Creative Things To Do With Vegetable Trays

Use your imagination to add a creative twist to your vegetable tray.

Vegetable trays can be an edible festive display for any occasion. The traditional tray includes an assortment of fresh raw vegetables cut into bite-size pieces with some kind of dipping sauce. Create new and interesting ways to present your vegetable tray. Vegetables can be cut and hollowed then stuffed with your favorite seafood or chicken salad. You can create shapes by cutting the vegetables into flowers. Sweeten your vegetable tray by adding fruits or chocolate and caramel dips. Be sure to make extra so you can refill your creative vegetable tray. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Holiday Vegetable Centerpiece

Use vegetable trays as a centerpiece for your holiday table. Arrange assorted vegetables around the edges of the tray. Place a dipping sauce of ranch or blue cheese dressing in the center of the tray. Surround the tray with holiday flowers or greenery such as holly for Christmas or Easter lilies. Keep fresh cut vegetables ready to refill your tray as it is eaten.

Stuffed Vegetable Tray

Stuff your vegetables with peanut butter, cream cheese or tuna salad to make a stuffed vegetable tray. Use celery, cucumbers and lettuce for your vegetables. Slice the celery in 1-inch pieces. Take a knife and spread peanut butter into the ridge of the celery. Place along the outer section of the tray. Cut cucumbers into slices. Spread cream cheese on top and place them next on the tray. Open the leaves of the lettuce. Place a generous amount of tuna salad in the middle, roll like a wrap and secure with a toothpick. Place wraps in the center of your tray.

Summer Vegetable Tray

Hollow out a pineapple by cutting it in half and removing all of the pineapple with a carving knife. Cut pineapple into squares and set aside. Leave some of the juice in the pineapple. Cut 2 lbs. of larger vegetables into 1-inch pieces. Use carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery, broccoli or your favorite vegetable mix. Take a skewer and place the fresh vegetables on the skewer, alternating types of vegetable. Stand the skewers up by sticking them down into the half pineapple cores. Take the remaining pineapple squares and place them between the skewers.

Vegetable-Fruit Flower Tray

Take a cookie cutter and create shapes for your vegetables. Purchase flower-shaped cookie cutters to create a floral display. Use fruits and vegetables you can slice and create shapes with. Stiff vegetables and fruits like cucumbers, eggplant and apples hold their shapes when cut. Slice the vegetables and fruits into pieces, lay them flat on a cutting board and press down with the cookie cutter to create shapes. Display your vegetable and fruit flowers on individual saucers around your table with an assortment of dipping sauces.

Tags: create shapes, vegetable tray, your vegetable, fresh vegetables, vegetables into, your vegetable tray, your vegetables

Creative Table Decorations

Setting a beautiful dining table creates the tone for the meal.

Decorating a table sets the tone for events like an afternoon tea party or a formal dinner party. Although flowers as table decorations always offer a safe choice, other options exist to enliven the party decor. These options take into account the theme of the event, making the table decorations more personalized. Does this Spark an idea?

Bento Box

The Japanese bento box functions as the dinner plate to serve the delicacies of Japanese dining. If you're putting together a Japanese dinner for guests, consider using the bento box to create a Japanese-themed centerpiece. Take a bento box and remove the compartments so that it becomes an empty box. Fill it with sand; you can find decorative sand at arts and crafts stores. Depending on the size of the box, fill three to five clear glasses of various heights with water and insert them deeply into the sand. Place floating candles in the water; lotus flowers make a theme-appropriate choice. Insert flowers like orchids into the sand the complete the look.

Personalized Accessories

Afternoon lunch parties are a way to reconnect with close friends, and the decorative elements you put on the table reflects these good feelings. To commemorate this occasion, create a special party favor centerpiece. Fill little flower pots with goodies that each guest would like, such as seed packets, colored pencils, popcorn or movie passes. Use metallic markers to paint their names on the pots and place the pots on an old-fashioned raised cake plate. The key to this centerpiece is to make each cup specific to the guest to whom you're giving it. These little trinkets become the party favors that the guests take home at the end of the party.

Fall Fruits

Fall fruits like pumpkins, gourds and squashes make colorful and pretty items to use in a table decoration. Pick out several different mini-pumpkins, gourds and squashes. Look for a variety of colors and sizes. Additionally, you can use items like walnuts, pine cones and fall leaves. Place these items in a low dish with the largest pumpkin in the middle and then put the gourds, squash, leaves and other items in and around the pumpkin. You may also want to put candles in the mix as well.

Winter Garden

During the winter holidays, decorate a table that doesn't have a Christmas theme, but rather a winter theme. This look is crisp and understated and relies on a cool color palette. Gather some branches, clean them and spray paint them white. Allow them to dry according to the instructions on the can. Locate clear glass flower vases and fill them with the branches, making sure that the finished products vary in height. Place the vases in the middle of the table, with the tallest arrangement in the middle and then flank the other vases around the middle vase. Fill a few tall glasses with water and add blue floating candles. Finally, place assorted blue and silver Christmas tree bulbs around the arrangement to add visual interest to the piece.

Tags: floating candles, gourds squashes, into sand, middle then, table decorations, with water

Creative Sales Flyer Ideas

Holiday flyer.

Whether your aim is to attract customers for a new business venture or to entice new customers to an established business or online store, there are several approaches you can employ to attract customers. One of the ways to achieve your goals is by developing creative sales flyers.

Using People

Consider hiring models or using pictures of staff or customers in your flyer as a way to draw potential customer attention. Including people enjoying or using your product can be more appealing than simply using a photo of the product and a description. You might have a contest within your business to select staff models and offer some gratuity or other reward. You can take the same approach with enlisting models from the public. Remember to use a contract with the rules and benefits of a contest or other promotion.

