A Family Friendly New Year's Party

I have to admit something and it may seem strange to you: I love New Years.

Don’t get me wrong- the fall warmth of Thanksgiving and the warm fuzzies of Christmas are fabulous and they seem to get ample attention at my house- but I love New Years. The idea of a fresh start and the anticipation of the year to come gets me as giggly as a kid with a new batch of play-dough.
Every year I have a celebration with my closest friends and family and I’d love to share some of my traditions with you. Here is what our family will be doing to ring in the New Year and some tips I have found to keep it memorable for all the right reasons:

Celebration gluttony: New Years around the world

To get the most out of our party, every year we celebrate New Years around the world. (Why only celebrate one very late celebration when you can have many celebrations all night long?) Above the buffet of family friendly snacks- chex mix, taquitos and other fun finger foods- hangs a giant clock (A great goodwill find a few years back) You can find one like it by searching for over-sized wall clock at http://www.target.com/. Beside it I hang 4 clocks, set at the appropriate times (see below), each with its own label for the location it represents. Through out the evenings festivities we can watch the wall clock and celebrate each city’s new year as it approaches.
Avoiding the mid-night meltdown:
My kids are young (all four under the age of 11) and the idea of keeping them awake until midnight seems like quite an undertaking. (A little research on my part has shown that most kids aren’t really ready to see the ball drop at midnight until about the ages of 10 or 11, anyways.) In order to avoid the “up waaay past bedtime meltdown,” we will celebrate New Years around the world.
Check out http://www.timeanddate.com/ for a nifty little new years calculator. I used a world map and stuck flag pins in the places we will “travel” to celebrate. Use this site for flag images: http://www.flags.net/indexa.htm

We will celebrate these cities (Since we are in California PST, United States)
London, England :4 pm
Buenos Aires, Argentina :6 pm
Santiago, Chile :7 pm
New York, New York: 9pm

At each given hour we will do the count down and run outside with our home made noise makers (decorated painted plastic soda bottles filled with beans and decorated with ribbon and stickers) Each kid gets to open up a goody bag for each time zone with activities to entertain for the next hour- a coloring page and crayons, some play dough and a cookie cutter, stickers and a frame- whatever makes your wee ones excited. Set the bags out for display on the buffet and decorate them with a clock for each hour you celebrate.
Our own New Year’s ball drop
I love the ball drop at times square so this year we will have our own version: Our New Years Pinata Party ball. Using paper mache and some foil paper squares- make your own pinata (or buy one at the store) Hang it from the highest point of the house and lower it each hour until the long awaited ball drop (We will do ours with New York, USA.) where you can give it a whack at “midnight.”

Reflection: Looking back at the past year
I love to scrapbook. Each year I grab a few pictures of each child during a memorable event and make a scrapbook station where they can scrapbook the past year and make a page for the next year’s resolutions. Each kid makes their own page and adds it to their album. I help the young one’s with their journal entries. It’s fun to watch how their pages morph from messy toddler pages to coherent school age creations as time goes by.

No matter how you choose to celebrate the New Year with your family, you too can create traditions that they will cherish for a lifetime. I hope you enjoyed taking a peak at our New Year's traditions. We sure enjoy participating in them.

The Nasty P word: Getting ready for the big day.

Getting ready for the big day doesn't have to be a stressful mess.

Party planning is like a marathon. It’s good for you & it can be fun but if you don’t do it right you can get seriously injured. (Alright. So I’ve never seen someone actually collapse from exhaustion from planning a 3 year old’s Chucky Cheese Birthday but at the end of the day, with cake smeared pants and confetti coming from only God knows where, I've felt like it .) Yet, there is a light at the end of the sugar- hyped tunnel. There is a key to unlock the magic door of Party bliss (or avoiding total party meltdown). Ready? …. Preparation. I know, its an ugly word my mother overused- the one word that brings visions of pencil scribbled planners, post its and bulletin boards. Preparation…. . It takes work & I don’t like it, so let’s get to the point:

Great parties don’t happen by accident, it takes planning.

Realizing that I have a lot more birthday parties to throw in my future, I sat at the feet of a few people who do it well. Here’s what I learned.

Bad news: Parties take planning and planning means lists.

Good news: I hate lists, so I’ll keep it as short as possible.

Here's a countdown of "to do" items that will make your big day a stunning success (and life until then a bit easier).

Party Countdown- The Plan:

8 weeks before
Finalize guest list
Estimate your party budget

Book your entertainer:
Check out http://www.overthetopproductions.com/, they do a fantastic job and they do it all.
Set party date and time
Find Location
Select a theme

7 Weeks before: The Guests
If you’re going to, Hire a caterer
Create and send RSVP’s
Decide activities & goody bags, then purchase necessary items.
There are amazing Online party resources, use them well & save time & $$$

http://www.orientaltrading.com/

http://www.shindigz.com/
http://www.celebrateexpress.com/

6 weeks before: Take Stock
Plan your party menu
Take inventory of table wear, place settings and décor. Acquire what you lack.
Order any party rental equipment.
The Home stretch: Five days before
Call to confirm your caterer and entertainment
Buy Piñata and Fillers
Order cake or make and freeze one.
Three days before
Hit the grocery store for snacks, mini juice boxes, food and drinks for adults and paper goods. Don’t forget: ice, birthday candles, extra garbage bags and paper towels.
Two days before
Wrap presents
Pack up the goody bags
Take care of camera and video equipment : batteries, memory, film.

