Out of the Box Easter Baskets

Every Spring, local department stores and supermarkets are overrun with bunnies, chicks, pastel candies, and eggs in preparation for Easter. While most of the gift items available are meant for kids, Easter baskets don't have to be exclusively children's gifts. Adult Easter baskets are just as easy to put together as those for kids, and are equally appreciated. You just have to think outside of the box...and beyond your grocery store's Easter aisle. Here are some easy Easter basket ideas for the grown ups, or grown-up kids, in your life.

• For the Coffee Lover: We all have that friend who can't function without a cup-a-joe in the morning. Making an Easter basket for this friend is snap. Begin filling a medium sized basket with large bags of flavored or imported coffees. World Market has a wonderful selection of these in their stores. Usually two will fit nicely inside a medium basket. Pick a mug that fits your friend, and nestle it between the two bags. Had some height with pre-packaged biscotti arranged inside the mug. Add a gift card to a local coffee house and a bag of chocolate covered coffee beans to complete the gift. This basket can be easily converted to a "Tea Lover's" gift by exchanging the bags of coffee for imported teas, and the chocolate coffee beans for chocolate covered shortbread.


• For the Spring Gardener: If you have a friend with a green thumb, use a widemouthed watering can instead of a basket for your Easter gift. Pop in Spring colored gardening gloves. Add seeds for herbs, flowers, and hearty veggies that grow well in your area. Be sure to do a little research on what grows well in your climate; nothing will ruin this gift faster than seeds that won't grow. Include a small gardening book of hints and tips, and some sunblock for those long gardening afternoons to finish the gift.


• For the Friend On-the-Go: We all have that friend that never stops moving. The best gift for this friend is relaxation. Start your medium size Easter basket with bath salts and bubble bath, possibly aromatherapy. I recommend things with lavender or mint in them. Add a candle or two, and a small box of matches. Dress up the matches by covering the box with festive contact paper or a pastel bow. Top off the basket with a bath pillow or eye mask, and you're set!
  
  
• For a Afternoon Outing: As Spring has officially sprung, why not give a gift to get your friend outside and enjoying the gorgeous weather? This basket can't be prepared too far in advance, but will be a big hit. Go to your local specialty foods store the morning before you plan to give your basket. Purchase a loaf of nice bread, and have it sliced by the baker. Choose an assortments of spreads that don't need to be refrigerated. Place these in your basket, along with a bottle of wine. Add an assortment of seasonal fruits or a pre-made fruit salad to complete the meal. Finish the basket with a few napkins and prepackaged silverware hid in the bottom, and send your friend out on a lovely afternoon picnic.

For all your baskets, use shredded colored paper for filler instead of store-bought plastic Easter grass. It's pet safe, can be easily recycled, and will save you money that can be used to add an extra surprise to your gift. To wrap your basket, use cello basket bags (found in the stationary section of most stores) or tulle and close with a festive bow.

Keep in mind, these Easter basket ideas can be used for really any holiday or gift giving occasion. Just change the way you wrap it up, and you have a whole new gift for Christmas, birthdays, housewarmings...anything really!

On the Hunt for A New Party Idea

Recently, I have encountered a surprising number of people looking for fun and different birthday party ideas for pre-teens. Pre-teens are a particularly hard group to throw organized parties for. They're too old for the parties themed around movies and television shows, but too young for less organized get-togethers. Keeping this age group entertained and giving them a birthday party they'll love is a challenge, but not impossible. Scavenger Hunts have become really popular recently, especially at malls. They're super easy to arrange and kids love them!

This party takes a little bit of advance preparation. Decide on the mall that you'd like to hold the Scavenger Hunt in. Visit that mall a few days before the party date to get a "lay of the land", so to speak. Go into the stores that you'd like to have listed on the Hunt. Get an idea of what products are currently available for purchase. You're looking for small, low cost items that the kids participating will have to really look around for. Make a list of these items, noting what's around the item and some of it's noticeable characteristics. Gauge the number of items on your Hunt, as well as the stores you find them in, by the number and age of the kids participating. Also, take note of how much each item costs. Take your list home and create riddles and turn-a-phrases about each item to make your Scavenger Hunt Riddles List.

On the day of the party, have all the kids meet at the food court of the mall. Arrange in advance for a few parents to stay with the group to help you out. When all the kids have arrived, have them get into teams and hand out copies of your Riddles List. Assign a parent to each team and give the parents enough money to cover purchasing items on your list.

