Along with balloons, streamers and confetti, garlands are among the most popularly used party decorations today. They can be easily bought from party supplies stores, but if you want to save a few dollars, why not make them yourself? You can recycle old materials you can find around the house and end up with something crafty you’ll be proud of. Here are a couple of easy garland ideas you can make.

• Christmas Greeting Card Garland - If you’ve got a bunch of old Christmas cards you don’t want to throw out, use them for this garland. Trace circles onto the colorful card surfaces and cut them out. Then, secure the paper discs to heavy thread, using a dot sticker and glue stick. You can hang these around your walls or put them in your Christmas tree.
• Baby Name Garland - Welcoming a new baby into the family? Use this garland idea for a baby shower. Get some paper plates, decorate each one with a letter from the baby name and then string them together. You cal also ask different people to write messages instead of letters . Hang it around the venue. After the party, you can also put it up in your baby’s nursery.

Decors don’t have to be expensive! Try these garland ideas for your next celebration. You’ll be surprised at how much you can save.

It’s great if you want to include your pet during a costume party. It’ll make your guests coo in delight. Even so, you need to think about your pet’s safety. Dogs and cats easily become irritated while wearing costumes and no matter how cute they look, they can become violent if they can’t stand it anymore.

Remember these guidelines when dressing up your pet in a costume:

• Get a costume that’s very minimal. It’s safer and it costs less.
• Keep the costume on the pet for just a short time, like a few hours or so.
• See to it that the costume isn’t too tight or too long. It shouldn’t constrict the pet’s movement.
• As much as possible, find a costume that doesn’t have to be slipped over the pet’s head. If it has to be, make sure the costume’s neck is large enough to slip comfortably.
• The costume shouldn’t hinder the pet’s hearing, vision or breathing.
• Remove costume parts your pet can chew off. He or she might choke on it.

Your pet should not only be cute, but also comfy while wearing his or her costume, so make sure you follow these tips, so he or she will be happy throughout the celebration.

All those Kung Fu movies seem to be getting to you! For your next dinner party, you want to have a Chinese theme to surprise your guests. It’s a great and unique party idea everyone will enjoy.

There are many ways to make your Chinese theme party enjoyable. Here are a few ideas to help you out.

• Use invitations with Chinese-themed yin and yang prints.
• Red and gold decorations, such as streamers and confetti are great choices. You can also get Chinese paper lanterns.
• A Chinese party isn’t complete without delicious Chinese food. Serve food like won tons, dumplings, Peking duck, mapo tofu, egg rolls and yang chow rice. Don’t forget to provide chopsticks!
• Serve tea after the party. It’s a famous tradition among Chinese people.
• If you want to have fun party games, you can use the chopsticks too. Have relays that carrying or picking objects up using these items.
• Pack your party favors in Chinese food take-out boxes. Giveaways you can include are fortune cookies, paper fans and pocket-size Chinese checkers.

Impress your guests with a fun Chinese party! They’ll feel the fun Kung Fu spirit all around the event!

When you were a child you obsessed and watched cartoons like Popeye the Sailor Man, Mickey Mouse and Friends and Bugs Bunny. Today, your kids look up to different cartoon heroes, like Gokou, Naruto, and Kenshin. If you don’t know these guys, they’re Japanese—anime characters. With their fun stories and wonderful personalities, they have captivated children all over the world.

If your child loves anime, chances are he’ll ask for an anime theme party for his next birthday. Don’t worry, because it’s not difficult to plan this event. Here are some suggestions you can use:

• Instead of having the usual boring invitations, get anime-themed invites. You can buy them at party supplies stores. If you want to be creative, you can also use anime trading cards. Just tape the details on the back, and you’re all set. Once the guests see these, they’ll become excited!
• Ask the guests to come in their favorite anime costume. You can have a cosplay and give an award to the best-dressed guest.
• Decorations shouldn’t be very difficult. You can simply hang a large anime poster on the wall. If your kid has anime action figures, put them around the place. For a more Japanese look, hang paper lanterns and get low tables for everyone. They’ll feel like the characters they watch in the show.
• Yummy Japanese food like onigiri (rice balls), chicken teriyaki, tempura and yakisoba, are appropriate. Sushi is also a popular choice, but because kids don’t like raw fish, you can simply make sushi-like treats. For example, use tortilla wraps and cold cuts and make sushi sandwiches.
• Let the children use chopsticks. This can be a bit messy, but they’ll have tons of fun!
• Fun games can include Beyblade competitions, Anime fan-art drawing contests, and trading Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards. When everyone becomes tired, let them watch an anime movie or have an anime series marathon.
• Aside from the usual candies, put anime keychains, trading cards, and action figures in the goodie bags. Kids will love these useful and memorable take-home presents.

