If you LOVE food...COME PARTY WITH US!!!

Next to the decorating within theme, the food is probably next in my top three favorite things about hosting an event. The possibilities are endless ESPECIALLY now that I have my new addiction to Pinterest.

But with all the different recipes floating around on the pinning addiction site how do you know which ones to choose and use? The following is a link to appetizers, desserts, and drinks I have served at events within the last year that I got from Pinterest that have ACTUALLY worked out and been a hit at my events. click here to get to my TRIED AND TRUE RECIPES board on Pinterest.

There are tons of options out there and the list above is obviously minute compared to the other stuff out there, but if your not someone who is frequently cooking up this stuff and trying it out on multiple innocent party goers it's nice to know before starting if this is something that's really gonna taste like it's worth the hassle. Another thing I learned at the nesting baby shower I just hosted a couple weeks ago is that SAMS CLUB has an awesome chicken salad that you can buy premade and serve on croissants. DELICIOUS! I think I ate 3 of them at the shower, and I must say, they are way better than mine. And my hubby tells me mine are great, so they must be pretty good if they are better than mine.

YOU WANT US TO DO WHAT?!? Part 2- Adult Parties

Ok, so I have been informed from a friend that showers are for girls and it's not just girls checking out this blog (even though only girls seem to post any comments... Ehem!) Regardless.... I have had a request for things to do OTHER than drinking at adult only parties. Sooooo, here you be Mr. R!

Image credit to canstockphoto.com

When hosting an adults only party I try to keep two things in mind.

1. What kind of a crowd am I going to be hosting for? Is my crowd a more intimate group willing to share personal info or perhaps embarrass themselves in front of the others without having a serious breakdown the following day when they realize what they have done? Or is it a group that is a little more reserved and just wanting the opportunity to relax and enjoy the company and socialization?

2. What kind of a time will I be working with? Do most of the adults that are attending have kids they will have to leave and pick up within 2 hours or will they be able to stay relatively late and play a longer game or multiple activities?

With these things in mind here are a few ideas for games I have played at gatherings I have either arranged or attended that seemed to be a big hit.

*Card Games: yeah yeah I know you've probably done most of these but when playing try to find ways to alter the games to make them more interactive. I know one time when we played the game P&A the person who was the A had to wear the box of whatever beverage was being served on their head until they were no longer in that position. The box generally had a sill statement or accusation added to the front of it decided on by the other players of the game and a photo was taken of the A while wearing it. My stomach hurt so bad the next day from laughing. (photo credit to mking)

*Board games: for a more reserved group any board game should suffice. If you have a group that would enjoy getting a little more wild there are plenty of games out there that work great for adult only parties such as Partini, Truth or Dare, or Would you Rather, Apples to Apples.

*The Box Game: This game was a real hit the night we played it. I will warn you that repeating it again at another party is not quite as fun if you have all the same players. The way this game works is you take an empty box of some kind that would be around the same weight as a empty beer box, or soda box. Take scissors and cut off one of the square ends of the box so that with the open side up the box stands tall. Stand the box up on the floor with the open side up in the middle of the room. Guests are encouraged to stand in a circle around the box allowing for plenty of feet between themselves and the box for others to complete the task about to be assigned. Then you go around the group one at a time and guests must walk up to the box and with the bottom of both feet touching the ground, and without any other part of their body touching the ground, the box, or anything else to balance themselves, they must bend over or squat to pick up the box using only their teeth within 2 minutes. Sounds easy right? At first yes. Once everyone has completed the task take your scissors and cut the top of the box down an inch or two and everyone goes again. It is just like doing the limbo, if someone falls down or touches the box with hands or touches floor with arms they are out. You keep going and doing rounds of this until the last person is standing or your box is literally flat. Try it, you will love it. (photo credit to mking)

*Yard Game Parties: Bocci Ball, Yard Golf, Bean Bags or Cornhole (whichever you prefer to call it), Horseshoes, or steal an idea from my previous post for the color parties for kids and spray paint a large twister game on your lawn.


Party Royalty:Men could have a scavenger hunt looking for noted items on a provided list throughout the location of the party, in the meantime women could have baggage hunts as they call them. You ask for random items and the first woman who pulls that item out of her purse or bag she is carrying gets a point. Total up all points at the end for a winner and then total up the number of scavenger hunt items the males got in their game and award a point for each item. Winners for each gender are crowned the party royalty and a photo taken and splashed all over their social networking sites for friends to see and make fun of. :)

Well I hope this helps a little. We will see what kind of review my male friend decides to give me after this one. If you know of any other gender friendly games or activities for adult parties that DO NOT require alcohol and are EASY PEASY TO LEARN I would love for you to share in a comment below and I'm sure my friend Mr. R would too. Thanks again for reading!!!