Mentally run through itinerary, make sure you have more than enough to fill the time.

1 day before: details and prep
Restock 1st aide kit
Assemble cake or cupcakes
Put up décor and set a place for gifts
Set up craft supplies and games
HINT: If you’re serving ice cream, pre-scoop it into cupcake liners and freeze until cake time

Get a good night's rest

The Big Day!
Tie balloons to mailbox or front door
Pick up cake
Place cake accessories are in a handy spot
Chill drinks in cooler
Relax, smile and have a good time.

Party Favors: A mystery unwrapped

You too can create fabulous party baubles and memorable keepsakes.

If party favors have always been a mystery to you, a source of anxiety you can't seem to conquer: Rest easy. If you find yourself resorting to pre-packaged goodies that seem … so ordinary. You're in good company. I marvel at the party hostess that has it all together with her dainty packages. I find myself asking: What was her inspiration? Where did she find these neat baubles? How did she do it?

At the last party I was at, I stood before rows and rows of pink cellophane bags with marabou trim and vowed, “Today is the day I debunk the goody bag mystery once and for all!” So, my fellow baffled beauties, I set out on my trek to find the answers to my party holy grail, determined to find the 5 simple steps to spectacular goody bags and sisters, here they are!

Don’t break the bank
In my research, you can make a great goody bag without spending over $4-6 a piece. Set your spending limit and stick to it. By sticking to your budget guns, you’ll use your ingenuity and avoid the “goody bag meltdown” of having too many items that just don’t make sense.

Think of you audience
Remember, although the adults may seem impressed, it is the kids you are buying for and they don’t need a Tiffany’s bracelet to make them go “ooh” and “ahh.” Find items that are age appropriate and fit the party theme. (Party Holy grail hint: Sticking to a theme could be as easy as using a single overall color like ballet pink or royal blue) Here’s an age breakdown I found on Parenting.com:

For guests that are:
Ages 2 -3 :
Buy 2 nice “B” things such as bubbles, bath toys, balls and books (The thick kind that tiny fingers can’t tear or toddler teeth can’t gnaw through).
4-8 years
Guests this age value quantity over quality, so pick 4 to 5 little items that are sure to thrill them. Use Items such as, stickers, clay, mini puzzles, sidewalk chalk, whistles, water squirters, bracelets and rings (both sexes equally enjoy these, by the way).
Older kids
They’re back to liking a few bigger and nicer items. They really like things they can use to express themselves. A small diary and a pen, markers and a stuffed animal or a neat craft that they have made at the party and can take home. Let your child help pick items for their friends, they’ll love it.

Use all your resources
There are so many avenues to explore what’s available for your party, here are a few:
The Internet: give yourself enough time for shipping (usually 7-10 days) and places like http://www.orientaltradingcompany,com/ and http://www.birthdayexpress.com/ could be your best friends. Just type your theme in the search box and see what comes up. Also check out http://www.buycostumes.com/, they have some pretty nifty pre-assembled bags as well. You could add your personal touch to the faboulous-ness that have already put together.

The dollar store: I have found the Atlantis of goody bags! There are rows and rows of neat little treats, specialty candy, stickers and toys- all under a dollar. Also, don’t forget the neat dollar bins at places like Target and Wal-Mart. If you plan ahead, a few trips here could yield many items and a few bucks to spare so you can splurge on the container and trim.

As for the container: Think Function and form
A pretty cellophane bag will work but use something more durable and your guests will have yet another goody to remember the event by. On my quest, I have found things like sand pails, tiny purses, little Knapp sacks all work well and far outlive the party. Use the websites above to explore your options. You can also visit http://www.containerstore.com/ and http://www.plumparty.com/ for other creative options.

Wrap it up with style
Packages are always more fun when they are done up with a bit more pomp and circumstance. Use pretty trims, like marabou or rick rack. You can find this in any novelty section of a craft store or in my favorites like Wal-mart or the dollar store. For name tags you can use place cards, name badges, or even stuffed animals with names written on them in permanent marker or puff paint. Your creativity is the limit.

Looking back on my explorations I see that the Goody bag treat is all about expressing your child’s unique personality and personifying it in a way your guests can enjoy. I feel empowered, with these simple rules, using simplicity and creativity, an amazing goody bag can be made by all! Happy hunting!

In the Press: OC Register

Today the Orange County Register published our first business article. We couldn't be more excited. It's a feature talking about how we got started, life motto and more. Click here to check it out.

Tea for two- sexes that is.

You can have a tea party for both boys and girls without loosing the interest of the y chromesome.

The key is finding a theme that is diverse enough to entertain both. Try a mad hatter tea party, that way your young gentlemen can find a crazy hat and enjoy the day’s festivities. OR divide your paty into 2 parts of one theme… like a Farytale party that can entertain both young knights and princesses or maybe pirates and princesses (You never know- They may even try a scone!)