Betty's Birthday at Merrick Inn with Rick--NO RECIPE--

In this video, Betty and her husband, Rick, celebrate Betty's 61st birthday at Merrick Inn in Lexington, Kentucky. Merrick Inn was originally part of a large horse farm, but it was turned into a restaurant about 30 years ago. It is a beautiful dining experience, and Rick and I always have a wonderful time there. For my birthday dinner, I ordered White Meat Fried Chicken, New Potato Casserole, Creamed Spinach, French Silk Pie, iced tea, and coffee. Rick had Fried Walleye Pike, Tomato Casserole, French Fries, Peanut Butter Pie, and a Diet Coke. Accompanying our meals were fluffy yeast rolls with butter. The food was great! Rick gave me a silver neck chain to use with one of my pendants, and I was happy to get that. As always, we had a wonderful time. At home, my family regaled me by singing "Happy Birthday" (Don't count on Carter to make a career of singing!) and presented me with gifts and birthday cake. I had a great birthday! This video is not very clear, and there is a lot of chatter in the background. I apologize for the quality of the video--but the lighting was not good for making a video. I appreciate your understanding. I will be making one of the items that Rick or I ordered during my birthday meal. I hope you will enjoy it! Betty :)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5b8rz67PEk&hl=en

Birthday affair tips & ideas

Of course, Birthday is the day, special for a child as well as for parent, too, and more exciting for parents if its baby's first birthday. Parents might be wonder how soon a baby boy or baby girl grew up, yester year in parent's arms and now going to be turning one.

Tips and Ideas For Baby's First Birthday

The first year of your little one calls for a celebration. It is your baby's first birthday, and you want it to be memorable and special not only for your child, but also for the entire family and friends. However, many new parents find planning a first birthday party a bit challenging. For that reason, this article will help you plan your baby's first birthday by just following some useful tips and ideas below.

When and what time? Mostly of children's birthday parties were held on the weekend, and the best time is in the afternoon since most guests are working during weekdays. Hosting it in the afternoon will avoid you from additional hassle of serving a full meal. Cake, ice cream and other finger foods are enough for this type of party. Just make sure to send out party invitations in advance so that important people, especially those who are living out of town can attend.

How to decorate the party? The first thing you will need to consider before buying decorations is the theme of the party. Choose one theme and collect decorations accordingly. To make sure that the party theme will work, you should practice creativity. However, that doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money for your decorations. Popular decorations during children's birthdays are streamers and balloons. You can also select paper and cardboard posters and other props at your local party shop.

The birthday cake. There is no way of forgetting the birthday cake. This is the party centerpiece, and kids really love it. Therefore, make sure to have a cake that reflects the theme of the party. Additionally, choose party plates, cups and napkins that are matching as well.

How to jazz up the party? Usually, children's parties would include professional or amateur entertainers, that can really make kids laugh and enjoy. Including magic shows and clowns is the best bet for this type of party. However, if you want it to be less expensive, you can have yourself or even friends and family members tell stories or perform some puppet shows. Your creativity and imagination can actually help you when it comes to this part.

How about party favors? Party favors are very important during children's parties. Giving out party favors lets kids go home happy and more importantly, it teaches children how important to say "thank you." Also, party favors commemorates the event, if chosen with care. Usually, party favors given during children's parties are favor bags filled with some goodies and little toys. However, if you really want to impress your guests, you can always purchase party favors according to your theme.

Where to buy children's birthday party supplies? Many parents today opt to shop online, as there are more wider selections of party supplies available online than at local party shops. Also, you can find so many best deals if you shop online, which is a practical shopping option for those who have tight budget. Available online are party supplies including personalized birthday and baby shower favors, baby gifts and gifts for siblings, baby gift baskets, party decorations, invitations, games and etc.

Elmo Birthday Party - The Best Party Supplies

Planning an Elmo themed birthday party for your preschooler? As one of Sesame Street's beloved characters, Elmo is a perfect theme for young toddlers and can help create a fun filled and memorable birthday party. To make your little one's birthday party extra special (and stress free for you!), here are the Elmo birthday party supplies you need!

Elmo Party Invitations - Whether you make your own or purchase premade ones from a party store, the invitations should be sent out two to three weeks prior to the date of the party.