Create a Character and/or a Storyline

People are drawn to interesting characters and stories. Even in the context of advertising a product or service, you can develop a character and storyline to set your business apart from your competitors. Think about commercials you have seen that sold a product or service and had a central character and a plot that included the product or service in the storyline. Employing this approach will help establish your business in the minds of the public more so than a traditional advertising campaign. Your flyer could use the same characters linked to other advertisements within your overall marketing strategy, such as commercials or videos you post online or on your website.

Using Photo, Clip Art and Other Graphics

There are many places online to purchase or obtain free graphics to incorporate on your flyer. Free clip art is in the "public domain" for personal and commercial use. You may want to select clip art that matches the text of your flyer. For example, if you've decided to take a humorous approach, you may wish to seek out clip art or photos that fit that approach, such as a funny photo of a baby eating strained carrots with a look of disgust on his face. Your text might relate to how your product or service won't leave a bad taste or cause a person dissatisfaction.

Tags: product service, your business, your flyer, attract customers, within your

Hawaiian Breakfast Foods

Hawaii has its own traditional breakfast items.

Hawaiian food is both exotic and delicious. Whether you are preparing yourself for a visit to the island or creating your own Hawaiian breakfast feast at home, there are numerous breakfast dishes to choose from. It is important to purchase authentic ingredients whenever possible; therefore, a trip to a specialty store in your area may be required. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Spam

Spam is a staple in Hawaii. This canned ham product is used in a variety of dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast, Spam is removed from the can, sliced and pan fried. Serve it with roasted pineapple or by itself. It is most often served as a side dish in Hawaiian breakfasts.

French Toast

Hawaiians have developed their own version of French toast for breakfast. This dish uses sweet Hawaiian bread that is thickly sliced versus your traditional Texas toast or brioche. Create a custard dipping sauce from four eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl. Dip thick slices of Hawaiian bread into the mix and pan fry. Serve with pineapple or make it more familiar with butter and maple syrup.

Portuguese Sausage, Eggs and Rice

Hawaii has a sausage and egg breakfast that they serve up with rice. This dish is traditionally served with sticky rice, a very glutinous form of rice used in sushi applications. Prepare sticky rice according to package directions on the stove top or in a rice cooker. Saute Portuguese sausage in a pan whole or split in half. Prepare scrambled eggs, but leave them slightly runny. Serve a plate of sticky rice topped with sausage and eggs for a traditional Hawaiian breakfast.

Poi

Poi is a Hawaiian delicacy that is made by mashing a cooked taro plant until it becomes a thick fluid. Water is then added to this dish to make it the right consistency. A bowl of poi can be used in dessert or served as a breakfast, but it is considered a Hawaiian treat at the dinner table. Poi is not overly sweet but is an acquired taste. Some modern Hawaiian bakeries have created donuts, pastries and muffins with the poi mixture.

Fresh Fruits

Fresh fruit is a staple in Hawaiian breakfast, lunch and dinner. Serve up a buffet of fresh Hawaiian fruits such as sliced pineapple, diced guava, passion fruit, mangoes and coconut. If you have a Polynesian or Hawaiian food store close to you, see if you can find fruits such as the java plum, which is a plum grown on the island of Hawaii. Look into a variety of passion fruit known as the Lillikoi which is a very tart orange fleshed fruit from Hawaii.

Tags: sticky rice, breakfast lunch, breakfast lunch dinner, fruits such, Hawaiian bread, Hawaiian breakfast

Creative Kids' Birthday Cake Ideas

A. Johnson

The ideal child's birthday cake is both fun and delicious. The cake is often the centerpiece of the party theme, and should be visually appealing as well as tasty. Birthday cakes can be made of flour and sugar, while others are made from ice cream, cookies, or a combination of all three. Instead of looking like a traditional cake, a child's birthday cake should be a fantasy creation that only resembles a typical cake by its sweet taste. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1. Combine the cake and ice cream to create an ice cream cake. This can be done by layering slices of cake between layers of softened ice cream and then re-freezing.

2. Forget a baked cake, serve an ice cream cake that looks like a cake, yet is purely ice cream. Soften the ice cream and reshape it in any form and re-freeze, then decorate.

3. Add cookies to your cake. This is a special treat for party guests who enjoy a serving of cake and a cookie. Another sweet addition is candy.

4. Think small, single portions and serve cupcakes. Serving is simple with the cupcake format. Tiered cupcake stands are available. Cupcakes can be lined up to make a winding snake cake, or stacked to form a shape or object.

5. Start with a novelty-shaped cake pan. There are hundreds of different styles of novelty-shaped cake pans, such as castles, palm trees, animals, cartoon characters, dinosaurs, trains, cars, planes and many more.

6. Gain inspiration from the child's favorite book, movie, cartoon character or toy. Design a cake using this character or design. Don't be afraid to cut the cake into the desired shape. The pieces cut from the cake can be layered with ice cream to make an ice cream cake.

7. Remember the Rose Parade. Imaginative floats are created using just flowers and plants. A child's birthday cake can be built using that same principle. Instead of flowers or plants, the cake is decorated with frosting, cookies and candies. For example, a piece of black licorice can be used as a spider leg on a scary cake, or the whiskers on a cat cake.

8. Make cake frosting delicious and visually appealing. Include coconut, fruit, whipped cream or traditional sugar frosting.

Tags: birthday cake, child birthday, child birthday cake, cream cake, cake This, flowers plants

Creative Ideas On Planning A Princess Party

Be creative when planning a princess party.

Although you can readily find princess party decorations at a party supply stores, these decorations can be expensive. If you are planning a princess party and you want to save some money and want some creative ideas, knowing a few different options on make your own princess party supplies will be less expensive and provide a unique party experience. Does this Spark an idea?

