The history of the Quinceanera celebration goes all the way back to Aztec times when fifteen was the age of marriage for girls. In Hispanic culture this tradition has carried over and at fifteen a celebration is held to signify womanhood for all Latina girls. The celebration is meant to celebrate a coming of age and is an acknowledgement by friends and family that the girl is now to be considered a young lady.

Party planning for the Quinceanera ceremony begins a year before the date of the event. The first step is to reserve a church and reception hall for the event. Especially in areas with a large Hispanic population, churches and halls will be booked very early and competition can be fierce for the best venue.

The traditional Quinceanera celebration is traditionally planned by friends and family of the guest of honor. However, at times a professional party planner is asked to plan the event if the family is overwhelmed or the party will be overly large. The party planner will work closely with the family and help them to make decisions on the invitations, decorations, menu, music, and more.

Once the date and location have been determined then it is time to begin the other planning. The color scheme and decorations will have to be decided on and the decorations purchased or ordered. Initiations will need to be professionally printed and mailed to all invited guest about six to eight weeks before the event. The menu for the event will need to be chosen and a caterer hired. A florist will need to be consulted to make the bouquet for the guest of honor and other flowers for the church and reception hall.

In todays Internet age, many young girls use websites and blogs to talk about the planning for their Quinceanera celebration. They use them to swap information with others and to get ideas for their own parties as well. Often they discuss the nitty gritty details such as what flowers to have in their bouquet and which music to use for the event.

In addition to blogs and websites, it is very common today for the guest of honor to register for gifts. Gift registry items generally include dowry type items such as linens, dinnerware, and other items required to set up a home at some future date. While these are the usual gifts registered for, it is also common to find other items on a registry or for the guests to simply give the guest of honor cash in honor of the event.

Another tradition today is to set up a website after the Quinceanera where the guest of honor can display all of her photos and mementos of the day. This website is generally shared with family and friends, both those in attendance and those who were not. The Quinceanera is meant to be a fun day shared with everyone and the Internet now allows for friends and relatives who are too far to make the trip to enjoy the event as well.

Share This

The first thing you will want to do before the party is to decide on the decorations, activities, and food which will compliment your princess party theme. Take out a sheet of paper and a pen, and start taking notes and brainstorming ideas which you can use to meet your own home and specific needs. This will help you to create a shopping list for your party and a timeline to get everything accomplished.

As for dcor, just about anything goes to decorate your castle, otherwise known as your home. Using a lot of pink and purple is always a good choice for a princess party. You can use pastel pink and purple steamers and balloons along with a matching tablecloth and napkins. For a nice added touch you can use complementary colored plates and cups. You can also tie your napkins with a nice fancy ribbon which is only fit for a princess and her castle.

If you have pink or purple fabric on hand, you might want to cover your party room chairs with it and tie it into big bows at the back. If you do not have any fabric, check your local thrift stores for a sheet in the right color which you can cut up and use for the day.

For your princess party invitations you will want to ask your guests to come dressed in their best outfits and ready to be pampered for the party. Or, simply let them come in their everyday clothing and add to their outfit when they arrive. You can purchase inexpensive feather boas which the girls can wear around their shoulders for the party and then take home afterward. Also readily available are simple tulle skirts which can transform their outfit into one fit for a princess. A good idea is to have each guest in pink while the guest of honor is in purple, or vice versa.

Once your guests arrive you can have them decorate their own princess cone party hats with such items as gems, confetti, and feathers which you have purchased from the local dollar or discount store for the purpose. Once their hats are decorated, then you can staple on streamers or ribbons to the top of the hat so that they flow out when they move or twirl.

A fun game to play is Princess May I? which is the same on the old traditional game Mother May I? Have the guest of honor be the princess and allow her to play the role of the mother in the more traditional game.

Once your craft project and game are done, then it is time to seat your princess on her own thrown to enjoy a nice tea party. The best foods to serve are sandwiches cut into hearts or stars with cookie cutters. The beverage of choice could be a pink lemonade served in either fancy plastic glasses or in tea cups. Your cake can either be a princess or a castle. Both options are fairly easy to make, or they can be purchased if you so choose.