Elmo Birthday Party Kits - It doesn't get much more stress free than an Elmo themed birthday kit. Birthday kits come in a variety of themes and sizes and typically include everything you need to throw a themed birthday party. Depending on the kit you get, this may include tableware, a table cover, party hats, party favors, and more. Elmo birthday party kits can be found at party stores that sell other Elmo birthday supplies.

Elmo Decorations - The color scheme for an Elmo birthday party should be the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow. Use plenty of streamers to line doorways, banners, and windows. Helium balloons attached to balloon weights can be used as a centerpiece or placed throughout the party room. As each guest arrives, transform each one into their furry red friend by giving them an Elmo party hat to wear.

Elmo Party Games - Determine which Elmo party games would be appropriate considering the age of your guests and the amount of space you have. Two to three games and one activity should be more than enough to keep the kids entertained throughout the duration of the party. Consider any game or activity that involves shapes or the alphabet, two of Elmo's favorite things. Have a station where the kids can color pictures of Elmo, play with red play dough, or play with their favorite shapes.

Elmo Themed Food - Since Elmo's favorite food is pizza, it seems only fitting that you should serve this at an Elmo birthday party. Or serve other kid favorites like hot dogs, hamburgers, or chicken nuggets. If you are not feeding the kids an entire meal, snacks like goldfish crackers, Jello jigglers, or chocolate chip cookies will keep them happy. Last but not least, don't forget the Elmo cake or serve vanilla cupcakes with red frosting adorned with mini Elmo figurines. Or create Elmo faces on the cupcakes using white candy wafers and black frosting for the eyes, an orange gumdrop for the nose, and a piece of black licorice whip for the mouth.

Elmo Party Favors - Giving guests party favors as they leave is a great way to show your appreciation and thank them for coming to your party. Goody bags filled with candy and small toys apt for toddlers are inexpensive and kids love them! Go to your local party store and see what Elmo themed items they have that could be put in a goody bag. You will likely find a wide array of Elmo stickers, noisemakers, candy, and other toys. Make sure anything you include is age appropriate.

A Couple Basic Ideas On 1st Birthday Party Supplies

It seems like yesterday that you brought your baby home and how the months have flown by. Now you are getting ready to celebrate her first birthday and if you are honest with yourself, this is more for you than your bouncing baby. In reality, babies don't remember their first birthday, but it is the most important one for parents. This is a day to remember and everything must be perfect, from the 1st birthday party supplies to the birthday cake.

You don't need a theme to have a great birthday, and at this age it is unlikely the baby has a particular favorite anyway. So in choosing how to plan the party, think of something that you like and go with that. The first place to start is with the invitations. Once everything is planned out and you have your guest list ready, get those invitations ready and sent out at least a month in advance.

You'll most likely want to go all out on decorations, so go ahead and don't hold yourself back. A Happy Birthday banner with your child's name will get you started. Plenty of balloons in bright colors, some streamers, and some party hats will bring the festive look to the party. Since this is for babies, stuffed animals, baby toys, and similar items will add to the decor and entertain your guests at the same time.

You'll want to have age appropriate snacks for the little ones as well as something for the adults. Go by the age of the children attending so you buy the right snacks for them, like fun shaped graham crackers, goldfish crackers, and even some dry cereal. For babies, make sure you have some teething biscuits out for them. For adults, decide if you'll be serving snacks or a mini-meal like sandwiches.

The cake is probably the most important part of the party. It is also the most fun part of the party. Use your own personal taste to decide on the shape and decorations but take into consideration how many adults and children will be there for the size. Babies are not going to eat much if any of the cake and small children about a half a piece. Some parents enjoy buying a small cake just for the birthday baby. Her own cake to blow out the candle and then smash into, making a joyful mess.

Games are always a fun part of a party. Taking into consideration the age of the children, it can be a bit difficult to know the right types. Bean bags are created for all ages, the younger ones can enjoy playing with them alone and the older children in playing a bean bag toss. A game of Leader of the Band is great for all ages; parents can hold their babies while everyone follows the leader around the room to music. To calm the kids down when they start to get a bit out of control, a birthday story time would be a good choice; this calms everyone down and brings some quiet time.