Invitations

To let your guests know the details of the party, you need to send them invitations. One homemade option would be to create a royal proclamation scroll. To create scrolls, you can either print or handwrite the party details on parchment paper or construction paper. Use verbiage such as "Hear Ye, Hear Ye" or "By Order of the Princess." After you have written your scrolls, roll them up into a tube shape and tie them with a piece of yarn. Mailing these may be difficult or costly, though, so consider hand delivery by someone "in the princess's court."

Another option is to decorate blank note cards using rubber stamps with a princess theme. Look for stamps that have crowns, tiaras or princesses on them. Then write your party details inside the card.

Crafts

Craft projects are one way to keep your party guests entertained. You can let the guests make their own princess accessories and then take their finished items home as a party favor. One accessory that can be made is a crown or tiara. Either purchase undecorated foam crowns from your local craft supply store or else make crowns out of construction paper. Provide the guests with sequins, fake gem stones, feathers and paint to decorate their crowns. Or provide the guests with beads and yarn to make royal jewelry.

Games

If active games are what you are looking for, consider modifying the party classic pin the tail on the donkey. Instead of a donkey, use a poster of a frog and call the game pin the kiss on the frog prince. Then place a little bit of lipstick on the guests and while they are blindfolded have them try to kiss the frog. The guest who gets her lipstick kiss closest to the frog's mouth wins.

Another idea is to modify Simon Says into Queen or King Says. Have an adult play the queen or king and provide commands to the players, such as take a step forward or hop on one leg. The players only perform the commanded task if the queen or king says, "The Queen says" prior to the instruction. If a player performs an action without hearing "The Queen says," that player is out. The player that remains when all others are out wins.

Tags: construction paper, guests with, kiss frog, party details, planning princess, planning princess party

Creative Ideas For Luau Name Tags

Use coconut cups that double as nametags.

When you are throwing a luau for people who do not know each other well, name tags can help encourage conversation. Instead of using standard stick-on tags, make creative name tags that will add to the luau feeling and make guests feel like part of the fun. Does this Spark an idea?

Flower Clips

To give your luau guests something they can wear at the party and take home afterward, make flower clips. Start with basic tropical flowers, either in cloth or paper; you can make your own or buy them from a craft store. Look for large, colorful blooms that will add pops of color around the party. Using a hot glue gun, attach simple clips to the back of the flowers. You can buy hair clips from a craft store in a variety of sizes. When the clips have dried, attach a paper center to the flower with the name of the guest written on it. Use a hook-and-loop fastener or adhesive dot to allow guests to remove the names later. Women can clip the flowers into their hair for a Hawaiian touch, and men can clip them to their shirts or shorts, depending on what they are wearing.

Coconut Cups

For name tags that luau guests can carry instead of wear, which is helpful if they come in bathing suits, make personalized coconut cups. Buy a selection of plastic cups shaped like coconuts, or make your own by cutting the tops off of the actual fruit and hollowing out the inside. Paint each guest's name on his or her coconut and use colored paint to add tropical flowers and birds. Fill the cups with a special drink and set them on a table near the entrance for a welcome beverage; use a fancy straw and a paper umbrella to complete the look. Guests can carry their cups during the party and when it's over, the cups can double as party favors.

Paper Pineapple

For a comical, three-dimensional luau name tag, use honeycomb paper pineapples. Look for the pineapples, which fold closed like a book and open to form the fruit shape, in party stores. Open the pineapple flaps halfway so that they form a flat surface, and glue a stick across the back to keep them open. Add the guest's names by gluing letters to the front of the pineapple or attaching a paper name card to the bottom. You can also place a name card on the leaves at the top section.

Tags: craft store, from craft, from craft store, luau guests, make your

Creative Ideas For A Tool Themed Birthday Party

Tools make a good party theme.

The tool theme brings out the handyman in everyone. Whether the guest of honor is a child who loves building or an adult with a handy talent, many tool party ideas add to the fun. Adding tool-related items to all areas of the party planning emphasizes the theme. Keep in mind the specific tool-related interests of the guest of honor when planning the party. Does this Spark an idea?

Invitations

Homemade party invitations allow you to make a customized design that fits the tool party. Several ideas work well for the tool theme. Cardstock cut into the shape of tools or a tool box is a simple option. You can also cut a rectangle of cardstock and decorate it with tool stickers. Another option is to take a picture of the guest of honor wearing a toolbelt and tools. Use the picture as the invitation with the party details written on the back.

Location

A tool party can be held at any venue. For a themed option, a large garage works well. You get the workshop ambiance that relates to the tool theme. If the garage is large enough, you can set up tables inside for lunch. This also gives you easy access to the yard if you're planning outside activities.

Toolboxes

Real toolboxes make simple party centerpieces for the tool party. You can find inexpensive plastic tool boxes at most home improvement stores. Tie balloons to the handle, tuck tissue paper inside or fill the toolboxes with real or toy tools to complete the centerpieces. You can have a raffle with the toolboxes as the prizes at the end of the party.

Tool Cutouts

Cardboard cutouts of tools work well for wall decorations. After drawing the tool shapes on cardboard and cutting them out, use paint to add the details. Hang the tool cutouts on the walls in the party room. Another option is to paint both sides of the tools and suspend them from the ceiling.

Party Food

A sandwich-building station allows the party guests to build their own sandwiches to follow the construction party theme. A tool-themed cake adds a sweet finish to the party food. A toolbox cake is simple to make, with sheet cakes stacked to create the shape. A layer of icing and details, such as the handle and closure made from fondant, finish the cake. Toy tools placed around the toolbox also add extra decoration to the cake.