Now, I know that this might seem like a turn off, suggesting purchaseing the items on your Riddles List. Some people have tried photographing the items on their lists, but this is a bad idea. Companies have copyrights on the label designs for all their products. Photographing these items is a violation of those copyrights, and infuriates store employees. You want this it be a fun experience for the kids, not one that causes them to get into trouble or yelled at. To ensure the kids have the best experience possible, choose items with small price tags and instruct the teams to purchase the items that answer the riddles on their lists.

Once the kids are in teams with their riddles, and their parent leader is equipped with the team's money, you're ready to start. Send the teams off in different directions, with instructions that the first team back to the starting location wins the Hunt. When the Hunt is over, allow the teams to split up their purchases to keep as party favors. End the party with lunch at a local restaurant or ice cream at the mall's food court. The kids will have a blast, with very little stress for you!

Party Foul: Don't Let the Whistle Be Blown on Your Next Get Together

We've all been to a party where red wine ruined the hostess' new cream carpeting, or brought veggies to a potluck just to realize they're ice cold by the time you serve them. Don't worry, these "party fouls" happen to all of us once in a while. But they don't have to keep happening.

For Christmas I was given a book called Heloise Hints for All Occasions, copyright 1995 by The Hearst Corporation. This book is amazing! It has tips and hints for everything you could think of when planning for a special occasion. From pre-party planning, to cooking for a crowd, to special gift ideas - it's got it all! Pick this book up on Amazon or at a local used book store; it'll be a life safer at your next party and save you from those embarrassing party fouls.

To give you a taste of the ideas in this book, I've included a few hints that will help with some common party fouls:

• A glass of red wine was spilt on my new tablecloth. How can I save it?
  Heloise says "pour salt on the stain to absorb the liquid...remove the tablecloth, let it soak in cold water" then "rinse and wash as usual" (p. 99).
  I've also seen this work on carpet, too. Red wine was spilled on an expensive rug at a party I attended. The hostess covered the spot with salt, and let it sit. When she cleaned up the salt, it had absorbed most of the stain and she simply cleaned up the rest with soap and water.
  
  
• My apple pie recipe calls for cups but they're only sold in pounds.
  According to Heloise, for "apples: 1 pound equals about 3 medium or 3 cups sliced" (p.17). This isn't the only measurement hint in Heloise's book. She covers everything from fruit to coffee to flour.
  
  
• My daughter's birthday party is today, and I forgot to buy gift wrap!
  Heloise suggests that you "save the shiny helium balloons you receive for birthdays...and then use them for gift wrap after they deflate. Carefully slit the edge of the balloon to make an opening large enough to insert the gift, then realign the open edges and tape them shut with transparent tape" (p. 125).
  
  
• It's my turn to bring veggies to our family potluck, but they never seem to stay hot.
  When transporting hot vegetables, Heloise suggests you "put the hot vegetables into a wide-mouth half-gallon thermos" (p.65).

I have fallen in love with the handy tips in this book. I recommend it to anyone planning a party, be it a small dinner gathering or an anniversary party for 200 guests. You'll find everything you need to know to keep the whistle from being blown on your next get together.


Image found at www.heloise.com/booksocc.html.

"Budget" Isn't a Four Letter Word

Let's face it - nobody likes to talk about money. It seems like no matter who you are, there's never enough to do everything you want when you want to do it. This is especially true when planning a wedding.

But, money is a fact of life and talking about it is necessary...especially when planning a wedding. Knowing your limits up front will save you hundreds of headaches down the road. Avoiding the topic will undoubtedly end in disaster.

So, here are a few tips to ease the financial stress surrounding your wedding planning:

1. Honesty is the best policy: It sounds like a cliche, but it's true. Be honest with yourself when making your initial budget. Don't allot $2700 to your dress budget when you know that you can realistically afford $700. Also, be honest with your wedding planner. Part of her job is to help you achieve your wedding dreams while remaining in your budget. There's really no reason not be honest with her; it'll work out in your favor in the end.
   
   
2. Hire a planner: If you're working on a tight budget, hiring a planner may seem frivolous and unnecessary. Actually, a wedding planner is exactly what you need. Planners have been in the business long enough to have made many, many contacts in the area and will be able to negotiate better deals than an individual can. This is because they work in volume; wedding vendors are more likely to strike a bargain with someone who can bring them a dozen weddings over someone who can only bring them one. Wedding planners offer a variety of packages to fit every budget and need, ranging from simply allowing brides access to their preferred vendor list to partnering with a bride to plan a wedding from start to finish. For more information on the benefits of hiring a wedding planner, check out this article from WedAlert.com.
   
