Kids' New Year's Party Tablescape Challenge!

This last fall, just as I was opening my Shindig Parties TO GO shop on Etsy, I decided to join a FABULOUS team of designers in a NEW YEAR'S EVE Children's Party Table Challenge. It was EAST against WEST....... a great group of party planners and designers from all around the country playing a fun little game of "Who's party table is better?"

Living in the heart of the South, it felt a little odd to be called an EASTIE, but once I started receiving some of the photos of everyone's work, I was elated to be a EAST Coast girl. Kristy, from The Purple Pug, was our team leader, and somehow miraculously organized all of these women and all of their designs into these amazing tables. Kudos to our "Purple Leader" -- she did a FANTASTIC job!

I wish I could have had time to post these great photos before New Years, but I think they will provide inspiration for all kinds of parties, from kids' parties to adult parties.... just take a look.

Our theme was Black & White with Comics and Bling all over

It all starts with a great invitation.... it's so important to every party to give

your guests a little glimpse of the fun in store.

And we used these fabulous little glitter chandeliers -- did you see them for only $2.50 at Target last Halloween? They were selling out as soon as they got them out of the box and on the shelves. Kristy from The Purple Pug added a little of her glittery magic to the "drops".

And now for the food......

Let's start with the feature of any party table -- the cake. I'm loving this simple but chic cake bunting. This is such a great idea.... have your local bakery make a plain white cake and embellish it with all sorts of fun items to coordinate with you party. Bunting is so simple to make.... a couple of skewers or lollipop sticks, small ribbon, some cut triangular pieces of scrapbook paper or cardstock and wah-lahhh.

And how about this adorable marshmallow treat sticks from Stix-n-Pops - so cute!

And blinged cotton candy cones, too.

Just look at these adorable pop-tart cozies. I love all this creativity..... how you can turn the everyday into something really special with just a few simple touches.

Black and white snack boxes, yummy sprinkled doughnuts, and my favorite.....

shot glasses of milk rimmed with chocolate and nonpareils.

Adorable personalized place settings

Sparkling grape juice rimmed with Pop-rocks, paper comic rosettes

and sweet blinged comic tags on jars of jelly beans welcoming in the new year.

One of my contributions was the cute and blingy clock -- you can't have a New Year's party without a clock. I took an unfinished round wood piece from Hobby Lobby, covered it with glittery silver scrapbook paper and white cardstock, then added circles of the glittery silver paper for the 12, 3, 6, and 9 spaces on the clock. I used purchased clear gems (also from Hobby Lobby) and glued them on for the other number spaces, and I purchased the clock hands and inserted them in the center. Then I used some ornament picks (Hobby Lobby) and made the clock pendulum. It was easy and quick, too.

How fabulous is this menu card?

I love the twist on an elegant dinner party, yet it's for kids.

My 11 year old and her friends would just die to have a party like this.

Fun party hats with frilly comic paper toppers

And a table full of fun for the kids

And another my contributions, a lighted fabric garland. It was pretty simple, although a little time-consuming, to make. I used two strands of Christmas lights together and cut strips (approximately 3" x 19") of fabric in many patterns and tied them onto the lights.

Embellished noise-makers - as if the kids don't make enough noise on their own!

But aren't they perfect for a kids' New Year's party?

I thought Kristy's addition of the Light Bright was ingenious!

And you certainly need some activities to keep those little ones busy....

these coloring sheets and markers are great for all ages.

I was honored to be a small part of this AMAZING team -- it was great fun and money was raised for a good cause, too. If you'd like to see more photos, check out Courtney from Pizzazzerie's post here.

Designers:
Kristy, The Purple Pug {stylist, various projects, lucky leader of the East}

Stacy, Scrumptious Swirls {cookies}

Cari, Socially Circled {beaded napkins, pop tart cozies}

Lindi, Love the Day {Happy New Year sign, black blowouts}

Amanda, Shindig Parties TO GO {Fabric Lighted Garland, Bling Rosettes, Bling Clock}

Staci, Lizard & Ladybug {Glass etched favor jars, embellished favor tags}

Kim, Party Frosting {Silk Screened, Embellished Favor Bags & markers}

Melissa, Truly Chic Inspirations {Custom blinged and embellished party hats and DIY hat activity}

Danielle, A Few of My Favorite Things {tulle pom poms, comics rosettes}

Latoya, Eventruly Yours {star confetti favor bags}

Laura, Brilliant Bash {handmade, glittered ribbon flags}

Kristin, Hatter & Hare {Custom Invitations/ comics lined envelopes}

Elizabeth, StixnPops {Custom Marshmallow Stix}

Nicole, The Party Animal {Black and White Build a Dalmatian Kits}

Kori, Paper & Pigtails {Popcorn Snack Cups}

Jen, Blush Printables {designed printable kid’s dining menu, placecards}

Courtney, Pizzazzerie {embellished blinged out kid’s dining menu and placecards}

Khaliah, The Party Muse {Comics sewn on, blinged snack cones}

Melissa, Adventures in Heels {Sunday comics and glittered banner}

Heather, Chickabug {Custom designed comic strip coloring pages}

Leslie, Mom Planning Parties {comics and bling embellished noisemakers, handmade ribbon blowouts}

Claudia, Tini Posh {tutu}

Joie, Artistic Soul {photographs}

Linked to: Craftomanic, Skip to My Lou, Making the World Cuter, Blue Cricket Design, Tip Junkie, Life as Lori, My Delicious Ambiguity, House of Hepworths, Craft Edition, Today's Creative Blog,Crafts Keep Me Sane, Under the Table and Dreaming, Funky Junk Interiors, Tater Tots and Jello

Snowman Fun - Part 2

And now for the second installment of SNOWMEN FUN!! There are some super cute ideas in this post from all around the web -- I hope they inspire you all to take a break from the cold weather and have a little indoor snowman fun this winter.


