I have started to enjoy incorporating plaid into my Christmas decorations, so I thought it would be fun to think up my dream party that was flannel-themed. I’ve outlined the decor, food and drinks, and activities that I would include.
I love this “Channel the Flannel” sign- I think it would be a cute addition above the food and drink table, or honestly, pretty much anywhere in the party.
This is such a simple centerpiece, but fits with the theme so well. I love the tiny pinecone and pine needles attached to the twine, and love the candle inside the mason jar.
I love these flannel drink cozies, but I also love what I would serve inside. For the adults, I would serve hot apple cider spiked with some Fireball whiskey. For the kiddos, I would serve yummy hot chocolate.
These S’mores on a stick are something that I am sure I would enjoy. S’mores are my favorite dessert, so you can’t really go wrong there, and this is probably the most convenient way to eat s’mores that I’ve ever seen.
What’s a flannel party without a little lumberjack flair? I love this lumberjack photo booth idea, and I think that adults and kids would both love taking pictures with and without beards.
Are you as obsessed with flannel as I am? What are your favorite things to have at a Christmas party? I liked that this was a unique take on a traditional Christmas party.
I have always wanted to attend a cookie exchange party, so while I was perusing Pinterest, I decided to plan the dream cookie exchange that I would love to attend or host.
Obviously the most important part of a cookie exchange is the food and drinks available.
My new favorite thing is cream cheese or brie with jalapeño jelly over the top. This seemed like such a fun spin on that, and I loved how it incorporated cranberry into the recipe. I think this would be a hit with guests.
This punch seems like it would be such a good cold drink option for a cookie exchange party. It seems so festive, and the pineapple addition would make it taste fresh.
These caprese-like skewers look like they would add a great savory element to the appetizer table. I thought it was so creative to add a tortellini to the end of the skewer!
I am 100% obsessed with hot chocolate, so when I saw this picture it was a dream come true! The only thing that I would add would be candy canes, or crushed peppermint, because I can’t go very long through the holidays without a peppermint hot chocolate. 🙂
In keeping with the cranberry theme that I apparently am obsessed with, I decided that these cranberry cookies would be what I would bring as my “offering” to the cookie exchange.
When I saw this adorable cheese wreath, I was immediately hooked. It features two of my favorite things- cheese and Christmas! I thought that this was a creative way to offer a cheese tray that related to the holiday season.
I thought that this was a cute idea to make the cookie exchange more interactive, and to get everyone to try all of the cookies. I thought it would be cute to offer little “trophies” that were basically a plastic cookie glued to a platform and spray painted gold. My guests would treasure it forever. 😉
For favors, I would give away wooden spoons, to keep with the cookie theme. These are cheap options that are actually useful (who doesn’t use wooden spoons?), and that can be spruced up easily.
Have you ever hosted a cookie exchange? Did you do anything that I didn’t feature in this post? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
I love coming up with ideas for future parties, and when I was thinking of birthday parties for my daughter, I thought an art party would be so much fun! I have gathered inspiration from the furthest reaches of the internet and combined them here for my dream art party.
This chalkboard welcome sign is the perfect entrance into an art party, and I love it even more because we own the same easel so I could easily replicate it. First Lady of the House really knows how to make a great first impression.
I absolutely love this rainbow-colored paintbrush garland! It’s so creative, and so easy to make! Kara’s Party Ideas featured this garland, but it was styled by DimplePrints.
I love the idea of giving away watercolor kits as favors, and aren’t the printables from Here Comes the Sun the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? I love that these favors are cheap, and will probably be used (and hopefully won’t go in the junk drawer like most favors).
I love everything that was done with this neon Art Party from Sweeter Than Cupcakes, but the part that stood out the most to me was the “creative juices” as a drink! They used blue Kool-Aid to match the bright colors of the rest of the party.
Ever since I heard of the magical treat called fairy bread, I’ve always wanted to try it. Apparently fairy bread is a fairly common treat at children’s parties in Australia, and I think this is a tradition that the US needs to adopt immediately! Fairy Bread is white bread, spread with margarine or butter, and then covered in multicolored sprinkles. I love how Smart Party Planning turned fairy bread into a sort of “sushi roll”. I’m sure it’s much less messy that way!
It wouldn’t be an art party without an opportunity to create a masterpiece. I love this setup from Hostess Blog that includes a canvas, an apron, a paint brush, and a paint palette- everything that a little artist would need to express themselves!
Everyone loves a photo booth- kids and adults both! I love how Makoodle used a colorful background, and a frame to make it more artsy.
