June 26th, 2008
For as long as I can remember we’ve always had some type of family gathering on the 4th of July. Some of my favorite summertime memories are from playing with my cousins on the 4th of July.
When I was growing up my uncle lived on a lake, and we always went there for an Independence Day celebration. Everyone brought their favorite dish, and we grilled out in the back yard. The kids swam, and played volleyball all afternoon. In the evening we watched fireworks over the lake.
I think that’s why I’ve had a blast putting together 4th of July party information in the last couple weeks. Whenever I think of this time of year I flash back to the fun times we had when I was growing up. It was one of the few times each year I got to visit with all my cousins.
Image via stock.xchng
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By linette -- 19 comments
June 25th, 2008
Set up a tiki bar
in your back yard during your next cookout or barbecue. Let your guests chill with some fruity summer drinks. Make up a pitcher, or blender full of your favorite cool or frozen drinks and let your guests help themselves.
Set up a garnish tray with toothpicks, olives, strawberries, slices of lemon, lime, orange, cherries, celery, whipped cream, and stir sticks. Set the containers on a tray of ice to keep them cool and fresh.
If you don’t have an outdoor refrigerator fill a large cooler half full of ice to set your pitchers, or blender containers in to keep them cool.
Here are a couple summer drink recipes to get your outdoor cocktail party started:
We have a new blog in the b5media Lifestyles network called Drinks After Dark. It’s loaded with more beverage ideas for your summer cocktail party, including these really cute cubist glasses that would work great for cocktails in the great outdoors. They’d also be a great conversation piece.
Decorate with palm trees, flip flops, and grass skirts. Don’t forget to play some Jimmy Buffet, or Beach Boy tunes to set the mood.
You can stock the bar yourself, or ask each guest to bring a bottle of something. Stick to a couple drinks to keep things simple. You don’t have to be a master mixer, just use your favorite recipes to mix up some fun.
“TIKI BAR” SHARK ATTACK Sign Image via Amazon
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By linette -- 0 comments
June 24th, 2008
Don’t forget about our party poll in the right sidebar. When do you open the birthday presents? The trend today is to not open birthday gifts until later, or to wait until the end of the party.
Opening gifts used to be part of the entertainment at a birthday party, but more and more parents are opting to wait until after the party to open the gifts.
You have a couple more days to let us know when you open your birthday presents. I’ll let you know the results this weekend.
Stay tuned! I have a new poll for She Knows Parties readers for July. I know you’re all shaky with anticipation, or maybe that’s just the caffeine you had this morning in your coffee:P
Image via stockxpert.com
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By linette -- 0 comments
June 23rd, 2008
Martha Stewart’s craft of the day today is a Red White and Blue Garland, made from red white and blue paper stars.
It looks like it would be great for a patriotic 4th of July celebration, or even to decorate your house for all the summer holidays. The 3D paper stars would compliment it nicely as a table centerpiece.
The readers have added some additional tips for making the garland, so read all the way down.
Martha Stewart also has some cute little 4th of July holiday lanterns and Clothespin Pinwheels for the kids to make.
More Martha Stewart 4th of July party ideas.
More 4th of July party ideas and decorations here at She Knows Parties
Image (c) Linette
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By linette -- 1 comment
June 22nd, 2008
You can’t go wrong with chocolate party favors. You can set up a chocolate bar and let the guests fill a small favor box or bag with their favorite chocolates from an assortment.
You can also pre-fill small favor boxes with a mixture of chocolate and hand them out to the guests, or leave them on their plate.
If you’d like to make your own chocolate favor boxes or bags, here’s a quick tutorial from Monkey See.
Favor box Image (c) Linette
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By linette -- 0 comments
June 21st, 2008
A couple years ago a friend of mine had a summer garden party. She set up tables in her apple orchard, between a couple of her flower gardens. It was a wonderful setting for a party.
Everyone brought their favorite garden dish, with a copy of the recipe. The hostess also served herbal teas, and beverages. It was so much fun to sit out among her beautiful flowers, sip tea, and talk about gardens and food.
She had everyone decorate a garden hat to wear to the party. When everyone was seated we voted on out favorites. The hostess had put together prizes of potted plants, and she used flower pots to hold an assortment of gardening gifts.
If you planned your party in the spring or fall you could also include a plant, or seed swap in the festivities. Or plan to visit several local gardens during the party.
I’ve gathered some links with some great ideas, and finger foods to add to your garden tea party:
Please feel free to share your favorite summer garden party ideas.
