Party Planning

Michele Cardello asked:


Even though most people associate this work by Rockwell as a Thanksgiving picture, Freedom From Want actually first appeared on The Saturday Evening Post cover in the month of March. It is completely understandable why people would pick a painting such as the Norman Rockwell classic Freedom From Want as their primary source of scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. After all, it has all the necessary elements for scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving: a family at the table, turkey, and a truly inviting atmosphere. However, some of the best scrapbooking ideas for thanksgiving don’t come from the dinner setting, but everything else that happens on that day.

After all, very few people hold a Thanksgiving dinner at their house and immediately serve the guests the moment they walk through the door. Generally, most hosts realize that there will be some downtime before dinner. During this time, family members can get together and talk while the children can play. Why not make this the subject of your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving pages?

This is the mistake most scrappers make when choosing their pictures for their scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving: they wait until the dinner to take the photos. While the dinner certain has some interesting scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving, the best scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving occur way before dinner is served. The time before the dinner is served might be the memories that your guests remember the most.

Things like the children sitting around the television watching a movie or playing a video is just one example of scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Even better are “Thanksgiving firsts” for your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. For example, someone may have brought over their newborn child for all the family to see. Certainly an event like this deserves some press. The scrapper should take some pictures of relatives seeing the child for the first time, capturing the expressions and reactions.

After all, some people may have families where the relatives live very far away, and it can be very difficult to get everyone under the same roof for any period of time. Take advantage of this time as much as you can, and don’t even ask people to pose. Just take as many pictures in the natural surrounding, and in some cases the photographer does not have to acknowledge his or her presence.

Taking pictures before the dinner and putting simple frames around them is one of the easiest scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Sometimes finding a common theme in each of the photos and running with it is worth quite a bit with scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Peppered with these pictures can be traditional Thanksgiving images like red and orange leaves, pumpkins, and of course, turkeys, and it will be a guaranteed success. Years later, when the family looks at the pages, they will have memories to remember.



Steve

SurelySarah asked:


We want to tell my husband’s siblings that we are expecting our first child at his sister’s annual Halloween party. What do you guys think are some good ideas? We want to have fun with it! Also, I will barely be showing at this time.

Gabriella

Sandra Canfield asked:


Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and you may be dreading the holiday. For single people who do not live near family, this can be one of the most depressing days of the year. Even if you’ve never been fond of Thanksgiving, no one wants to be alone on Thanksgiving.

How does a single person celebrate Thanksgiving? You could volunteer at a local soup kitchen, which is very admirable, but not a favorite choice for everyone. You could take up your co-worker on their offer to have you as a guest for their Thanksgiving dinner, although that can be awkward. You could pony up the money to visit your family, but that may not be an option everyone can afford.

The most festive option for a single person is to throw a party. Hosting a Thanksgiving Day party does require planning and preparation, but having a few close friends over is fun and makes the day a lot more fun.



Preparing Your Home for a Thanksgiving Party



A Thanksgiving party will be different than an average party in that you’ll want to create a cozy atmosphere. This is easy enough to do. If you have a dining room table, you’re in luck. Find a nice, small bouquet of autumn flowers at your local florist or market and use them as a centerpiece. If you don’t have a tablecloth, get a runner. Remember to use nice cloth napkins and napkin rings.

Another nice touch is to present your guests with fall theme party favors. You can also use them as decorations for the dinner table. It will also provide a conversation starter at the table. Ideas for fall theme party favors include fall leaf candleholder favors which add the brilliance of fall or autumn to your table. Leaf wine bottle openers make a great practical and unique party favors for your guests. Fall leaf design candle favors will color and warmth to the table setting. Personalized cappuccino and cocktail favors will serve to add a personal touch.  

If you don’t have a kitchen table (never fear – many single folks don’t) make sure there is ample seating room for your guests.

Another nice, homey touch is scented candles. You can buy them in just about any scent, but for today you’ll want to get some that are apple pie or cinnamon scented. It’ll probably be chilly outside, but you’ll want your guests to feel warm in your house or apartment.

If you have a fireplace, set a fire before everyone comes over. A fireplace is the best for creating a comfy atmosphere.



Cooking the Dinner



There are a million recipe web sites that will provide instructions on how to cook each Thanksgiving dinner dish. If you feel up to it, you could certainly buy the groceries and prepare the dinner. You could also ask each person attending your party to bring their favorite dish, but you should still prepare the turkey and/or ham.

You could ask one of your friends to help you prepare the dinner. It would be a great time to catch up, share cooking secrets, and have a good time.



Get it Catered



With enough advance planning, you could get your Thanksgiving Day dinner catered. Better yet, you could order the entire dinner from your local supermarket and go pick it up. Safeway, Albertson’s, and other major grocery store chains that have delis usually offer Thanksgiving and holiday complete meals that can be ordered and picked up. Make sure you order enough for leftovers!