Family Fun has an fun idea for your snowman party -- Snowman chair covers. They have a tutorial with a little sewing involved, but I think it would be a little easier to use a white pillow case and then glue some felt pieces and buttons or pom poms on.

Now who wouldn't love to dig into these sweet snowgirl and snowman milkshakes from Whisk? I still can't get over their adorable-ness! The perfect drink for you snowman table.

And I certainly can't leave out Bakerella and all of her creative culinary perfection! Snowmen cake pops with Oreo hats would fun on a dessert table or even wrapped up as a sweet little party favor.

Snowman shots from Babble look super easy. Make them before the party and set them on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Then all you have to do is pop them out to serve.

Here's a simple little craft that might make a fun party activity, a snowman ornament from Craft Passion.

Craftbits has a cute snowman ornament craft that could be a fun party activity and favor as well.

I just loved this picture, and then unfortunately didn't copy down the link. I have searched and searched but it's lost somewhere on that world wide web. If anyone can help find the source, please let me know, but isn't it the cutest??

And another yummy snowman treat -- this one from Food Create using ice cream, chocolate chips, a marshmallow, a chery and Twizzlers.

Snowmen Treat Bags from Crafts by Amanda would be a fun party activity, too. Have all of the pieces cut out and ready for the kids to glue onto an ordinary white paper bag. Then they can use it as a favor bag as well.

Adorable Snowmen Cupcakes from Meet the Dubiens make me want to go to my kitchen right now and start baking! How adorable!

You might have seen these snowmen cupcakes from All You with their sweet little ear muffs.

And Betty Crocker has a great snowman cupcake, too. I love how simple all of these ideas are using items you probably already have in your pantry.

And if you are in a hurry, these couldn't be more simple from iElixa.com .

Wouldn't your kids just love these cuties?? Snowman cupcake pops from My Little Cupcake with their precious hats and scarves would thrill my little ones!

These look pretty simple to make from Cupcakes Take the Cake.

And another cute marshmallow snowman treat from Keen Cakes this version uses a decorated sugar cookie as a base.

And I'll end with one of my favorites -- Mr. Melty cookies from Chic Cookie Kits just bring a smile. How ingenious!

I hope you all have a great day today -- get those presents bought and wrapped soon! It won't be long before Christmas!

Snowman Fun - Part 1

What says winter fun more than SNOWMEN? They're cute, cuddly, and simple to make, too. From desserts to ornaments to crafts and more, snowmen are everywhere on creative blogs and websites this year. With so many adorable and inspirational ideas out there, it's a great time to throw a Winter Wonderland party, a fun Brrrrr....thday party or to invite some neighbor kids over to have a few treats and make a snowman craft.

Using the Shindig Parties TO GO's Let It Snow printable collection makes it easy to turn your home into a winter wonderland quickly, too. The collection includes all the party items you'll need from cupcake toppers, to food label cards, signs and more. And don't forget about the Let It Snow Birthday version, the perfect party Snowman Invitation and the Snowman party banner, too.

Isn't it cute?? A little red, blue and green.... some stripes, some polka dots and of course, a whole lot of cutie-pie snowmen, and you've got a fun and festive gathering.



Wouldn't Shindig's Marshmallow Snowman Treats be fun to make for the party, too? They're really simple.... even the kids could do it.


And look at "Defrosty the Snowman" from Yum Sugar. It just makes me laugh - adorable! It's just melted white candy coating, some mini chocolate chips, a rolo and a candy corn. Sounds simple to me.



Wow! How creative -- a snowman smore from The Adventures of Mrs. Reagan. Perfect for a fun party activity, too.

How easy and cute are these snowman desserts from Better Homes and Gardens using a ...... get this..... Hostess Sno Ball! Yep, it's that easy. Roll a marshmallow into a ball and insert a toothpick for the head. Use some food markers to make a cute face and waa-lah..... adorable snowman dessert.

And look at these great ideas for snowmen centerpieces or even punch bowls. The first one is from Chris at Celebrations at Home. Chris uses mini fish bowls, some felt, googley eyes and adhesive gems to create this adorable little snowman centerpiece.

And how great is this snowman punch bowl from Better Homes and Gardens? Surrounded by mini marshmallows and filled with everyone's holiday favorite eggnog, this is a great example of how fabulous doesn't have to mean time consuming or expensive.

Marzipan powdered sugar snowmen from Good House Keeping are almost too cute to eat. If you don't want to use marzipan, I think you could re-create something similar using powdered doughnut holes like the next couple of cuties.

Very Heatherly has one cute version with lots of added powdered sugar for snow.

And Family Fun's even simpler version would be perfect for preschoolers.

Coconut-rolled ice cream desserts from Martha Stewart bring a whole new meaning to Cake and Ice Cream!

Snowman Pretzel Sticks from Family Fun would be a fun party treat, or wonderful to wrap in cellophane and give out as favors at the end of your winter party.

Snowmen Oreo Pops from This Chick Cooks would make a great party favor, too.

B Franklin Crafts has an adorable idea for gifts or party favors.... Snowmen head mason jars.

And another mason jar snowman favor bottle can be found at Weeping Cherries. These would be adorable to send home full of candy or other treats for your guests or maybe even a fun craft for the older kids at the party.

I hope these ideas inspire you to throw your own Winter Snowman party or maybe just to take an afternoon and make a fun treat with the kids. Stay tuned for even more cute snowmen ideas tomorrow!