A Year in Review Part 1!

Happy New Year to all!  I hope that everyone had a fun and safe holiday season, including New Year’s Eve.  Before we launch, really launch, into 2018, I thought I would take this week and next, and look back some of the topics covered this last year.

Super Bowl Party! – It’s an easy excuse to have a party. All you need to provide is the food and drinks or make it a potluck. The game, half time show and commercials will provide the entertainment.  A Super Bowl party is known for having chili, hot wings, chips and guacamole & salsa, burgers, hot dogs and “snacking” food. As an alternative – have food that represents the 2 cities/teams playing (New England seems to be in the Super Bowl most years – so clam chowda is always a hit!) . If you have enough people, do a super bowl pool – it keeps the game interesting in case of a blow out and something for those not really interested in football to cheer for. (If you are not familiar with a football pool – read the Super Bowl Party blog for details). One of our boys just bought his first home and I am guessing this will be his first party!

Kid’s Birthday Party Themes! – The first thing to start with is determining the theme of your child’s party, as that will drive the majority of the rest of the party.  Top 10 themes for last year were Pokemon, Shopkins, Star Wars (Rogue One), Moana, Trolls, Reptile & Amphibians, Pastel Unicorns, Messy Art, Rainbows & Unicorns, and Emoji.  The birthday themes that never seem to go out of style are Thomas the Tank Engine, trucks, cars, trains & planes, super heroes, pirates, sports, Army, Legos, princess, Disney characters and movies, ponies, animals and Barbie! Hang on to see top themes for 2018.

Baby Showers! – I introduced 2 different types of baby showers – if you hadn’t heard of them previously. Sprinkle Shower – a scaled down baby shower to celebrate any baby born after the first one! The focus can be very specific – diapers, clothes if different gender from the first one(s) or supplies for Mommy (breastfeeding supplies etc). The other type is a “Sip and See” which is given after the baby is born.  Guests are invited to come by and see the baby and Mom (and Dad) while they sip on a beverage of their choice.  One of the great things about having a “shower” after the baby is born, is that you get away from the gender neutral gifts and everyone knows the size of the baby! I had 2 boys that never wore “newborns”, they jumped right into 0-3 months!

Champagne, Champagne and More Champagne! – A bottle of champagne will fill 6 champagne glasses, but as we discussed there are different sizes of flutes. 750ml (the size of a champagne bottle) divided by 6 equals 4.22 oz. I have flutes that vary from 3.75 oz to 6.75oz.  How do you determine how much to buy? We calculated this for a bridal shower of 25 (20 of whom will drink). We guesstimated that 20 guests would drink 2 glasses and 10 guests would drink an additional glass. That makes 50 glasses of champagne or 9 bottles needed! But know how much your flutes will hold so you are not left short!

Handling Party Ooopsies! – The difference between contingency planning and reactive planning is just that.  During the planning of your party or event – give some thought to the “what ifs”. What if it rains/snows/is scorching hot, what if you were expecting guests to bring different food to your potluck and everyone shows up with chips & dips or dessert, what if someone gets unruly, what if your entertainment doesn’t show up, etc. Plan well, have a contingency plan and if something doesn’t go as planned – decide on your plan of action and move on it quickly and quietly!

Bridal Shower! – This bridal shower was for a wedding to be held out of state.  Some of my take-aways from the wonderful event were 1) ample time for each guest to spend with the bride, since she lived out of the area, 2) time for everyone to introduce themselves and how they knew the bride, 3) multiple tables set for guests to get to know each other and enjoy each other’s company during lunch, and 4) the hostess suggested in the invitation that all gifts be sent to the bride’s home (vs her trying to get all the gifts home on a plane), but to let the bride know what gift she could expect when she returned home in a card that she opened during the shower. It was a wonderful shower that provided conversation, community and consideration for the bride in getting her gifts home.

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year!” – Ralph Waldo Emerson