You want us to WHAT?!?!?! PART ONE-BRIDAL SHOWERS

Everyone knows there are two big events that usually happen for a Bride before her big day.

The Bridal Shower and The Bachelorette Party.

 

Bridal showers can be fun if you know what to do to keep the guests entertained here are a couple of games to try....

 

BRIDAL GOWN COMPETITION: You'd be amazed at the things people can make with only a few random supplies. Go through and split your guests up into even teams and have them designate a team captain. Generally I would advise you not to tell the guests what the game they are about to play is until you get these team captains assigned. Once this is completed deliver a box to each team with all the same items in it.... These items could include rolls of toilet paper, table cloths you didnt end up using for decor, tulle, garland, ribbon, tape, rubberbands, string etc. Now inform the guests that the team captain is now a bridal gown model and they are competing in a design contest. Guests will design bridal gowns using only the items in their box on their team captain. Tell the brides they have 10 minutes to complete their gowns before the runway opens up and the bride will get to vote on the dress she thinks looks the best. Winning team gets a small prize for each guest, or gets to get their food first, or gets to have the bride open their gifts first.

 

 

HE SAID SHE SAID:  Prior to the shower call the bride and groom to be separately and ask them a list of questions. Preferably funny ones like: Who will be in charge of taking out the trash? or What is the stupidest thing you have ever done?  and keep track of the answers. At the party Pick your top 10 responses and list them out on paper for each guest with a spot for guests to guess whether it was a statement from the bride or groom. At the end announce who said it and have guests tally up their points. One thing to have in mind is a couple of tie breaker responses just in case you need them for a sudden death tie breaker. 

BRIDAL CLUE: As each guest arrives have them write on an index card something they have done with the bride or groom that shows their relationship bot not list their name....For example I might use "the bride and I slacked off together at our mall job trying on RIDICULOUS mismatching outfits one night" or "the groom convinced me to break up with my current boyfriend to date his roomate, who is now my husband".  Then after you have started the party mix up the cards and hand them out to the guests and inform them that they have 15 minutes to find the person that the card belongs to by only asking other guests if they are the one who insert index card info here.  When the time is up anyone who still has not found their person and has not received their own index card back has to make a toast to the bride to be in front of the group.

These are just a few of the games I have used in the past that have gotten a nice response. You can find more ideas HERE at theknot.com.

Bachelorette Parties:
 Since this is a relatively family friendly blog I don't want to go into detail on parties I have hosted or attended, but I will make a quick mention that if you ever are in need of purchasing decor, games, or other items for a bachelorette party here is a legitamate website I have used in the past for bach parties. They have quality items, for low prices and quick shipping. The one time they made an error on my order they were quick to correct it. I will warn you though that items on this website range anywhere from silly to raunchy so prepare yourself.....  But the prices just cannot be competed with here in Topeka on the items I have purchased without going to a million different locations.   www.bacheloretteparties.com

Until next time... Make sure you keep it EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

IM SORRY...DO I KNOW YOU?

Ok, let's be honest for a number of you the moment you receive an invite to a shower you brain immediatly goes to that place that thinks, "Yay....another present to buy and take to a party where I know very few people and don't really get to talk to anyone anyways because we are too busy watching someone open presents!" wah wah waaaaaaahhhhhh!

There are two worst case scenarios that could happen:

1. Nobody shows up....

2. People show up and CAN NOT WAIT TO LEAVE.

Your first scenario can be caused by numerous reasons... Examples might include conflict in scheduling, sick kids or family members, out of town, no money to bring a gift and too embarrassed to not bring one, or that the party looks boring.

photo credit to clipart.com
 

There is any easy fix for this: First of all ask the person you're throwing the shower for to give you their top 5-10 people they absolutely would hate to miss the party, then email those guests and throw out a couple options on dates that have been pre-approved by the guest of honor and yourself for them to vote on and you go with the date that works for the majority. You also have to give the party goers an incentive. Something to make them not want to miss out on this for any reason. Perhaps it's a surprise that nobody except attendees get to see, or in my case I find that bribery goes a long way. Generally anyone who shows up and participates gets their name in drawings for some cool prizes ranging from handmade gifts to $10 gift cards to local vendors. This obviosly isn't guaranteed to make every invited guest show up but it definitely can up the numbers for you. Getting them there is the hardest part so you have to make it worth their time....or at least for the ones that don't see honoring the bride or mommy to be as worth it enough.