Games & Entertainment

A toolbelt relay is a simple game for the party. Each team has a toolbelt and several tools. The players put on the toolbelt, fill it with the tools and run the relay course. They then unload the tools and pass the toolbelt to the next person. This continues until the entire team is finished.

Building zones are another simple option. The zones each have a different type of building activity such as building with blocks, a sand box with excavation toys and a bridge-building area using toothpicks and marshmallows as the building materials.

Favors

Tool-themed favors round out the construction party. Party supply stores often sell foam or plastic hard hats that work well as party favors. Other assorted tool items such as stickers, toy tools and coloring books related to the theme also work well as favors. Turn the hard hats upside down and tuck the other favors inside for a creative presentation.

Tags: tool party, work well, guest honor, tool theme, Another option, construction party, hard hats

Creative Ideas For A Beach Theme In The Bedroom

The soothing beach is a popular inspiration for bedroom decorating.

Better Homes and Gardens' book, "Style on a Budget," identifies blue as a cool and peaceful color. The relaxing nature of this hue makes it a natural choice for bedrooms, and a beach theme provides ample opportunities to incorporate several different shades of this color. Whether you’re decorating a seaside cottage or a home in the mountains, you can bring the refreshing feel of the ocean into your home. With the right colors, materials and finishing touches, your bedroom will remind you of a relaxing vacation getaway. Does this Spark an idea?

Colors

The color palette used for your bedroom will define the direction that you want to take the beach theme in. You can opt for a variety of neutral tones, such as beige, eggshell, sand, espresso and cream-accented, with gentle blues and greens for a soothing retreat. For a livelier look, incorporate bright colors like emerald, cobalt, rose and mustard for a Caribbean feel.

Furniture

A beach-themed bedroom begs for an eclectic mix of thrift store finds and garage sale gems. Paint all of the pieces white for a cohesive look. Leave items that have a well-worn finish, as they evoke the image of weather-worn porch furniture from a beach house. If you’re opting for a Caribbean look, paint a few pieces in bold colors. Try vibrant pink for a small night table or bold blue insets on an armoire. Bamboo pieces will also work well with this theme.

Bedding

To coordinate your bedding with this theme, incorporate beachy colors and themed throw pillows. A neutral-toned bedspread will work well with a beach look while providing a blank slate for future redecorating. Add a sea foam green throw across the bottom and matching pillow shams at the head of the bed. Throw pillows in a variety of blues and greens with beach-themed touches, such as seashells or seahorses stitched onto them will complete the look. A neutral bedspread works with a bright Caribbean theme, too. Add a brightly colored throw with bold stripes across the bottom of the bed, as well as an arrangement of throw pillows in the same shades with bright accents, like beaded designs.

Accents

The accessories are what tie a bedroom theme together. For a beach-themed bedroom, a shelf adorned with seashells and starfish will give the room an authentic beach feeling. For a nautical tilt, display a ship in a bottle, or hang an oar or ship’s wheel on the wall. Framed beach prints or paintings of the seaside are a calming touch. Prints of bright, tropical flowers accent Caribbean decor. An indoor fountain or other water feature brings the soothing sound of water into the room. Add candles with beach scents to complete the space.

Tags: across bottom, beach theme, beach-themed bedroom, bedroom will, blues greens, this theme

Creative Homemade Luau Decorations For Adults

Grab a grass skirt, coconut bra and colorful lei for an adult luau. Guests in festive, Hawaiian-themed costumes get everyone in the mood to party luau style. Decorating the party venue with homemade decorations brings the theme to life even more. Homemade decorations save money without sacrificing the ambiance created by themed accents. Consider your resources and the party venue when planning your luau decorations. Does this Spark an idea?

Table Decorations

Decorate the tables with the luau theme using homemade decorations. Attach inexpensive grass hula skirts around the edges of the tables as table skirts. Use plastic leis to create a border along the top edge of the hula skirts.

Fill glass containers with sand and seashells, or arrange tropical fruits and flowers in a decorative bowl. Scatter sand or small sea shells along the table for additional decorations.

Room Decorations

Make a homemade tiki statue by stacking and taping together cardboard boxes or large cardboard tubes from commercial paper rolls. Use cardboard to cut out details to add to the tiki statue. Paint the entire statue to add details. A pair of tiki statues work well to accent doorways in the party room.

Another use for large cardboard tubes is to create homemade palm trees. Tape two or three rolls together to create the desired height. Paint the tubes brown to resemble the trunk of a palm tree. Attach artificial palm leaves to the top of the tubes or cut the leaves out of green paper. A bucket of sand serves as a base for the homemade palm trees.

Outside Decorations

If the luau fun extends to the backyard, homemade decorations help transform the tropical paradise. Arrange beach towels and lounge chairs for seating. Leis draped on the chairs add to the luau feel. To dress up tiki torches, wind leis along the pole. If you prefer a flameless tiki torch for safety, stuff red, yellow and orange tissue paper in the top to resemble flames. Cover patio table umbrellas with palm leaves to transform them into a tropical party decoration.

Picture Background

A large piece of sturdy cardboard or plywood creates a fun spot for taking pictures at the luau. Paint a luau or beach scene on the sheet. Add bodies of people standing on the beach. Ideas include a bikini babe, a muscle man or other stereotypical beach visitors. Instead of painting the faces of these characters, cut holes in the board. The guests can take turns sticking their faces in the holes for a photo opportunity. Snap a picture of each guest and send them a commemorative copy after the party.

Another option is to paint a beach scene on a piece of butcher paper. Hang the background on a wall or on the side of the house. Let the guests stand in front of the beach scene to pose for pictures.

