So where to go to get these wholesale party favour bargains? Once upon a time this would have meant leg work and time set aside hunting for bargains at local wholesale stores but now with the wonder of the internet, a world of choice opens up at the touch of a mouse.  There are party favour sites offering every theme and style you could imagine and offering good competitive prices, all without leaving your home.  Why not use the party planning as an educational experience for your child.  Get them to choose the theme, make lists, plan the day, work out timings, quantities of food, design invitations, decorations and estimate the cost.  All great skills for later in life and even the youngest child can join in and get involved.

It can help extend the excitement of the day to start the planning early. Your child will know best what sort of favors are going to be popular for his or her age group and can begin to hunt for ideas long before the day. Armed with the budget, figure you have already planned for the party and divert their attention when you have to do the regular shopping trips. These can be made much more fun when you can occupy bored minds with looking for party ideas when you are really doing the regular shopping.  More highly priced party goods that are spotted on these trips can be noted down and the child should be given the task to do the internet research at home to find wholesale party favour sites where the same goods can be found much cheaper.
Perhaps you have a budding designer on your hands. If so, encourage your child to design their own party with named favours for each guest. These personalized favours can be as small as a chocolate bar with the guests name printed on it or something more extravagant like a book where the story is printed to include the guest and your child’s name in the text.  How’s that for personalization?

So get smart, get researching, get something individual and make the next birthday party the talk of the neighbourhood. Wholesale party favour line can raise your child’s party out of the ordinary and take the pain out of your party pocket.

Parties may be a place that brings up a log of bad memories. Family fights, sibling fights and significant other fights are enough to keep me either declining the invitation or making sure we aren’t close enough to each other to make eye contact. Considering most parties have a certain level of gossip (asa conversation), you can expect to get talked about whether or not you come to the party. It’s up to you to decide whether you want the grief or not. I have had a lot of family experience when one member of the family wouldn’t come if the other was. Talk about being caught in the middle. Six years later the scars remain and nothing has been settled.

Another reason to skip the party is just a plain old bad attitude. We all could use a little work on this once in a while. Sometimes an attitude correction comes in the shape of my wife reading me the riot act. And I thought only Wall Street had major corrections. It is better to be happy and cheerful and go to that “really great party”. Trust me, I know.

Many more reasons exist to not only like parties but come away with the feeling of our life being nurtured. We are a social people. The fact is, everybody wants to be wanted and accepted. Just look at all the social networking happening on the internet. It’s a global phenomenon. Websites like MySpace, Facebook and the thousands of other sites are a testament to it.

We can meet up with family near and far, catch up on the latest. So what if you have to be kissed by an Aunt or Uncle just because you are their favorite. Yuck! One of my favorite Uncles called me meathead. Good thing he called my brothers the same. How special?

Meeting new friends is always awkward but can be fun once the ice is broken. You just never know who you are going to meet. In some way whether social or business we are networking. Finding what position we have in the conversation. What can we give to it - what can we take? Is it selfish? Maybe, maybe not. If nothing else we are re-affirming parts of ourselves. Are we OK with ourselves, do we need a little tweaking of part of our work or home life?

Parties, hopefully are full of smiling faces brought together by design or chance. If for only a moment, we change our state of mind Party on.

At another site I read that Dominica “is not your ordinary fun-in-the-sun kinda island. It’s a mysterious, romantic, natural island where you will encounter a French-Creole culture with the overtones of a British heritage”.

Dominica is a small island located between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Eastern Caribbean and this is definitely on my list of countries to visit.

Whilst many of my friends know the country’s name and have a rough idea of its whereabouts -few know about its history. A dinner party is the ideal way to share my new found interest with friends by introducing them to its tasty food and maybe sharing a little about what I now know. Chances are it will get on friend’s lists of placed to visit too.

A little about Dominica’s food:

Dominica’s food is very fresh and healthy and is often cooked in a Creole style featuring a spicy sauce or dish made especially with tomatoes, peppers, onion, celery, and seasoning. Whilst most of the cooking on Dominica is island Creole, you can also enjoy Continental and North American cuisines too. Fresh fish and seafood are found on every menu.

