It’s been a crazy and fun 2011!  From our family to yours, here’s wishing you new and amazing fun in 2012!

Yeah…yeah..I know this Christmas card is late, but better late than never right.  :-)

BTW – This amazing card was due two amazingly talented ladies:

Photos:  Chloe Photography

Christmas Card: In Print Designs on Etsy

Well, I have been feeling out of my party groove.  So, last night we through a little New Year’s Eve-Eve party for a few friends.

We normally only celebrate New Year’s Eve with grown-ups, so I really enjoyed putting together a party for 11 fun kiddos (yes, our 3 families have a total of 11 kids…who knew).

The party had some glitz, but all for the kids!  Lot’s of gold and silver.  We had beads, horns & poppers for the kids enjoyment!   Here’s a a quick tutorial on poppers!

The main table was an easy mix of gold & cream plates, a footed bowl full of gold & silver ornaments,  silver candle holders, gold sparkly candles.  I used a few things I had on hand and a few Christmas clearance finds.  Really easy, but lot’s of glitter

 Of course, every great New Year’s Eve party has fun beverages.  This party was no different.  We had Champagne  Mocktails.  The kids had the Welch’s Sparkling grape juice and several mixing options:  Pomegranate-Blueberry Juice, Orange Juice or Cranberry Juice.  We had fancy stir sticks and of course, champagne glasses. Most kids loved the glasses, but one kiddo was heard saying “Why are they making us drink out of these fancy glasses?”…I think “making us” is a bit strong.  :-)

 The girls enjoyed the fun Mocktails!

 So, bring on the main event!  Making and decorating cookies.

They decorated and decorated!

Look at these masterpieces! Amazing edible artwork!  From our home to yours, we are wishing you a safe and happy New Year!!

Cheers,

Tara

I love these little poppers!  They are really easy and inexpensive to make.  This year we are hosting a New Year’s Eve-Eve Party for a few families.  I wanted to have poppers and looked at the store for them, but really they are easy and super inexpensive to make, so I made a batch for the party! 

Here is all you need:

• Tubes (I like to use wrapping paper tubes, but many people use toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls.)
• Tape (I used double-sided to hide it, but you can you use regular scotch tape.)
• Wrapping Paper
• Ribbon
• Treats, Trinkets or Gifts – I chose poppers to put in my popper and think the kids will be thrilled.

This is a really easy easy process.  Here’s how:

1. Cut the tube to fit the gifts you have to fill in them.  I wanted to put a small popper inside , so I made this batch small.  Even more, I wanted to make 12 out of my gift wrap roll.  In general, they can are 3″ – 5″.
2. Cut wrapping paper:  wide enough to wrap around the tube with a 1/2″ overlap & approximately 6″ longer than the tube to ensure you have enough to gather and tie.  Wrap wrapping paper around tube and secure with a piece of tape.
3. Tie one side with ribbon.  Place gift or treats inside tube.  Tie the other side with ribbon.
4. Curl ribbon and DONE!

I was introduced to the Darling Doodle blog today while perusing Pinterest today.   What a fabulous blog by a lovely lady named Brie.  She has a ton of really cute ideas.  The idea that caught my attention were the cute ideas for gift baskets and tags to go with them.  I need to spend some more time perusing her fabulous site, but for today I wanted to share some fun ideas for gift baskets.  She says that she doesn’t think that gifts have to be difficult or expensive.   These are such great ideas.  LOVE IT!

Noodles & Snoodles

  Chocolate Oh My!

Rest Your Soles

So, I am a little behind on sharing this, but you can visit Hank and find my latest contribution over at Piggy Bank Parties!  Check out the full story: Lego Mania with a Twist!