вторник, 25 февруари 2014 г.

12 Party Games of Christmas!


There's just not enough time to list all the great Christmas party themes out there! However, we made our best attempt! Our just published list of Christmas party themes delivers dozens of themes and ideas from "naughty and nice" themed parties to Victorian themed parties and everything in between.

Then, I got another idea! How about a list of Christmas party games to go along with the dozens of Christmas party themes we just published?!

The 12 Games of Christmas

  1. Balloon Fortunes 
    • Perfect for office, adult, and neighborhood parties. Balloon fortunes are a novel idea that we first tried for a 50th birthday party and they were a huge hit! Everyone loves them no matter their age. To play, simply put funny fortunes inside balloons, guests select a balloon and find a creative way to pop them to retrieve their fortune. You'd be surprised how many of the fortunes come true!
  2. Bible Trivia 
    • Great for families and small parties. Of course you can play trivia games as board games, but you can also get creative and simply use trivia cards as conversation cards or use this game as a gift openning game. One at a time, those who answer correctly may open a gift! 
  3. Christmas Charades 
    • Great for families, children, and adults. Charades is one of the oldest games in the book and it's tons of fun. We suggest getting a Christmas Charades game that's created especially for the holiday rather than guests coming up with their own phrases. It keeps things simply and more entertaining.
  4. Christmas Left Right Games 
    • Good for all ages, office parties, families, friends and neighbors. How can a gift exchange game be good for everyone? Choose the Left Right Poem or story that fits your group. There are several different versions of the Left Right game including the Re-Gift Game, Naughty and Nice, the Christmas Story of Jesus and more at Printable-Party-Games.com. The appropriate story is read aloud and each time guests hear the words, "left" or "right", they pass their gifts in that direction. This is one of the most popular Christmas gift exchange games out there; many families play it on Christmas Day, and it's also popular for New Year's parties where you Re-Gift funky Christmas gifts that would be better off with someone else!
  5. Christmas Trivia
    • Great for families and parties. Just as mentioned above, trivia makes great conversation starters or it can be played as a formal game. Printable Christmas trivia cards get everyone in the spirit with little known facts about Santa, winter, elves, and folklore!
  6. Dirty Bingo 
    • Great for families, classroom parties, church parties. Dirty Bingo is a Christmas gift exchange game in which printable Christmas Bingo Cards are used. Everyone gets a card. The first person to bingo opens the first gift. Continuing on the same cards, the second person may open a new gift or steal a gift that's already opened (that's the dirty part)!
  7. The Grinch Game 
    • Great for families and children. The Grinch game is another gift exchange game that's perfect for children because it's soooo easy. Give each child a generic gift. Read the story, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" aloud. Each time the word, "Grinch" is spoken, children pass their gifts clockwise. When the story is over, players keep the gifts they are holding.
  8. Jingle Mingle 
    • Great for adult and office parties. The Jingle Mingle is an ice breaker game sort of like a social bingo game. Each player gets a card and must find other guests at the party who fit the descriptions of each square. The first person to bingo wins!
  9. Mums the Word 
    • Great for office and neighborhood parties. This game is easy. Give everyone a plastic party necklace and announce a "forbidden" word. Use a common word like, "Christmas". When someone says the word in conversation, they must forfeit their necklace to whomever they are speaking to. The person with the most necklaces at the end of the evening wins.
  10. Party Talk Conversation Cards 
    • Perfect for adult, neighborhood, and office parties. You can't get any easier or entertaining that this. What's more is that this Christmas party game is subtle. Just place Party Talk Conversation Starter Cards on a coffee table and watch what happens. I'ver personally used these at several parties and they are the best party secret I know!
  11. White Elephant Gift Exchange 
    • Perfect for office, neighborhood, friends and adults. This is by far the most popular Christmas gift exchange game there is. It goes by many names including the Chinese Gift Exchange game and the Yankee Gift Exchange Game. Everyone brings a wrapped gift, draws numbers, and takes turns selecting, unwrapping and stealing gifts. There are a few rules to this game, so I suggest you take a look at the details by following the link to the White Elephant Gift Exchange Game.
  12. Wrapple 
    • Perfect for large parties, office, neighborhood, friends, and adults. This game is great for a crowd. It has the excitement of the White Elephant game, but moves slightly faster. You need a set of printable Wrapple cards, because guests MUST perform the actions printed on their card to play the game. The best part of this game is that it also acts as an icebreaker game. We love it for office parties!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving Traditions - Gobble Up the Fun!