For the second scenario you just have to remember that these people didn't just come out to watch someone open gifts. They want to be included in the fun. Keep them involved, get them out of their seats everyonce and a while, and make sure if the guest of honor is going to open presents you have given the guests something to do at the same time so they don't get bored.  The biggest compliment I get from my events is when guests come up afterward and tell me that they were not expecting to have so much fun. I am always trying to do something new that MAKES the guests socialize with each other even if it's not people they would normally go up and talk to.

 On the next few posts I am going to list out some different games and ideas for parties to get your guests involved. So get ready!

At Easy Peasy we aim to PLEASE-Y!

I know Pleasy-er is not a real word, but it sounded good....or at least I like to think so.

Since my posts are very verbose I try to make sure I'm don't add too many pictures and make them seem even longer. I have, however, had lots of requests via email and Facebook messages to show more pictures. So to make things more PLEASURABLE for my lovely followers...drum roll....

 

EASY PEASY EVENTS NOW HAS A SECOND PAGE AVAILABLE CALLED PHOTOS!!! 

Be sure to check out the tabs at the top of the page. There is one titled HOME this is the one you are currently on with all my periodic posts. The one on the right is titled PHOTOS! CLICK ON IT and it will take you to a gallery of slideshows of pics you might enjoy.

Please keep in mind that although I may periodically share photos of ideas from online or from friends in my posts, the ONLY pics that will make it to the PHOTOS page are events I have attended or hosted myself.

I would, however LOVE to feature your super cool events on a post if you have something you've hosted that turned out awesome. Shoot me a message and your original images and we will work something out!

Now since there wasn't really any cool info in this post here is a simple money saving tip for your brain:  Christmas is almost upon us. While some people still like to wrap up presents with paper there is a TON of people who love to use gift bags! For the party planner this is an awesome opportunity. Generally people don't keep the gift bags when everyone is done. I DO..And call me weird, but I keep the tissue paper too. Wanna know why? If the bags are plain I can reuse them for game prize bags at parties and showers, or if they are christmas style I can reuse next christmas. As for the tissue paper I flatten it out as best I can and use it to make tissue poms at numerous events!!  Enjoy!

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN RSVP

I have been helping host parties, weddings, and showers since my wedding in 2009. If I have learned ONE thing from all of them it's this: PEOPLE HARDLY EVER RSVP ANYMORE!

It drives me BATTY!!! (LOL-INSERT CUTE BAT PICTURE STOLEN FROM GOOGLE IMAGES HERE:)

photo credit thepartyanimal-blog.org

Herein lies the problem: Nobody has any idea how much food, drinks, tableware, thank yous, party favors or seating to have available when nobody RSVPS. I ran into this problem on the major side when I had my wedding. Both my husband and I have been blessed with HUGE families. All very fun, entertaining, loving, and wonderful people. We also are both pretty big social butterflies and have always had a large group of friends. Both of these are usually wonderful characteristics to have. Unless you are needing to feed, seat, and entertain a rather large number of them on your own dime. 

 

I have come to the conclusion that this is not something I can punish people for but I would like to start spreading the word that it is SO MUCH MORE POLITE to rsvp to an event. It literally takes 1 minute to complete and can save the hosts a TON of money, time, and effort to make your attendance at the event more enjoyable.

 

Im curious.... Have any of you had an issue with RSVPs? I would love to hear your stories via comments below so I know I'm not the only one.

 

Follow THIS LINK for tips on how to figure up a relatively close guess on attendance for a wedding event without relying solely on RSVP response.

 

 

Ladies Night In Part Two- The How To!

Photo Credit to Women of Google+

Ok so we've talked about what you wanna do, now let's talk about HOW to do it! Here is the RECIPE of how I generally host my Ladies Night In. You can tweak it to what suits your group best.


INGREDIENTS

Invites:

Generally since I'm cheap I stick with a healthy combination of Facebook invites and mass text messaging (for those who refuse to get/keep Facebook pages). I include all the info in the email about childcare, food, drinks, location, start time and end time, and I make sure to encourage the ladies to bring friends. There are only 2 rules that are not to be broken under and circumstances:

 

#1.Absolutely, positively NO MEN ALLOWED. Even MY own husband is kicked out of the house for the whole evening until the last woman leaves. If for some reason he cannot stay gone he is confined to our bedroom for the remainder of the evening. Generally, you're not going to have a hard time convincing your hubby to stay away from a house filled with 20 women.

