Second Birthday Party Ideas

Your child learned a lot and grew by leaps and bounds between one and two years of age, so the second birthday party is going to be a little different from the first. But throwing the perfect second birthday party will be easy when you follow these tips:

1. Keep in mind that the point of a birthday party is to get family and friends together to be with your child. It is not a competition with other moms and it is not a race to see who can have the most professional looking party. Keep your sanity and your enjoyment level in mind when you start planning.

2. As you're planning your child's second birthday party you'll want to keep his or her abilities and limitations in mind. Two years old is still too early to have a full blown birthday party with lots of friends. Your child is learning to play with others but he or she is still too young to truly enjoy the company of peers. It's wise to keep your guest list small. Invite close family and friends and no more than two other children your child's age. This way you won't have too much chaos at your party location.

3. Having your party at home is the easiest way to keep things under control. However, if you feel like your house isn't big enough for a party, you can use the local park or a recreation center. Parties at corporate child-themed play centers can get expensive and you won't be able to enjoy any time with your child. Often the activities are geared for kids who are much older than your child.

4. Some people choose a theme by selecting their child's favorite television character. It's easy to go this route, but if you want to be a little bit more creative, you can come up with your own homemade theme. Two-year-olds generally aren't old enough to insist on a character party, so you can easily plan something around their favorite activities or interests. Pick something that your child loves, like music, colors or dinosaurs, and then run with that theme.

Some other two year old party themes are:
* Barn/farm animals
* Cats and dogs
* Jungle animals
* Pirates
* Garden (with butterflies and flowers)
* Gnomes and Fairies

5. Once you've got your theme, you can start to plan activities. Toddlers enjoy activity stations that can let them wander from place to place. These are easy to set up and really suit this age group because they don't have to follow instructions. Arrange two to three different stations that parents can help out with. Consider a station with toys, a game station and a coloring station. This way the kids will be entertained and the parents can get involved too. Find coupons for discount craft supplies here and discount art supplies here. And check here for coupons on award winning educational programs and activities.

6. Your party shouldn't last more than two to three hours. If your child takes regular naps, you can schedule the party for in between the first and second nap. If they vary from day to day, a party in the late afternoon will work best. No matter what type of party you plan, it will be a special event!

A Formula for a Fantastic 1st Birthday Party

Before you know it, your little baby will be turning one and well on his or her way to toddlerhood. Many moms (and dads alike) stress out over throwing a first birthday party. Since it's such a momentous occasion, there's a lot of pressure to make everything perfect. But sometimes it's best to keep it simple.

For a first birthday, simple is the name of game. Leave the 30-person parties at Chuck-E-Cheese for future birthdays. A few close friends and family members and a party at home are all a one-year old needs to enjoy his or her special day.

Start your planning by making the guest list. Besides you and your spouse, you should include any other people that are particularly important in your child's life. Grandparents and other caregivers should be invited, of course. Beyond that, it's up to you how many people you want to include.

You may decide to limit it to just a handful of people, or include a few special friends. Because everyone will want to hold and see the child during the birthday party, keeping things small will allow your child to see everyone without getting too overwhelmed. Another added benefit of keeping it small is that there is less food to prepare and fewer people to entertain.

The next thing to decide on is your theme. For a first birthday party, most people like to keep things simple. You can stick to a blue if your child is a boy and pink if your child is a girl, and easily get your party supplies for cheap. There's no need to make your child's birthday an advertisement for a character that they will barely recognized. Colored paper plates, napkins and cups are a lot cheaper than the commercial variety, too! These can be easily found online or at your local discount stores.

The time that you hold your child's first birthday party is very important. Most one year olds take naps twice a day. Plan your party for in between these two times. Unless your child has unusual schedule, sometime around lunch should work just fine.

Serve food that your one-year-old will enjoy, and then serve grown up versions for everyone else. For example, make fruit kabobs for the party guests, and then serve your child cut up fruit pieces. You can serve a sandwich platter with rolls for the guests, and give your child bits of the different types of food.

Finally, your child's first birthday wouldn't be complete without the birthday cake. If you want to get some great shots of your child digging into the cake, consider baking a smaller, low-sugar cake for them and then having a sheet cake for the guests. This way your child can have a relatively healthy treat, without putting fingerprints in everyone else's dessert. You can buy a sheet cake from your local bakery or make one yourself the day before the party.

By keeping things simple, you'll be able to give your child a first birthday party that is enjoyable for you and everyone involved.

Tips When Seeking Halloween Party Games

Halloween fun

For a novice event planner, nothing is more daunting than the question, "Mom, can I have a Halloween party?" There are Halloween decorations, costumes, recipes and activities to plan, which can be a big task. To throw the best party, try to keep the group small (10 is ideal) and organize Halloween fun games. Whether you're planning for a teenager, a pre-teen or a young child, there are a number of fun and affordable games to keep the entertainment rolling!