The Festive Drinks



Not all great parties have alcohol but if your does, try some holiday beers or hot drinks. Samuel Adams, Alaskan Brewing Company, and several other brewing companies offer seasonal ales that would make your holiday party special. You can’t go wrong with a white or red wine. Hot cocoa and apple cider are traditional favorites. Don’t forget something for the designated drivers.

Remember, the most important part of hosting a Thanksgiving Day dinner party is to enjoy yourself. Don’t stress too much about how everything turns out and you’ll have a wonderful day.



Julia

Jack asked:


‘Tis the Thanksgiving season again! As we must all be aware, Thanksgiving is a national holiday and a day when the family and friends gets together and feasts on elaborate dishes.

Thanksgiving Day is a reason for major celebration in the USA and it falls on the fourth Thursday of November every year. On this day, Americans give thanks and express their gratitude to the almighty for the good things they have had in the year gone by. This year, Thanksgiving will be celebrated on the 27th of November, 2008. Thanksgiving is also another name for the Harvest Festival in Great Britain which marks the end of the harvesting season there.

Though the exact origin of the tradition is often a topic of debate, many agree that the genesis of Thanksgiving can be traced down to 17th century US, when early settlers in North America celebrated the first American Thanksgiving in 1621. In order to show their gratefulness towards a bountiful of crops, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians got together and shared an autumn harvest feast in Plymouth Plantations. In 1863, during the reign of Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed a national holiday and has since been so.

Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated by preparing sumptuous dinners, saying grace, raising toasts, reuniting with family and friends, and exchanging gifts as a token of love and appreciation. Meals prepared include ham, fruits, mashed sweet potatoes, corn cobs, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, chicken and eggs, duck, milk, cheese, and turkey with some filling as the centerpiece. Another popular Thanksgiving dish is Turducken, which is again a turkey dish stuffed with chicken and duck meat and glazed with honey, herbs, and seasonings.

Some of the gifts exchanged on Thanksgiving are readymade or handmade thanksgiving gift baskets and hampers filled with nuts, chocolates, cheese, crackers, jams, and other eatables. Another fun gift is the Thanksgiving box of questions with question cards that help exchange ideas, break the ice, start a meaningful conversation, and bond with family and friends. Cookie baskets and chocolate bar cakes also form a good gifting idea. Turkey placecard holders also make a good gift and let you personalize seating arrangement for your guests. Other notable Thanksgiving gifts include wreaths, bouquets, themed dinner sets, gourmet pies and cakes, decorative fruit baskets, centerpieces and dainty collectibles.



Jamie

Michele Cardello asked:


The season of thanks is upon us, and we want to capture those family memories in a way they will always be easily recalled, for life’s good times always slip quickly away, like sand sifting through an hour glass. One fine scrapbooking idea for Thanksgiving is to create a recipe memoir, which tells the history of your family’s thanksgiving in the form of recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. Here are some tips on how to organize your Thanksgiving recipe scrapbook memoir material.

Gather all the recipes you want to include in the memoir and any photos or ephemera you want associated with the presentation. Take your time with this phase of the operation, no matter how anxious you may be about completing your scrapbook ideas for Thanksgiving before the holiday. You will feel terrible if you omit one Thanksgiving scrapbook idea and then find it after you have completed the memoir / scrapbook.

As you gather recipes and photos for your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving, make some notes about each one. In fact, buy a special journal just for these notes and keep it for other scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving.

How does reading about the recipe make you feel? What special memories does it evoke? Are there any family tales or funny stories associated with the recipe? Is it hand-written or typed? Write down your thoughts as they cross your mind. Make a rough sketch of your pages so you will know what will go where and what supplies you will need to fulfill your Thanksgiving scrapbook ideas.

Decide on a format for your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. One effective scrapbooking idea for Thanksgiving is to organize the material as if it were a cookbook to be passed down to future generations. You are creating a family heirloom just as priceless as any other, and maybe even more so because of the specific effort involved. If you wish to use a cookbook format as your scrapbooking idea for Thanksgiving, consider dividing the book into different sections just like you would find in a real cookbook; one for appetizers, entrees, desserts, etc. Instead of an appendix, list the names of those whose recipes you have included.

Do not scrimp on materials for your scrapbooking idea for Thanksgiving. You want your memoir to last, and it won’t without purchasing fine quality materials. Don’t be afraid to try something different for your scrapbooking idea for Thanksgiving. What about chalking, paper piercing or punch art for your cookbook/scrapbook memoir?