If your local stores carry piatas, you can fill one with candy such as gold chocolate coins, ring lollypops, and candy necklaces to help round out the theme and give the girls something fun to do. They can take home the candy from the piata in their very own princess goodie bags.

Share This

If you are looking for something special to do for this years 4th of July celebration, throwing an awesome party can be both fun and rewarding for you, your family, and your friends.

Ever since the first 4th of July celebrations in the late sixteenth century, parades, festivals, feasts, and fun have been the norm. Today, a celebration usually starts with a party at someones home or a local park, and then ends up with watching the community fireworks go off at the local community park.

If you would like to have a 4th of July party this year, the first thing that you will want to decide on is the location you will have it at and the time your party will start. While clean-up is much easier if you have your party at a local park, there will be many other families trying to have their celebrations at your local park as well. For this reason, you might choose to have your party at your home and go to the park later in the evening to watch the fireworks.

You will need to send out invitations to your 4th of July party as soon as you know where it will be held. Your invitations are the first sign to your guests of what your party may bring. By either printing or purchasing some theme invitations you can start to set your partys theme even before the big day. This will help your invited guests to begin to get excited about attending your event.

Once you have your initiations you should fill them out by hand, or print them on your computer, and make sure to include your phone number on them. In addition, if your party will be held outside make sure you let your guests know this so they can bring the appropriate clothing for the event.

Decorating for your 4th of July party can be one of the most fun parts to the day for you. With a red, white, and blue patriotic theme you can really go all out with streamers and Balloons. Your plates, cups, napkins and tablecloths can be red, white, or blue or a nice combination of all of them. In addition, add some American flags in appropriate areas to show your patriotism. Hanging a large American flag near your front door or garage is a very appropriate thing to do for the 4th of July.

The typical menu for a 4th of July celebration is hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, potato salad, and anything else you might have at a family barbeque. For desert you can make a wonderful creation using red and blue Jell-o or a simple white cake with red and blue icing.

No party is ever complete without some music, and the 4th of July is no exception to this. However, mixed into your regular dance tracks should be some more traditional patriotic American music as well. Songs such as America the Beautiful and The Stars and Stripes are meant to be played on the 4th of July and will be enjoyed by all.

Make sure that during the daytime hours you take some time out to take photos of your guests in places such as in front of the American flag. These photos can later be printed or e-mailed to your friends and family as mementos of the day. In addition, they can be shared with loved ones who were not able to attend the event itself.

A great ending to a 4th of July party is a trip downtown to your local community park to watch the local fireworks. If your city or town allows it, take some sparklers and safe fireworks with you for the kids to enjoy while you wait for it to be dark enough for the bigger fireworks.

Most important of all is to enjoy your 4th of July celebration and remember that it is about spending time with friends and family as well as the independence of our country.

PPPPP

Word Count 684

Share This

If you are looking to plan an amazing and memorable party for adult guests, consider the idea of hosting a murder mystery dinner party. I have had the pleasure of attending a murder mystery dinner party in the past, and I can tell you that we all simply had a blast.

You may be wondering exactly what a murder mystery party is about. If so, I can tell you that it was similar to a murder mystery dinner theater, except that we as the guests were the actors rather than simply observers trying to figure out who was the murderer. And, unlike professional dinner theater, all of the guests had a much easier time communicating their clues to each other.

When you are planning your murder mystery party, you have two options as for what to do about the storyline and characters. The first is that you can attempt to create your own murder mystery. The second, and much more common, is to purchase a kit from your local party store. The party kit will contain a murder mystery story, a specific number of characters (depending on how many people will be at your party), background information on the characters, costume suggestions for guests, a package of clues for each guest, and usually initiations to the party itself.

In addition, many kits come with a guide that you can follow to have a fun and successful party; and some even come with gifts to give to the winners of the game. Some guides let the party host know how the murderer is; other kits let that be a surprise.