   
3. Budgets are guidelines, not law: The purpose of budget is to get all your expenses down on paper so you can see and prioritize them. This does not mean that you can't change your mind, or that surprise expense won't come up that force a change. To get an idea of what you'll be spending your wedding budget on, fill in this worksheet from Real Simple Weddings Magazine. It includes a lot of details that people often forget to allot money to (like postage for mailing your save-the-date cards and invitations) that lead to big surprises along the way.
   
   
4. It's not about giving up, it's about spending smart: Oftentimes people assume that working within a budget automatically means that you're going to have to do without something. That's not true! You just have to spend smarter. Instead of buying your favors, make them. Have a friend bake and decorate your wedding cake, rather than hiring a bakery. Use a student from a local art school as your photographer instead of hiring a professional. Your wedding planner can help here too. She knows endless ways to give you the wedding of your dreams while spending smart.

I hope these few tips will help you as you start to budget for your wedding. Remember, budget isn't a four letter word. Talking about your budget, and talking about it often, will lead to the wedding you want...without putting you in the poor house.

Elegant Weddings Gala

I went to Cary Magazine's Elegant Weddings Gala on Thursday, March 4th, and I have to say it was really a treat. The atmosphere was wonderful and relaxed. The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, where it was held, was beautiful and the hotel's staff were incredibly helpful and polite. I loved this bridal vendor event because the event's atmosphere made me feel like me and the brides I represent were the most important people at the event, as though the wedding I am currently working on was the only one that truly mattered. For all you brides-to-be out there, I really recommend going to this event next year. You'll be very pleased!

Mad About The Hatter

With the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film hitting theaters on Friday, I can't help but get in the spirit. (To be honest, getting into the spirit isn't hard because I can't wait to see it!) Anyway, what better way to get in the spirit than to throw a party?

Here are a few ideas for a Mad Hatter Tea Party, based on a fundraiser I ran to raise money for a college scholarship fund. This committee-run event originally catered to 200 people, but the ideas can easily be used for an event of any size.

The best thing about a "Mad Hatter Tea Party" theme is that nothing has to match. It is a mad tea party after all! This is awesome because it's a money saver and makes preparing for the event so much fun. Because you don't have to be concerned with matching patterns, you can pick up your paper products and table coverings just about anywhere. Get them on sale when you can. We chose to use spotted tablecloths over top solid cloths. For paper products, we went shopping and grabbed just about everything we could find. Purple cups; yellow and pink plates; blue forks; green napkins - lots of mixing and very little matching. Now, I realize that this might sound like a big visual mess, but the hodge-podge actually made it more interesting. And we saved a ton because we bought in bulk and were able to pick things up anywhere, regardless of color or pattern.

For centerpieces, we made tea cups from old cardboard boxes that we painted in all the colors of the rainbow and accented with playing cards. If you don't have time to create your centerpieces by hand, over sized teacups can easily be purchased, most likely at a local garden center. We added color to the walls of our space by stringing up multicolored lights that we borrowed from our holiday decorations, along with garlands we made out of playing cards. These were incredibly inexpensive to make as we purchased the playing cards in bulk from the online distributor, Oriental Trading. For other decorations, we simply used poker themed items, as the Queen of Hearts is such an iconic figure from Alice in Wonderland. Bonus to this is that poker themed items are easy to find just about anywhere.

Food for a party like this is super easy. You could serve traditional tea party foods like cucumber sandwiches, scones, and shortbread. Or you could go "mad" and serve your favorite foods be they tacos and popcorn, or pizza and mac and cheese. The beauty of this party theme is that you can do whatever you want, and that goes for the food too. But, the Mad Hatter Tea Party is also an Un-Birthday Party, so don't forget the Un-Birthday cake.

Get everyone into the spirit by asking your guests to dress up as their favorite Alice in Wonderland character. Or offer them crazy hats or crowns when they arrive. We gave our staff multi-colored paper accordion hats, similar to the one worn by the Cat in the Hat. People loved them!

As party favors, we filled inexpensive mugs with a variety of individually wrapped tea bags. We bought our mugs in bulk because we needed so many, but you could easily go to local thrift stores and pick up teacups and saucers. Just like everything else with this theme, they don't have to match. Get creative! Decks of playing cards would also make great party favors.

Have fun with your own zany Mad Hatter Tea party. Throw this quick to plan, inexpensive party, then go have a blast watching Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland with your friends.