Halloween party games for younger kids can range from silly Halloween fun and getting-to-know-you games, to spooky ghost story telling and puzzle solving. An easy first game is "The Name Game," where index cards with monster or Halloween character names written on them are affixed to the back of each guest. Then the person asks another guest "yes or no" questions until the right answer is guessed. Some kids love "pumpkin golf," which is a homemade golf game made out of a cardboard ramp, a carved pumpkin with an extremely large smile and a mini-golf set.

"Ghost hunter" scavenger hunts always go over well for grade school children. First wrap lollipops up like ghosts using white tissue paper and a black magic marker. Then hide them around the house and write clues about where they could be. To make it more competitive, create teams, such as "the witches," "the goblins" or "the werewolves," and have each team race back to place their lollipops into a bin as they find them, awarding a special prize to the winning team.

Or you may want to put a letter on each ghost that will form ten different Halloween words and award prizes as the kids guess them. You can also turn on "The Monster Mash" and have kids dance like monsters, freezing when the music is stopped. This will definitely have them cackling at the Halloween fun! Check out www.partygamecentral.com for more do-it-yourself ideas.

Or perhaps you're looking for fun Halloween party games for teens. Don't feel daunted in your quest for "the cool factor" with this age group, as they're a lot easier to impress than you may think! One mother said she sent out a story starter with the party invitations and asked the kids to write a creepy ending to be judged at the event. She said the stories were so funny, gross and fascinating that they reread them each year! Given the popularity of YouTube and viral videos, and how tech savvy kids are these days, you may also want to have a "Blair Witch Project Style Film Festival," asking each kid to write and film a five-minute horror movie to be screened at the party. Or if you'd like, you can make this a party activity by assembling old costume accessories and writing down movie ideas, letting kids pick out of a hat. Give each team 20 minutes to film their own movie as the other kids do another activity, waiting for their turn. Halloween hide-h-go-seek can be terrifying when the seeker is dressed up like a horrifying monster, creepy music is playing in the background and those caught have to lay on the floor like vampires in their coffins. Board games are always a howling good time for teenagers as well.

If you're planning an adult Halloween party as an excuse to get together and drink, then fear not. There are plenty of wild Halloween fun drinking games to keep your party entertaining. "Trick or treat" is a classic: The player picks a slip of paper out of a pumpkin with an embarrassing action or question and reads it aloud. They can then choose to do the action or answer the question, or take a shot. The catch is that some of the shots are "tricks" made of disgusting things and some of the shots are identical looking (but delicious) "treats!" You can also try a bobbing for apples (with numbers carved into them to indicate how many shots should be taken) and use Jell-O shots for these games. (But be careful -- they'll sneak up on ya!) Movie games are always popular as well. There's one with the movie "Halloween," where 1 drink is taken whenever Michael kills someone with a butcher knife, a female exposes her breasts, when the Halloween theme song plays, when Halloween masks appear on screen, when Loomis says "evil," when the history of Halloween is discussed and when someone drinks or does drugs. Visit www.geocities.com/madnessmike/halloweendrinking_game.htm for the rest of the rules.

Helping You Find The Best Halloween Night Theme Party

adult costume

How do you throw a Halloween Night party to reflect your interests and character? Film buffs may choose a horror movie night, the artistic may host a craft party, socialites may organize a block party and the refined may opt for an elegant dinner party. There are almost limitless options for expressing your creativity, while entertaining your friends for some Halloween fun. To take the stress away, plan ahead, decide upon a budget, pick a theme and ask others to bring things if need be.

Comedian ("Strangers with Candy") and Entertainer Extraordinaire, Amy Sedaris, recommends hosting a Halloween Night Movie Party. "The fun of the party to me is the movie I'm featuring," says Sedaris, who personally recommends classics like Dracula and Frankenstein, Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, The Trilogy of Terror, The Bad Seed, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Of course, there are countless movies from which to choose. To create the in-home theater, she moves the TV to the center of the room and arranges cushy beanbag chairs and furniture around it so everyone can see. Then she places food trays around the room in accessible spots.

She serves meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn because "you don't have to see it to eat it" and she also highly recommends pumpkin pie dessert and pumpkin seed snacks. She likes to start the Halloween fun with a pumpkin carving activity too. Drinks can include a Bloody Mary, a Berry Rum Punch, Sangria or a witch's brew. Sedaris also recommends sending out invitations that look like a movie ticket or film reel, draping red velvet around the room, playing elevator muzak, setting up 25-cent concessions booths and throwing a few of the more traditional Halloween decorations around. "Entertaining alone is one of the most creative and rewarding experiences I can think of," she concludes.