Tags: beach scene, homemade decorations, cardboard tubes, homemade palm, homemade palm trees, hula skirts, large cardboard

Creative Food Packaging Ideas

A creative food package can help your product appeal to a larger customer base. Brag about your product's success with blue ribbons. Offer a convenient travel or sample size package to lower the entry point for trying your product. Release a series of collectible packages to give your package staying power. Assemble gift baskets for any and every occasion for easy gifting. Biodegradable packages will let your customers know about your efforts for environmental improvement.

Blue Ribbon

Adorn more basic packaging with ribbons that broadcast your product's winning success. Enter your food product in competitions at state and local fairs. Nothing says winning like a blue ribbon. Your product does not need to have won any awards to add a blue ribbon to your packaging, but it can help give the product additional credibility. Some smaller food products could be packaged inside of a blue ribbon. Small blue ribbons could be printed on a cardboard box. Each small ribbon could contain a descriptive phrase or word heralding an exciting aspect of your product.

Travel Size

Package your food product in smaller resealable packaging for customers on the go. A package that can be resealed allows the owner to use some now and safely stow the item to use later without fear of product loss. Smaller packs will also give you a chance to sell your product in the impulse-purchase area near store checkout lines. Smaller travel-sized packs will attract buyers who are interested in sampling your product but don't want to buy a large amount. In smaller packages, you will be able to charge more per ounce for your food product.

Collectible

Releasing a series of collectible packs or tins containing your food product will have both an immediate and lasting effect on sales. You will raise excitement among both fans of your product and collectors. The product packaging will also serve as a constant form of advertisement as it lives on as a collectible. Create four to six differently themed packages made from a material and shape that will last and could be reused. Metal tins and glass jars are good examples of simple yet collectible packaging options.

Gift Basket

Gift baskets help promote your food product as a gift idea for any occasion. For companies that offer a series of food products, this would be an opportunity to match them together so customers can try everything you offer. You also could contact other food companies in your area to build gift baskets that pair well-matched products together. Baskets can be holiday themed with appropriate decorations or just anytime gourmet samplers.

Biodegradable

Using biodegradable packaging sends the message to customers that your company cares about the environment. Being environmentally friendly, or "green," is of growing importance to customers, especially of fine foods. There is a large variety of corn- and sugar-based biodegradable material packaging available to the food packager. Label your biodegradable packaging as such to let people know that this extra effort has been made. These options can be more expensive up front and might decrease the shelf life of some products.

Tags: food product, your food, your food product, your product, blue ribbon, your product

Birthday Centerpiece Ideas & Crafts

Centerpieces can enhance the tables at a birthday party.

If the birthday party you're planning will have people sitting at small tables, adding a centerpiece can be a good conversation starter. It doesn't have to be limited to just standard flower settings or balloons -- make things more interesting using original ideas. Does this Spark an idea?

Fish Bowl

Use a fishbowl as a centerpiece with aquarium gravel that's the birthday boy or girl's favorite color, a couple of decorative plants and one beta fish. Just one, because two male beta fish in a bowl may fight each other! Beta fish are usually available in vibrant colors, are affordable and easy to take care of. They can be found at a local pet store or even at Wal-Mart. Fishbowls can also be used for water plants, which have blossoms that can float at the top of the water, and empty ones can be used for scavenger hunts. Clues can be written on individual strips of paper, and each person at the table grabs one. From there, each table works together as a team to find the object (a few red herrings can be thrown in for fun), and the table/team that wins gets a prize such as goodie bags.

Framed Photos

Consider either purchasing or creating a picture frame with a picture of the birthday girl and one of the friends from that party. Creating a picture frame can be simple -- for a child's party, popsicle sticks that have been painted or colored with markers can be glued together to make a colorful setting, and for adults, a lively but sophisticated frame can be used. For those, you can also use candids of the birthday girl having fun, making silly faces or doing random things.

Spin the Wheel

Stimulate conversation among guests by using a small spinning wheel, like those found in board games. Whoever the arrow lands on at the table has to share a tidbit, like what they're favorite thing about the birthday boy is, the craziest thing they've ever done together, or something else to that effect. It's a good way to learn more about everyone and helps people relax and have fun.

Edible Arrangements

Edible fruit arrangements are just as nice to look at as floral arrangements, but with a twist. While flowers are nice to look at, everyone will be tempted to take a bite of fresh fruit that's been so artfully displayed and can nibble on it during the party -- even after everyone's left their tables for other activities.

Tags: birthday girl, beta fish, birthday party, nice look, picture frame

Crazy Halloween Costume Ideas

Crazy Halloween costumes are always a hit.

Creating a crazy Halloween costume will surely get you the votes if you are in a contest. First of all, you want to do something that isn't a common costume for Halloween. One of the ways you can do this is by putting a new twist on a traditional costume. Create your costume so it appears crazy from head to toe. Using things you have around the house, along with a few specialty items from a store, you can achieve the crazy look in no time.

Half Dancer, Half Wrangler

One crazy costume is half ballerina and half cowboy. Dress half of your body in tights and a tutu, and complete the look with half a tiara and one ballet shoe. The other half of your body is dressed in one long chap, half a cowboy hat, half a vest and one cowboy boot. Finish the look with half a scruffy beard and one spur.

Pregnant Man

Go as a pregnant man, wearing a suit that has been sewn to make room for a strap-on pillow to imitate your pregnant stomach. This crazy costume will be sure to turn some heads.

Mad Scientest

Become a mad scientist. This is easy to do with a white lab coat splattered with red paint. Tease your hair so it stands on end, and wear spooky contact lenses that make your eyes look wild. Other accessories can include a small hand saw and a pair of pliers in your pocket, with a stethoscope hanging around your neck.

