5 Things to Consider When Planning a Costume Theme Party

When planning a costume theme party there are a few things that you should try and consider

• · Is your costume theme realistic?

Choosing a costume theme that is obscure may cause your guest headaches if you are planning on getting them to dress in theme. If you chose something that is too hard for guest to find costumes chances are that you will have a lot of guests not bother.

• · Is your party in a really public place?

If you have planned party at your local bar then chances are many of your guests may feel embarrassed about wearing a costume. Keep this in mind when planning your party. If you have a more private location then your guests are more likely to go crazy with the costumes.

• · Is there enough costume variety in your theme?

Part of the fun is seeing people turn up in different costumes so it is a good idea to chose a theme that offer a bit of variety. After all it won’t be as much fun if everyone turns up in the same thing.

• · Will your friends and family participate

Some people just do not like costume parties. Assess your circle and decide if they will participate. If you think they might hesitate with the costumes try offering a prize for the best dressed. Otherwise if you think your guest will be party poopers try a masquerade/mask party. That way they only have to wear a mask but it is still fun.

• · Do you really need a costume theme?

Sometime with costume parties it is fun just to let people dream up any costume they want. The results can be very fun.

The main thing with costume theme parties is to make sure you make it easy and fun for your guests. As a guest at a costume theme party always try and make an effort with your costume after all the party is all about the host and the costumes will make them happy.

New Year’s Eve Party Ideas – Champagne Drinks

A good New Year’s Eve party idea is to choose champagne drinks for the perfect New Year’s party toast at midnight.

Champagne or sparkling wine if you are on a budget is the perfect celebration drink and can work

out much more economical than using spirits especially if you find a nice sparkling wine that will cost much less than many of the French champagne varieties.

While serving French champagne is very classy not everyone can afford such luxury so to jazz up your sparkling wine try some of these varieties that will impress all your guests and make them feel like a million dollars.

The traditional champagne cocktail is with sugar cubes, bitters and brandy and that is always a winner.

Sparkling goes really well with passionfruit flavours so try serving your champagne or sparkling with some passionfruit soda, sorbet or even fresh passionfruit. You just need to add some of the passionfruit to your sparkling and your cocktail is complete.

Peaches work as well and really complement the flavour. You can use fresh peaches, sorbet, flavoured soda or peach liquor.

Or you could try adding mint leaves, mango's and peaches to pink champagne or sparkling for a truly special champagne drink.

Remember if you use additional flavours like the peaches your guests will never know that you did not use an expensive champagne so don't let on.

Make sure you have one of these champagne drinks read to toast at midnight at your New Year’s Eve Party.

New Year’s Eve Parties - New Year’s Appetizers

An essential part of all New Year’s Eve Parties is the New Year’s appetizers. Whether you are having a formal dinner or a casual backyard do these New Year’s appetizers are sure to please.

This is a simple but really impressive New Year’s appetizer and the best part no cooking!

Antipasto Sticks

What you need:

• Bocconcini Cheese
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Kalamata Olives
• Dried chilli
• Oil

What to do:

• Mix olive oil and dried chilli. Marinate all the ingredients in the mix. Add to skewers

Simple and delicious

Everyone loves a cob loaf and this one is an all time favourite New Year’s appetizer.

What you need:

• Large cob loaf
• 250g sour cream
• 250g cream cheese
• 4 bacon rashers
• 1 brown onion
• 1 french onion soup mix

What to do:

• Cut out a hole in the top of the cob loaf and scoop the inside out and tear in to pieces.

• Warm the oven on a low heat and place the cob shell and the bread on an oven tray. Set aside until the mixture is ready.

• Cut bacon and onion into small pieces and cook on a low heat
• Add the sour cream and cream cheese gradually to the onion and bacon. Stir.
• Add the French onion mix gradually to the saucepan and cook until mixed through.
• You may not need to add the whole mix depending on how strong you would like the flavour.
• Scoop mixture into the cob shell and place the tray in the oven to warm.
• Do not let the cob or the mixture warm for too long as it will burn or go hard.
• Serve warm and be quick as this goes really fast.

These New Year’s appetizers are some favourites and will be sure to leave your guests talking about your New Year’s Eve parties for a long time to come.

Christmas Party Invitations

I use this program to make all my invitations. It makes Christmas party invitations, birthday party invitations, bridal shower invitations and many more. You name it this program has every template you will need. At the moment you get some bonuses that I use a lot as well.
Check out. I hope you enjoy!

