Memorial Day

Memorial Day! 

So what does your typical Memorial Day look like?  Is it a bbq with family and friends?  Do you go to your local parade?  Do you celebrate at the VFW?  Do you go to the beach or pool?

Whatever you choose to do on this day, take a moment to remember why we really get a 3 day weekend.  The biggest way to say "thank you" and remember those who we have lost is to display your American Flag!  

So...let's plan a party with ways to do that!

Food!  

The more foods you can make in the red/white/blue theme, the better!  Of course you want to have the appropriate summer foods: hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, fruit salad, potato salad, pasta salad, cole slaw, baked beans, chips, apple pie, ice cream, strawberry shortcakes, star shaped cookies, lemonade, sweet tea and beer!

But then there is always the "flag cake" or "jell-o layered parfait"!  They look so fun!

Decorations!

Well, we already know what our color palette is, so now we just have to figure out how to execute it.

Well, here's some inspiration...

So flags everywhere is one idea! You can fill up little buckets of sand and stick in some flags and you've got a centerpiece.  You could also make pom poms or paper lanterns to hang.  Pennant banners always have a big impact when strung outside.  Also, white and red petunias in festive planting pots would be a great centerpiece.  If you're planning a kids party, fill clear jars with different red, white or blue candies!  They will love it and it will make a huge statement.  I also love the idea of buckets full of red, white or blue bottled drinks!

Love this centerpiece with combining flags with an old American tradition of baseball.

Also, decorate your home!  Purchase some cotton bunting material that you can re-use each year and go crazy!

Music is also a great way to get people celebrating!  So make a fun CD of your favorite patriotic songs and blast it loud!

Also, support our military by attending your local parade.  Wave some American Flags and say thank you to each of the military soldiers!

Let's remember why we get this 3 day weekend.  It's to remember those who lost their lives fighting for our freedom.  At 3pm (EST), pause for 1 minute to remember those who we have lost during the National Moment of Remembrance.

Snow White Party

Snow White 3rd Birthday Party!

So my daughter wanted a Snow White birthday party, but I didn't want to do the usual Princess party that we have done before, so I decided to go with the "Enchanted Forest" theme of Snow White.

First I decided on colors...very easy...Snow White's dress was yellow, blue and red...there it is!

I also wanted to focus on the apple since that was such a big factor in the movie.  I found these cute apple topiaries at Marshall's Home-goods store which I can reuse in the fall!  Also, you'll notice little diamonds everywhere, that's from the Dwarf's mining jobs...they brought them to the party! :)

I purchased these ready made flowers from orientaltrading.com.  They were corsages for all the little princesses!

The magic mirror I purchased from Marshall's too.  I knew I could reuse it so it was a great deal.  I then drew and cut out a face from waxpaper.  It makes it look a little 3-D and floating.

So for the forest, I added apples to my fica trees that I normally keep outside.  I also grabbed some Christmas garland and wrapped it around the chandelier, threw on some "diamond" Christmas ornaments I had as well as purchased some blue birds to "fly" around.

There were 4 boys at the party, so I quickly threw together a Prince's table.  Just some branches in a vase with a sword and shield.

For party favors, I decided not to do toys...so I went with Martha Stewart's candy apple recipe.  I loved the idea of using tree sticks (pre-washed and disinfected) as the handle!  I never made these before and they were surprisingly easy!

Martha's Candy Apple Recipe

I also made colorful name tags for each apple.  I had leftover scrap-booking materials that I used.

Oh, and with the leftover candy I had from the apples, I made some giant lollipops for our game prizes.  First the kids all got to color a princess picture of their choice.  Then we played a guessing game.  Each adult acted out one of the Dwarfs and the kids had to guess which one we were.

So this activity was the real hit of the party...I made a magic potion like the witch made in the movie!  I mixed 2 Tbsp of "pond water" (tap water) with 1 Tbsp. of "mummy's dust" (baking soda).  Then you pour in 2 Tbsp. of  "monster's tears" (white vinegar) and it all bubbles up and over the cup.  We did this before singing Bella Happy Birthday!

Yes, I dressed as a princess too!

The food table!!!!

First I made a banner from extra scrap-booking materials I had.  I also made these pom poms from simple tissue paper.  Pom poms are my  new favorite decoration, topping even balloons.  If stored correctly, they can be used over and over again at parties and make a big impact.  These huge one's cost about $1 each to make.

For the banner, I connected two different types of paper with small star brads.  Then I cut out the letters and added them with "pop up" stickies.  I then hot glue gunned ribbon to the entire thing and voila!

For food, I decided to go with "Dwarf" food...so everything was in small bite size pieces.  And, of course, I made food cards with titles of the characters of the movie.

So, initially I wanted to make these cupcake pops I had seen online...

Bakerella's mini cupcakes

...however, I would rather die than do that again...OMG, so much work and they didn't even turn out as cute as they were suppose to.  Anyway, they are red velvet cakes dipped in chocolate and white chocolate.  I tried to put them on pops and stick them to this foam triangle shape, but they kept falling off so I improvised.