If you fancy yourself the neighborhood socialite or would simply like to get to know your neighbors better, then consider organizing a Halloween Night block party to bring the community together. Yes, it is a lot of work, but it's not insurmountable. Start planning the Halloween fun several months in advance and meet with neighbors to assign tasks. Divvy up the Halloween recipes, set someone in charge of games, ask someone to organize prize bags, put someone in charge of the costume contest and be sure to check with City Hall about permits, insurance and zoning. You'll need the city to close down the street, which will require a permit and barricades from the local police department, which you'll need everyone to chip in to pay for. Encourage neighbors to decorate their yards for Halloween, so you can have a contest to award the best Halloween decorations. While it may sound like a Herculean task, imagine the example it will set for the children and how the renewed sense of community will bring your neighborhood together!

Don't kid yourself. The #1 thing people look forward to when it comes to parties is the food. If your food stinks, then your party will stink, even if people have no other way to spend their Halloween night. Appetizers like bacon water chestnut rolls, hummus platters, olive puffs, spiced pumpkin seeds, black bean chili, cornbread muffins and popcorn balls work great. For the main course, you can go with goulash, pulled pork sandwiches or meatloaf, if you'd like. The website www.epicurious.com also recommends devilish eggs, deviled ham, roasted deviled potatoes, deviled fried chicken, black linguine with orange and red peppers, braised short ribs and roasted golden nugget squash. You may want to go with a pumpkin pie dessert, devil's food cake, creepy Halloween decorations made with a Jell-O mold or tarantula cookies.

The Funnest Bachelorette Party Ideas

Most soon-to-be brides devote the majority of their time and energy to planning their wedding. There’s so much to be done and by the time the wedding arrives, the bride really deserves an evening with just the girls. That’s what a bachelorette party is for and it’s become an important and expected part of the wedding celebration and not worry about things like whether your husband to be has bought his groomsmen gifts or not. For the woman or women planning the event there are many bachelorette party ideas they can utilize.

The first decision that must be made is when the party should be held. Traditionally it was often planned for the evening prior to the wedding. It’s becoming more popular to have the event a week or two before the big day. This gives the bride time to recuperate if she happens to indulge in one too many cocktails at the party when she starts hitting her head on personalized pub signs that are hanging around.

Where to have the celebration is another consideration. Some suggestions include a hotel, a restaurant or if someone has a large enough home that works well also. Depending on the venue, there are many different bachelorette party ideas that can be enjoyed. A sit down dinner is always welcomed as is a cocktail party with some delicious appetizers.

Who prepares the food should be addressed as well. If you are planning on an elegant evening that includes a full course dinner, a professional catering service is the best approach. Bachelorette party ideas that are less formal can include a potluck type dinner where every guest brings along her favorite dish. If they include a copy of the recipe, the bride will be well on her way to having a complete menu selection once she begins cooking for her new husband. 

Many women want to include all the female members of their family in this celebration, regardless of their age. This obviously will have an impact on the activities that are enjoyed. You probably don’t want to invite a male dancer over if the grandmother of the bride is in attendance. Some fun bachelorette party ideas revolve around games such as guessing what  groomsmen gifts your husband will buy that can be played by the bride as well as the guests.

A relatively new idea is for the bride and her close friends to jet away for a few days before the wedding. These types of bachelorette party ideas give the bride time to unwind and relax before the big day arrives. The women attending can head off to Las Vegas for some gambling or perhaps spend a few days at a spa in Arizona. Either way the bride will come back refreshed and looking forward to her walk down the aisle.

The Proper Usage of a Wedding Program

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life. You want to remember every detail of your special day and this can be accomplished through well designed wedding programs. The programs function the same way a flier designed for the theater functions. They help guests anticipate the stages of the ceremony and wedding programs outline the structure of the event.

You can choose wedding programs that reflect your taste and that capture the mood of the ceremony. They can be created by the same organization that designed your invitations. This would present an organized, thematic feel that can be carried all the way through to the thank-you cards. Choosing to order wedding gifts and programs that have the same design as your invitations and thank-you notes will create a memorable, cohesive theme for your special day.

Not everyone opts to order their guidebooks. Some creative brides choose to print their own wedding programs and this can provide a personal touch. They can be designed and printed right on a home computer. If you decide that you want to create personalized programs, check with your church to see if they have stationary that will suit your needs.

You also want to check with the church to see what you need to include in the fliers. You may want to personalize the guidebooks, but some churches have requirements for what is included in the wedding programs and also ring bearer gifts. It is important to keep communication open with the organization that is holding the ceremony. Some churches have a general format while others may be quite strict.

A current trend in wedding programs is the wedding booklet with wedding gifts. The booklets include the significant information that is pertinent to the ceremony. It also includes extra information that the bride and groom want to share with their guests. They can include everything from the church procession to the way that the groom proposed to the bride. The booklets are quite a bit longer than the traditional wedding program.