Thanksgiving is here! Gobble Gobble, up the fun!
Our Newest Christmas Ad! Check it Out!
Everyone I’ve spoken to has been unusually excited about this year’s Thanksgiving.
It happens every year; you dust off the chandelier, bring down the china from the top shelf, dress the table (and the bird) and gather around family and friends. This year seems different. Kids, parents, old and young are more excited than ever to be together.
Maybe it’s recent news events that are making us all nostalgic for a simpler, more traditional Thanksgiving. You know the type… the Thanksgiving you dream of every year, but sometimes it doesn’t always go just as planned.
I was recently challenged by a friend to do something different this year, to create a new holiday tradition that would bless both my family and others. I took this challenge to heart and I’ve thought of several things that I haven’t done in the past that I’m going to do Thanksgiving weekend as new holiday traditions.
Maybe you’d like to create a new tradition this year too. After all, holiday traditions are the things we most remember and the things we most love.

My New Thanksgiving Traditions (Old Traditions With a New Twist)


Fruitcake, Fruitcake, How I love Fruitcake. 
My Fruitcake, Hot From the Oven!

There’s nothing new about fruitcake.
This year, I’m doing something completely new with fruitcake. And no, it doesn’t involve a bonfire.
  1. I’m making all the candied fruit from scratch. 
  2. I’m setting aside an entire day Thanksgiving weekend to get together with my lovely fruitcake-baking friend
  3. I’m making dozens of fruitcake (one for each of my neighbors). And, NO I don’t hate my neighbors, I like them…I’m telling you this is spectacular fruitcake, so take a look at my fruitcake recipe on this blog.
Everyone LOVES Great Conversation
I’m going to bring my set of Party Talk ConversationCards to Thanksgiving dinner. My family is having dinner at a dear friend’s house (4th year running).
I’ve used Party Talk Conversation Cards at parties before, but I’ve never brought them along. Knowing my friend’s fun sense of humor, she’ll love having these sitting on each table!

If you're not familiar with these, check them out, they are tested and have proved the be the life of the party - no matter what type of party you're having!
Since we’ll be blending many family’s and their parents and children at the same dinner, it will be great to have some witty and funny conversation cards to help everyone break the ice!
Counting Down the Days - Advent Calendar!

I’m creating my FIRST ever advent calendar, one for myself and several for friends. I’ve never made on of these before, so I did lots of research to find the cutest ideas. (Stay tuned, I’m going to post these photos soon).
I decided to do a Christmas advent Calendar, so I carefully selected quotes on verses for each day, and I’m going to include little surprises in my calendar as well. This is a truly new tradition for me!

Write and Send out Christmas Cards During Thanksgiving Weekend
Before you say, “You’re lame, there’s nothing new about cards”.  There’s a kicker to these cards.

Anyone can buy a box of cards that says happy holidays and sign there name, but where the fun in that?! This year, I’m going to spend the time to write something special to each person who receives a card.

What will I write? Why I care about them, what they mean to mean, maybe a short story of something funny that reminded me of them. It’s going to take me an entire night (I know), but what a way to get into the Christmas spirit!

Want some amazing ideas for what to write in your cards. Quotes and sayings make your cards even more special. I've just discovered a great place to start called Brainy Quotes...not all the quotes are "brainy", many are just perfect for saying exactly what you'd like to say!

What Will You Do This Holiday Season? 