I think that this dream party would make for a super fun event! My one year old isn’t ready for a party like this yet, but perhaps when she’s around 4 or 5 I will be able to use these ideas to throw the most fabulous and fun art party around. Let me know if you try any of these ideas (especially fairy bread- I’m obsessed)!
Everyone has their “thing” when they are planning their wedding, and mine was to have a good wedding video. Back in 2011, when I was researching vendors, I stumbled across a trend that I still haven’t forgotten- same day edits. A same day edit is just what it sounds- the film company will capture your special day, and while the event is happening they will bring the footage to an editor, and you will be able to show your guests a short video of your wedding day while they are still at the wedding! I was absolutely amazed that this was even possible, and was convinced that it was the “wow factor” that my wedding needed. Unfortunately for us, we weren’t able to book the same day edit with our vendor soon enough, and another couple scooped them out from under us, so I wasn’t able to experience a same day edit of my own wedding. Below is an example of what a same day edit looks like (click on the picture and the video will open in a new window).
Amazing right? I would love to hear if any of you have been able to score a same day edit at your wedding or event!
This sign is such a cute way to close off an area of the house that isn’t open for the party. This quote comes from the first Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone if you aren’t from the US).
If you have seen Harry Potter, you likely fell in love with the floating candles in the Great Hall (especially in the first movie). This is a fun twist on those candles, and uses electric tea lights, toilet paper rolls, hot glue, and paint.
In order to catch the train from the muggle world (non-magical world) to Hogwarts, students have to run through a brick wall to get on Platform 9 3/4. This would be such a fun entrance to the party, showing guests that they are leaving the muggle world behind, and are entering the wizarding world.
These “flying keys” were featured as one of the tasks in the first movie to get to the Sorcerer’s Stone. It’s an easy addition to your party, and a fun nod to the Harry Potter universe.
These mandrake cupcakes are the most adorable things I’ve ever seen. Mandrakes are plants in the magic world that have babies that are in the ground, and have greens on top of them.
My family is completely into board games, and my cousin just bought this game. We have been dying to play it (it may or may not have been the inspiration for this post). I think that this would be a party favorite for fans of the franchise.
I love the idea of creating your own wand, especially for the younger wizards in attendance. This is such an easy DIY project- all you need is chopsticks, hot glue, and paint, and you’re all set!
Are you a Harry Potter fan? Would you want to attend this party like I would? I think it would be so fun to play all of the Harry Potter movies (or at least as many as you can get through) while the party is going on! Let me know in the comments if you try any of these ideas!
Weddings are such a special day, and are shared with the most important people in your life. It’s always nice to send home a favor with those who were able to come to celebrate with you. Below are some ideas of inexpensive options for favors that you can give to your guests.
Food is always a hit as a wedding favor, because it can actually be used and consumed by guests. I loved the idea above of a oil and vinegar duo, but I’ve also seen couples host candy bars where guests can fill their own bag with their favorite candies. I’ve also seen s’mores kits, little jars of honey, and many other options in the food category.
I absolutely love the above luggage tag for a destination wedding, and I love that they left it plain with a separate thank you tag on it, so that guests can use it without having the couple’s names and wedding date on their luggage tag. I have also seen bottle openers, salt and pepper shakers, and even matches.
Photo booths are such a fun addition to every event, and who wouldn’t want a special frame to display the photos that they took at your wedding? I thought that this was such a clever way to give guests something to remember your wedding by, but that could also be used for other photo booth strips in the future.
What did you use for your wedding favors? I personally went the candy bar route and had guests load up on sugar before they went home. I can’t wait to hear from you!
In recent years, it has been so much easier to find ideas for events. You can go online and find hundreds of inspiration photos for your theme or event. This has made party planning almost a competitive sport , because there are so many resources at your fingertips. Let’s explore the top 5 resources that I’ve used to get event inspiration.
Pinterest is one of the top sites that I use because they link to everything. They link to blogs, Etsy, and any other site that you can think of. Also, because so many people are using Pinterest, there is a lot more content available. You don’t have to search multiple sites to get the same information, you can find it all in one place, and it will link out to the content.
I absolutely love reading blogs to get event inspiration. I enjoy following the blogger through the process of planning and executing the party, and it’s fun to see the outcome after following along the journey. My favorite event planning blogs are Hostess with the Mostess and Oh Happy Day. Hostess with the Mostess has perfectly executed events, and I love to get inspiration from the attention to the tiniest details in their parties. They also have a great archive that you can search to find the theme that you are looking for. Oh Happy Day has a bunch of DIY tutorials for decorations and activities. They also have their own shop where you can buy some of the items that they have featured in their posts. I tend to follow these and other blogs through Bloglovin’, which is an RSS Feed reader, so that I don’t have to remember to go to multiple sites.