If you decide to go with chalking as one of your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving, practice adding and blending colors on a separate sheet before applying chalk to a cutout to get a feel for blending techniques. Chalking is a very inexpensive scrapbooking idea for Thanksgiving and is a very effective way to adorn a page with color. Use a light touch for a soft look and a heavier application for more intense color. Opt for photo-safe decorating chalks, which contain concentrated pigment and are acid-free. Use them carefully and if they break, save the pieces because they still can be used for other scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving.

Paper piercing is another technique to consider for your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Using a template, a piercing tool and pad, you can create a unique presentation for your cookbook / memoir. Designs can be either flat or raised but the results are endless. Many themes and styles are available and piercing can add texture or be combined with stenciling or embossing for additional enhancement of your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving.

Punch art also offers a myriad of possibilities for your scrapbook ideas for Thanksgiving. You can use it to decorate the borders or headers of your cookbook memoir to accentuate its Thanksgiving theme. Set your own stage with the colors of the season; orange, burgundy, gold and brown. Punches are very versatile and they can be made into many shapes and sizes, only limited by the confines of your imagination. Some of the more common punches are standard geometric shapes, hearts, stars, spirals, leaves and bears. Like the words to that old song, when it comes to punches for scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving, anything goes.

So consider your cookbook / memoir scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving as something your family will treasure for many holiday seasons to come. Get inspired to make it a unique creation that will bring pride to any bookshelf in your home. Let your imagination run free and wild while remembering to have a happy, healthy and memorable Thanksgiving holiday.



Jared

Sean Carter asked:


Set in a season of beauty and bounty, Thanksgiving decorations witness the brilliant Fall shades of red, orange, brown, golden and amber. It would indeed be unwise to think that Thanksgiving decorations are limited to the theme of turkeys and Pilgrims and cornucopias.

While these are perfectly there and make wonderful decorations on Thanksgiving, you can touch up your Thanksgiving décor with the many beauties that Autumn offers. You can set up a bright and warm decoration with the Autumn leaves, flowers, pumpkins, harvest-colored table spreads or curtains, nuts, acorns, berries and more. Now here are some ideas for your Thanksgiving decorations which might initiate the creative genius in you:

Pumpkins halved, hollowed-out and filled with fruits would make a wonderful centerpiece and are sure to woo your folks’ most ardent attention on Thanksgiving.

You can have a Thanksgiving party with a theme, which helps plan a party better. For Thanksgiving the theme that you choose should be reflective of the spirit of the holiday or the season of Autumn. So the themes could be autumn harvest, fall leaves, fall colors or anything befitting the season that would all make your living room a vibrant potpourri of colors.

You can fringe the window sills or the doorway with miniature gourds and pumpkins. Orange, green and white pumpkins when arranged in a row make a good show of Thanksgiving decorations.

Then Thanksgiving wreaths are known to be very good decorations too. This looks festive when hung at the entrance and is warm enough to welcome your friends and folks heartily in. Create your wreath as creatively as you can. Use flowers, leaves, berries etc to make a bountiful Thanksgiving coronal.

Streamers made with alternating Fall leaves and flowers add a special touch to any Thanksgiving decoration if hung or placed artistically on table-tops or ceilings.

For the tapestry and upholstery, it’s always good to stick to the Autumn shades. And silk fabrics are better choices when it’s a Thanksgiving decoration in agenda. So choose burnt orange curtains with a silk finish, have an amber-colored table linen or spread out a yellow-ochre carpet to effuse the season’s brilliance.

Prepare wheat sheaves tied up with orange silk ribbons and place them at the corners of your room on Thanksgiving to give a rustic flavor to your Thanksgiving decorations.

A cornucopia placed on the mantle is a warm thought as always. But how about complementing the warmth with a bit of shine and sparkle ? Place a few long slender candles in a cluster near the cornucopia and watch how it enhances your Thanksgiving decorations. You can also strew a few nuts and acorns sporadically around the candles.

For the Thanksgiving table, prepare Thanksgiving-themed table-mats and napkins with handmade papers. Draw your own designs on them or just color them with the vibrant Fall shades.

A pillar candle spiraled with a golden ribbon and placed right at the middle of the Thanksgiving table would look just fine, isn’t it ? You can make this piece look more elegant by setting a bunch of cranberries or a few pinecones at its base. And with this wonderful Thanksgiving decoration, you can’t help feel warm and snug all over when the turkey sizzles in its radiance !

The decor of your Thanksgiving party should be such that your guests get a feel of the occasion. The brown, the rust, the golden of Autumn should all be part of your décor as nothing spells more beauty than these fall colors. You can use a cornucopia or a pumpkin-vase or a fake turkey as your centerpiece. You can use a table-spread with Autumn leaves motif and decorate your buffet table with clusters of scented candles, having a bunch of berries or some apples carelessly kept at its base.