Image via Birthday in a Box
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By linette -- 0 comments
June 19th, 2008
4th of July cookouts need red white and blue desserts. I posted an idea a couple weeks ago for a 4th of July Cupcake Flag. There are several other great 4th of July dessert recipes out there.
One of the all time favorites is the 4th of July flag cake made with strawberries and blueberries. Sandy at All Holiday Cafe has links to several versions of the 4th of July flag cake.
If you’re looking for something different here are 10 more 4th of July, red white and blue dessert ideas:
- Use a star cupcake pan or mold, to make jello stars in red and blue gelatin.
- Fruit and Yogurt Parfait or Trifle with blueberries and strawberries
- Independence Day Pops
- Instant Red White and Blue Ice Cream Cake
- Red White and Blueberry Cheesecake
- More 4th of July cake and cupcake decorating ideas
- Star Spangled Dessert
- Blueberry Cheese Tarts
- Red White and Blueberry Shortcakes
- Red White and Blueberry Ice Cream Sundaes
Looking for more 4th of July ideas, we have a 4th of July party section with decorating ideas, and fireworks safety.
Image (c) Linette
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By linette -- 5 comments
June 18th, 2008
One of the hardest things to plan for a bridal shower is the games and activities. How do you entertain all those people for a couple hours? It’s hard to find fun games, that your guests have not played a million times before. Here are a couple of my favorite resources for bridal shower games and activities:
1. BridalShowerGamesAtoZ.com has games you can print for a small fee. Their bridal shower games include, Bridal Bingo Card Generator, Bridal Shower Charades, Bridal Lasting Impressions, Finish The Bride’s Phrase , Bridal Shower Word Twist, and What Will The Bride Say?
2. Bridalshower.com has a whole list of bridal shower games submitted by readers. Including How Well do you Know the Bride, Bride Bingo, and Truth and Tare.
3. Weddings at About.com, has a list of bridal shower games, and activities to get to know the bride.
4. The Knot has a Complete Guide to Bridal Shower Games. Some of these look like great fun for the competitive crowd.
5. Bliss Weddings has an online library of popular bridal shower games.
Looking for a couple more ideas for bridal shower activities?
- Provide some basic scrapbook supplies, and have the guests all bring a favorite photo or two for the bride. Have the guests break into groups to scrapbook a page or two for the bride to be.
- Have everyone bring their favorite recipe, and put together a recipe collection for the new brides kitchen. You can scrapbook the cards together in a book, or just provide a simple card box.
Have fun!
What’s your favorite bridal shower game or activity? Please let us know in the comment section.
Don’t forget to check out our other bridal shower ideas.
Image via BridalShowerGamesAtoZ.com
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By linette -- 0 comments
June 17th, 2008
Flowers make wonderful centerpieces, and decorations for summer parties. Just walk out in your garden and clip a handful of your favorite blooms, and arrange them in a vase. It’s really hard to make a floral arrangement look bad if you include an assortment of different flowers, and plenty of greenery. Here’s a quick video tutorial on cutting flowers for an arrangement.
A couple more quick flower arranging tips:
1. Use the freshest flowers possible.
2. Clip your flowers early in the morning, late in the evening, or just after a light rain. The flowers will be holding more moisture at these times. The extra moisture will keep them fresh longer.
3. Carry a pitcher of warm water with you as you clip, and put your flowers in it as soon as you cut them. This helps keep the stems open, and helps the plant continue to take up moisture.
Here are some more tips for extending the life of your cut flowers.
You can’t go wrong with cut flowers for a summer party centerpiece.
Image (c) Linette
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By linette -- 3 comments
June 16th, 2008
Are looking for an idea to get your friends together? Or looking for something to do for a bachelorette, or holiday party? Why not have a tasting party. Put together a selection of your favorite wines, cheeses, or chocolates and invite your friends over to have a taste. The selections can be something you love, or something you’d love to try.
Offer 7 or 8 samples, and let the party goers discuss their favorites. Include little note pads for each guest so they can jot down notes about the aroma, appearance, and flavor of the selections. Make sure to include water and crackers between the tasting stations for guests to clean their pallets.
You don’t have to stick to one thing, you can combine a wine tasting, and cheese tasting, or wine and chocolate.
Tasting parties are great for indoor, or outdoor parties. You may want to switch from fragile stemware to a hardier glass if you’re doing your wine tasting on the deck.
You don’t have to stick to wine, cheese, or chocolate. Do a tasting of your favorite foods, or recipes. Just have fun with it!
Image (c) Linette
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