Party favors are the best way to end the day and make all the kids feel special. You can get a selection of small things for the child to pick out or acquire your own personalized choices. Bath toys, finger puppets, balls, stuffed animals, and picture books are all popular choices and ones that all kids love.

Planning a party can be a bit overwhelming at first but it can also be a lot of fun. Take into consideration how many guests you'll have, including the ages of the children attending, to help you decide which 1st birthday party supplies will be needed. Then just let your imagination run wild and create a day that you'll remember forever and don't forget to video it for future enjoyment.

Birthday Party Food Ideas

The standard hot dogs and hamburgers can be spiced up a bit by packing them with chips and a toy prize in a paper bag that you have pre-decorated. This homemade version of a Happy Meal is a big hit for all ages!

Anything fried is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit at the birthday party, but you can make things a little healthier by baking. For example, try baking potato wedges drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt and dried rosemary. This yummy version of a French fry can be served with ketchup and is sure to be eaten right up.

You can also make baked chicken nuggets. Just cut a couple of chicken breasts up, dredge in egg and then in crushed cornflakes. Lay on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper before baking 10 minutes or until cooked through at 350º. These can also be served with ketchup if you like and they are just as delicious as fried nuggets.

Fun shapes are always popular with kids, so try turning food into interesting forms with cookie cutters. A regular cheese sandwich becomes far more interesting when you cut it into animal shapes! Veggie slices can be cut to look appealing, too, if you feel you must add some real nutrition to the meal!

Eating outside makes everything taste better, so why not have a picnic with typical picnic food. Egg salad sandwiches, potato salad, fizzy juice, all these are super popular with kids and a nice alternative to the same old hot dogs as last year. You might also try shish kabobs made with fruit chunks or even tacos where the kids get to choose from an array of ingredients that you set out for them. Make-your-own burrito is another good choice that allows guests to avoid foods that they don't like.

Above all, remember that birthdays only happen once a year, so if the food is a little on the unhealthy side, don't worry too much about it. Just make sure it tastes good and you'll have eager guests asking for seconds.

How To Choose Promotional Items For Under 10 Years Old Birthday Parties

Children love their own birthday parties most memorable parties are those which give toys, return gifts, and provide a wholesome experience for the children. Nowadays children's' birthday parties have become a convenient occasion for some companies to get mileage. Kids under the age of ten are more mature and dictate their tastes to parents. But at the same time with parental guidance, they are able to make excellent choices. In an average under-ten age group party today it is quite easy to find a multitude of creative games, food, sports and entertainment and treasure hunts to keep children and adults occupied. So what can make a child's birthday party more memorable?

One can choose innovative promotional items which will eventually become a big success. Then the same can be replicated in other birthday parties also. With customized and personalized gifts all the children can feel happy. The latest craze is tattooing names and various symbols on hands and body. Safe, non-toxic in nature they can be removed later. Not all kids celebrate their birthdays at home, some do it in special venues, restaurants and theme parks. Children of a lesser god celebrate in orphanages and gardens. One can have a kids promotional meal package, lollipops with logo wrapping, treasure chests with company logo, cups and shields with a message, straw hats, coloring books, puzzles, crayons, bouncing balloons etc.

Most kids are aware of promotional and gifts, but unaware about advertising. But with parental guidance the company can target the parents towards their products. Kids can be careless and hence all items like toys, books, pencils, crayons and clay should be of non-toxic materials. In promotional items for children safety is paramount. Parents are ready to spend money on their children. Companies distributing free gifts to kids belonging to different age groups will have parents purchase other products of the company. This can prove to be a better way of marketing and promotion than direct marketing to parents.

Today companies are spending as much money on promoting products and items for children as they do for adults. Theme parties are fun and good times to promote products and new launches in a sociable happy atmosphere. Birthday parties are a wonderful occasion to see the direct reaction and response form a large cross-section of children and adults. A promotional campaign can be monitored via such an informal gathering before a public launch.