Traditions begin somewhere, they begin with you! What will you do to make your Thanksgiving celebration one that you and others will remember for a lifetime?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Wedding Day Disaster Preparedness


New Wedding Day Survival Guide Issued by the CDC!
Avoiding Wedding Day Disasters
If a certain bridal reality show is to be believed, it seems most weddings are a series of fights, swearing, torn/stained dresses, calamities and in some cases, even minor disasters.  In reality, most weddings are a lot less dramatic with only the occasional mishap.   
Of course, much of reality TV is staged and situations are blown way out of proportion for the cameras.  But a big reason that “real life” weddings aren’t the same screaming tear-fests is that many brides and their planners take the time in advance to prepare for any situation that may occur. 
Wedding experts and wedding planners alike have been suggesting wedding day emergency kits to brides for quite some time. Brides can purchase pre-packaged wedding day emergency kits on the internet or easily create their own.  
What to Put in a Wedding Day Emergency Kit
  1. A kit should include things such as:
  2. hairspray and hairbrush
  3. extra bobby pins
  4. pressed or loose powder to use in the event you become red or shiny when you’re nervous
  5. clear nail polish
  6. medications such as ibuprofen or aspirin
  7. antacids
  8. extra stockings
  9. feminine hygiene products and an extra pair of panties (since stress has a wonderful way of bringing on an unscheduled period)
  10. a small sewing kit
  11. breath spray
  12. a nail file
  13. a few band-aids
  14. bottled water  
Be sure to add any medication you take on a regular basis and may need, such as an inhaler for asthma.  Stash all these things in a pretty bag and make sure you ask someone take it along to the place you’ll be dressing, as well as to the ceremony and reception venues.  Knowing you have these emergency supplies on hand just in case will ease your mind and allow you to relax and enjoy your day.
Planning Ahead: CDC Wedding Day Tips
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention jumped into the wedding arena and issued their own wedding day survival guide.  Since wedding season runs throughout the summer months (in the northern hemisphere), there’s a chance any wedding could be affected by severe weather and heavy summer thunderstorms.  These can include hail, lightning and even tornadoes.  Wedding seasons also happens to coincide with hurricane season.  Many coastal areas have sustained extreme amounts of damage in the past and people have been hurt and killed as a result of tropical storms and hurricanes.
The CDC is recommending that brides add a few things to their wedding day emergency kit from their home emergency kits.  They recommend including a first aid kit, in the event anyone passes out, snacks, water, extra cash, medications and important documents.
They're also recommending that couples have a plan in place in the event of an emergency.  Couples should have a list of guests available at all times along with their contact information.  Should a severe weather situation present itself, the couple will then be able to contact all their guests to give them further instructions about what’s happening with the wedding.   
You will have enough to do on your wedding day, especially if some type of emergency or severe weather situation threatens to stall or even cancel your event.  You’ll be busy talking with your coordinator and venue staff.  Make sure all your guests know who they can call if there’s any type of an emergency; then make sure your contact person is updated at all times with the latest information.
You should also be sure to ask your venue’s coordinator what their emergency plan and evacuation route is in the event of a tornado or hurricane.  Find out where you and your guests should go and what you should do in an emergency situation.
After months of planning a wedding, no one wants to think about a hurricane or tornado ruining their special day.  If the unimaginable does happen, make sure that you, your new spouse and all your family and friends remain safe.  While you are planning your wedding, remember to plan not just for small mishaps, but for these bigger ones as well.  As the CDC says “Get a Kit, Make a Plan, and Be Informed.”
This article was contributed by Yvone Kon who is a former event planner and bridal consultant.  She currently is a freelance writer, blogger and mom and frequently writes about weddings, wedding planning, wedding fashion and motherof the bride outfits for Frox of Falkirk.  She is the author of the blog EventSpiration, providing inspiration and ideas for weddings, parties and holidays. For information on freelance writing projects, please contact her via her blog.
Have you recently become engaged? Are you planning a wedding and all the parties that go along with it? Start by planning a bridal shower and an engagement party. Come back often for wedding reception ideas, DIY party favor ideas, bachelorette party game ideas and more.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

4th of July: Last Minute Themed Party Ideas

Monday, April 30, 2012

Themed Party Ideas for May

Themed Party Ideas for May

Jennifer here, greeting you with cheer and hoping you're enjoying all the reasons to celebrate in your life!
Themed Party Ideas for May

If you get my newsletter, you know I'm passionate about celebrating! This month has been particularly fun. My mailbox has been filled with invitations for graduations, a friend's retirement party, and three summer weddings. (I just LOVE weddings).