 

#2. Absolutely, positively NO DRIVING HOME DRUNK. Be sure to have PLENTY of non alcoholic drinks available. In most cases your Ladies Night In is going to be serving the purpose of allowing some much needed socializing and the opportunity to try a few drinks they enjoy or havent had before. If binge drinking is the sole purpose of your party, then I suggest finding ideas elsewhere, becuase this is not the right recipe for your kind of party.

 

Childcare:

The one thing I always make sure to have on hand no matter how many ladies plan on attending is a responsible babysitter and a very SOLID BACK UP BABYSITTER just incase. HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU CHARGE? Make sure when you have the ladies RSVP you ask for a head count of how many kids they are bringing. I generally figure in that on average I have about 10 kids show up. So if I make a donation of $5 and then charge a minimum $2 donation for each kid that sitter is for sure going to make at least $25 and all they have to do is watch the kids tear up my kid's bedroom for a couple hours without hurting themselves. Generally since I call it a donation a few of the moms who can afford to chip in a little more. Some do/ Some don't. I also make sure near the end of the party to go upstairs and make an announcement to the kids that if all the toys that they got out are put away within 15 minutes I have cupcakes and punch for everyone downstairs. THIS HAS YET TO FAIL ME. Why should I be left cleaning it all up the next day by myself when 10 kids can be bribed to do it with cupcakes in a fourth of the time?!??!

 

Food & Beverages

On the invite I request that each lady bring some sort of appetizer of their choice and to RSVP with the appetizer so we don't end up with 23 different crackers and dip combos (this happened at the first one...lesson learned). One thing I have learned is this gives alot of my friends the opportunity to try out one of those 6,437 recipes they have pinned on their Pinterest Page LOL! I also make sure to include on the Invite to bring a tupperware container, as we always have a ton of leftovers. And this way if they didnt have time (or stomach room) to try everything, they could try some later in the comfort of their own home! Not to mention it gives me the opportunity to use those cool serving trays I got from my wedding registry that I never use otherwise!

 

Entertainment:

I won't go into a lot of detail on this one but some people will entertain themselves with socializing at the food and drink table, some people will want to play games, some may want to watch a movie.... Ultimately the best part about a ladies night in is that you can do all of these at once if you wanted! Or if you are like me and plan on hosting one each month you could take suggestions each month and let your guests vote by a certain date. The possibilities are endless on this section.

 

 

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in any size home and see what you can cook up with these EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY LADIES NIGHT TIPS!

Ladies Night In Part One!

So you're a super busy lady who loves to spend time with your family, but wouldn't it be nice to be able to take a night every once in a while to just spend some time with just your girlfriends having a glass of whine and some yummy foods without going through the hassel of finding a babysitter?

You know you want to... but HOW???? It's so much work and so expensive to find a sitter for that long, not to mention getting your friends to be able to find sitters as well. And don't even get me started with the costs of going out and buying a few drinks and a meal!

At the beginning of this last year I felt this exact way and decided to do something about it. I love hosting parties, but as I've noted before I don't usually have the wallet for it, if you know what I mean. So finally I cam up with LADIES NIGHT IN! It's pretty easy and only leaves a small crack in my wallet compared to the canyon a normal night out with the ladies might entail.

So..... I bet the question you're just dying to ask is how much does it cost? Well there are 3 different answers I'm going to give you....

Example 1:

 If for some reason I don't have many people show up and I have to pay for the sitter more than normal I pay the sitter $20, spend $5 on an appetizer and maybe $12 on a CHEAP bottle of wine. Total:$37 Which for me seems like the same amount I would spend to get a sitter, go out for a meal, and some drinks in town.

Example 2:

On a normal Ladies Night In: I make a $5 donation to the sitter since I have 2 kids and the average charge is $2 per kid, I do not end up making an appetizer since we have so many already, and buy a cheap bottle of wine for $12. Total: $17

Example 3:

 On a REALLY packed Ladies Night In (like the one where almost 30 women came and went: I didnt have to make a donation for the sitter because she had already made $50, I didnt have room to make and appetizer or need to put out the bottle of wine I purchased AND got to keep a TON of leftovers because nobody had tupperware to take any home in. So basically I just got alot of free food and good memories for providing a location and the invite! ;)

 Check out my next post for the steps on how I make all this happen, but first here is a map of a location in Topeka where you can host a Ladies Night if you don't have the space to have it at your own house but instead of everyone bringing a $5 appetizer have everyone pitch in $10 toward the catering and drinks. The only downside is that now you still have to find a sitter. Perhaps hire one sitter with donations like before and everyone can carpool together to your destination. I have also hosted a shower and a couple birthday parties at this location:

View My Saved Places in a larger map

COLOR ME FUN! KIDS RAINBOW PARTY

Ask and you shall receive! I have had a few personal requests  from people wanting ideas if you have a large group of young kids and a very small budget. I can't think of a better way to keep kids busy and happy, and both your mind and your wallet sane as well than to host a Rainbow Color Party!!!!