Lastly we did presents!  I always have 2 seats so that the gift giver can present the present to the birthday girl and then the birthday girl can give a proper thank you.

One of my twin boys was Grumpy Dwarf and the other was Bashful Dwarf!  Can you guess who was who?

My 4 year old daughter was Sleeping Beauty!

And, of course, the birthday girl was Snow White!

We had a great time at the party!  In the middle of the party, the birthday girl gave me a huge hug and whispered "thank you mommy" in my ear!  That made it all worth it!

May Day

Like most holidays, the origin usually begins with some pagan ritual worshiping a goddess of sort...well May Day is no different.  But over centuries, it has become less about celebrating the fertility and flower goddesses, to just celebrating spring and traditions.

Traditionally, towns would compete with each other to see who could provide the largest Maypole.  They would bring it to the center of town, tie ribbons and flowers to it, and children would dance around the pole interweaving the ribbons to the end.

May Day is also about celebrating spring...so flowers are a must!  Flower garlands around a girl's head is traditional attire.

May Day baskets are so much fun to do with children and they are a great way to brighten up your neighbor's day.

These baskets are small and usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone's doorstep. The basket giver would ring the bell and run away. The person receiving the basket would try to catch the fleeing giver. If they caught the person, a kiss was to be exchanged.

This basket below is very quick to make and beautiful.  

May Day Cone Basket Template

I love that his one is in a mason jar and full of gummies, windmills, butterflies and roses!

Just gorgeous!

Food!  Well, food on this holiday is very similar to Easter, but more simple.  Any food that provokes Spring in people's mind would be completely appropriate.  But the food that is the biggest show stopper at a May Day Event is the May Day Cake!

So if you are planning on a May Day celebration or a fun night with your family, there are 4 basic things to provide: a May Pole with ribbons, flower headdresses, May Day baskets to take to your neighbors, and a delicious May Day cake!  Even one of those things repeated each year on May Day would provide for great memories for you and your family!

Earth Day Playdate

Happy 40th Anniversary of Earth Day!  Now, before you go thinking that I'm super Eco-friendly, I'm not...well, not extreme that is.  Yes, we recycle and try to turn off electricity and reduce water use, but I do not drive a hybrid, I do not grow my own organic foods, I don't compost and I LOVE paper plates and disposable diapers! :)  With that said, I still enjoy celebrating this holiday and doing the best that I can to bring awareness to my kids about how precious our Earth is.

One of the first things I did was cut up all my paper grocery bags and use as table covers.  I also cut the bottom of the bags into circles and made my Earth Day banner out of that.  I also used scrapbooking paper, ribbon and tacks that I already had.

So with this holiday, I did try to use most of my own stuff (not buying new things) and reusing/re-purposing things.  I used baskets, bamboo placemats, faux grass and earth balls (I did buy those) and made a quick centerpiece.

Outdoors, I did the same...used grocery bags as the tablecover, bamboo placemat, faux grass, a hurricane, river rocks I had and moss I had from Easter, then I just threw in some $1 butterfly catchers and stuck on some butterfly stickers to give the effect.  I even already owned the green paper lanterns that I hung from the umbrella.

So the food, well, we didn't score high on the healthy food this time.  How many kids will eat a plate full of vegetables?  So we had some chicken nuggets, carrots, watermelon, quiche, potato and macaroni salad, muffins, ect.  I also failed miserably on the plastic ware...I just couldn't see going out and buying reusable plates, cups, utensils...then I would be using more "green" and would be using more water to wash them with...so that's my justification for using disposable plasticware :)

You know how I love my signature drinks...so I had "Liquid Sunshine" which was just Crystal Light lemonade and orange slices.  Then I had "World Water" which was just that...plain old water.

Probably my favorite thing I planned for this party was the dirt cake.  Usually I put it in a big pot and throw in some fake flowers and a trowel, but this year I wanted to do something different.  So I put them in individual disposable cups, decorated each spoon to look like a flower and added the traditional gummy worm.  It was delicious by the way!

The first activity was coloring.  I printed coloring pages with the map of the world and used them as placemats and each kid got to color these while we waited for everyone to arrive.

Then my girlfriend Lisa Langford brought terra cotta pots for each child and also brought terra cotta painting pens for the kids to use to decorate their pots!  So cute!

We then filled the pots with potting soil and planted a flowering bulb.  We will watch it grow over the summer!

Next it was time for our Nature Walk.  Each kid brought a bucket, some brought magnifying glasses and some butterfly catchers.

I am very fortunate to live in a community where we have paved walking trails and a pond.  So we decided to go around the pond.

We looked through our magnifying glasses to find insects.  We hiked through some woods to collect flowers, bugs, leaves, sticks, ect.

Lastly, we sat on the deck and I read a couple Earth Day books to the kids.  It's hard to compete with nature and keep their attention, but we tried!

So overall it was a great party!  Getting outside and doing the walk was fantastic!  What kid doesn't like playing with dirt...and what kid doesn't like to eat dirt cake?  Yum, Yum!  Happy Earth Day