All this celebration reminds me of the life events I've enjoyed sharing with friends. To be honest, I'm not sure what's more fun; the planning and anticipation or the party itself.

This week I was speaking with a new neighbor. He said he was waiting to have guests over to his home because he wasn't sure if he'd be transfered to a new location. The transfer would happen in 18 months.

Astonished, I replied, "18 months?! Are you kidding?" Eighteen months is too far in the future to postpone living your life. One month is too long to start living ... start living today!

Why wait for a "major" event to celebrate with old friends, make new ones, and get the family together! Whether you're learning a new recipe for a romantic dinner, inviting neighbors over for Friday night cocktails, or hosting a spring porch party, there's no time like to present to start living your life to the fullest.

So what's there to celebrate at Themed-Party-Ideas.com?

Calling All Bachelorettes!

This month, I'll be celebrating some really fun events starting with a bachelorette party! To be completely honest, it's not a "real" bachelorette party, it's my monthly "ladies night in" and I'm celebrating the launch of Jencyn Enterprises new website: www.BacheloretteDegrees.com. We'll be playing bachelorette party games, having themed cocktails...the works!

www.BacheloretteDegrees.com is the biggest bachelorette party school on the net! This fun-filled website (for adult ladies parties) offers printable bachelorette party games that you won't find on Themed-Party-Ideas.com. We have clean bachelorette party games, naughty bachelorette party games, and "dirty" bachelorette party games.

We wanted to offer something different to bachelorettes that you can't find elsewhere on the net. Our "naughty" and "dirty" bachelorette games are NOT raunchy or gross. They're funny, light hearted, and free of vulgarity while still being 100% bachelorette material!

We also wanted to offer really fun games that bachelorettes could download and print in an instant. For the cost of a fancy cocktail, these party games offer the best bachelorette entertainment for your money!

We're adding new games to the website every few days. Dozens and Dozens are in the works. If you like the website, we hope you'll like the facebook page too and spread the word!

Do you own a wedding, bridal, or party website? Affiliate with bacheloretteDegrees.com and start making commissions today!

Oh Baby! Shower Themes and Games

Oh Baby, have we been in the "baby mood" around here! We have some amazing new easy baby shower games and ideas to make your baby shower really shine!

Along with games, we've also been working up some of the most adorable baby shower themes like the Safari baby shower theme. You'll find every detail of how to recreate a this party ideas for yourself, from food and drink, to decorations, invitations, and game ideas.
We also introduced the brand new printable baby shower game: Baby Names this month. This baby shower game is very popular! Find out why.

Birthday Parties: Kids, Teens, Adults

BRAND NEW this month: celebrate Sweet 16! If there's ever a time to party for teens, 16 has to be it! So much happens at 16; driving, dating (yikes), planning for college, and well...just being young and full of energy is a reason to celebrate. Get 16th birthday party ideas for guys and girls and Sweet 16 party ideas too!

Also new this month, is the Toy Story birthday party theme for kids. These ideas are simply adorable! Find cupcake ideas you can easily make yourself to easy decor and amazingly creative games and activities your kids will delight in!

Finally, look for new casino party ideas. You'll find casino themed cocktails, tricks to make your casino party really "feel" like a casino, and casino party themes to add a fun twist to your casino celebration. These ideas are terrific for office parties and fundraiser events, so check them out.

Have you liked us?

Thanks to everyone who "liked us" on Facebook this month. Thank you Amber, Barbara, Angel, Monique, Yolanda, Shannen, Christina, Sarah, Sanet, Carman, Beth, Jennifer, Brenda, Charlene, Bonita, Donna, Nicole, and Kelly. We love you back! It's because of you that we are in business!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bridal Shower Ideas

Gathering bridal shower ideas is on many agendas these days!