Here are some cute and budget friendly ways to get the kids involved and keep them entertained without using a ton of things you might not already have at your house to begin with.


                 

 

 

 All photos used were found on Pinterest

 

Expand the slideshow and select the option show info if you would like a short description for each item. If you want more info on each of the photos in the slideshow click here to visit my bday party ideas board on Pinterest and you can find them all there.

 

Remember kids are easy to entertain as long as they know you are having fun too!!!! You don't have to spend a ton of money or a ton of time planning extravagant events. With a little creativity and a lot of fun your next large group of kids play date can go EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!



AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS (About an AWESOMELY cute baby shower that is!)

This week we are FINALLY gonna get to see a simple but C-U-T-E baby girl shower idea! Sorry for the delay, but here it is!

This mommy to be is expecting a baby girl, and what cuter way to decorate the room of a little girl than with elephants!!! The hostesses of this shower decided to plan the theme of the baby shower around the baby's room decor! How cute!



Credit on all photos in this weeks post go to Taylor Bremer and family

 Here is a cute idea where the hostesses created a 'craftified' photo frame guest book using the invite to the shower and a sonogram photo and other craft items. The elephants in the back were created easily and within budget by using simple molding clay. Not only a cute decor item but something the mommy can take home to decorate baby's room with! Too cute!

 I think everyone knew that the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM was the fact that EVERYONE wanted to know what the inside of that cake tasted like!! Here those same little handmade elephants are used to be a topper on the cake!

Tableware can be found in  many places.... Personally I LOVE THE DOLLAR TREE! There are sooo many choices and they are ALL $1. But sometimes the best place to look is Walmart. I cannot tell you how many times I have walked into Walmart and right in the entry way is a cart of a certain design of tableware or party decor and nessessities on sale for 50 cents a peice. I stock up on the spot! Cuz you never know when you may need it... ALSO HERE'S MY LITTLE SECRET FOR YOU GUYS THIS WEEK: I keep everything after a shower I throw, and when I say everything I mean pretty much everything. If there are tableware that is unused it's mine. Gift bags from the mama to be that have been opened and she doesnt want to keep or use, tissue paper, serving trays confettie table decor (if your not using them as favors) . Tablecloths? Wipe 'em off and fold them up.  Because stuff like this will come in handy with one of my next posts!!!

Until next time I hope your keeping all your event planning EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

Special Announcement- United Way Campaign Up and Running

Baby Girl Shower Ideas postponed for next week... :(

Sorry to disappoint but my friend who had the baby shower pics and info had a slight delay in getting me her pictures and feedback on how her shower went. And since I only want to deliver the BEST to you (3) loyal followers I'm not going to just copy and paste some random shower pics for you. So instead I'm going to share some info on an upcoming event here in Topeka that I am involved in.

During the month of October, the bank I work at, Silver Lake Bank is hosting it's United Way Campaign. I just happen to be the campaign coordinator along with my co worker Rebecca Cornell. In an attempt to raise funds for the United Way we have some cool loot to raffle off. This year we have a Grill, two chairs, 6 jars of make your own BBQ sauce, and a $10 gift certificate to Boss Hawgs BBQ up for Raffle! The grill and chairs were provided by The Home Depot, make your own sauce kits donated by Buffalo Wild Wings, and I think you can guess where the gift certificate came from. ;) The grill folds up nicely and travels well for all you tailgators out there!  Raffle Tickets will be $2 a piece or 6 for $5. You can purchase tickets at any Silver Lake Bank location beginning October 8th or through me on my blog or via my work email mmking@silverlakebank.com.

The next little tidbit of info is to watch the WIBW evening news on November 1st! I will be hosting our SLB Bank Olympics starting at 5pm. You'll see bank employees participating in tricycle races, balloon darts, blindfolded excercises and obstacle courses. Last year if you were lucky enough to catch it they ended up duck taping me to a wall to raise more money for the United Way.