Fill your child’s special day with lots of excitement and anime fun! This party will surely be unforgettable for him.

They’re the students who always recite during calculus class, enters Science Fairs, and carries loads of books and notes everyday. They never miss an algebra lesson, and they join the chess club. After school, they run home to their PCs, surf the web, and read up on UFO and Alien updates. People label them as geeks or nerds, sometimes even laughed at because of their weird attitude and beliefs. Even so, who says geeks are no fun? Many people even imitate how they dress during costume parties!

Dressing up as a nerd is a popular fad nowadays. It’s a strange but fun costume choice, because it’s simple, but easily distinguishable.

The simplest geek costume idea consists of high-waist pants, a tucked in polo shirt, white socks, black shoes, a bowtie or necktie, and large black framed glasses. Add some fake braces, and you’re all set.

There are other fun geek costume ideas you can turn to, such as:

• Search Engine Costume: Get some pants and a crochet top, and wear a type of netting cloth over them. Then, attach many bits and pieces of paper on the netting, with popular keywords or URL and website addresses on them. You can also attach logos and signs of famous websites.
• Computer Costume: Geeks love anything computer-related, so why not make a computer costume? Get a large cardboard box and then paint a computer screen on it. Then, take another cardboard, paint a keyboard on it and then attach it to your waist. Carry a large cardboard mouse in one hand.
• Sexy Geek: This is for girls who want to look nerdy, but seductive. Get a short pleated skirt, and a button down shirt. Open the shirt so you can show enough cleavage. Pair it off with black shoes, knee-high white socks and large black framed glasses.

Experience being a nerd with these simple costume ideas. Being geeky has never been this fun before!

Can’t get enough of Las Vegas? Everyone dreams of going to the Sin City, and having a wonderful time there. You know going there will cost you to much, so you decide to just have a fun Vegas party in your home. You’ve got the casino games, the bright music and the delectable food, yet there’s still something missing: the neon lights!

Of the many fixtures people use for parties, neon lights are included among the most popular ones used today. For most of us, they can only be seen in advertising and store signs, bu for many others, they brighten up different parties. Neon lights bring an exciting atmosphere to the celebration, with their blinking and striking appearance. They are also very flexible, and can go well for almost any party, such as for New Year, Halloween and sometimes even Christmas. Birthdays and dinner parties can also have them.

Neon party lights come in different colors, such as red, red-orange, yellow, purple, blue and green. You can get them in numerous sizes and shapes, from typical bulb-like ones to twisted, star-shaped kinds. There are string neon lights that can be hung around the garden for an evening barbecue party, and there are also seventies disco lights available for a retro party. It depends on your party and how you plan to use it.

If you want, you can get a scene setter to accent your neon party lights. These are like posters, except they’re made of vinyl and are hung on the wall with sticky tacks. They come in different designs, so you can choose one which suits your party best.

A Las Vegas party will not be complete without fun neon party lights. Make sure you have these decorations for your fun celebration!

Your friend has finally decided to retire, and is set to live a quiet and peaceful life without all the stress and workload he used to handle. For anyone who’s worked for over 40 years, it’s an unforgettable part of life. To celebrate this wonderful and memorable event, you, along with his family and colleagues, decided to throw a fun retirement party for him.

There are many ways on how you can make a retirement party very enjoyable, and the first step is by picking a theme. A popular and wonderful example you can use is the Vacation In Paradise theme. Here are several ideas you can use.

• Invitations – For the invitation design, draw a caricature of the individual while he’s relaxing in paradise, such as lying on a hammock while sipping from a coconut.
• Decorations – String party lights around the place, use colorful table cloths and hang leis and grass skirts around the walls. You can also put the drinks in coconut straw for a real tropical island feel. Don’t forget the “Happy Retirement” banner!
• Party Food And Drinks – Since there’s only good food in paradise, you should prepare lots of yummy eats. Fresh greens, Hawaiian chicken and sesame noodles are good choices. You can also serve fresh fruit as appetizers. Then, serve finger desserts. For drinks, serve yummy fruit shakes,fruit juices, pina colada and martinis. You can also ask someone to bring a bottle of champagne.
• Party Activities – Play games like “What Will He/She Do Now He/She’s Retired?”, where guests will write down fun and crazy ideas about what activities the retired person can do. Limbo rock is also a great game everyone will enjoy. Perhaps the retiree has a favorite sport—you can all play that. For a memorable ending, create a slide show presentation or video about the individual.