Dominica’s cuisine is simple and that’s a good start. It consists of basic fried chicken, seafood dishes and Creole cuisine like goat columbo and callaloo soup (a creamed spinach type soup). Roti, the curry-filled flat bread is a Caribbean staple.

The cuisine is based on root vegetables like yams or turnip, spinach, watercress, chicken, goat and seafood (fish, crabs, crayfish and octopus). Meat is one of the main elements of most Dominican dishes and cured and smoked hams are often used in their cooking.

The food is often flavored with the earthy aroma of curry and coconut milk. Fresh herbs like parsley, celery, chive, cinnamon, thyme, nutmeg and cloves are also commonly used in the cooking.

Bello Hot Pepper Sauce is made locally and served everywhere with almost everything. It contains Scotch Bonnet Pepper, papaya, onion, vinegar, salt, and spices.

Inviting guests

Ask your guests to come dressed for the occasion - what would they be wearing down to a Caribbean dinner by the beach? - shorts, flowing shirts, straw hats?

To set your scene

Dominica is a beautiful Caribbean island - so this is a great Summertime dinner party idea and perfect for the outdoors. This will be a low key affair to be enjoyed by all.

Light your dining area with candles or hanging lanterns - you want a laid back, relaxed feel to the night.

Place some exotic flowers as your centrepiece or have some lovely hand-painted candles on show. Alternatively, place a straw basket brimming with exotic fruit somewhere in your room and nicely lit.

Maybe greet your guests with a cocktail - a Pina Colada maybe with the popular coconut and pineapple flavors.

Have some music playing in the background - Calypso, Reggae or Smooth Jazz.

The meal

People from Dominica prefer light and spicy fish or seafood dishes served with plenty of vegetables and greens. The visual attractiveness, like the balance between colors and proportion is important.

A typical meal eaten by a Dominican family could consist of Black Bean Soup, Coconut Grouper and Corn Pudding or you could cook one of the many Creole recipes available on the internet.

After your meal, you could also serve a fresh platter of exotic tropical fruits like mango slices, banana, guavas, tangerines, oranges, pineapple and papaya.

During the evening, you could even educate your friends on Dominica which celebrates its 30 year of independence.

Here are some ideas to create an awesome fairytale party. It does not take much money but will require time and effort. This article will focus of the following party elements; party invitations, door gifts, cake, decorations and activities.

Party Invitations

The creation of a themed party starts right from the party invitations. For a fairytale themed party invitation, you can make the invitation cards like a decree or scroll! Use a cream-coloured textures paper for best effect. Handprint the text of the invitation with a fountain pen or print it out on your computer using an old-English calligraphy font. To attain the look of an old scroll, simply crumple the paper and scorch the paper sides. Tear the paper sides before scorching to give it a ’scroll-look’, but be careful when handling fire!

For fairytale themed parties, the kids should dress up to fit the theme. Your invitation should state this explicitly so that the invited children can do so. (You might want to have simply costume accessories such as hats/ helmets/ tiaras/ fairy wings etc just in case some kids are not in costume.

The invitation itself should be written in a fun way too, but do remember to put in all the relevant details including, date, time (duration), venue, RSVP date and contact details.

Door Gifts/ Party Bags

Some door gifts or party bags you can consider for a fairytale themed party include: plastic tiaras, wands, king/prince crowns, toy swords and shields, pirate patches and pirate hats and so on (you get the idea). The items mentioned above can be bought from party shops, or if you wish to, you can make them yourself too. Tiaras and wands can be made from colourful pipe cleaners and pirate hats and eye-patches can be made from cheap cloth. Use your child’s favorite fairytale story or characters as inspirations or guides to make themed door gift or party bags. You can make up inexpensive little goody bags like rustic pouches made from old cloth filled with gold chocolate coins and trinkets. Simply cut out a square of cloth about 8″ x 8″, throw in the goodies and gather up the corners of the cloth and tie them together with twine!

