Celebrations, Events, and Party Planning News

Every February 2nd in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, a groundhog named "Phil" is supposed to indicate whether Spring has arrived or if there will be six more weeks of Winter. The story goes, if Phil sees his shadow when he comes out of his burrow, then there will be six more weeks of winter weather. And that means it is time to celebrate with Groundhog party favors at your Ground Hog Party. Scavenger Hunts, Ice Carving Exhibits, Cook-offs and Sleigh Rides are some of the activities at a Groundhog Day party.

When hosting a party, such as a Groundhog Day party, sometimes we don’t mean to forget to thank our guests for coming, but hosting a party can be a busy, almost maddening affair, and before you know it the night is over and someone wasn’t acknowledged. We don’t mean it to happen. We have good intentions of circulating and making sure that each and every guest has been welcomed and thanked. Yet, when it is over, it is hard to be sure that you connected with every single guest – or is it? Actually, it is easy to be sure you talk to every guest at every party. How? By incorporating the distribution of Groundhog party favors into your guest circulating routine you can see exactly who has been spoken to and who hasn’t, thus ending the possibility of any one feeling under-appreciated.

Personalized party favors can really add a personalized thank you to your party guests – just be sure to get an accurate attendance count via RSVPs so you don’t waste a lot of money on unusable favors (although you can always squirrel them away for Christmas gift exchanges if you want to be real frugal). In addition, personalized party favors can be selected to complement any party theme. For example, if you are throwing a retirement party for your spouse, consider personalized golf caps or balls, fishing caps or lures, or flasks. For a spa party containers of soap, body oils, bubble baths, sachets or candles (trial size and tea lights work fine) can be put into a small sized personalized galvanized pail and tied with tulle and ribbons in order to become a personalized party favor or gift pack.

Regardless of the party themes, personalized Groundhog party favors can be distributed. Again, take time to follow up on the invitations to be sure that you have an RSVP for everyone who is planning to come. Then as you work your room, you can distribute the favors as a thank you for their friendship and attendance. You will know everyone has been thanked when there are no more gifts to distribute. Oh, and be sure to have a few spares made up and ready to go for those that simply decide at the last minute than your party is the happening place to be and show up without notice! After all, you are the experienced hostess that makes everyone feel so appreciated that they simply want to attend.

First birthday theme parties can be fun for the birthday child as well as for the friends and adults attending. With very few supplies one can make a wonderful Pirate party for the children to enjoy and most likely, the parents will actually have more fun than the children by watching the entertaining imaginations unfold. The imagination of younger children never ceases to amaze a parent. The fewer things they have, it seems, the more creative they become. That is why the underlying rule to a children’s party is to provide only the necessities, allowing the child to work his growing imagination and at the same time, save on the parents pocketbook. Here are some great tips to have an awesome pirate party without spending an arm… and in the case of a unfortunate pirate, a leg as well.

The first question one needs to ask is what they feel makes a pirate look like a pirate. Simply make a list of what you feel completes the look: a wooden leg, a sword, a toucan, an eye patch, a missing tooth, a hook for a hand, pearly necklaces. The list could go on forever. Choose three or four key items that you would be able to supply the children with. The more creative you get, the cheaper this is likely to be. The trick is to keep with the First Birthday Party's theme with the few items you construct or buy.

To remain money smart, make use of resources that are available to you. The cheapest and most affordable resource (free) that is easy to come by is cardboard boxes. Breaking them down and using them for just about anything is somewhat time consuming but also fun when the kids are involved. It is entirely possible to make swords or eye patches out of cardboard boxes. A big enough box can be the pirate's shipt itself. Make a pattern, trace it on and cut out. For the pirates wooden leg you may be able to split the inside of a paper towel roll and place that around a child’s calf. A toucan could actually be a sticker or pinned on cut out as well.

In today’s society, children aren’t always enticed to think on their own. No matter what you try or how much you decide to spend, remember to keep the kids involved and they will have a blast with the creation and end results of your First Birthday Party's theme.

If your child is a cat lover, consider throwing a Hello Mrs. Kitty theme party. Center the cat party around cat history, facts, and cat trivia! Make the party special by ordering or making feline themed decorations, having perfectly feline party favors, and treats. Make kitten chow by melting chocolate chips and peanut butter, tossing in crunchy cereal squares, and then shaking them in a bag of powdered sugar, to serve your little kitten lover! You can even have a photo of your cat made into a cake at local bakeries.

Another great kid party idea would be to have a hippie party. All the kids could come dressed as hippies with headbands, peace necklaces, and go go boots. A hippie snack for your hippie theme party would be to bake some brownies. With these ingredients, your party is assured to go along way.

Want to put a happy face on all the children's faces this next party? Why not have a Happy Face theme party? Have all your decorations, supplies be of the happy face picture? A cake with a happy face, paper plates with happy faces and games to play to bring on happy faces are all you need!

Tired of spending a lot of money on your party goods? Well, President's Day party ideas doesn't have to be that way. Stores are often a very convenient resource when preparing for a large event but don’t forget to shop around if you are trying to watch your spending. They are not all the same. Entailed here you will find some interesting information on what to consider when shopping at different Party Supply Stores before your make that final commitment to buy.

