A Charlie Brown Birthday

This Charlie Brown birthday party sent in by Do of Piggy Bank Parties is so unique and whimsical, and with adorable touches from the Christmas special, it's just right for December birthdays or Holiday parties.

The birthday "boy" was in fact Do's husband Jeff (Piggy Bank Parties resident artist).  Do says, "Jeff has always loved the Peanuts comic strip and I often say to him, 'You’re a Good Man, Jeff Brown!'  Since his birthday falls 2 weeks before Christmas we try to make his celebrations extra special. With his permission, we included a little Christmas magic in the décor."

I absolutely adore the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" and the tree favor boxes (they created by embelishing plain pyramid boxes).  Other notable details are the Snoopy dog bowl serving dish, the fun banners & swags, and the Woodstock "wings" bar.  What a great way to bring this concept to life!

You can find more great ideas on the Piggy Bank Parties blog, and some amazing party printables in their Etsy shop.
To help introduce you to their party printables, Do is offering a $25 Gift Certificate for any item.  Just Visit the shop and Leave a Comment below telling us your favorite item.  I'll pick a winner on Wednesday! ENTRIES FOR THE GIVEAWAY ARE NOW CLOSED!
CONGRATULATIONS TO DAWN OF NOT JUST A MOMMY FOR WINNING THE GIFT CERTIFICATE!



Party Design, Invitations, Party Cards, Food Labels, Banners and Crafts: Piggy Bank Parties
Fondant Toppers: LIVCreativity
Plain Favor Boxes: Envelopments
Yellow Bin, Snowflakes, Red Plates, Dog Dishes: Dollar Tree
Charlie Brown Christmas Tree: Amazon

Kids Candy Coated Christmas Party

Are you ready for some inspiration for a kids Christmas party?  If you're like me, the kids will be out of school for the next week leading up to Christmas and you'll need something to entertain them, right?  This may just inspire you - I hosted a small gathering for my kids and a couple of friends.  We called it a "Candy Coated Christmas Party" because it was all about sweet decor, and decorating their own "Christmas Trees" (ice cream cones), and cupcakes. 
(click photos to view larger)

Each child had a place set with personalized aprons, "snowman" milk bottles, and candy cane napkin rings with a decorated cookie on a stick.  They had their own dish of icing to cover the cones and cupcakes, and plenty of candy toppings to add on top.  White cotton candy was the perfect "snow", while powdered donut holes were the perfect "snow balls."

The centerpiece was a trio of trees I made by hot gluing candy to white foam cones.  Adding ribbons to the top, and cotton candy for a snow-covered base finished it off perfectly.  Candy bouquets were made by filling a vase with foam to securely hold candy canes, lollipops, and cookies on a stick.

After the kids decorated their food items, they played outside in the (barely there) snow.  Hot chocolate was waiting to warm them up, with a snowman Peep on the side.  This is the time they were able to write their letters to Santa using the adorable free printables from The Two Savvy Sisters.
There were plenty of treats to take home in their 'take-out' boxes, as well as the personalized aprons.  They all had a great time, and needless to say my kids didn't have an appetite for dinner that night!

Check out scenes from the party below:

DIY Greeting Card Frame

Here's an easy project you can put together to show off some of those cute greeting cards you're receiving.  You can create a frame holder with just a few items you may already have around the house.

Simply use an empty frame that is large enough to hold several cards, ribbon to attach the cards to, duct tape to attach the ribbon (since this may not be a "permanant" use for the frame), and mini clothes pins or other clipping device.

I attached the top ribbon first and attached the cards so that I would know where to attach the second ribbon - you don't want the cards too cluttered.  Then clip on your greetings and set on a mantle, hang on a wall, or cluster several sizes together on an entry table.  You could also dress up the clothes pins by painting them, or attaching some decorative embelishments.

A cute, yet chic project you can do in 10 minutes!

Custom Inspiration Board - Pastels And Cocktails

I recently did a custom inspiration board for Mari who was hosting a Christmas cocktail party for 30.  I thought I'd share this one with you as it may be helpful in coordinating your own party over the next couple of weeks.  We began with a pastel color scheme and an invitation by My Expression, with a reindeer graphic...

The colors are soft but still sophisticated, with the slightest hint of retro.  The nice thing about having a Christmas party is that half the decorating is already done! You can add extra touches with retro-style ornaments in glass bowls or apothecary jars, add in a few deer to connect back to the invitations, and add decorative details to your buffet tables and bar with mini Christmas trees, hanging wrapping paper as a backdrop, adding a wreath or banner to the back drop, etc.  If there will be dancing involved (which was the case for Mari) adding a disco ball over the dance floor adds a "party" atmosphere as well as a retro vibe.