Cake

Since your party is going to be a fairytale themed party, there’s no reason why your cake shouldn’t fit in the theme too! The simplest solution is to buy cakes from confectionery shops that have fairytale prints on the cake. However, this can be expensive.

If you wish, you can have a home-baked cake that fits the theme. Do not worry! You do not have to be a pastry chef to make a tasty cake - you can make it easily using pre-mixed cake powder available in supermarkets. To make it even more fairytale themed, buy icing, sweets, chocolates and use your creativity to decorate the cake! An easy cheat to make a simple cake a themed one is to buy toy figures and plant them on the cake! Ensure that the birthday child gets involved by letting him/her design decorate his/her own cake too. This is a great chance to bond with your child in a fun way!

Decorations

For a fairytale themed party, decorations must reflect the fairytale theme. One of the best decorations that can help to create a fairytale atmosphere is plenty of white, silver or pink nylon netting! Nylon netting can give the surroundings a dreamy and fairytale feel. Nylon netting is very versatile and you can secure the material on chairs, tables, pillars and even the ceiling.

Since your child is the special child for the day, you can also have a special throne for the birthday child. This throne can be easily made by modifying an inexpensive wooden chair and have it spray-painted gold and decorated with nylon netting. You can also put red satin on the seat to make it even extra special! A plush cushion is also a nice touch.

If you don’t mind the expense, fairytale themed party cutlery, plates and cups are very pretty and really add to the theme when the entire table is set with such themed tableware.

Balloon decorations can easily fit the fairytale theme. If you are using a professional decorator, they will have the expertise to theme the decorations. If you are self decorating, the easiest way is to match balloon colours to the other decorations. Adding stickers of fairytale characters is an inexpensive way to theme the balloon beyond just colours.

Activities

Think about designing your party activities like games and competitions that can incorporate a fairytale theme. Here are some ideas; a best-dressed fairytale character or most creative fairytale costume competition, colouring contests featuring favourite fairytale characters, memory games using fairytale playing cards, a real-life archery competition (just like in Robin Hood!!) with suction-cap arrows; shooting competitions with foam or suction-cap dart guns or matching shoes to the right person ala Cinderella. The great thing about these activities is that you can organize them yourself.

If you are hiring a party entertainer, it is a good idea to look for a professional company that can customize their shows and games. For example, Singapore kids birthday party company, Mighty Magic Factory, can customize entertainment and games to suit your theme. They also have a costume and photo station that allows kids to dress up in all kinds of fairy-tale costumes.

One last important point when it comes to theme parties: Always adopt a holistic approach when planning a theme party. The theme only comes about when different elements come together to create a synergistic experience!

Don’t list your prices in your ads because each project will require a customized estimate. Many variables will enter into the estimate. Will you need to supply everything from paperware and piñatas to favors and thank you notes? Will they want you present on the day of the party or just supply every thing and they will handle the party day. The amount of time and preparation will also have to be reflected in your prices. Remember to include everything in your written price. Be sure to list what is included and what is not included, this will prevent problems down the line.

Generally you will charge by the project, not the hour, since some tasks may only take five minutes. Include wear and tear on your car for running around to get all the supplies. If you prefer to shop online to get all the necessary parts and pieces of a party theme, be sure to include the shipping and handling charges in your estimate.

The client will tell you what type of party they envision, but to avoid errors, ask them to write down all the details. By the details they supply you will be able to give them an accurate estimate. Plan on meeting with your client to discuss the complete party plans before and during the process to avoid unsuspected “surprises” on the day of the party. The last thing you want is an upset client.

So your party planning business is humming along, now you want to expand. Stock up on party supplies, favors and piñatas when they are on sale. When you buy the items on sale there is more profit in your pocket. The internet is a great place to find sale and hard to find older party themes and piñatas. These items can usually be found at a discounted price. Just keep in mind you may need to visits several websites to put together a complete package of plates, cups, table covers, etc. Website shopping is so much easier and a time saver, than running around to several stores. With just a few clicks you have your complete party theme pulled together.