Check it out HERE

Christmas Party Ideas – Christmas Party Drinks

One of the more important elements when putting together all your Christmas party ideas is to plan out the Christmas party drinks.

These Christmas party drinks can be served no matter what theme you have chosen for your Christmas party.

The first is simple and always a favourite of the Christmas Party drinks. This drink is a great arrival drink for your guests or is fantastic over dinner.

Christmas Berry Cheer!

You need:

1 bottle of guava nectar

Chilled Champagne or sparkling wine

Lots of raspberries – Use fresh but if unavailable you can use a different type of berry.

What to do:

Pour some guava nectar into your champagne glasses. Fill about one third of each glass

Top each glass with the champagne or sparkling wine

Add a generous serving of raspberries so they float at the top of each glass

Serve to your guests with a smile!

This is also a favourite of the Christmas party drinks and would be great used at the end of the evening

Santa’s Winter Warmer!

You need:

1 tsp of bitters

Frozen blackberries or blueberries

Whisky

Ginger ale

What to do:

Add a small amount of bitters in each cup

Add generous serve of berries into each cup

Pour the whisky and ginger ale into the cups and serve to guests.

Your guests will really enjoy these fun Christmas party drinks.

Look out for more Christmas party ideas and Christmas party drinks coming soon.

Lychee Cocktail Recipe Ideas

Listed are some favourite Lychee cocktail recipe ideas that will make your cocktail party theme a huge success.

Lychee's are a real winner in cocktails especially for the summer season. You can buy lychee flavoured liquor or use canned or fresh lychee's.

Try the Lycheelicious Sparkling Cocktail it is simple and tastes amazing.

1 can of lychee's in syrup

Sparkling wine/Champagne

Grab your can of lychee's and the place the syrup and lychee's in your blender. Blend until smooth.

Next, add the lychee mixture to a container and place in the freezer.

Once the lychee mixture is frozen scoop a generous serving into champagne flutes and top with your sparkling wine or champagne.

Lycheelicious!

You can always try adding some of the lychee liquor to champagne as well and it tastes fantastic.

Or try lychee liquour with cranberry juice and a twist of lime which is another favourite.

These are just a small sample of the favourite lychee cocktail recipe ideas for your cocktail theme party, keep posted for more great ideas and flavours for your party.

Party eBook Recommendations

These are two eBooks that I have used a lot with planning parties.

This one is a complete party planning guide that has lots of handy bonuses such as recipes for your party

Best Party Planning Ideas

This one is an eBook on party themes that can be really helpful.

Perfect Party Themes

I recommend that you check these out as they are well worth the investment for your next party . I refer back to these a lot for both work and play. I hope that you enjoy these as much as I have.

New Year’s Eve Party Theme Ideas

New Year’s Eve is a fun time and many people like to celebrate by going out but if you are the cab lines and expensive drinks then these New Years Eve party theme ideas will help you have a house party to remember.

The first thing to do is pick a theme. There are endless possibilities with the themes. Make sure you chose one that you think your guests would enjoy the most.

If you are struggling for a theme these ideas may help you

• Dinner Party Theme – Small and intimate New Year’s celebrations are always nice and classy. Keep it simple with plenty of champagne and nice food.

• Cocktail Party Theme – An excellent choice for New Year’s Eve. You can make this formal or informal. Remember that while it sounds like it would be an expensive party to host there is nothing wrong with asking each guest to bring a bottle. Just make sure you allocate the more expensive liquors to couples rather than singles.

• Karaoke Party Theme – Who doesn’t love a karaoke party theme? It is fairly cheap to hire a karaoke machine and it will be a blast!

• Fancy Dress Party Theme – These are always fun. There are endless possibilities on the theme you can chose and because your party is at home guests will be more willing to come along dressed up in fancy dress. To make sure that you do not have party poopers it is a good idea to get some funny costumes for anybody who decides to come along without their costume.

Another really important thing is to send your invites soon. Most people get busy over Christmas so they tend to plan things New Year’s celebrations before Christmas.

Make sure that your invites look fun and unique. Remember that on New Year’s people often have quite a few invitations so you have a lot to compete with. Make sure your invitations reflect the theme that you have chosen for your party. For example if your party is a cocktail party theme send invitations in the shape of cocktail glasses with confetti in the envelopes. Try including a menu of the drinks or food that you will be serving or a list of the entertainment for the evening as this will give your guests as taste of what the party will be like. Remember to include your contact details for guests to RSVP. Don’t forget as well that sending paper invitations is not your only options and many people now create invites on Facebook or via email. Always remember not to invite more people than you can fit in your home. While 10% will decline you need to make sure that you have calculated your numbers properly to avoid being overcrowded and under catered for. Anything is to invite people who will embrace your New Year’s Eve party theme idea as that will make the party much more fun and entertaining.