If you don't know who the United Way is or what they stand for check out their website United Way Greater Topeka or their video below. There are ample opportunities to volunteer or donate to the United Way. 

Let me know if you want more info on our upcoming campaign or to purchase Raffle Tickets!

 

Until next time I hope you will remember that helping your community can be EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY just like planning events can be!

Look Whooooo's Having a Party! Neutral Owl Baby Shower Theme

Neutral Themes!!!

There is never a lack of neutral themes you can choose from for a baby shower. Zoo animals, Letters, the colors green and yellow are all good choices. But me I like things a little different. Fortunately for me I had a friend tell me recently she was planning an OWL themed baby shower so it's only necessary for me to feature it for this weeks baby shower theme! Here's is a picture of the template she purchased from SweetAppleberry on Etsy for $10 and was able to make prints anywhere she preferred for 35 cents a piece at locations like Walmart or Walgreens.

 

 

 

Food

Cupcakes are always a safe choice for shower food. Here the a family member of either one of the hosts or of the mommy to be turned cupcakes into different "species" of owls!!! One uses pretzels for the eyes and the other used opened up oreos with a candy peice for the center. TOO CUTE!!!

 

 

Decorations

In normal Easy Peasy style this hostess with the mostest made her own centerpeices for this event using cheap coffee mugs, owl stickers, material covered tootsy pops, a little scrapbook paper, and imagination. Today we will only see the final Pics but at the end of our All Things Baby Shower period I will have a couple of how-tos on video for some of the DIY projects. So for now enjoy the finished product pictures. As for favors, guests were able to take the material covered tootsie pops as favors at the end of the shower. What happened to those cute little scrapbook owl centerpeices? A little owl told me the mommy to be may incorporate them into the baby's room decor. NOT A BAD IDEA MAMA!

 

 

Well that's all for tonight. Next week we keep it EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY with a pretty little girls baby shower theme. Until next time!

 

Thanks to Rachelle Matthews for sharing her photos and ideas from the shower!

ALL THINGS BABYSHOWER- THEMES!

CAMO THEME

About a year ago my sister and her husband were expecting a baby boy and I of course was ecstatic that she let me throw her a baby shower! Her husband is in the military and has a long line of military family members so it only seemed appropriate that we have a a camo themed shower. Below are some pictures and ideas for a camo themed shower. I will include game and activities we used, decor, and food.

 

I have a person I generally use for invites for nearly every shower or party I throw. She creates customer invites based on info you give her or you can select from templates she already has created. The company name is JENRIK DESIGNS, and she is AWESOME! This is not the exact invite we used for the shower and the names and dates have been changed for a template, but here's an example of the invite we used.... Ours was a little different since our color scheme was more blue, limegreen and yellow, but you get the idea. Included with the invite was a camo strip of paper instructing guests that anyone who brought a package of diapers or wipes would get their name in a drawing for one of two gift cards! PEOPLE LOVE FREE STUFF!!

 

Generally when hosting a shower I like to have a greeting table. This is where guests can say hello to the mommy to be, drop off gifts, sign a guest book and be prepared for what to expect at the shower. Here is the table our guests were met with..... They could leave their gift, if they brought that package of diapers or wipes we discussed above they filled out their name on a little pre cut camo strip of paper and placed it in the basket at the left. Then the guests were instructed to simply examine the items on the diaper cake at the right as it would come in handy for a game later on.

 

FOOD

For food we stuck with pretty simple shower desserts. My sister had a friend that does cakes and made a soldier cake. In addition to the cake we also had camo cup cakes, with white frosting and little green army men toys you can get at the dollar store as toppers! So cute! For the punch we used a lime sherbet and 7up concoction the other hostess came up with.   

 

Even though the theme was camo we stuck with a simple color scheme. You can go to any dollar tree or store and get simple colors of table cloth, napkins, and serve ware for much cheaper than trying to go to a party store to get specific designs.

 

GAMES

For this shower we had TONS of activities as we had a large and rambunctious group. When guests first arrived there was a white onsie and some fabric paint at each table ranging in sizes from newborn to 24 months. The guests were instructed to design their own onsie for baby Julius. Here is one of the funniest ones we got!!!

 

The other games we played included a guess the babyfood game. A small spoonful of 8-10 various babyfood is numbered and placed on a paperplate and guests can taste, smell, or visually examine the food and guess what flavor it is. Then you go through and list off the correct answer.

