Looking for an invitation for your next kid's party?  Check out Card Central!  It's easy and fun!  

First, choose your theme, then customize the details, pay, and print!  You can print as many copies of that design as needed for your celebration! Your invitations go out to guests on time and there are no shipping fees. 
Now, that's a real time-saver!

Earth Day is a time to come together and celebrate our great planet and discuss how we can take care of her for generations to come. If you don’t already have a bird feeder in your yard, purchase an inexpensive one, fill with seeds, and watch the birds enjoy their snacks.  It would be great to bird watch who comes for a visit and learn about the local birds in your area. Have a fun day in the dirt by letting your kids dig for worms.  See what else they can unearth during their dig. [more...]

Well, you don’t have to be Mexican to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, a festival that celebrates the 1862 victory of Mexicans over French invaders. Decorate with the colors of the Mexican flag, white, green and red.  Add bunches of bright-colored flowers (tissue paper flowers work well too), sombreros, pinatas, and maracas would be additional festive touches.

The party will certainly revolve around wonderful Mexican food, including tacos, fajitas, burritos, guacamole/salsa with nacho chips, and fried bananas.  Don’t forget fruity drinks! Have the kids wear sombreros and play Mexican music and encourage everyone to dance. Top your festivities with a wonderful dessert - Sombrero Cookies. [more...]

Is CSI a part of your TV viewing on a weekly basis?  With the show taking place in Las Vegas, NY, and Miami, chances are if you want to watch it, you definitely have the opportunity! 

Recently, I was asked by a friend’s soon-to-turn 13 kid to write a party plan for CSI-themed party?  It disturbed her mother a bit that she was asking for such a party, but there you go! 

The party can be organized in many different ways.  but to really make this a hit, I wouldn’t let the birthday kid know that an actual crime will take place…that would be a complete surprise for everyone.  So, the set-up of the lab, the tool kits, the CSI crime lab can all be planned with your birthday kid.  On your own, gather other adults or other older kids, who are interested in staging a murder in a different area of your home or in your yard, if a nice day…you can set this up with a stabbing or a shooting, etc.  When the victim screams, the kids will know that they truly are CSIs for the day!!

Have a couple of CSI volunteers interview the suspects.  (So there is one team investigating the crime scene and another team investigating the suspects.) This is the heart of the party, and the conclusion is the successful meeting of the minds, i.e. the evidence supports that one suspect is guilty.

Have the kids take home their tool kits as their party favor.  You can also make up T-shirts with CSI on the back of the shirts that would be something they can wear during the party, given out when they get their badges, and then taken home as an additional favor. [more...]

if you have a child who is around the age of one ~ I'll bet that she loves Cheerios.  As your child turns one, you may want to consider this snack as a theme for your party!  Buy brightly colored card stock in your favorite colors, and cut them into Cheerio shapes, make sure to make a hole in the center. 

Hot glue real Cheerios around the outline of your Cheerio invitation.  Write, “Cheerio and Hip, Hip Hooray!”  Place all of the party details on the paper Cheerio. Make a round cake, cut out the center, frost, and decorate with your Cheerios! Hide small boxes of Cheerios and have the kids go on a Treasure Hunt to find them. This is an easy, budget-friendly party plan for your one-year-old that will take little time to plan, and will be loads of fun for your little one.  [more...]

I recently RSVP’d for a birthday party for my kid, and while I was on the call the host parent gave me several gift suggestions that we could bring to the party.  I am sure the host parent was trying to make it easy for me, but the gifts she mentioned were all $20 or more.  Should I buy one of these suggested gifts even though it is out of my price range?
Stick with the budget you have for the present.  You know what you can afford to spend, and should not feel pressure to buy something more expensive.  When you get a few suggestions, you gain an understanding as to what the birthday kid is interested in, and can choose a gift within your budget in this area of interest.    [more...]