests. First you need to look at your guest list, what is the age range of adults, will there be kids there. This should help narrow down your list somewhat, especially for you wild ones out there. If you are having a mix of kids and adults make sure it's something that can cater to both like a luau.
Speaking of Luau's , which would be great in the summer time, the time of year your event is can also help you decide what type of theme works best.

Simply Wrapd

OK, I'm still getting this whole blog thing going but I thought I would give you guys some background as to why I started my business Simply Wrapd.
Yes like most moms I was looking for a work at home job, and was doing a lot of research online on different options, but I was always interested in party planning, party favors,etc. I eventually happened across this really great site called Wrapcandy, they offer software to design candy wrappers, boxes, bags, all sorts of cool stuff, so i gave it a shot and loved it.
Now being that I have kids, I know what it was like to have your child request a certain themed party, and not being able to find any party favors to go with it, or even have something that was just a little bit more unique than the rest. But now that i started Simply Wrapd I can design anything that I want, and I wanted to share that with everyone else out there who knows what that frustration is all about.To give you an idea of what some of the stuff looks like here is a picture.

First Day

This is my first day trying to get this going so bare with me as I sort all this information out, and start posting.