So, you have your theme, you have logged onto one of the sites that is great for party “stuff,” and now found your theme with all of the trimmings…but the price tag is out of your budget for every piece to match, i.e. the napkns, plates, cups, etc. Can you do anything to cut down on these types of birthday party expenses?

Why not mix -n- match? You could buy the plates in the theme that you are planning and then you could accent this this with a primary color napkin and cup that you can pick up at the Dollar Store or Target for very little money. It will look really nice and it is prefectly fine to mix and match the items.

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Here is a fun idea for birthday gifts…especially if you are looking to get away from the toy craze. Why not pick up this book: Creating Clever Castles and Cars.
Parents say that their kids enjoy making the projects in these books and they are fun to give as gifts.

So are two invitations in one envelope tacky? As an example, a parent may be planning her son’s christening and first birthday party on the same day due to most of the family being out of town.

I don’t find this tacky in the least for a couple of reasons:

1. The two separate events are for the same child. Thus, the same envelope makes sense.
2. Holding two consecutive different events, such as a christening and a birthday party ~ both events deserve to have their own invite. Thus, two different invitations makes the most sense.

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I’m not sure about you, but I am a huge fan of, yes, ummm…The Gilmore Girls. Last night when I turned in, I was not disappointed. Not only did I see a great episode building to the season cliff-hanger…I got a lesson or two from Lorelai Gilmore on throwing a 13 year old party. It was almost like working…

To give you a few more juicy details….poor Luke offered to throw his daughter’s 13 year old birthday party at his diner without any help. After a disastrous start of shouting out the “rules” and then leaving them to it without any activities, Luke calls Lorelai to rescue him and save the party. She does this with absolute brilliance…what were her secrets? I thought I would share…

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Another favorite resource that I love is Crayola. It is a really fun website filled with many crafty and creative ideas that only Crayola could do…and there is a party planning section for parents.

The best thing about this particular site is that Crayola focuses on arts and crafts activities that can be done during a party and is also organized by theme.

Often, thinking of the arts and crafts is one of the most difficult parts of planning a party ~ especially when you are trying to match to a theme.

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Don’t wrap that gift, bag it! Momready.com is full of this and other wonderful information in an easy-to-use, friendly format!

Today, they talk about preparing gifts…and ways to save time and reducing stress just before all of those parties your child is sure to attend this spring, summer, fall, and on and on…

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Here are some fun ideas for a Ladybug party this spring and summer…

Ladybug Party:

For an activity, supply each guest with a bug catcher kit that has a net and a clear plastic bug holder. Release real ladybugs and have them try and catch as many as they can. The “goody bag” could be that they take their container of ladybugs home with them, and release them in their own backyards.

Print out interesting lady bug facts and tape a different one to each of the clear plastic containers for the children to learn something about the ladybug.

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