 

We also played a Price is Right game with the items in the diaper cake from the greeting table. Each guest was asked to guess the price of each individual item in the diaper cake which in ours included small things like a binky, washcloth, lullaby cd, onsie, and burp rag. You can put almost any small baby item in there. The mommy to be of course gets to keep the items in the diaper cake and the guest whose guessed prices for the total purchase are closest to the real price gets a smal prize as well...AGAIN WITH THE FREE STUFF!

 

FAVORS

Because we had so many opportunities for guests to win prizes our favors were a on a much smaller scale for this shower. Guests were able to take from the table decor with consisted of baby blocks filled with candy. But you can do many other things with favors....Well I hope this has been informative. Check out the page next week for a neutral baby shower theme with step by step instructions on a craft idea you can incorporate. Until next time I hope you keep it EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZEY!!

 

ALL THINGS BABY SHOWER!!!!

If you're a female over the age of 19 I can almost bet you have attended at least one baby shower or another. What do you remember about the shower? Do you remember the games, the food, the theme, the decor? Some of you may remember bits and pieces of these things, but the thing you probably remember the most is whether or not you had any fun.

Don't worry, my first born is TOTALLY psyched his sonogram pic is on the computer!

When planning a baby shower you always want to make sure the focus of the shower is to honor the mother-(and possibly the father)to-be. But one thing people tend to forget with showers is that you also need to make sure the guests are entertained as well. The following is some ideas to keep in mind when planning a baby shower.


*Games are a good way to lighten the mood and to get guests interacting with one another, but always be sure not to jam pack the shower with them and lose sight of the fact that the mommy to be should be the center of attention.

*Food/Drinks- Be sure to talk to the mommy to be before planning the food list. Any of you who have been pregnant can understand that even just the smell of a certain food while preggo can lead to instant nausea. Get some suggestions from the mommy to be or if your food goes along with the theme ask the bride if she is comfortable with those items.

*Encouraging participation- one of the biggest things I hear from guests at parties is that they spend 20 minutes trying to win a game only to give the prize to the mommy to be. Consider having prizes for the winning guest or simply for trying to encourage participation.

*Gifts- Make sure that the focus on the party is not solely on the gifts. Nobody wants to attend a party where you go, eat a piece of cake open gifts then leave. Be sure to make the guests feel welcome and that the day would not have been the same without them.

 

Make it Memorable!!!

 

There are plenty of ways to make this happen! Your theme you go with will set the tone for the kind of event you are going to have and with baby showers the sky is the limit! There is no end to the possiblities you have when picking a baby shower theme. The list includes, but is certainly not limited to:

 

*color theme (random or based on gender)       *noahs ark

*zoo or animal themed                                       *airplanes, automobiles, or boats

*flower themes                                                   *Bugs

*"nesting" theme                                                 *Baby's name

*gender themed                                                   *something the soon to be parents have in common

*Month of due date (I once did an April Showers bring May Babies theme)

*decor of the nursery                                         
AND TONS AND TONS AND TONS MORE! THE CHOICES ARE ENDLESS!

If you are ever in need of ideas for a baby shower and you're not a very creative person, let me invite you to a website you are sure to get some help from. You may or may not have heard of it before... It's a site called PINTEREST.

If you have never heard of this site before, let me first warn you that it can be VERY addictive! Well at least it is for me. Pinterest is basically a website you can be invited to where you have your own page and can create your own posting boards. These boards can be organized for any type of thing you desire, whether it be funny sayings, places you'd like to go, recipes you'd like to try, clothes you wish you could wear, crafts or Do It Yourself Projects you plan on doing. In order to use the website, unless it's changed since I have signed up, you must be invited by someone who is currently a user. Once you've been invited and log on you can go through and follow other people and pin items to your boards. I know this probably makes no sense at all if you have never been on so click on the link above and check it out. If you want to try pinterest and need an invite comment on my post with your email address and I'll be glad to get you started. But remember my warning above! ;)

I hope you have a chance to check out Pinterest before my next post because next time we start covering a few of the many theme choices for baby showers and ways to incorporate coordinating decor, games and food. Until next time I hope your planning is EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!






Event Planning- Getting Started Part Deux!

Now that you have created a budget and know who will be hosting the event, the rest are the fun parts. The following is other important first steps to planning an event.

 

Setting a date

When to hold the event means deciding on a number of things. What day, what time of day or even what season if your not a procrastinator like me and wait till the last minute. Before picking a day be sure to look at community events, generally if it's a large event it will effect how many people show up to yours. Ask key guests for the event if they have any prior arrangements for a few dates you have narrowed it down to.
Also, different times of day can generally inspire different moods or reflect certain levels of formality. Morning time is more casual than an evening event usually.