Backyardigans - Birthday Party Ideas

Looking for ideas for that extraordinary Backyardigans birthday party? Well look no further than these great and thrilling ideas to help you on your great adventure. As the Backyardigans movie is becoming more and more popular for birthday parties, there's also a growing variety of decorations to choose from. Using Backyardigans as your theme will not only get the kids singing and laughing automatically, but it will also make available a huge variety of colors to choose from when buying your decorations.

The very first thing you will need to get started while planning that delightful Backyardigans party is the invitations. You will want your invitations to be colorful, inviting, and exciting, to ensure that the guests will feel welcome and energized about attending the party.

Next will be tableware. Before starting this step, you will need to decide what and how much you are going to be serving. Will you be doing a full meal or just cake and ice-cream? You don't want to end up with plates and spoons if you are intending to serve soup for dinner. So be sure to write a list of what you are going to need for supplies. When choosing your tableware, these are a few of the essentials you may need for a typical birthday party; plates, napkins, cups, bowls and silver wear.

Your Backyardigans party decorations should be bright and cheery. Try using the colors bright blue, bright yellow, bright orange, bright purple and bright green. You may also add many other bright colors to enhance the light and appearance of the party. Decorations on the market today may include: Birthday banners, confetti, streamers, latex and foil balloons, curling ribbon, crepe streamers, cake, decor., stickers, and much more. Finding Backyardigans decorations can be a blast with the large selections out there today.

While the party is going on you may want to be playing Backyardigans music or playing one of the Backyardigans DVD's. This can help entertain the kids and at the same time give the party the joyful and happy feeling that accompanies the Backyardigans movies. This is also a good idea for backup entertainment while children are waiting to be picked up by their parents.

No party would be complete without party favors, and because using the theme "Backyardigans" has such a large selection of favors, your only problem is going to be trying to pick between the adorable selections. This may include party hats, mini magnetic frames, masks, blowouts, stickers, treat boxes, Backyardigans stuffed animals and more!

When using this as your theme, there are also different episodes to choose from. Deciding on the right episode will entirely depend on you or the child. Maybe your child has a favorite? So whether it's The Heart of The Jungle, Riding the Range, Castaways or Surf's Up, you will have a blast planning, preparing, and decorating for this exciting event.

Unforgettable 30th Birthday Gifts

Unless you're a child, let's face it, birthdays are never particularly welcome occasions. As they approach we feel a sense of dread at having to declare ourselves another year older, and once the day has passed, we have no choice but to get used to the fact that our youth is well on the way out.

The 30th birthday is no exception, in fact it's often considered the first in a line of scary milestones in life you'd rather not have to face. In truth it's really not so bad, if you can picture yourself at 40, looking back on it! In fact, 30 is actually an age to be rather proud of. You're still within the happy confines of youth, but hopefully, finally making your way in the world and having lots of fun along the way. It just goes to show, birthdays are just a state of mind. The important thing is that we celebrate these occasions in a big way, so that they're not the big milestones we'd rather forget, but days we'd very much like to remember.

There are lots of ways to make a 30th birthday unforgettable. It's a unique occasion, so encourage your 30 year old friend to celebrate in style. Whether they choose to have a huge party, a wild weekend away, or just a quiet meal with family and friends, you can make it special for them with 30th birthday gifts they'll love to receive.

30th birthday keepsakes to treasure

It's when those special birthdays come around that we need a gift that stands out from the rest. If your friend has a small child in their life, whether it be their own son or daughter, a Godchild or a niece or nephew that they adore, you can now have the child's fingerprint pressed into silver and made into precious jewellery. The fingerprint heart or flower pendant or cufflinks for a man, make beautiful 30th birthday gifts to keep for ever. Perhaps your 30 year old is planning an exciting future when they plan to venture forth and travel the world? A few exotic holidays are sure to be on the cards for anyone wanting to make the most of life, so why not give them something for the journey. The beautiful 'Travel notes' book is the perfect travel companion. It's just perfect for keeping mementos in the form of notes, photos and details of all the best hotels they've found along the way.

Memorable Days

Experience days make great 30th birthday gifts for anyone who is willing to try something new and exciting, and nowadays there's so much choice that deciding on the best experience is all the more exciting. Who could resist 30th birthday gifts that inspire and challenge, as well as introducing new hobbies for the future? Hobbies such as karting, horse riding and photography can all be bought and given as 30th birthday gifts. Tomorrow is only going to be another ordinary day, so why not make today an extraordinary occasion, especially as it's someone's birthday.