Zombie Bride

A zombie bride will make a crazy costume for Halloween. Get an old wedding gown from a friend, or purchase one in a second-hand store. Tease and spray your hair so it stands on end. Wear milky-white costume lenses, and paint your face white, with big, black circles around your eyes. To make it even more authentic, rip and dirty up the wedding gown. You will make one crazy appearance in this costume.

The Garbage Man

Another crazy costume can be to go as a garbage man, but not the type that picks up the garbage from your home. Use a loose pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and hot-glue pieces of garbage all over it-- not anything perishable, but papers, food containers, old envelopes and other things you would throw away. Use an old beekeeper's hat to glue more garbage on, and wear it as your mask. You will be noticed in this crazy costume.

Tags: crazy costume, around your, costume Halloween, costume will, Crazy Halloween, hair stands

Craft Ideas For Senior Citizens

There are a number of great craft ideas for senior citizens to do--even those with physical and mental limitations their ages or conditions may have imposed on them. The key is not to limit your imagination when planning the craft sessions.

Preparation

Planning successful crafts for all participants requires the crafts to be set up in levels of ease of completion. There are some participants who can complete the entire project on their own, and there are some who need assistance along the way. The way you explain this to your participants will make or break their success in the process.

There are three categories to place the projects into depending on skill level. While the titles are commonly used, the definitions for these titles are vastly different for this age group.

Beginner: This is the category where you will have to complete most of the project for the participant who has physical or mental limitations that makes most tasks difficult.

Intermediate: This group can do most of the tasks, but may need large amounts of instruction, hands-on instruction or a few of the harder tasks done for them.

Advanced: These are the participants that are able to do most, if not all of the project on their own.

This categorization should not be offensive to the participants, but it tells the participants that help can and should be asked for if they need it.

Creating Something Unique

Beadwork is very popular for all ages, including senior citizens. Making or designing their own beads can be a very rewarding experience. Provide plain wooden beads of various sizes and shapes, and stain or paint for the crafters to create their own colors and designs before they begin beading their necklaces or bracelets.

There are some very easy patterns for making simple gifts out of fabric that can be utilized by this age group. Carry-all bags and purses that can be made out of a variety of fabrics are fun gifts for grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Design a notebook or journal covers out of fabric and other craft supplies for great gifts for staff, family and friends. These notebooks or journals can easily be turned into a scrapbooking project.

Model airplanes, cars and trucks are fun for the men in the group. This is something that may require assistance, but it is a craft that can be worked on over a period of time.

A group project that is perfect for men and women to work on is a checker set. Pick out two different fabric colors and sew the squares into a checkerboard. In the craft supplies, find objects or shapes that seniors want to make their checkers out of and have them paint the pieces. If diminishing eyesight is a common problem among your senior citizens, paint equal numbers of checker pieces contrasting colors. The checkers and the board piece are great gifts and easy to roll up and carry.

Unlocking the Creative Side

If you make an effort to prepare ahead of time to ensure proper supplies are present, creativity will surround everyone, and the desire to find their inner Monet will come out in force.

Tags: senior citizens, craft supplies, great gifts, mental limitations, most project, most tasks, participants that

Craft Ideas For Name Tags

Name tags aren't just for class reunions and business events.You can craft name tags for your plants or your guests from stained glass or polymer clay. Consider these craft ideas the next time you need a name tag for personal identification, a seating arrangement or your rosemary.

Stamped Name Tags

Create individual name tags with card stock, stamps and colorful ink. Select a stamp with room for the attendee to write his name. You can find stamps sized to fit in the plastic name tag holders available in bulk quantities from paper suppliers. Cutting the card stock is quick and easy with paper trimmers and other scrapbook cutting tools. Find a stamp appropriate for your event, like a whale for a class trip to the aquarium or a floral border for a garden club event. You can stamp the image using multicolored ink for added design interest or you can opt for the simplicity of one color. Another really simple option is to stamp peel-and-stick name tags. The stamps you need to make these tags may be smaller than for the card stock tags, so make sure to measure the open space before you go stamp shopping.

Clay Name Tags

Create name tags for your plants with polymer clay, craft wire and letter stamps or a knitting needle. Soften the clay with your hands and then flatten it out on your work surface. If you prefer a smooth surface for your name tags, run the clay through a pasta machine. Hand-pressed clay has more dimensions than rolled clay and creates a more rustic-looking name tag for your herb garden. You can cut whatever size plaque you need for your plants from the flattened clay. Make sure the clay is thick enough for you to stamp letters into it or to write them with a knitting needle. After you make the tags, you can insert the end of a length of wire into the bottom lip of your name tag to make a stake before you bake it. You can also make a hole in the top with a knitting needle so you can hang it on a stand in your garden. Finish your clay name tag with a coat of Future floor polish for protection.

Stained Glass Name Tags

Set an elegant table with name tags made from stained glass. Scoring, or cutting, stained glass is easy with a glass cutter and snapping it apart is a cinch with running pliers. Beginners can create small rectangular name tags with easy, straightforward cuts, and experienced glass cutters can make something more elaborate like a circle or a flower shape. The cut edges of the glass may be jagged or rough, so it's a good idea to go over them with a diamond file before you wrap them with copper tape. The tape adds a finished edge to your name tag. You can find it at your local hobby store or at online retailers. Write your guests' names with a colorful grease pencil that you can easily remove with rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth. For permanent stained glass name tags, write the names with a paint pen. Lay the finished name tags flat on the top plate of your table setting.

Tags: name tags, stained glass, card stock, knitting needle, name tags, them with, your name

Creative Ideas For Wedding Favors

Leaf Shaped Maple Syrup Favors

No bride wants to give the same wedding favors that everybody else does. Discover three creative ideas for wedding favors for your guests, and find out where you can buy them.

Fall Wedding Favor Idea

Throwing a fall theme wedding? Consider giving your guests maple syrup in a leaf shaped bottle. These are great favors that tie into the fall season theme. You can find these favors at www.myweddingfavors.com.