When you are throwing a murder mystery dinner party it is vital that all of your characters attend and come on time as well. Let your guests know this ahead of time and require a simple RSVP for the evening early enough in the planning process that you can always find new characters to attend if you need to. The worst thing that could happen is that your murderer will be absent from the party and how horrible would that be!

Once you know for sure who will be attending your murder mystery dinner party, then it is time to deliver to each person the information on who their character is, their costume suggestions and their specific background story to share with the other guests as part of the game. As the evening progresses your guests will be providing each other with information which has come from your kit.

It is common for a murder mystery dinner party to start out with each person introducing their character. Then, between courses, each person will again speak about their character and give hints which will be needed to solve the murder mystery. When you run your dinner in this fashion, you can count on your dinner lasting about two to three hours, and your mystery to be solved during, or directly after, your desert time.

The murder mystery dinner party I attended was a mob hit in Italy. We came to the party dressed as stereo-typical mob characters from the old days, and our location was in a local Italian Restaurant. We had all of the characters you can associate with the mob, and we shared our information and hints with each other between courses. Our murder mystery dinner party lasted about three hours and our murderer was given a small prize for the amazing acting they did that night.

A murder mystery dinner party can be a great escape for you and your friends to play one night while the kids are out of the house. The only real limitation on the evening is your own imagination and that of your friends and relatives who you invite. This is definitely an informal party and one which you will want to invite everyone you know to attend especially the odder people in your life. To your party!

PPPPP
Word Count 666

Share This

The best day to plan your Italian-American dinner party is one in which your guests will have a long time to linger around and enjoy all of the food you have to offer them. In Italy, this day of the week is generally Sunday. The informal gathering usually starts around one, since many people attend morning mass services, and doesnt end until the evening time when it is time to take your children home to bed.

Your own Italian-American dinner party can be one of comfort and relaxation. The focus should be on the food rather than on the table and room decorations. Your tablecloth should be simple white linen and flowers for the table are unnecessary. The best centerpieces are a bowl of nuts, some fresh breads, dishes of grated locatelli or parmesan cheese, and simple crushed red pepper flakes. Your dinner service can be your everyday dishes and even the incorporation of simple plastic dinnerware for the children.
The beverage you will want to serve at your Italian-American dinner party is a simple wine. Italian people enjoy wine with their meals and the wine is an excellent compliment to the various Italian foods you will be serving. For those guests who do not drink alcohol, consider having some soda and bottled water available as alternatives.
The first course of food for your Italian-American dinner party should be an antipasto made up of meats (ham, salami and prosciutto), marinated vegetables, cheeses such as provolone and mozzarella, and roasted red peppers. Your antipasto course can be served on a tray or mixed together in a bowl with an Italian dressing poured over it.

The second course of food for your Italian-American dinner party should be a simple Italian soup. The soup should be served in small bowls so that everyone in attendance doesnt become too full to enjoy the next courses of your meal.

Generally after serving your antipasto and soup, then comes the main pasta and tomato sauce dish. The most popular options for your pasta dish are homemade ravioli, lasagna or manicotti served with a meat sauce which may or may not include meatballs. To accompany your main dish you might choose to serve such foods as sweet potatoes, artichokes, salads or string beans. While you want the focus to be on your main dish, you also want your guests to have some variety to choose from at all times.

For your desert course at your Italian-American dinner party, you should choose something from the following list: fresh in season fruits, figs, cakes, cookies or an Italian pastry. Because your guests will likely be very full, plan to serve desert at least one hour after the main meal, and allow for it to be something light rather than something rich and heavy.

It always amazes me that the above is the typical Sunday for most all Italian families. How they manage to eat all of this food, week after week, and yet not gain a lot of weight is a serious mystery to behold. However, for your once in a while dinner party, a traditional Italian feast makes a wonderful, and simple, menu which will be enjoyed by both the adults and children in attendance.

The most important thing you need to remember about hosting an Italian-American dinner party is that it is all about your guests and the food, not about the cleanliness and order in your home. Cook some good food, and enjoy your friends and family.