Many brides and grooms are choosing unique presentations for their ceremonies. Some print their wedding programs on paper fans that are distributed to the guests as they arrive. The beautiful fans serve as a wonderful keepsake for the guests as well as the couple. The theme of using fans in the wedding can easily segue into the reception where fans can be used a decorations. Even the napkins can be folded into the fan theme.

Today’s bride has more choices than ever before. Remember that the wedding programs are not only for the guests. They serve as a keepsake for the couple and their family. Taking the time to create unique wedding programs that stand the test of time will insure that they will stay with your posterity for years to come.

Play poker on the River Thames

We all know the poker is all the rage at the moment, it has also now become a popular entertainment activity for corporate hospitality events. Poker is not the game it used to be, played in dingy dark secret dens, it is now one of the words fastest growing sports and it now a multi billion pound industry with television coverage on all the major sports channels. Players are now celebs and earn millions of pounds every year on the poker circuit. There are now even charity poker events where celebs play for money for their chosen charity.

Treat your clients to a exclusive night on the beautiful luxury barge Gentoo with Sky Tv,  42" plasma screen and a surround sound music system.
You will be collected from a London pier of your choice and whisked away James Bond style on a high power speedboat which takes you to the luxury barge where she is moored between Chelsea and Albert Bridge.

Top Chart offer exclusive corporate events on the tall ship and luxury boats which sail down the river Thames. This is the perfect setting to entertain your staff or party. You can play for money or just for fun the choice is yours. There is a maximum of 12 people who can attend at any one time and becuase of gaming rules everyone must be over 18.

Your poker game experience will include a champagne reception, Professional croupier, cocktails served by your personal waitress and a taxi back to the nightclub of your choice. This is the ideal corporate experience to impress your most important clients. A perfect way to finish the evening off is to visit one of London's trendy nightclubs and have a private lounge pre-arranged for you. for more information about the fanstatic events please contact Top Chart.

Tips To Find Your Halloween Costume

kids costumes

Usually, when people think of a Halloween costume, they think of witches, devils, ghosts and other horrifying creatures. Yet scary is not the only type of costume theme. In fact, many adult Halloween costumes are focused on a particular era, like Western, Roaring 20s or even 16th Century England Renaissance. In fact, Renaissance costumes are some of the most breath-taking show stoppers you can find on the internet. The pieces vary widely so no two queens or wenches will look exactly the same.

If you're looking for more than a cheaply made Halloween costume and want something that looks professional, from a theater performance, a movie or a Renaissance festival, then you can buy custom, high-quality, historically accurate Renaissance costumes at www.verymerryseamstress.com. If you're looking to pay less than $155 for your adult costume, then you'll want to order cotton fabric, rather than twill or satin. The "Reversible Peasant Package" is very popular because it embodies the traditional "Renaissance" apparel with a strapped front-laced bodice in any two colors, a cotton skirt and matching wrist bracer, with or without the short chemise.

You can add any number of accessories from skirts, sashes or headpieces. Made of cotton and sans chemise, the package is just $99 but it ranges to $195 for twill material, with a short chemise included. The next category up from the Peasant Packages are the Merchant Packages from $155 - $250, which are simple and middle class Renaissance, yet stylish nonetheless, with chemise, skirt, brocade purse and sash. If you would like to dress as an aristocrat, then you can find "court" apparel ranging in price from $251 - $300, or nobility for $351 and higher. For instance, you can dress as Jane Grey or Mary Tudor for $1300 - $1400 with a costume made of silk, lace, pearl, faux fur and jacquard.

Are you looking for a Halloween costume that is inexpensive but doesn't look cheap? At www.renaissancemodel.com you will find a great selection of Renaissance costumes for every budget. You can buy a reversible (black cotton twill/cotton velveteen) "Princess Bodice" with accented metallic trim for $78.50 or a machine washable rayon lace-up gown with detachable sleeves and gold trim for $68.50. For a more aristocratic look, you can wear a rich burgundy cotton velvet tunic with hand-sewn beadwork for $129 or the exquisite "Forest Princess" late medieval tunic made of natural flax linen for $275. Men can find pants starting at $29, shirts starting at $45 and cloaks starting at $95. Kids costumes generally run from $50 - $100, depending on the material and style.

No matter which character you want for your Halloween costume, the Renaissance costumes are timeless classics. You needn't embody Halloween horror this year. Instead, why not try something sexy, yet formal? Who knows, you may even decide on attending a Renaissance Festival or a Renaissance-themed birthday party or wedding! Some people decide to incorporate the lace-up bodice or corset into their regular Saturday night garb. Whether you want to pay $50 or $1500, you can look your best this Halloween.