And who could think of a more memorable way to spend the day than by experiencing the thrill of driving a Lamborghini, or racing a Harley Davidson down the open road. Of course, the experience day you choose could also be simply a once-in-a-lifetime experience to commemorate their milestone. If they love the glamorous lifestyle, look no further than the London Hotel and Theatre break for two, for an occasion that really will be unforgettable.

Games they can play again and again

Do you remember when we didn't have to go out and spend a fortune to feel a sense of satisfaction? When we used to make our own entertainment and use our time to nurture the things that matter? They say that staying in is the new going out, so what could be better as 30th birthday gifts than games and trivia that provide fun for many occasions to come. If your birthday friend likes to entertain, they'll love the 'Dinner on the MS Titanic dinner party' game, an inspiring idea for a Titanic themed meal at the Captain's table with lots of Titanic trivia and even music from the era thrown in.

Alternatively, everyone loves a good murder mystery, and the 'Death by Chocolate' and the 'Champagne Murders' Murder mystery games have all the ingredients for a lively evening of intrigue. If they like their beer and wine, the 'SudoDrinku' game is sure to go down well, but the 'Ultimate Movie quiz' is also something that's sure to get everyone talking. With 30th birthday gifts like these, your only problem will be choosing which game will be best for playing at the birthday party!

Having Your Baby's First Birthday Party

Congratulations! Your baby is almost one year old, and it's time to have a 1st birthday party. If this is your first baby, you might like some good first birthday ideas. And even if this is not your first child, you may still appreciate some good first birthday party ideas for making it a warm and loving family occasion.

Who is the First Birthday Party For?

One of the most important things to remember is who this birthday party is really for. At the ripe old age of one, your little one is hardly likely to remember anything about it, except for the birthday cards and pictures that will remain in the scrapbook or photo album afterwards. A one-year-old baby will also not appreciate all the pretty birthday decorations in the same way that you do. When you dress your little girl in her gorgeous, pink "birthday princess" outfit, bear in mind that she will probably make it absolutely filthy in seconds with bits of chocolate, ice cream, and all the other available goodies.

Therefore, renting a hall, a live band, and an elaborate catered meal would not exactly be appropriate here. You might enjoy all the pomp and circumstance, but it is hardly worth it if the hero of the occasion can't stand it and screams all the way through. If you invite dozens of workmates whom your baby has never seen before, your little one is likely to find the whole experience far too overwhelming and the party will end in tears.

The first rule, therefore, when making your baby's birthday party is to think what would make the birthday girl or boy happy. At the age of one, most babies are still leery of strangers. They also find loud noises overwhelming. Some babies at this age are still afraid of balloons, so you should try to save those until next year.

For all of these reasons, you should keep all birthday themes fairly low-key. Don't be seduced by all the colourful advertisements and promises presented by the " birthday supplies" industry. Your baby would most likely be happiest with a small party, soon after naptime, with a group of their closest friends.

Therefore, keep the birthday invitation list fairly small. If your little one already goes to playgroup, for example, or you know a group of other young mothers and their babies from your visits to the park, these would be the best people to invite, along with your close nieces and nephews, Grandma and Grandpa. These are all the people that your baby is familiar with, and their presence is guaranteed to make your little one feel happy and loved.

Your baby really doesn't want loads of loud birthday decorations and scary noises. By all means use colour-coordinated plates and serviettes if that makes you happy, but provide healthy finger foods and dips that babies and adults alike would enjoy eating rather than foods that your baby has either never eaten before or would not be any good for them. Banish anything like peanuts that could get stuck in small throats or cause allergies.

Dress the baby in something gorgeous for the photographs at the beginning, but make sure that it's washable and don't stress when it gets absolutely filthy!

Also remember that babies of this age tend to play next to each other, rather than together. So lay out plenty of safe toys for all the little ones to play with together on a mat. Games should be age appropriate.

Also make sure that the room is baby-proofed, with all breakables and potentially dangerous items well out of the way.