Share This

While many adults in the United States today enjoy beer and wines, the mixed drinks of the past are really starting to become more and more in vogue again. Now days when you walk into a typical bar, you will see many more people ordering mixed drinks than they have in the last decade or two. Some of the most popular today is the apple martini, chocolate martini, dirty martini, and the cosmopolitan.

One of the best things about planning a cocktail party is that they generally only last a few hours. In addition, your guests will be wandering around mingling and snacking rather than sitting around a table eating a full meal with each other. This makes the cocktail party perfect for inviting people who may or may not already know each other.

One of the easiest things about planning a cocktail party is the fact that you can have just about any menu your want, as long as the food is complementary to the most popular mixed drinks that is. Guests who come to a cocktail party know that they are only there to snack, have a drink or two, and mingle. Because of this, you can supply a wide variety of finger foods and be confident that everyone present will find something agreeable to them.

Here are some professional party planners tips on hosting an amazing cocktail party that everyone will remember and be talking about.

Tip #1 You will need way more ice for your cocktail party than you think you will. The standard rule of thumb is to have about a pound of ice per guest who will be in attendance. However, I believe even a bit more is advisable.

Tip #2 Different beverages are consumed from different glass styles. Make sure that you have a large assortment of the appropriate glasses for your guests. And, it is always a good idea to have many extras. If you will be serving wine, it is a good idea to use wine glass charms so people will stick to using their same glass throughout the night.

Tip #3 The most important part of your cocktail party planning is making sure you have enough supplies on hand. The most important of these supplies is your alcoholic beverages. A good bar should be stocked with the ingredients for each of your friends favorite drinks, or as a basic level at least those used to make the most popular drinks of the day, plus beer and wine.

Tip #4 If you do not know anything about mixing drinks, you can always enlist the skills of one of your friends or relatives to play bartender for the evening; however, if you will be having a very large cocktail party then you might want to consider hiring a professional bartender for the night. Many local catering services will have bartenders who can work for you at your party. They are not terribly expensive and do a wonderful job.

Tip #5 When you are hosting a party where alcohol is consumed, you should always offer food and coffee to your guests as well as make sure they have a designated driver to get them home safely. Please do not ever let your guests drink and drive. Its not safe for them and the other people on the road. And, it can also land you in jail if they get in an accident after drinking at your home. It simply isnt worth it!

As you can clearly see, hosting a cocktail party is not complicated and can offer you a wonderful excuse to have your friends and family over for an evening of adult fun.

Share This

The first thing you need to do is meet with the teacher and any other parents who have offered to plan or help with the party. Before any planning can take place, it is imperative that everyone be on the same page and understands what the party will look like once it is all planned out. Good planning and communication early in the process can go a long way towards heading off potential problems later on.

The classroom teacher needs to let you know how much time will be allocated for the party and at what time it will happen. In addition, the teacher will need to let you know what roll she wishes to play in the party planning and in the event itself. Some teachers prefer to let the parents handle the entire party from planning to the big day, while others prefer to have more of a say and an active roll in the planning and the party itself.

To plan the party itself, ask the teacher what foods they prefer be served. Would they like to go with snacks? Healthy foods? Cupcakes and cookies? Find out what is easiest and what will make the least amount of mess in the classroom which will have to be cleaned up at the end of the party.

When the topic of purchasing food comes up, this is a good time to ask if the school can provide anything for the party, if a collection will be taken up from each of the families who have kids in the class, or it the parents will be paying for it themselves. A lot of times the budget for the event will have a lot to do with the planning for the party.

The next item for discussion is the activities, if any, for the party. Will the children be playing games, making a fun craft project to take home, etc One of the most appreciated crafts around holiday times can be something that the kids can make at school and then wrap and present to their parents as gifts for the occasion. With some creativity this can be done relatively inexpensively.