Did you recently get engaged? Or, do you know someone who recently said, "Yes" to a marriage proposal? The holiday season is the #1 most popular time for women to become engaged. The month of February (Valentine's Day) is a close second!

Not surprisingly, I know three people who've recently become engaged. That's right, I said three! So engagement parties, bridal showers, and even bachelorette parties are on my mind.

When I think of bridal showers, I think of having beautiful decorations, meeting all the ladies in the bride's family, and the food of course. But, the main thing I think about as a party host, is creating a warm and fun-filled environment.

It's always a wonderful gesture to create activities and games that make it easy for people who don't know each other to meet and strike up a conversation. The best part of a successful party is when a game you've chosen makes your guests smile and laugh; your unique activities are what creates memories.

For a bridal shower, a mix of sentimental games or activities and funny games is a great bet. It's important that the games appeal to a wide audience, because bridal showers will include people of all ages and backgrounds from aunts and grandmothers to friends' friends, sisters, and cousins. But just because your games need to appeal to different people doesn't mean they need to be dull! Quite the contrary!

Creating that balance can be a challenge, but it can be done. You'll find dozens of bridal shower games on our website. And, I want to introduce you to our newest bridal shower game, the LEFT-RIGHT bridal shower game.

Many of you have played the Left-Right game. It's a gift exchange game (also used for party favors) where each guest brings an inexpensive wrapped gift. When it's time to play the game, guests either sit or stand in a circle with their gift in hand. The host reads a prepared story aloud. The story (or poem in our case) has many instances of the words "Left" and "Right". Each time the guests hear these words they pass the gift in the indicated direction.

Another version of the game is for players to pass the gifts continuously in one direction until they hear the prompt to change the direction that gifts are passed.

We've taken great care to make our Printable Left Right Bridal Shower game fun & funny! It's a poem full of marital advice to make both friends and grandmothers chuckle! This game is also customizable with the bride's and groom's name, so it makes a sweet keepsake.

Here are a few lines from the beginning of the poem, to give you an idea of how it reads:

Martha’s getting married; few single days are LEFT,
And her marriage to Preston will leave all bachelors bereft!

So RIGHT-ly forgive us for preparing this marital advice,
As friends we’re LEFT with this duty, and we feel it’s only RIGHT.


Learn to cook the RIGHT kind of meal: not too tasty, slightly bland,
Lest he’ll never take you out the eat; you’ll be LEFT with the frying pan.
...and so the story continues with fun advice for a happy marriage.


Bridal Shower Charades


Left Right Bridal Shower Game
$1.99

For Gift or Favor Exchanges at
Bridal Shower Parties

Add to CartView Cart


Should you decide to go with our version of the bridal shower Left Right game, you can just click on the button to purchase, download, and print and play!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Happy Holidays! See The Party Photos

Happy Holidays from CheersAllYear.com and Themed-Party-Ideas.com. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas & Happy Chanukah. Cynthia and I wish everyone a Happy New Year!


I wanted to share just a few photos of our annual Christmas party. This years theme was "Merry Mid-Century". Many guests came in costume, including me. We featured an aluminum Christmas tree, and framed advertisements from the 50s and 60s. For our live tree, large colored light bulbs added a touch of nostalgia.

Party Food

Vintage cocktails were probably the most popular item I've ever served at a party. The printable cocktail recipes are available on the Themed-Party-Ideas.com cocktail party ideas page.

A lot of people ask, "What's a vintage cocktail?" Vintage cocktails are all made from scratch (no mixers), giving them an unbelievably fresh and delicious taste. If you enjoy cocktail parties, a vintage cocktail party is a MUST! Your guests will be quite impressed with the uniqueness of these party drinks. Serving Tip: A lemon/lime squeezer will make these drinks much easier to produce.

If you have more than 15 guests, I highly recommend hiring a bartender for this! The drinks are easy to make, but overwhelming with a crowd. Most bartenders aren't familiar with vintage cocktails, so provide the recipe poster card from the link above for him or her.  I displayed the recipe poster card in a frame on the bar to make it easy on the bartender.