Location

Where you hold the event should take into account the season of your event and a reflection of the kind of event you are hosting. Obviously your not going to have a baby shower at a some random bar... unless perhaps the mommy to be works there I guess.

Last but not least.... is THEME!

 For me picking the theme is one of the most fun parts. There is no end to the number of themes you can choose from. Themes can range anywhere from simply the kind of party your having (ex: luau, fiesta), color theme, theme based on the location, and the list goes on and on. HOWEVER... you must be consistent. If you do a color theme, then stick to exact shades or if your doing a luau your not going to hire a mime to come out.

I hope these hints have helped you get started. In the next few weeks' post we are going to start talking about all things BABY SHOWER!!!  I will highlight different baby shower themes, DIY projects for the shower, game ideas, and lots more.

I look forward to helping make your next event go EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

EVENT PLANNING- GETTING STARTED

No matter what kind of event you are planning, whether big or small the first and most important thing you can do is MAKE A PLAN.

Over the next couple of posts I will be going over some of the key things you need to be sure to include in your plan. Today we will be talking about one big item that can make or break an event...

MONEY

(Photo curtesy of nynatives.com)

If your like me, and you don't have alot of this to be spending on things other than your mortgage, monthly bills, and obsession for shoes.. oops I'm getting off subject... this is something that will be a major deciding factor on what kind of event your throwing. IF by chance you are not like me and have plenty of Benjamins then use this as a tool to make sure you're getting the most out of your money. Here are the items I would ask myself before getting started-

       1.Who will be hosting the event?

           Will you be the only host or hostess for this event, or will there be other people helping? When you have multiple people hosting any sort of event it is always a good idea to sit down together and decide what specific responsibilities will be assigned to which person.

 

      2.What is your budget?

            The first thing to look at when trying to figure up your budget is, who is going to be pitching in. Obviously if you are the only one hosting the event you know what your budget looks like. In the event that you are one of say 3 girls hosting a shower, chances are not all 3 of you are going to be able to spend the same amount of money. Discuss this with the rest of the group and decide on a budget that works for all parties. Perhaps if one person cannot afford to pay as much as the others, but a larger budget is needed they could volunteer to do more of the hands on work than the others if she could pay a little smaller portion. There are NUMEROUS ways to make a budget work. 

Another thing to consider in your budget is how much to spend on each detail of the event. You wouldn't believe the number of times I have budgeted for an event, and stayed completely on track, and at the last minute remember that I didnt account for how much it was gonna cost me to pay for fresh fruit! Your list of possible details might include:

• Location (will you need to rent a location or can you find a space large enough to use for free)
• Food/Drinks (will you be serving a meal or appetizers, or perhaps no food at all. Remember the number of guests will have a HUGE impact on cost for this)
• Invitations/Thank You's (It's easy to go online and find websites that will do a small number of invites for free these days through the mail, create an event on social media sites like facebook, or send an evite via email)
• Decor(one way to make this cheaper is by using a location that is attractive to begin with)
• Entertainment(in showers and bachelorette parties this could be something as simple as games, but at weddings or large gathering perhaps a band or dj may be an option)
• Other miscellaneous items (photography, party favors, prizes for games, tips for caterers, etc)

After figuring up each section of your budget (I suggest having it written down) be sure that once you start making purchases you stick with your budget 100%. Keep in mind that just because you budgeted $50 on decor doesn't mean  you have to spend that much. If those bowls at hobby lobby you're wanting for centerpieces are half off then use the money you saved on a detail that may be a little over budget already.

Once you've figured up your budget and who is responsible for doing or paying what, your ready to start your planning.
 

 Check back soon for my next post within the next week talking about other key items to include in your plan to make your next event

EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

  

Welcome to Easy Peasy Events

Hi! My name is Meagan and welcome to Easy Peasy Events!

I am a full-time wife and mother,  full time customer service representative at a Topeka, KS bank, and a part time student. All the while I am usually the first person friends and family ask for help when planning an event. I've planned my own wedding, numerous baby showers and bridal showers, bachelorette parties, surprise parties, fiestas, and fundraising events at the bank I work at.

This blog has been created to spotlight realistic and creative event planning tips, ideas, and DIY projects that I have created or borrowed from friends for events ranging from a small intimate party to large family weddings. You can look forward to weekly posts giving you creative decor, food, prizes, games, and socialization ideas that can really get your party going without breaking the bank.

I look forward to sharing ideas with you to make planning your events seem like what my 5 year old son would call EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

Until next time!