Take your queue from the popular dessert tables and arrange your appetizer buffet in the same manner, lining up simple white platters with uniform rows of finger foods. Don't forget to add a few nibbles to the living room cocktail table. 

For a take home favor, wrap up a holiday cookie in a paper cd case, or cellophane bag. Add a 'thank you' sticker and pretty bow and have them in a bowl, or tray near the door.

Photos:

ornaments in bowl, Deer candy skewers, side board & cocktail display,

ornament wreath, deer ornament, framed sign, jar of ornaments, favors, tabletop display, tabletop tree display,

champagne bucket, appetizers, living room cocktail table

Blue Christmas {Guest Blogger}

Alexandra of Enchanted Events & Design is a talented graphics designer and event stylist/blogger.  She has a flair for modern sleek design and creates lovely paper goods which she sells in her Etsy shop.  Today Alexandra shows you how to re-create your holiday table from one year to the next.  She starts out with her wedding china as the staple items and is inspired by the blue band in the pattern.  Read on to see how she transforms her 2009 table for 2010, and get the printable items seen here FREE!

2009

In Alexandra's words:  I decided to accentuate the white and blue of the dishes in this look. I laid out a simple white tablecloth (on sale from a fabric store) and put silver chargers (from a dollar store) under the china. Each year I use an ornament for a place card (so each person will have a memento for their tree to take home). Last year I was inspired by Martha Stewart's Sweetgum-Fruit Wreath. I decided to make mini wreaths for each person and used the extra fruit to craft silver trees for the table. For my centerpiece I raided my Christmas tree decorations! I got a clear glass vase and stuffed it with white stuffing. Then I stuffed sparkly white branches and hung all the small blue and silver ornaments I could find in my collection from them. Lastly, I found some silver tinsel garland from the dollar store and strung it up and down the table.

2010

For my 2010 transformation I again started with the same china and dollar store chargers. I laid my white fabric down on the table and covered it with a cotton damask fabric I purchased at the fabric store. For my centerpiece I found the candle pillar holder at Target for only $19.99 and filled it with silver and blue ornaments I found in my ornament collection. You can also see the sparkly white branches from last years centerpiece in it as well! For the place cards this year I found these pretty black ornaments for $2 each at Target. I further dressed up the table setting by printing my own menus. The silver sweetgum-fruit trees are getting used again alongside some fresh flowers. Finally I strung some larger blue and silver ornaments from the ceiling all of which came from a dollar store! 
I hope you enjoyed my table transformation.

Thank you, Alexandra, for a great example of "freecycling" and creativity.  We love your beautiful tables!  Now, as a gift to you Alexandra is offering the menu card seen here (love it!), with matching place card, and invitation for FREE to all of her followers.  Head over to her blog to sign up and get them!

If you have an idea you'd like to submit, please read our Submission Guidelines and send us an email.

Candy Cone Christmas Tree

Do you have one of these tabletop trees?  They are just darling and I love how this one from Country Living is trimmed with candy-cone treats - the perfect decorative element for a children's decorating party!  It's easy to put together with just a few items:

Using ready-made ice-cream cones, CAREFULLY drill 2 side holes with a wooden skewer (apply gentle pressure to avoid cracking). Brush with icing and dip in colorful sugar or nonpareils. Let dry thoroughly before slipping a thin ribbon through each hole, and then fill with small candies.

To simplify assembly, stand each cone in a small glass while filling. Fill in the bottom space of the cone with paper towel to keep fragile cones light enough to hang.  Now you have another fun favor/decor item that the kids will love!

Black & White & Glamorous Sweets Table

I designed this mini dessert table to coordinate with my Holiday-Glam Tablescape.  It's great for an intimate dinner party, and serves up small bites so guests can sample a little bit of everything.  

For the dessert area I used the acrylic beaded curtain as a backdrop - a great way to tie two areas together is to use the same elements but in a different way.  The food and decor are all done in black and white and silver, and most items were found locally.

On the menu are chocolate whoopie pies, brownie bites topped with whipped icing and silver edible glitter from Sweet Baking Supply, and shimmering bonbons from Bedazzle My Bonbons.  I like the idea of choosing one or two designer desserts to shine, and then dressing up purchased items or homemade items to round out the table.

To wash down the sweets, milk shots are served with cookie "straws."  You could also serve eggnog in these as well.  For this table I did serve spiked eggnog and irish cream shots in chocolate cups - a fun festive addition!  So that guests would know the difference between the two, I sprinked nutmeg on the eggnog shots.

In sharing this with you, I hope to show that you can have a beautiful, stylish dessert table without spending a fortune.  It just takes a little thoughtful detail and creative display!  Bon Apetite!