Vintage Recipe Poster Available on The Themed-Party-Ideas.com Website
The party food also had a vintage theme. I served stuffed clams in the half shell, casseroles, and spiral ham. Of course, I threw in a few favorites like shish kabobs and meatballs because they're so popular.

Start with great party food

Party Details Make It Special

One other party detail: guest menus. I created menus as party favors for the guests. One the front of the menu I featured my neighborhood name. Inside the menu was a list of cocktails with the ingredients of each. That way, guests can take home the menu and recreate the drinks for themselves.

Vintage Cocktail Party Menus - Front Cover
On the backside, I featured vintage restaurant and club reviews. The reviews mentioned many movie stars of the day and which restaurants they frequented. I incorporated the names of many of my guests along with those of famous movie stars into the reviews.

The restaurant and club reviews came from vintage newspaper articles which you can get from library books or online. For a personal touch, I made up a review for the "Riverview Club", a fictitious club named after my neighborhood.

A portion of the review read as follows (the names are changed to protect to somewhat innocent):

Perhaps the most sought after place to be seen is the Riverview Club. Socialites, musicians, and artists all flock to this alternative night spot, where a cornucopia of cocktails and a generous display of hospitality can always be found.

The club is hosted by the Scheffels, Lenny Schwartz, Mary Jones, and Robert Kaufman to name only a few. Movie stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Margret Smith, and Allison Faulkner often grace the club.
Vintage Cocktail Party Menus - Back Cover

Party Games Rule!

The  White Elephant Game, is one of the best Christmas party games out there. That's why we play it every year. 

That pig I'm holding has made its way under the tree on a few different occasions. I'm proud to say, it's now on my dining room table! Maybe it will return as a white elephant gift in the future...we'll see! 


Attention Please: it's time to play the White Elephant Game!
Each guest selected a printed number with a lucky numbered fortune for the White Elephant Game






No fighting over your white elephant gifts!
This guest drew a numbered fortune card (from the printable white elephant game) that read: "You will come into some money"...what do you know...She DID!
My turn to open the gifts
Surprise! The pig is back from Christmas gift exchanges past years! I'm so happy!
The White Elephant Game has Happy Returns

Party Nametags: A Guest Favorite! Here's Why.

This year's nametags were a favorite. I used the nametags available in the printable adult Christmas party book because at the bottom of each nametag is printed: "I Like ___________". Guests filled in anything they liked. Among the clever things people like: Wine, Chocolate, Tennis, Movies, You, Snow, Santa, My Husband, Helpers (that was mine), and several other clever ideas. The nametags turned out to be a great conversation starter.

But even funnier is that I'm still finding nametags. The day after the party I found a nametag in a carton of eggs within my fridge, in a bowl on my mantel and in a drawer in my bathroom, and in various other places. Guests decided it would be funny to hide them at the end of the night. I laugh every time I find one! Next year, I'm giving a prize for the most cleverly hidden!

Add pins to party nametags with hot glue gun

Unique Party Favor Ideas - The Vintage Jewelry Tree

A black velvet jewelry tree adorned with vintage jewelry was the centerpiece of one room. Each guest could select the piece of jewelry she wanted as her party favor. It was a HUGE hit! I've received tons of notes and letters from guests who loved this party detail.

The vintage jewelry was collected for a few months before the party. I found it everywhere; antique shops, vintage stores, thrift stores, and on Ebay. As an added detail, I took a photo of the tree once I created it and Photoshopped the image into a photo from the TV show "Madmen", since "Madmen" is a popular show that takes place in the 50s and 60s.




New Years Party Ideas: The Next Big Event!

Whether you party with a crowd or just celebrate with a few people, the New Year is a time for living it up and being thankful for all that you have.

Make a New Years resolution to have your best year ever. Find ways to celebrate even the small things with friends. It the small things that make a big year and we'll be here to celebrate them all with you!

Happy New Year!