Depending on your skill, you may take on larger parties and events such as graduations, weddings and baby showers. Changes are, your clients will ask for more than just getting plates from the local store. It is up to you to decide how much to take on. You decide exactly how busy you want to be and how much you want your business to grow. Put on your party hat and enjoy your new and exciting business!

Scrapbook Invitations - Try creating a “scrapbook” invitation with your child’s pictures! These are memorable cards that can be kept long after the party is over. First, you will search for some designs of various clipart that will relate to your parties theme and other crafted materials found in any hobby store. Using your child’s pictures as the focal point, add lots of decorations around it and fun cut-out letter for the party’s details. Be as creative as you want with this project! It is important to plan ahead, this type of project can be time consuming.

Treasure Map Invitations - Soak plain white paper in strong tea and let dry in the sun. This will give it a weathered and wrinkled look. Use a brown marker to write the details and try writing it in elegant script. You can even purchase alphabet stencils that will match to make it easier. Fold and use a red candle to drip wax to hold together. Regular rubber stamps found at any hobby store will make a cool emblem; apply while the wax is still hot to create this. Write the guest’s name on the front of the folded invitation and send.

Puzzle Invitations - Buy a handful of cheap mini puzzles from the dollar store and before taking them apart, paint over the picture with a plain color that matches your party theme. Once the paint is dry, write the party details on the puzzle and any other pictures or décor you would like. Be sure to break it up and drop it into an envelope to send to your guests.

Kaleidoscope Invitations - You will need to save your toilet paper rolls for this idea. Decorate them with paint, glitter, markers, colorful paper, whatever you like. Once the tubes are colored and dry, you will need to take a piece of white or light colored tissue paper and cut it into a circle slightly larger than your tube end. Write the party details in the center and glue the circle over one end. Write instructions to the guests to hold the tube up to the light and look through it for a special surprise.

Candy Bar Invitations - Say “Happy Birthday” with chocolate. You can order a customized candy bar wrapper complete with text and images for that sweet-tooth birthday boy or girl or make up your own chocolate bar wrapper on your computer. You can include a photo of the birthday child, party details and anything else you wish. Take the outer wrapper off a regular chocolate bar and rewrap it with your own, leaving the metallic paper in place. A little glue will keep your unique wrapper in place. Kids and adults love these invitations, but who wouldn’t?

You can also design invitations that fit the theme of your party. For example, movie or Hollywood parties send “ticket stubs” with the party details on front. Or a toy car could deliver the message with a sticker containing party details stuck underneath. The are still hundreds of ideas, you just have to use your imagination and be a little creative.

Anything fried is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit at the birthday party, but you can make things a little healthier by baking. For example, try baking potato wedges drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt and dried rosemary. This yummy version of a French fry can be served with ketchup and is sure to be eaten right up.

You can also make baked chicken nuggets. Just cut a couple of chicken breasts up, dredge in egg and then in crushed cornflakes. Lay on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper before baking 10 minutes or until cooked through at 350º. These can also be served with ketchup if you like and they are just as delicious as fried nuggets.

Fun shapes are always popular with kids, so try turning food into interesting forms with cookie cutters. A regular cheese sandwich becomes far more interesting when you cut it into animal shapes! Veggie slices can be cut to look appealing, too, if you feel you must add some real nutrition to the meal!

Eating outside makes everything taste better, so why not have a picnic with typical picnic food. Egg salad sandwiches, potato salad, fizzy juice, all these are super popular with kids and a nice alternative to the same old hot dogs as last year. You might also try shish kabobs made with fruit chunks or even tacos where the kids get to choose from an array of ingredients that you set out for them. Make-your-own burrito is another good choice that allows guests to avoid foods that they don’t like.

Above all, remember that birthdays only happen once a year, so if the food is a little on the unhealthy side, don’t worry too much about it. Just make sure it tastes good and you’ll have eager guests asking for seconds.

If you’re a little unsure about picky kids always serve one dish you know is a hit. Or serve sauces & dips on the side. Be creative. Think Shamrock green and pot of gold yellow.

Here are a few ideas for St. Patrick’s day party food for kids to get you going. Most adults will love these tidbits too.