Decorations and decorative ideas are galore when it comes to this beautiful holiday of Thanksgiving. Anything makes good Thanksgiving decorations if put up with a dash of creativity. Even dry Autumn leaves, twigs, sticks and branches look good indoors if the creative genius in you is at liberty. So let loose the best bit in you and sweep over your friends, folks and beloved with your Thanksgiving decorations !



Charlie

blonde_chick_fl_74 asked:


I am starting a children’s party planning service in Florida. I need a cute name that people will remember.

Trey

21 more days till Santa arrives! asked:


I plan on spending the day and night with my sister on Halloween. She is almost 30 and i am 17. I don’t have much money. So what desserts, foods, snacks, and drinks could we make for Halloween (Halloween related of course) that would be innexpensive? And what ingredients would i need?
Note to keep in my: I Have braces and i am not allowed to have anything sticky like caramel and very hard things

Adam

girlygirlprincessbritt asked:


Who can tell me a fun way to make Halloween treats?

I know google and ask and foodnetwork already, so don’t tell me those!

Who has a recipe that they can acually put on a notecard? Right now?

It would be a plus if you could shape them into cool hapes with cookie cutters! If you can shape them, where can you find them? How much money?

Liam

Mandy Chagger asked:


g your corporate Christmas party can be quite a task. You may well need a large venue, catering, and more in order to make this year’s Christmas party one to remember. If your staff is quite busy, this may be just one task too many. Fortunately, you can avail yourself of the services available from professional Christmas party organizers.

There are a variety of choices when you are considering hiring Christmas party organizers. Depending upon your needs, a venue booking service may be ideal, especially since many venues can handle food, drinks and decorations. Some venue booking services are even free to the user, making them an ideal choice to save your staff time in planning the holiday Christmas party. You can simply provide these Christmas party organisers with your needs and they will create a list of possible venues and the amenities available at each for you and assist you with booking the venue for the date you desire.

You may wish to narrow down your needs before consulting with Christmas party organisers. Where would you prefer to hold your corporate Christmas party? Know how many people will be attending the Christmas party, as well as the type of venue you would prefer. Are you planning a formal event or a more casual family-friendly one? Do you need a sit down meal or a buffet style meal, or even just appetizers? Will you be serving drinks? Once you have answered these questions, you will be much better prepared to speak with Christmas party organisers.

Venue booking services that include Christmas party organisers are well versed in helping companies of all sizes plan their holiday parties. They can help you find Christmas party venues in London or elsewhere that meet both your budget and your needs. Not only can skilled Christmas party organisers help you choose a Christmas party venue, but they can also help make travel arrangements or arrange lodging if appropriate. Given that Christmas party venue booking services can even be free of charge to you, you can save your staff valuable time and energy by using Christmas party organisers.

While venue booking services are often free, some companies choose to hire professional Christmas party organisers to design their corporate Christmas party. Unlike venue booking services, this can be quite costly. Moreover, you may find that some Christmas party venues offer these sorts of services in-house for a much lower cost. High end specialist Christmas party organisers may seem like an especially good idea if you are considering a themed Christmas party; however, do consider speaking with Christmas party venues as to their capabilities. You may be surprised at the services that they are able to provide on their own for a reasonable fee. Your venue booking service may well be able to help you select Christmas party venues perfect for whatever sort of work Christmas party you might be considering, including themed Christmas party plans.

What are the best Christmas party venues? The right Christmas party venues for your work Christmas party may depend upon the size of the party, the plans for the party and more. Many companies choose Christmas party hotels for their work Christmas parties. If the guests reserve rooms at the hotel, there is no need to arrange transport home after the party if anyone has been drinking and many hotels are very well equipped with regard to space and catering. If you are planning quite a large corporate event as your work Christmas party, a venue booking service can even assist with travel arrangements for staff or clients travelling a substantial distance. Hotels are also ideal Christmas party venues in London for this sort of corporate event.

Can you plan your own work Christmas parties? Certainly, however, you will find that choosing the right Christmas party venues takes a substantial amount of time, time that could be spent on work tasks. Moreover, someone will also have to coordinate food and drinks, d?r and more with the venue. If it is a major corporate event, travel arrangements may have to be made. You can save valuable time with a venue booking service or specialist in corporate travel to assist you in choosing the right Christmas party venues.

Whether your corporate Christmas party is to be a rather small, intimate dinner or a large corporate event, choosing the right Christmas party venues is critical. Often the venue you choose will impact the quality of not only the physical space, but also the food and drink at your work Christmas parties. Be sure your Christmas party is one to remember and not one to regret by using those smart habits that have gotten you where you are today and delegating the choice of Christmas party venues to an expert venue booking service skilled in handling all sorts of corporate events and corporate travel arrangements.



Caroline