The party doesn't need to go on longer than about an hour and a half. After that, if you want, you can put your birthday boy or girl down to rest and the adult guests can have some social time together once the focus is no longer on the birthday.

Most important of all, don't stress. A 1st birthday is not a wedding. It doesn't require anything elaborate. What really counts is a happy baby and some gorgeous photos in the family album!

Toddler Birthday Party Tips - Fun Without Tearing Your Hair Out

This article has some tips to make any toddler birthday party as easy as possible to organise. Everything here is tried-and-tested advice that really works.

General Tips

Make it as easy or as hard as you want to. Never feel pressurised into some over-the-top party if you don't feel like it. It is easy to impress a toddler, and you are the one who creates the expectations that they will have about it.

1st birthday party celebrations don't mean a thing to the child - so make it your celebration of the first amazing year  with your little one. Don't feel obliged to have a party at all - a trip to the zoo might be more fun

2nd birthday parties are not likely to mean much to the child either - you can definitely still dispense with the party altogether. Remember that tantrums and so forth are at a peak at this age. If you do invite other children, go for less rather than more. 2-year-olds are quite happy without any organised games.>

By their 3rd birthday, toddlers have more idea what is going on and will probably have been to a couple of parties. Some organised games are  appropriate, but make sure that the kids have free play time as well - a 3-year-old cannot cope with 2 hours of games.

Hiring a village hall or community center is a cheap solution to possible behavior (and mess) problems. Boisterous toddlers behave far better in a more  spacious venue, far away from your furniture and carpets!

Party Games

Party Games should be non-competitive - children this young cannot cope with them. You can still play musical statues and other similar games, but alter them so the children are never out. Instead, everyone has a go each time for the fun of it.

Spread games out. A good idea is to have free play for a while at the start, then one or two group games, then free play, followed by  a couple more activities. This is easier for both you and the children to cope with.

Get the guests to bring things to play with. If you have the space, ask people to bring ride-on toys. They are a great way to use up all that  excited energy, and there will be less arguments over who goes on what.

Party Food

Simple finger food is the order of the day - forget jelly and ice cream. Sandwiches, pizza, crackers, breadsticks and cupcakes are easy to prepare and popular. It's worth asking on the invites whether any of the children have vegetarian or other special restrictions. Small portions are all that your highly exciteable party animals will require!

Prepare and put onto individual plates each toddler's party meal before the party. This is one of the most important toddler birthday party tips.  -  you will have more than enough to do leading the games. In fact, delegate the food preparation to someone else! Don't serve too much either.

Happy Birthday Happy Meal!

The McDonald's meals have been entertaining kids for 30 years. For more on this story go to abcnews.go.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL0JntVACWU&hl=en

5 Steps to Planning a Fabulous First Birthday Party

Follow these 5 simple steps to throw a fabulous 1st birthday party for your child.

1. Timing:

Most parents like to schedule their kid's first birthday party around their child's nap and meal time. A two hour event is usually long enough to do all that's needed for a first birthday party in this case. Increasingly though, I have seen more and more families throwing a much larger bash for a first birthday party. These are usually prolonged parties, serving meals, hiring entertainment and even renting party halls to hold the party. This a great way to share quality happy moments with your friends and family. Do not expect your baby to go through all of the activities. For an enjoyable time, try not to break your child's routine of food, change and sleep. You may be extra busy, but your baby should come first. That should cut down on the level of stress to you and to your child. Designate a family member early on to help with this task. If your child is very attached to you, you should delegate some of the party tasks to friends and family. Your baby will look at you for comfort in this changed environment. It's important that you stay calm, as your baby will sense any signs of stress in you and start to get fussy.

2. Party theme:

A party theme will help you organize your event more efficiently. A common Theme makes shopping for your event much easier, plus it adds a sense of harmony to your general party atmosphere.

3. Plan activities for the kids. Fun party games related to your theme. Hiring a professional kids' entertainer will pay great dividends.

4. Simple foods for the kids, like pizza and finger foods are usually more than enough. For adults, variety is the spice of life.

5. A slide show of your baby's photos or video clips set to music is a great way to share the child's first year of life with your guests. If that proves to be difficult, then a simple collage of printed pictures gluded onto a color poster board will do the trick. Hang the poster above where the cake cutting will take place. This a great way to share your baby's development with your guests.