Let your friend experience how relaxing retired life is with a Vacation in Paradise theme. It’ll make him look forward to many peaceful, stress-free days ahead!

Who’s the most famous detective of all time? Elementary, dear Watson! He’s none other than Sherlock Holmes. One of the most widely portrayed fictional character, he was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during the late 19th century. With his knowledge and fantastic deduction skills, this English detective solves difficult cases, one after the other.

Many people adore Sherlock Holmes, children and adults alike. It’s no wonder his trademark outfit has become one of the most popular costumes today. If boys want to dress “smartly” during costume parties, they’ll often pick Sherlock Holmes’ getup. It’s a simple, but very recognizable costume.

If you don’t want the hassle of putting together the Sherlock Holmes look, you can easily buy or rent one at a costume store. If you want don’t want to spend any money, then you should opt for a homemade costume.

• Sherlock’s upper garment consists of a brown long-sleeved button down coat. If you can’t sew and imitate his exact coat, you can just find an old trenchcoat and dye it brown.
• Pair off the coat with brown slacks, black socks and leather shoes.
• Sherlock’s hat is unique—it’s a deerstalker cap, used for hunting and worn by rural folks. It looks like a typical hat, but with two flexible side flaps and fore and aft brims. Sherlock’s has a checkered pattern or just a plain brown color.
• To complete the look, get a tobacco pipe and a large magnifying glass. Sherlock always has these in his hands while solving cases.

Once you’ve got all these, you’re all set to play detective during the costume party. Impress others with this Sherlock Holmes ensemble. Who knows, maybe you might even solve a few cases along the way!

You can tell it’s summer again. The sun is high and bright in the sky, and people are either preparing barbecues or going to the beach. As for you, you start to plan a wonderful summer party for your family and close friends. To make sure everyone enjoys themselves and feels the fun party atmosphere, you carefully plan all the party details, even the decorations.Most summer parties are casual, and you might not want to make too much fuss when it comes to decorations. You should stick to the basics, so you won’t have a difficult time. Here are some things you can get.

• Table cloths and runners – To complement the cheerful season, pick out brightly-colored ones, in hues of yellow or orange. You can also get some with summer prints on them, such as sun or flower patterns.
• Centerpiece – You can stick to conventional summer centerpieces like summer flowers in small vases. Another idea is to make a “beach” centerpiece. Get a beach bucket, fill them with sand and then stick candle in. You can also put in beach toys and shells.
• Candles or lanterns – These will look good if you’re having an evening summer party. Hang colorful lanterns around the venue for a pretty summer scene, while you can put the candles in candleholders on the tables. You can use pillar, votives or taper candles. The great thing about these decorations is you can also save electricity!
• Chair covers – Since you’ve covered your tables with pretty cloths, get matching ones for your chairs.
• Dinnerware – Make sure you get ones that fit your menu and your party tone. Is the party casual? Then use colorful and eco-friendly paper and plastic dinnerware. If it’s sophisticated, use brightly colored chinaware instead.
• Music – Mood music complements the look of your whole venue. Find lively ones that’ll fit the summer season. You can also get dance music, so if people want to be groovy, they can do so!

Make sure these items are included in your decorations checklist. They’ll bright lots of cheer to your summer party!

Anyone will agree that before a woman says “I do”, there’s one important event that she must experience: her own girls-only bridal shower! This is the last time that she gets to have fun as a single gal, and for any bride-to-be, celebrating it with her girl friends in a fun and exciting way is a must!

There are lots of ways and things you can do to make a bridal shower more enjoyable and more creative, but the best option you can turn to is get a particular party theme! By deciding on one, you won’t only get to savor the celebration better, but all the party aspects will be organized.

Here are a few suggestions to help you out.

Movie Bridal Shower – For a bride who’s a big fan of the movies, try this party idea. Tell the guests to come dressed as their favorite movie character. Then, use movie posters to decorate the whole venue. You can also play games like movie charades or guess the movie theme song.

Sexy Lingerie Bash – Women love to flaunt their figures and feel seductive and sexy—even if the men aren’t around! You can all don your sexiest underwear and decorate the room in deep colors. For bridal shower gifts, the guests can give sexy lingerie to the bride.

Kitchen Bridal Shower – Yes, housework can be exhausting, especially cooking, but of course, a soon-to-be-married woman must prepare herself for this! So why not celebrate her party with a kitchen theme? Everyone will be assigned to particular cuisines or dishes, and you can all have fun teaching the bride-to-be different cooking techniques. For gifts, you can all bring different kinds of kitchenware.

Let the bride-to-be have the time of her life during her own bridal shower! With a fun theme, you can certainly make her last single girl party more memorable!