Your own desires of Quality, Quantity and available Budget are what will truly lay out where you should spend your dollar as well as your Presidents' Day party ideas of how you are going to decorate, and entertain. Having this information clear cut prior to your shopping experience will provide the answers to many of the questions you encounter in your quest.

Many supply stores that you would find in a mall are truly not there to give you a discount. Every salesman around will tell you that sales depend on location, location, location. The customer base that the mall stores seek out comes from the window shoppers, not the penny pinchers and this will be reflected in their prices.

Dollar Stores are nice when purchasing just a few things but they are not usually the right source if you are looking for bulk or quality.

The so acclaimed discount or wholesalers are also not always necessarily the best bet. Often times their items are damaged or need to be bought in large quantities to get a good deal. Again, checking around with other stores to figure out what the going rate for your desired item is will definitely let you know who has the best deal. Sam’s Club and Cosco’s usually have decent deals and are of decent quality depending on the quantity of your needs.

The most important aspect of planning for your Presidents' Day party ideas is your creativity. Don’t be afraid of the second hand stores for some of the items that you might need. Often times these stores are great alternatives to renting in that the products are actually yours to keep for your next gathering after your party is over.

With cherubs, hearts and candy of all flavors presented in red and pink; Valentines Day breaks up the monotony of a long winter. While snow piles up outside many a northern window sill, February 14th is a welcome diversion rather than an overly sentimental holiday. So why not liven up your Valentine's Day party with Valentine's party decorations and go all out.

Chocolate lovers delight at the unabashed fervor for the national holiday that has become synonymous with cocoa beans. There seems to be an unending contest among confectioners to develop ever more unusual concoctions than the previous year. Cartoon characters, skyscrapers and autos have all been depicted in chocolate. Many candy stores have zeroed in on chocolate covered strawberries as the perfect, if perishable, confection for the mid-winter celebration.

This is just the right touch of course since many southern zones do have ripe strawberries in February. For those in the north who are still trudging through slush for a couple of months, this is a suitably exotic import. Of course, these can be easily prepared at home but most people still buy them out at a rather high price point. But don't let this discourage you, your Valentine's Day party decorations don't have to be expensive at all.

These and other Valentines Day treats can be colorfully displayed with Valentine's Day party decorations. A themed table cloth used with solid white, red and pink plates, napkins and plates make the occasion special while preserving the delicate budget. Favorite entrees or humble fare are welcome here.

A favorite holiday for shoppers is Presidents Day. And a wonderful time for shoppers to get all their Presidents Day party supplies filled for this holiday. It is also the last chance for retailers to unload less than popular winter merchandise before restocking for spring. The only aim is to clear the shelves so stores offer rock bottom prices in order to cut their losses. It is an effective strategy since lots of people in February have cabin fever and are ready for some semi-serious recreational shopping.

It is not certain how Presidents Lincoln and Washington, whose birthdays were fused in order to form one legal holiday, would have felt about those bargains named in their honor. Washington endured cold, wintry battlefields probably wishing he had a new, warm coat or boots. Lincoln would have understood the shopping fever: historians say that his wife, Mary Todd, was a shopaholic. Any tribute is better than no tribute. While taking advantage of all the great bargains, don't forget to purchase all your Presidents Day party supplies before they're all gone.

Back at the home hearth, especially in snowy regions, Presidents Day is a fun break from the monotony after Christmas. It's a great time to get some extra mileage out of red decorating items or paper party goods. Young children who are getting their first exposure to early American History lessons find reinforcement of those schoolroom lectures when the holiday is celebrated at home.

A cherry pie is a traditional reminder of the Washington chopping down the cherry tree story--even if the validity of said story is under current scrutiny. Gold wrapped chocolate candies could allude to both the story about tossing the coin across the Potomac River and the fact that Presidential profiles end up on currency much of the time. Red, white and blue napkins, plates and cup would make for excellent President Day party supplies to serve pie and/or candies.

Once baseball's World Series defined America's competitive nature but today the Superbowl and football have taken center stage. Times change and although major league baseball players are not yet in bread lines they do seem dwarfed by the popularity of football.

For many households the Superbowl party is becoming one of the major social occasions, with Superbowl party decorations, supplies, etc. being purchase to highlight the occasion. Traditions change and its best to change with them or be as overpowered as a salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

Today's Superbowl Party has a decades-long track record of developing layers of trend and marketing. Magazines are filled with recipes and money saving offers that recommend menus and coach hosts and hostesses on their uses. Many of these contain very good pointers if aimed at selling specific products.

Among the better of these are the snack treats. These tend to be salty rather than sweet. Dips of various kinds are the preferred staple of the Super Bowl Party. Other occasions call for cakes and cookies whereas this is an occasion that highlights the use of salsa and spinach dip.

Paper party goods form most of the Super Bowl party decorations but plastic football trays and helmet bowls are used in coordinating favorite team colors. The spinach dip is of course served in a scooped out bread bowl so that the cubes of bread are placed on tooth picks for easy dipping. The chips and salsa can still be served in those ceramic sombrero hats sets though.

Regional favorites work well for Superbowl celebrations, Superbowl party decorations all about, a roaring fire sets the ambiance in New England while local chowders can, as always, feed the crowd. Rule of thumb? Enjoy!