Use a vegetable peeler to cut lengthwise strips of peel down four sides of large cucumber leaving some visible peel, making a square shape. Cut cucumber into 1 inch chunks. With a melon baler scoop out a hole in the middle of the cucumber to create a bite size bowl. Be sure not to go to deep you want the bottom to stay in tack. Fill with garlic and herb cream cheese, or dill dip.

St. Patty’s Vegetable table tray Cut up broccoli, cucumber, celery, green bell peppers, snap peas, and zucchini use ranch or dill dip. For extra color sprinkle minced parsley or dill in and on top of dip.

St. Patrick’s fruit tray Use green grapes, sliced green apple, sliced kiwi, balled honeydew melon. Use tooth picks to pick up fruit and dip into vanilla yogurt or key lime pie yogurt.

Clover Dip Use your favorite spinach dip. I like Knorr’s vegetable recipe mix. Serve with vegetables, crackers, or French baguette bread slices

Irish Deviled Eggs Hard Boil eggs. Gently crack shells of the eggs, by rolling on a hard surface, but don’t remove the shells. Place half of the eggs in 2 cup of hot water, two tablespoons of vinegar and 20 to 40 drops green food coloring. The dye bath should cover the eggs. Let the eggs sit in the dye bath for about 10 minutes. Take out one egg and remove the shell. The white of the egg should now be green and veined with darker green where the dye got through. If not let the eggs stay in the dye bath a little longer. Use your favorite deviled egg recipe. For the other half of the eggs, add chopped green herbs to the egg yolk to turn it green. Or add a few drops of food color to the yolks. I like a simple recipe for deviled eggs just adding mayonnaise and mustard to the yolks.

Use your imagination and your food at your St. Patrick’s day party for kids will be a huge success.

The current fad for wedding showers is to hold an event based on a specific theme. You have many unusual and enjoyable bridal shower invitations to choose among either on the internet or in the stores. Once you have made your selection, you can be as creative as you like in extending your invitations to the friends and family members you want to have in attendance.

Usually the bridesmaid will be the host of the bridal shower. The bridesmaid will work with the bride to decide on the details. If you are going with a surprise shower, have the bride’s family help out. The bridesmaid usually will cover any cost. The bride’s family usually helps to provide the location and/or invitations for the shower. You should figure out how much the shower will cost.

Organize your guest list for wedding shower invitation by asking the bride and groom who they would like to have at the shower. Usually the bride and groom’s mother will have a list of who they would like to invite. Get address, phone numbers and email addresses. Bridal shower invitations can range from the casual to the most formal one. You decide what will work for your shower. Be sure to include all necessary information on the elegant wedding invitations.

While you may feel intimidated about choosing a theme, just consider the couple. If they have lived together, they may not need a kitchen shower, but the bride would love pretty lingerie. If they are moving right after the wedding, cash will allow them to choose what they need.

Although your menu should reflect your theme, the time of day is as important, as well as the number of guests. Do not try to outdo the last shower you attended. Make this a day of relaxation for the bride, her guests, and yourself. Consider the amount of time and room available for the shower, as well as any special dietary needs of the bride and her guests.

Having your shower on a weekend or during the evening is best if most of your guests work. Holding the shower on a weeknight is a good way to give your guests a night out and that way they don’t miss time away from loved ones on the weekend. But if the weekend works best for you, remember to have the shower at a time when it’s convenient for all those who have to travel to and from the shower.

Every good bridal shower will have at least one great game. Be certain that the guests are introduced to each other as they arrive, one great way to do this is with name tags. Set up the atmosphere with some lighted candles, flowers, and other decor. You really want to be sure that the guests truly enjoy the shower as much as bride to be.

A great way to provide bridal shower invittions is to present something that’s sylistically new and visually striking. Usually the bridesmaid will be the host of the bridal shower herself. Ask the bride and groom whom they would like to be at the shower, as this is the best way to organize a guest list for wedding shower invitations. Remember, you decide what will and will not work for your shower. Be sure to include all required and important information on your  elegant wedding invitations , as you can’t do it all over again!