Etsy is a site where artists and crafters can sell their products to others. I love going on Etsy both to buy items for my parties and to get inspiration on DIY projects that I can do myself. I have been known to search for an invitation design on Etsy, buy it, and base my entire party around the design of that invitation. I can usually find things like special outfits for parties, party favors, party decorations, and much more on Etsy.
For weddings specifically, it’s hard to beat The Knot. Not only do they have tons of inspiration photos in every color combination imaginable, they also have articles on event planning such as invitation etiquette, how to create your own bouquet, and how to narrow down your guest list. I know when I was planning my wedding, I was constantly on The Knot looking up every conceivable option for my big day.
Let me know your favorite places to spark inspiration for events! I’m always on the hunt for new places to search and new ideas to find.
The most important part of choosing your event venue is to see if your desired date is available. Even if you don’t have a specific date in mind, you need to see what their availability is around the time that you are planning to have the event. If they aren’t available during the whole month of March, and you wanted to have a St. Patrick’s Day party, that venue probably won’t work out for you and you will want to keep searching.
Another big part of deciding whether this venue is the right one for you is knowing how many people they are able to hold. When I was planning my wedding, I had dreamed of a garden wedding, and had fallen in love with a particular venue that I had been to when I was younger for a garden walk. When I went back to meet with them about how they run weddings, I found out that they limit their guest count to 25 people, and we had a 180 person guest list. Obviously that wasn’t going to work within our constraints, and we had to move on to another venue.
One thing to consider regarding the guest count- make sure you know the guest count for each type of setup possible. A venue could accommodate 150 people for a cocktail-style party, but if you wanted a seated dinner they may only be able to hold 75. It’s helpful to know what each setup style means so that you can determine if that is the right feel for your event.
For most events, the venue and food/drinks are the largest expenses. It is important to make sure that the venue that you are looking at fits within your budget. It’s also very important to ask what is included in the price that you are given. You may be ok with a higher price if it also includes the food/drinks, DJ, and an event coordinator. It’s also smart to find out if they have any discounts for slower seasons. If you don’t care what time of year you hold your event, you usually can get a discounted rate for the times that they don’t normally fill up every night.
All venues that have been new construction since January 1992 must be handicap accessible, but older properties are only required to meet requirements within reasonable expectations. If you are hosting an event that is open to the public, you will want to make sure that the venue that you book is handicap accessible. If you are hosting a private event, you will know your guest list, and can determine whether you need that accessibility or not. I personally always lean toward booking an accessible venue, because in case one of my guests breaks their leg leading up the the event, I want them to be able to enjoy themselves and participate in all aspects of the event that they want to.
I always like to ask to see a typical contract for an event when I am first meeting with a venue. The contract is where they lay out all of their restrictions for your event (i.e. the event must be done by 8pm due to noise restrictions, you can’t hang anything on the walls, or no alcohol is allowed in the venue). You would hope that the venue would disclose these restrictions, but you don’t want to enter into a contract not knowing all of the terms that you will be held to.
Make sure to find out whether the venue provides liability insurance as part of your contract, or if you need to get it yourself. Often, this is a stipulation of the contract that you must obtain insurance so that in case anything happens you are covered.
It’s important to know who the point person is leading up to the event, and if that person will also be your point person on the day of the event. Whether it is an event coordinator, catering manager, or front desk assistant, you will want to make sure that you and that person are on the same page throughout the event planning process.
Make sure that you ask how many events are held at that venue each day. Some venues will allow multiple events back to back in the same venue. That can create some issues because if the first event runs long, it can affect the schedule of the rest of the day, and there is nothing that you can do about it. If there are separate spaces that can be booked, it may not be that big of a deal, but it is still important to know so that you can create appropriate signage to get your guests to the right event.
Making it easy for your guests to get to your event is absolutely key, and parking is a large part of that. It’s always helpful to have parking (either self-parking or valet) available at your venue, especially if your event is in a downtown area with limited parking. A best practice is to include the parking information on your invitation/flyer for the event, so you will want to know this information upfront.
Since event planning is an ever changing process, it’s important to know the last day that you are allowed to make changes to the event. Maybe you have decided to move it from inside to outside, or you have decided that you want black table linens rather than white. You will want to know what the last day is that you can change those details without an extra charge.