Personalized Christmas Ornaments

If you're throwing a wedding close to Christmas or with a winter wonderland theme, consider giving personalized Christmas tree ornaments. Guests will remember your wedding every year when they hang the ornament on their tree. You can find personalized ornament options at www.cool-party-favors.com.

Wildflower Seeds

You always have the option to give wedding favor gifts that keep on giving (or at least keep on growing). Give your guests wildflower, flower or other plant seeds they can plant, grow and enjoy for years to come. MyWeddingFavors.com offers some wildflower seed favor options to choose from.

Tags: your guests, favors that, wedding favors

Crafts With Silk Luau Lei Flowers

Modeled after traditional Hawaiian flowers used in lei making, silk lei flowers are an inexpensive imitation and can be incorporated into many different types of craft projects. These tropical flowers are easy to distinguish because of their vibrant colors and large petals.

Flower Combs

Hair flower combs are a simple craft to make using silk lei flowers. You need a plastic hair comb, glue and silk flowers. Simply glue a cluster of silk lei flowers onto the comb. For extra detail, add stick-on craft gems to the petals of the silk flowers.

Flower Bracelets and Anklets

Young girls at a luau theme party will love to create flower bracelets and anklets using silk lei flowers. Cut a piece of elastic cording that is the same length as the circumference of your wrist or ankle. Loop the silk flowers onto the elastic cording, and tie the two ends of the cord together in a knot.

Silk Flower Garlands

Silk lei flower garlands can be used to decorate doorways, mantels and almost any other surface around your home. To create a silk flower garland, you will need silk lei flowers and craft glue. Apply a small dot of craft glue to one corner of one of the lei flowers. Press one corner of another flower onto the dot of glue. Continue gluing the corners of each flower together to create the flower garland.

Tags: silk flowers, craft glue, create flower, elastic cording, flower garland, flowers onto, silk flowers onto

Crafts For Trinkets

Store your trinkets inside of decorative boxes.

It's easy to misplace trinkets, but not when you have special crafts designed specially to store them. A craft that you make for trinkets will keep your things in order and serve as a decorative item for your shelves or dresser. Select a suitable craft project that meets the needs of the type of trinkets you collect or have laying around.

Trinket Boxes

A trinket box provides shelter for your small personal items, such as jewelry, pins and patches. Options for trinket box crafts include purchasing small boxes in natural, unpainted wood that you paint and decorate yourself, or molding a trinket box out of clay and painting it. Both options allow you to customize your trinket box for the occasion. For instance, if you are giving a wooden or clay trinket box as a Christmas gift, paint it red and place a green bow on top of the lid.

Trinket Tree

A trinket tree is an ornamental decoration made up of a variety of trinkets that you no longer find useful. The tree itself is made out of trinkets and tiny toys that are glued together onto a Styrofoam cone and painted gold. The cone, or tree, sits atop a cake stand that is also painted gold. Arrange the trinkets and toys so that they are clustered together, but maintain the cone shape.

Trinket Mobile

Construct a trinket mobile that hangs from the ceiling and dangles trinkets in the air. Put the structure of your mobile together by using strips of wood or even a coat hanger. Use craft wire to secure the trinket and attach it to the mobile's main structure so that it hangs without the risk of falling. Make each trinket a different length so that the trinkets hang and move around in various formations.

Trinket Canvas

If you have trinkets that you don't want anymore, such as jewelry or tiny toys, make a modern art piece by glueing them onto a large blank canvas. Arrange the trinkets into clusters so that the canvas becomes alive and busy-looking. You can embellish the blank areas of the canvas with paint or leave them blank so that the trinkets stand out more.

Tags: Arrange trinkets, painted gold, such jewelry, that hangs, that trinkets, tiny toys, toys that

Crab Restaurants In New Jersey

Crabs are a specialty food along New Jersey's coastline.

Crabbing is a popular activity in New Jersey, for both recreation and livelihood. The blue crab is plentiful in the state's waters, especially in Ocean, Cumberland and Monmouth counties. The blue crab also flourishes in nearby Maryland, so crabs are a popular fare, and many restaurants specialize in them. Note: Some restaurants are seasonal. See their websites or call for details. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Crab Restaurants on the Northern Jersey Shore

Crab served various ways is on the menu at The Crab's Claw Inn.

The Crab's Claw Inn in Lavallette features various crab appetizers and entrees, not limited to the New Jersey Blue Crab. Items on the restaurant's menu include: spicy or creamy crab chowder, lump crabmeat cocktail, mushrooms stuffed with crabmeat, Dungeness crab clusters, king crab legs, snow crab legs, Maryland-style crab cakes, flounder stuffed with crabmeat, and soft shell crabs in season. Other seafood dishes and non-seafood dishes are available, including sandwiches and burgers during lunch.

Jakes Crab Shack boasts that it has "the best crab cakes at the Jersey Shore." It's located on the boardwalk in Belmar, and serves breakfast as well as lunch fare such as hot dogs and hamburgers, along with those crab cakes.

The Crab's Claw Inn

601 Grand Central Ave. (Route 35 North)

Lavallette, NJ 08735

732-793-4447

thecrabsclaw.com

Jakes Crab Shack

500 Ocean Ave

Belmar, NJ 07719

732-894-3177

brandlrestaurant.com/jakes_crab_shack.html

Crab Restaurants on the Southern Jersey Shore

The Lobster House in Cape May takes delivery of fresh seafood daily.