If the teacher prefers to let the parents plan the party, the teacher can leave the meeting and the parents can meet, or plan to meet again, to plan more of the details of the day. While planning the party with other parents it is always a good idea to make sure you have back-up plans incase one of the parents doesnt do what they said that they would, or doesnt show up the day of the party. Unfortunately, things like that do happen and it is just so much better to be prepared for them ahead of time than to be caught on the day of the party without supplies or enough people.

With these professional party planning tips you can make your childrens parties the best in the school!

Share This

It is always fun to plan an elaborate party and see it come to life. However, in addition to the pre-work of the party, afterwards always comes the drudgery of the after meal clean-up, including clearing the table and washing up the dishes. Here are some professional party planning tips for dealing with your after meal clean-up and dish washing to help make your life a bit easier.

Tip #1 Devise a simple plan ahead of time on how you will deal with such issues as storing your leftover food items, dishwashing, and trash disposal. If you will be keeping leftover food items for your family to eat at a later time, then make sure you have enough of the right sized bowls and platters to store them on in your refrigerator. If you will be sending leftovers home with other people take the time to purchase some appropriate disposable containers which you can give to them and not have to worry about them being returned. For the dishwashing component, decide ahead of your meal which items can go in your dishwasher and which cannot. For your trash and recyclable items, have bags inside containers placed at strategic locations around your home. Assign someone to look at them from time to time and empty them when necessary.

Tip #2 One of the best things you can do to make your life easier post-meal is to start off with a clean kitchen and refrigerator. The day before your party take the time to clean out your refrigerator and remove all unnecessary clutter from your kitchen and countertops. By doing this you will be able to work on your counter tops and easily clean them. In addition, you will be able to simply open the refrigerator to store things without having to move things around to make room.

Tip #3 Another one of the best things you can do for yourself is to clean up your dishes and messes as you are preparing the meal itself. Your goal should be to sit down at the table with your guests, with as little waiting in the kitchen to be cleaned up as possible. By doing this, you can ensure that the only dishes which will have to dealt with are those which are sitting on your table.

Tip #4 Once your meal has concluded is the time where you should gather up all of the dishes from the table, scrape them, start soaking them in water while you continue to clear the table of leftovers, and then wash all of your dishes either in the dishwasher or by hand. While it is always very tempting to let the dishes sit until your guests have gone home, you will find the work is much easier if you do it right away at the conclusion of the meal. While you are clearing off the table gather up any leftovers and immediately put them into containers and into your refrigerator for safety.

Tip #5 It is polite for people to ask to help clean-up after the conclusion of a meal. Allow your friends and family to help you out. This will make your clean-up go much quicker and smoother. It will also allow you to get back to enjoying your company as soon as possible.

Tip #6 Your party day is not the time to deal too much with what goes in your dishwasher and what you hand wash. Things which are dishwasher safe should go in the dishwasher, and when it is completely full that is the time you should start hand washing what is left. Hand washing while everything is soaking makes it a very easy task, and your hand washed dishes can then rest on a drying rack while you get back to your party and guests.

Tip #7 If you find a pot which is very miserable to wash and doesnt want to come clean, let it soak overnight with a solution of baking soda and dish soap. This will allow it to be easily cleaned the next morning.

While clearing the table and washing dishes is never the most fun part of a party, it can be relatively simple and pain free when you incorporate the tips above.

Share This

Here are seven tips from professional party planners to get you on the right track in planning your shopping list and timeline:

Tip #1 No matter what the size of your event, if it is for children or adults, a wedding or a simple birthday party, you must have a master shopping list as well as a good timeline. Simply use a pen and paper and decide on how long things will take you to do and start filling in your timeline. And, while you are going through the process, this is the time to start a shopping list as well.

Tip #3 Before you can start to build your timeline and shopping list, first you must decide on where your party or event will be held and how many people you will be inviting. If you will be using an event location or a restaurant, you need to secure your space before moving along to do anything else.

Tip #3 Once you have secured your location for your party, then you can start to build your lists. To start building your timeline think about the things you will need to do before the party, such as send out your invitations. If you will be having them custom printed you will need to allow extra time for the printing before you can mail them out to your guests.