Christmas Party Ideas That Won't Break The Bank

A Christmas party is the perfect way to celebrate the Christmas holiday and there are so many Christmas party ideas that you can use.

The Christmas tree is the best place to start. Why not use this as your centre piece. You can get Christmas trees in all different sizes and they are usually not too expensive. If you are having a dinner party try the smaller size tree as the table centre piece. If you have more room you can get a bigger tree and place it where the celebrations will be held. Remember that the decorations are what make the tree special. Choose a theme for your decorations that reflects the party that you are having. If it is a traditional dinner setting then gold or red would work well. If it is a casual Christmas party then dress the tree up in fun coloured tinsel and decorations. You can buy amazing decorations at most bargain stores or even make your own.

Don’t forget to dress up your table or your bar as well. Use a gold or red table cloth. A great centre piece idea is white or red flowers with lots of green leaves. Another unique centrepiece idea is a plate of apples stacked on top each other to form a pyramid or some red floating candles. Cinnamon sticks are also an effective look and smell fantastic. You can dress your chairs around the table up with the ribbons or even tinsel.

Add a party favour to each table setting. Some great ideas are candy canes, toffee apples or nougat.

The best part about the Christmas party is the decorations. Christmas lights are always a hit and bling up your party area. These are usually picked up rather cheap in a department store. If there are no children around some lit candles will make your party look extra special as well.

If you are serving drinks why not try a Christmas punch which can be made alcoholic or non alcoholic. Use apples, berries and cinnamon sticks to decorate the punch to give it a Christmas look.

Remember that all these little touches that make your party look fantastic do not have to break the bank. Christmas is an expensive time as is so make sure you look around for bargains. If you put it all together well your guests will be copying your Christmas party ideas next year.

Planning a Party – What You Need to Know

When you are planning a party there are a few key things that you need to work out before launching straight into all the fun party stuff. Having these things planning out for your party will make sure your party is a big success.

It sounds simple but it actually really important; knowing what kind of event you are celebrating is the first and most vital element of party planning. The reason for the event usually dictates the size of the party, how much money you will be spending, and the guest list and of course the party theme.

It is really important that you set a detailed budget. The number of people invited, the menu, and other factors will all be affected by how much you can afford to spend. Do not be worry about a limited budget, but do be prepared to be creative. You should not spend any money whatsoever until your budget has been planned. Parties can often blow out of proportion with costs if you do not set yourself a budget at the beginning.

If you are working with a very tight budget, maybe you can find a partner to share the costs with. For instance, if you are celebrating a birthday, you might be able to share the party with someone else who is also celebrating a birthday. It can be even more fun to celebrate two birthdays at the same time. Always remember that a huge budget does not always equal a fantastic party. Many people have hosted fabulous parties on very small budgets.

The size of your guest list is not only based on your budget, but also on where you are holding the party. If your home is the event site, make sure you have a good idea of how many guests you can handle there. Approximately 10% of your guest list will be no-shows, so plan on inviting that many more people. When making up the guest list for your party, try not to invite people who don't get along with each other. You want people to enjoy themselves, and you should do everything you can to eliminate any cause of tension between guests.

These tips should help you in the early stages of planning your party. Try not get discouraged by the fact that these things are rather administrative. While they may seem boring they are essential in planning a party. You will have a much better time and enjoy the party more if you have set everything up in the early stages of planning the party.

eBook For Party Planning Help

This ebook has helped me with party planning ideas. I organise events for work so it has come in really handy as well as for my own parties.

You get heaps of extras that come in handy as well. Check it out I hope it helps you as well.

Check it out here!

Welcome to Perfect Party Ideas!

Welcome to perfect party ideas!

This site will help your plan your next party and make sure that it is fantastic. It has ideas for all types of parties, kids party ideas, engagement party ideas, cocktail party ideas and theme party ideas and many more perfect party ideas.

Keep posted for your weekly party ideas. Remember to let me know if you would like some information on a particular party type and I will get some for you.

I will also be recommending some products that I have used to help me plan parties in the past.

Happy Partying!