Throwing the Best Little Girl's Birthday Party

To a little girl, birthdays are a big deal. In fact, when I asked an 8-year-old friend of mine what her favorite holiday was, she replied, "My birthday." Making a young girl's birthday memorable is an important and fun responsibility for parents. The best part of throwing a party for girls under the age of twelve is that you can be creative without breaking the bank. There are all sorts of ways to cut costs when it comes to planning your little darling's birthday party. One of the best ways to throw a memorable and exciting party is to use a popular party theme the majority of little girls will get giddy about-one example is a "Pretty as a Princess Party."

The first thing that needs to be taken into account before throwing a "Pretty as a Princess Party" is the location. One of the best ways to keep costs low is to host the party in your home. However, renting a room at party place is always a great option too. When making invitations for this party, a clever idea is to create the invitations on the computer and print them in a fancy, calligraphy font. The wording could say something along these lines: "Dear Princess, The honor of your presence is requested at a special party to celebrate the birthday of your dear princess friend. Please come dressed in your finest princess apparel and be prepared to have a magical time and feel glamorous!" After the invitations are printed, roll the invitations from the outsides towards the middle. This will make the invitation resemble an old-fashioned, scroll-looking proclamation. Tie the scroll with a pretty ribbon and hand-deliver the invitations to each of your daughter's friends.

When it comes to the actual party planning, there are several activity ideas you could incorporate to have hours of fun-filled partying. If you have a friend, babysitter or daughter in her teenage years, ask her if she would be willing to spend an hour doing nails or hair for the young princesses. It is a known fact that little girls idolize teenage girls, so a smart idea would be to get a teenager you respect and would like to see your daughter emulate. It would be a kind gesture to offer the teenager payment for her time; $10 would be sufficient. Asking for permission from the other parents to paint their daughter's nails, style their hair or perhaps even do a little makeup is recommended, because some mothers may prefer their daughter not be "made-over." These teenage girls could even teach the little girls a lesson about how to fix their own hair or give themselves a manicure.

Another fun party idea is to split all the party attendees into groups of three or four and allow them to make homemade wedding gowns! Let the girls use toilet paper to wrap one member of each group and turn her into a TP bride. Girls can express their creativity by adding a bouquet or veil and tuck the toilet paper into the selected bride's hair clips, clothing or accessories. A glamorous party favor idea for each of the guests is to fill a gift baggie with a fake princess tiara, Mardi-Gras beads and a package of princess fruit snacks.

Your little princess deserves nothing but the best when it comes to the party for the most important holiday of the year-her birthday! Remember, the day may come when the little princess may want to have a party outside the walls of your home with her teenage friends, but for now, just celebrate that you can host a party and have happy, darling little girls celebrating your daughter and partying in a wholesome, delightful, princess way.

Fire Engine Birthday Party with a Bright Red Theme

Parents of young children can certainly find that the little ones develop obsessions about their favorite topics like the Fire Engine and absolutely love anything related to them. As a result many birthday parties are held each year with themes related to these favored topics, including the Fire Engine party and fireman party. Of course this makes the kids happy and the parents are happy because their little one is happy.

The color of choice for the fire engine party is red, bright red. Buy and blow up balloons, hang red streamers from the stairwells and along the walls, and look for appropriately themed paper supplies for the event. Most party supplies are themed for American Heroes and Fireman themes and this works well with the Fire Engine theme and most successful parties are a mix of a couple of different themes anyway. To emphasize the fire engine theme though you can make or order a cake made in the shape of a fire engine. Even a square cake with red frosting and the simple outline of a fire engine in black frosting will work.

For some fun and memorable party favors make up goodie bags filled with related items. Dalmatians are often associated with fire houses and fire engines so try looking for temporary tattoos and stickers of these furry critters. You may be able to find Dalmatian toys and stuffed animals to give as gifts and dance prizes. Toy fire engines also make a great addition to the party. You can purchase several of them and leave them in strategic places around the party area, like on the buffet table and in the corner of the room. They add to the look and the kids can play with them too. Noise makers can be another great favor to place in the goodie bags since fire engines are known to make lots of noise.