Tip #4 Now that you have your date and location secured, and you have ordered your invitations, if necessary, then it is time to think about what you will be doing at your party, what type of food and drinks will be on the menu, and how long you want the party to last. Dedicate a single sheet of paper just to your party day and list everything you will need to do, in order, by time. For example, preparing food before guests arrive would be at the top of the sheet of paper, while giving out party favors may be at the absolute bottom.

Tip #5 In addition to your timeline for the day of the party, you will also want to formulate a timeline for the two weeks or so leading up to the event. Here you will need to block out time for cleaning, shopping, decorating, etc

Tip #6 As you do each of the steps above, you will start to develop a good timeline and a great shopping and supplies list of things which you will need. This will be a great help to you and can even help you to remember to pick up things that you might otherwise have forgotten. In addition, you will also start to see if there will be any conflicts in your timeline where you might need to move a few things around or enlist the help of others.

Tip #7 Once you have your lists generated then it is time to stick to them and make sure everything gets done. If you are finding that you have more work to do than time to do it in, it is perfectly acceptable to ask other people to help you with carious parts of the event. In fact, most people you will find would be happy to help you.

If you will be hosting a party or event, the best thing you can possibly do for yourself is to follow these tips, and others you hear from friends, and develop yourself a good timeline and master shopping list. By writing things down, you will much more clearly see what you need to do and what you will have time to do yourself.

Share This

Tip #1 Always take the time to plan ahead. If you will be renting a special venue you will need to secure it as far in advance as possible. Some places can book up even a year in advance. By finding your venue early, and placing your deposit, you can ensure that you get the venue that you want.

Tip #2 When you are planning a corporate event you need to set a very strict working budget and then make sure that you have extra cash for the unexpected expenses. You can be sure that every event will have some unexpected extra expenses, that is just simply part of planning an event.

Tip #3 If you have contracts, agreements, lists, or seating charts, make sure you keep extra copies of them incase they are misplaced or lost. Copying them is very simple and quick and can really save you later on if you loose your plans.

Tip #4 Make sure you send out your invitations at least 3 to 4 weeks ahead of your event. In addition, make sure that you ask your guests to RSVP so that you know how many people will be attending.

Tip #5 If you are creating a seating chart for your event, you can either set it up completely randomly or work with someone else in your company to come up with the best possible scenario.

Tip #6 If you want a good attendance at your event, it is a good idea to schedule it earlier in the week or a long way away from any major holidays. People tend to vacation over holidays and often have plans on weekends, making Friday and Saturday bad days to have a business function.

Tip #7 It is important to know when to use a theme and when not to. A childs birthday party is an appropriate time to use a theme, while a corportate event requires much less of a theme and more plain elegance than anything else.

Tip #8 When you are having a business event, keep the music mellow and something that everyone can enjoy.

Tip #9 If you will need equipment such as microphones, projectors, speakers, a video camera. etc you want to make a list of the things you will need and make sure that you also have someone on site who can fix any techincal problems which may come up at the event.

Tip #10 When you are planning an event, especially a large event, make emergency and contingency plans in case of disaster, illness, or any other emergency.

Tip #11 It is important to take into account the special accommodations which will be needed by any disabled attendees. If you do not know what someone will need, you can always simply ask them. They will be happy that you cared enough to ask and understand that you didnt have any other way to get the information.

Tip #12 If you are planning a very large event, you might want to take a project management approach to it. Use a master plan, and delegate tasks to others where you reasonably can.

Tip #13 If your event will be longer than two hours, your guests will expect at least a snack to eat. You should have a meal if your event is longer than four hours. At all times, you should have at least water and coffee available to your guests.

Tip #14 Communication is a major key to the success of an event. If you are using vendors, make sure they have very clear and specific instructions of what you are expecting of them.

Tip #15 Whenever you plan an event, make sure you take things like transportation, parking, etc into the equation. The last thing you want is for your guests to have to walk a long way to the event or to go home because they couldnt find a place to park.

Share This