Celebrate Life with Birthday Parties for Adults

February 29, 2008 — Shindigz

Some adults say they don’t like celebrating their birthday, but if the party is fun enough, you might be able to get them to change their mind. Just because you’re a grown-up now doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to have a celebration for your birthday and ShindigZ has tons of supplies to make your big day something to remember for the rest of the year.

The first step to hosting a great adult birthday party is picking a theme. There are tons of themes to suit a variety of personalities. Check out our theme party tips for ideas. If you’re celebrating a milestone birthday we suggest you center your party around that age, or if the guest of honor is old enough, having a fun Over the Hill party.

The Over the Hill theme is a perfect choice for this type of party because it combines the traditional party with a fun, contemporary look to keep the party on the light side.

The vinyl banner features a fun Over the Hill design and can be customized with your wording. Plus, our banners are printed on heavy-duty, weather-resistant vinyl and are available in seven different sizes with or without metal grommets to suit your decorating needs.

You can also combine the Over the Hill decorations for a milestone birthday. For example, if the birthday person is turning 40, use a The Big 40 balloon and a 40! personalized vinyl banner. You can personalize the Through the Years banner with photos of the guest of honor during other milestone years of their life!

Additionally, any adult birthday theme mixes will with the Cocktail Theme Party. Have guests dress to impress and hand out beautiful personalized glassware as favors they can use throughout the party. Don’t forget the parasol picks!

Check out all our party tips for more ideas on how to make the next birthday in your family or group of friends a celebration to remember!

Posted in Adult Birthday Parties, Birthday Party, Party TipZ. Tags: . Leave a Comment »

Food Ideas for a Yummy Easter Party

February 25, 2008 — Shindigz

Easter Table DecorationsJust like the egg hunt, the expected traditional Easter lunch would consist of ham, au gratin potatoes, veggies, rolls, and don’t forget the fruit salad complete with mini marshmallows! Here are a couple of suggestions for a fun, festive treat to “spring” on your guests this year!

Peter Cauliflower Tail
The Easter bunny loves fresh, crisp vegetables so check out this hummus-filled bunny bowl.

Ingredients:
1 4-inch roll
3 raisins
6 chives
1 loaf of French bread, halved
1 8-inch loaf of round bread
Hummus Dip (See below)
Medium-size cauliflower floret
Raw vegetables, such as baby carrots, celery and radishes

Hummus Dip:
6 tbsp. tahini paste
6 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 14-oz. cans chickpeas, drained
10 to 12 tbsp. water

1. For the Bunny Bowl:
Make slits in the roll and insert raisins for the bunnies eyes and ears. For whiskers, poke holes with a toothpick and insert the chives. Place the cut ends of the French bread onto the top of the roll for ears; secure with toothpicks. Cut and scoop out a 3-inch hole in the top of the round bread and fill the well with hummus. Add a cauliflower tail and surround the bunny with veggies.

2. For the Hummus Dip:
Place tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic cloves, and drained chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth. Add water as necessary to make the mixture creamy. Place in the bunny bread ‘bowl.’

Bunny Pops
Ingredients:
14 wooden pop sticks
28 OREO Spring Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
2 pkg. (6 squares each) BAKER’S Premium White Baking Chocolate
1 to 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
35 assorted jelly beans, for decorating
PLANTERS Slivered Almonds, for decorating

Insert lollipop stick into creme center of each of the 14 cookies. Split remaining cookies for “ears,” leaving filling on one side of each cookie. Halve split cookies with filling; set aside. (Reserve plain split cookies for another use).
Place chocolate and 1 Tbsp. oil in small heavy saucepan; cook over very low heat, stir constantly just until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in additional oil if needed to make pourable consistency.

Dip each cookie pop into melted chocolate to coat cookie completely with chocolate and supporting cookie with fork to prevent cookie from detaching from stick. Place on wax paper-lined cookie sheet.

