party ideas

Cupcakery Abounds

March 12, 2012
Cupcakery Abounds

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first Meet-Up with the All About Food in Tallahassee group. Having found out about the group from a TNG (Tallahassee Nerds & Geeks) member, that makes MeetUp.com 2 for 2 meeting fabulous folks. As you might have guessed, the theme, flavor and activity of choice for the meetup was cupcakes. Our hostess is quite the cake decorator, herself, and I was a happy helper monkey busting out my old supplies and my somewhat-rusty piping skills to make my own creations as well as help others get the hang of things with theirs. It almost makes me want to teach for Wilton again. Except for the whole time thing. Or, rather, the lack thereof. But for a day’s outing, it was a nice return to my old creative stomping grounds. To host your own cupcake afternoon, here’s the skinny on how our hostess made it so very enjoyable. 1. Start with your supplies. Steff had plenty of decorating tools for folks to use and the ones I brought made a good back-up when the frosting started flying. Tables are required since the cakes have to sit somewhere; she put a cover on [...]

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Tales of a Party: Fairy Fest 2011

July 5, 2011
Tales of a Party: Fairy Fest 2011

Have you ever had a party with low attendance because everyone else had the same party date? Happens all the time with all the big holidays and some of the smaller ones, too. Next time, be the happy guest at your friend’s party and let open your own home for a lesser-known holiday on another weekend. One suggestion? Late June gives us the longest day of the year (well, at least the one with the longest amount of daylight) on the Summer Solstice, a holiday also known as Midsummer (or Letha) in some circles. This year was our 2nd Midsummer Fairy Fest and Frolic, with an evening start time (to take advantage of the late-day sun while escaping some of the late-June heat), plenty of lighting for when the sun did go down and a small bonfire (we’re under a burn ban due to drought, so the fire pit had to do instead of the larger one we’d hoped to have). Music played from a well-concealed iPod and fairies frolicked around the yard. (Why fairy fest? Lore has it that fairies are more easily seen at the Solstice, if you know where to look!) Guests were encouraged to come in [...]

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Supper Clubs Made Simple

September 20, 2010

Last week we talked about dining out and splitting the check, but what about that alternative–staying in? If you’ve got a group of like-minded individuals and want to get more bang for your entertainment buck, a supper club scenario may be just the thing! At it’s heart, a supper club is like a book club only your sharing food instead of literary opinions–okay, you can certainly do both (after all, you’ve got to have something to talk about between bites). Each person takes a turn at hosting, but from there you can choose between a couple of approaches. One person supplies the entire meal. This boils down to taking turns throwing a dinner party. It can be for club members only or include significant others, depending on space constraints and the wishes of the participants. Each person brings a part of the meal. Sounds like a pot-luck but there’s usually a theme, rhyme or reason behind the offerings. The hostess could either assign a dish–sharing a specific recipe–or ask for something with a key ingredient or component, but acting as coordinator ensures a balanced meal. Each meal the participants rotate roles, that way no one always gets stuck with the [...]

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The Naughty & Nice Party

February 8, 2010

Also known as a Heaven & Hell or Angel & Devil Party, this style of Valentine’s Party is a good way to bring both couples and singles together in a fun, low-pressure environment and have a little fun. Invitations will ask the guests to come as either angels or devils. Now, depending on your friends this could mean anything from a halo or a pair of horns to fabulous costumes or even just wearing white and pink versus black and red. As long as they get into the spirit, it can be fun. Having some spare halos and horns (both very easy to construct if the party store isn’t helpful) is a good idea, though, for those who “forget” to embrace the theme. Party rooms are to be divided in half–one side for Heaven, one side Hell, the former decorated in pastels and white and the latter decorated in bold shades of red and black. Colorful masking or painters tape is good for creating the dividing lines to keep it simple or you can go all out with spliced tablecloths , rug covers and sofa throws. Don’t restrict the decorations to the living room, either, feel free to divide any [...]

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