Let me know if you have any other questions that you normally ask when you are booking an event venue. I would love to hear your top questions!
Today is National Taco Day, and I thought it might be fun to daydream about my ideal taco-themed party! I was inspired by the Bonnie Raitt song “Something to Talk About” to do a country themed “tex mex” taco party. So, here’s what I would do if I were going to throw this taco party:
I absolutely love how Kara’s Party Ideas used the cans of foods that are traditionally used in Mexican dishes as vases for her succulents. Such a creative way to use something that you might have thrown away after emptying its contents while cooking for the party.
Using vegetables in the center of the table was just one of many ways that Mary, from Home is Where the Boat Is, brightened up her table and added a ton of color to the party.
I would buy these giant flowers from Paper and Peony (featured on the Evite Blog) to use as a photo booth backdrop. Wouldn’t it be beautiful to take pictures in front of this gorgeous display?
As an appetizer, the classic tex mex option is queso. I have a friend from Austin and she made the most amazing queso dip for us when we went to her house for a party. This recipe for queso seemed like it would be the most similar to what she made for us. My mouth is watering just remembering how good it was!
These tex mex hush puppies looked like they would be a crowd favorite. I am definitely not a chef by any means (I usually assume that anything I’m cooking will explode) but I’m sure that I could convince my husband to make these for a party since he loves experimenting in the kitchen.
Now this recipe for Tex Mex Pasta Salad is more my cooking speed! I’m pretty sure that I can handle cutting things up, mixing them together, and blending ingredients into a dressing!
If you know me at all, you know that I am obsessed with pop tarts (specifically s’mores flavored), so when I saw this recipe for Taco Pop Tarts I thought I died and went to heaven. These seem so convenient and easy to eat! Though they aren’t a traditional taco, they have the same flavor and put a fun twist on the main part of the meal.
I’m not a huge fan of traditional lime margaritas, so I thought that for this party it would be fun to find a spin on this popular drink. These Sunset Margaritas (Mango Pineapple flavored) sound just up my alley, and I’m betting they would be a hit at this dream party!
When my husband and I started dating (in high school!) we would always go to this little taqueria and get chimichangas and a brand of soda called Jarritos. This display of these delicious sodas brings back so many memories, and would have to be a staple at this party.
Now, I’m a dessert person, so I couldn’t just pick one dessert for this party- I had to go with two! The first one that I found that looked like it would be easy to make the day before the party is Churro Chex Mix. Honestly, I’m probably going to make this without even throwing a party- it looks SO good!
And this, in my opinion, would be the crowning glory of the party- Ice Cream Tacos! How clever to use waffles as the shells, and you can add whatever you want on it like a sundae bar! I personally would do chocolate ice cream (to look like meat), whipped cream (aka sour cream), and green sprinkles (cilantro) so that I could make it feel like I was eating a real taco!
Let me know if you decide to try any of these ideas! I know that I’ll be trying these out next summer when I have a taco bar at a party (though I may end up making those pop tart tacos instead of regular tacos just because they are so cool).
The number one thing that you will want to consider before anything else is the photographer’s availability. If they aren’t available on your event date, you won’t be able to work with them. I would recommend booking at least six months in advance, but for well sought after photographers, you may need to book a year to two years out. If for some reason your dream photographer isn’t available, ask them for recommendations of colleagues that have a similar style to them.
It’s important to consider the price and what is included. Some photographers have a cheaper upfront price, but you have to pay to print each of your photos, or pay to get the digital files. Other photographers may have an expensive upfront price, but it includes all of your digital images, and an album. Just make sure that you are really comparing apples to apples, and figuring out exactly what you get with each package.
Make sure to ask your photographer about the digital files and copyright information that come with your package. If you have all of the copyright rights to your photos, you are free to use them as you wish (i.e. publish them to social media, blogs, etc.). I always make sure that I have these rights, as well as the digital files, so that I am permitted to print my own photos for use at my house or wherever else I would like to use them.
The last, but perhaps most important thing to consider is the style of the photographer. Do you want your photos to be light and airy? Black and white only? Bright and colorful? It’s smart to do your research on your photographer so that you can see what their style is, and see if it fits in with your vision for your event. Look at their website, blog, and social media sites to see what types of photos they are most proud of.
Can you think of anything else that is important to consider when choosing a photographer? Any photographers out there that can offer any insight into the other side of this process? Please let me know in the comments!
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