Dip points of halved cookies into melted chocolate; press two halved cookies against each head for ears. Decorate “faces” with jelly beans for “eyes” and “noses” and almonds for “whiskers.” Let stand until set. Wrap in plastic wrap. Decorate with festive bows for gift giving, if desired.

Easter Bonnet Cake
Ingredients:
15 OREO Spring Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix
1-1/4 cups water
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1 can (16 oz.) ready-to-spread vanilla frosting
1-1/3 cups BAKER’S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut

Split 11 of the cookies in half, leaving filling on one side of each cookie. Reserve split cookies with filling for brim of hat. Coarsely chop plain split cookies and remaining 4 whole cookies; set aside. Beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in chopped cookies.

Pour 3 cups of the batter into greased and floured 9-inch round cake pan and 3/4 cup batter into greased and floured 10-oz. glass custard cup. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Divide remaining batter evenly into 6 to 8 paper-lined medium muffin pan cups. Bake at 350°F for 15 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Let stand in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

Place cooled 9-inch cake layer on serving plate; frost top of cake with some of the frosting. Place cake round from custard cup, top side down, slightly off-center on top of cake layer. Reserve 1/3 cup frosting for cupcakes; frost side and top of bonnet with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with coconut; press gently into frosting.

Halve reserved split cookies; place filling side up and rounded edge out around brim of hat. Decorate cupcakes with reserved frosting and candies.

Posted in Easter Party, Holiday Party, Party TipZ. Tags: . 2 Comments »

Reasons to Celebrate in March

February 24, 2008 — Shindigz

Toga Party AccessoriesMarch is a fun month of the year. The weather’s starting to turn toward spring, lots of schools have their spring vacations, and there’s a lot of good sporting events. There’s no shortage of reasons to celebrate in March. Here’s some of our favorites:

Celebrate International Working Women’s Day at your place of employment with a party for the ladies in your office. Vote on a fun theme, such as a luau or barn bash or decorate the office with garden accessories like floral garlands, paper lanterns and streamers, for a festive look. Have all the men in the office bring in desserts or snacks to share and serve them on a tableware ensemble in a festive color scheme or that matches your theme.

“Beware the Ides of March!” The Ides of March is on the 15th and famous thanks to Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar. Get in the spirit by hosting a toga party. Decorate your party space with columns, ivy garland, vines and personalized vinyl banners with a Toga Party design. Have guests arrive in their togas and hand out sunglasses or laurel wreathes at the door. This is a classic party idea and a ton of fun. Check out our Toga Party TipZ for more ideas.

March 30th marks the anniversary of the Eiffel Tower opening in 1889. Celebrate the landmark with a Parisian themed party. There are tons of Eiffel Tower decorations including standees, wire towers, candles, garlands and backdrops perfect for this event. You can transform your party space into a Parisian scene in a snap, just check out our Parisian Party TipZ for more ideas.

Don’t forget St. Patrick’s Day and March Maddness. There are party tips and supplies for any occasion. Tell us your favorite reasons to party in March.

* Women’s History Month * National Craft Month * 1- World Book Day * 2- World Day of Prayer * 2- Dr. Suess’s Birthday * 6- Dentist’s Day * 8- International Working Women’s Day * 9- Barbie’s Birthday * 11- Johnny Appleseed Day * 12- First Library Opened * 13- Good Samaritan Day * 14- National Potato Chip Day * 14- Pi Day * 15- Ides of March * 17- St. Patrick’s Day * 20- Proposal Day * 20- Big Bird’s Birthday * 21- Children’s Poetry Day * 21- World Down Syndrome Day * 22- National Goof-off Day * 22- World Day for Water * 24- Yo-Yo Day * 25- Greek and American Democracy Day * 26- Make up Your Own Holiday Day * 27- Diabetes Association Awareness Day * 30- Doctors’ Day * 31- Eiffel Tower Opened (1889) *

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Paint the Town Green with St. Patrick’s Day Decorations

February 17, 2008 — Shindigz

Decorating for a St. Patrick’s Day bash is easy – use green, green, and more green! Here are a few tips to help you get started thinking like the Irish!

Indoor Decorations:

Start your decorating with a St. Patrick’s Day entrance. We offer a number of fabulous items that will be perfect for your party. Check out the Pot O’ Gold Entrance and our Lighted Shamrock Entrance Arch. Both make a stunning start to your event, and can also be used as a backdrop for photos!

An easy way to bring the Emerald Isle to your party is with our festive balloons. Hang them from the ceiling and tie them to your chairs and doorknobs to create a party atmosphere.

The Rainbow Mural is a perfect thing to place on a wall leading to the food table, or the “Pot O’ Gold” bar!

Welcome guests to your party before they even enter your doors by lining your front door and porch with Shamrock Electric Lights and a Shamrock 3-D Foil Banner.

No St. Paddy’s Day party would be complete without green die-cut shamrocks everywhere. Hang them on your walls, scatter them on the floor, use them as place-mats, tape them to your cabinet doors – they will surely bring you loads of good luck!
Anywhere else in your room (that isn’t already covered with shamrocks) you can make green by covering it with green gossamer.

Outdoor Decorations:

Hang Erin Go Bragh Lights from trees, bushes, doorways, and more. Sprinkle some Four Leaf Clover Coins in a path to your front door to guide guests to the fun!

Table Decorations:

For your tables, stick with more green! If you don’t have a green table cover in the linen closet – no problem, a plastic, metallic, or paper cover will do. We offer great Shimmering Shamrocks Tableware that provides you with everything you need for festive and fun dining.

For your centerpieces, purchase several different heights of green taper candles and place them in a bed of greenery. Add the luck of Ireland by placing an Irish Flag into the greens.

With a permanent marker, write your guests names on mini black kettles and place one at each place setting as name cards.

Show your guests just how much you care by offering green Imprinted Napkins. Tie them up with our Leprechaun Wire Garland for a festive display. There’s a large selection of dinner, luncheon and beverage napkins in an impressive palette of 20 colors. There’s also a wide range of ink colors, as well as a metallic foil, holographic foil, prismatic foil or a traditional ink imprint.

Napkins can be imprinted with your special wording and the design of your choice. They are soft and elegant, yet reasonably inexpensive. They are 3-ply to offer you a sturdy but extravagant feel. The napkins will serve several purposes – great decorating in disguise and a delightful memento of the party that can be saved in scrapbooks for years to come!

Napkins can be laid out on a buffet table, or can be displayed at each place setting. Place napkins in the center of each place setting at an angle, or unfold them and place them in glasses for a tall dramatic look. The napkins can also be tied (and bundled with plastic cutlery) with a multitude of items to match your theme. Try curling ribbon, gossamer streamers, or ribbon.

Posted in Party TipZ, St. Patrick's Day. Tags: . 2 Comments »

Activities for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

February 17, 2008 — Shindigz

St. Pat’s CascadeMuch of the celebration of St. Paddy’s Day is centered around the green food and beer as well as the kisses and pinches. But we have a few suggestions for you if you wish to do something more planned.

On the back of a number of green die-cut shamrocks write some trivia questions. The questions can be fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day, fun facts about guests, or about things that are green. Place the shamrocks on the dining tables to act as ice breakers during the meal or have a contest to see who can answer the most correctly.
Place a giant Rainbow Mural on the wall and place a pot of gold at one end. Ask party guests to make a wish or prediction for the coming year. Review the wishes and predictions next St. Patrick’s Day.
It is never too late to start new holiday traditions. Why not hang a shamrock cascade decoration and call it a “Mistle/Shamrock/Toe” and encourage the kissing to begin – even if you aren’t Irish!
At the top of each hour, have your guests join in singing some old Irish folk songs! Start with “Danny Boy” and continue on to other Irish songs. If “Danny Boy” is the only song people know, then sing it again every hour!

Posted in Party TipZ, St. Patrick's Day. Tags: . Leave a Comment »
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