The Crab Trap Restaurant is situated where the estate of John Somers, one of the area's prominent early residents, had been. In 1967 when the restaurant opened, it featured dirt floors and a horseshoe bar, and served beer and sandwiches. Now it is an upscale dining establishment. Crabs are readily available throughout the menu, whether barbecued, deviled, stripped or served as bites. The crab cake salad is another specialty. Crab bisque and Maryland crab soup are also on the menu. Crab Imperial, crab on muffins or toast points, au gratin (creamy cheese sauce), crab cakes and king crab legs are other variations. Other types of seafood, beef and chicken are also on the menu.

The Lobster House in Cape May has a restaurant, raw bar and fish market. Fresh-caught seafood is delivered to the restaurant daily. Takeout and online and mail orders are also available. Crabmeat cocktail, crab fingers, crabmeat salad, crab cakes, sautéed crabmeat, au gratin, soft shell and crab legs are on the menu. Local New Jersey seafood and beef and chicken are also served.

The Crab Trap

2 Broadway

Somers Point, NJ 08244

609-927-7377

thecrabtrap.com

The Lobster House

906 Schellengers Landing Road

Cape May, NJ 08204

609-884-8296

thelobsterhouse.com

Crab Restaurants Elsewhere in New Jersey

King crab legs are standard fare in many of New Jersey's crab restaurants.

Some New Jersey crab restaurants are away from the coastline. The Blue Claw Crab Eatery is near Philadelphia, in south-central New Jersey. The restaurant serves a variety of crab, including blue, snow, king, Dungeness and soft shell. Crab is highlighted in cakes, lump style, soup and entrees. The restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat option as well as takeout.

Another option is The Crab House. The New Jersey location--there are also four in Florida--is in Edgewater, overlooking the Hudson River, with a view of New York City. Steamed crab of various types, crab cakes, dip, lump crabmeat, and rice and orzo infused with crab are on the menu. Other types of seafood, beef and chicken are also available.

Blue Claw Seafood & Crab Eatery

4494 Burlington Pike

Burlington Township, NJ 08016

609-387-3700

crabeatery.com

The Crab House - Edgewater

541 River Road

Edgewater, NJ 07020

201- 840-9311

crabhouseseafood.com

Tags: crab cakes, crab legs, beef chicken, beef chicken also, chicken also

First Birthday Party Food Ideas

Any food you serve for your baby's first birthday should be child-friendly.

Food plays a large part in your child's birthday celebration, especially when it's to mark your baby's first year of life. Food should be simple for little hands and mouths, although something adults would enjoy as well. Many of your guests will likely be adults since first birthdays are more for the parents, family and friends to celebrate. Does this Spark an idea?

Crackers

Small animal or fish-shaped crackers that your child typically snacks on will likely be an ideal snack that children and adults can enjoy. Keep in mind your adult guests may have babies to hold, as well, which means one hand is available for eating. If you'd like to offer a more "grown up" version, try a cracker and cheese platter for the adults.

Sandwiches

Make peanut butter and jelly or cheese sandwiches. Cut them into small, bite-sized pieces or shapes using cookie cutters. Large submarine sandwiches can be cut into smaller sections for adults to enjoy.

Fruit

Clean and cut fruit into bite-sized pieces for adults and babies to enjoy. Consider using cookie cutters to create shapes out of fruits such as watermelon. The colors and textures might add to your decor if you arrange the fruit on platters in a decorative way.

Pasta and Meatballs

Soft, cooked noodles might work well for your little one and the other babies. Meatballs with sauce appeal to both babies and adults. Make the meatballs small to avoid choking hazards for the kids.

Chicken

Small chicken nuggets or chicken fingers may be ideal to nourish adult guests, while providing another option for babies. Babies won't eat as much as adults, however something filling could go a long way in avoiding meltdowns due to hungry babies.

Gelatin

Cut flavored gelatin into shapes that complement your party theme using cookie cutters. Provide different flavors for your guests to choose from.

Yogurt

Yogurt, or even pudding, is another snack that adults and babies can both enjoy. Individual, squeezable packages may work best for babies so they can "eat" on the go. Adults will likely prefer individual portions and a spoon.

Cake

Bake one cake for your guests and another small one for your baby to enjoy by himself. A second, smaller cake is typically called a "smash" cake for your baby to get all messy for those classic first birthday cake pictures. Or, serve cupcakes to everyone. Cupcakes may take some hassle out of the party since they are generally easier and faster to serve and require less cleanup.

Tags: your baby, cookie cutters, using cookie, using cookie cutters, will likely, your guests, adult guests

Couple Baby Shower Game Ideas

Until recently, baby showers were traditionally a woman-only event. If men were in attendance, they were typically bored and uncomfortable. Recently, a new trend of baby showers has emerged, which involves not only the father-to-be, but husbands, boyfriends, fiances, and other fathers and grandfathers of the participating women. With these new guests in attendance, the demand for new kinds of co-ed baby shower games has emerged. Does this Spark an idea?

Guess the Date

Each couple marks what date the baby will be born on a cool, baby-themed spreadsheet. The host(ess) sends the prize to the couple who gets closest once the baby has arrived.

Pictionary or Charades

Play a game of Pictionary or Charades using pre-made cards with baby- and pregnancy-centered words and phrases.

Baby Item Scavenger Hunt

For this couple baby shower game, each couple gets a set of clues for where to find specific baby items, like clothing, diapers, bottles and toiletries. The team that finishes first gets the prize, and the mom and dad-to-be get to keep the findings.

Tropical Island Bottle

At a tropical-themed shower, fill half a dozen 4 oz. bottles with margaritas (virgin or regular). Have volunteers race to see who can drink theirs down the fastest---a "slow flow" nipple can make things even funnier for everyone.

Beans in a Bottle

This baby shower game consists of jelly beans (the small ones work best) in a bottle. Each couple has to guess how many beans are in the bottle, and the one who is closest wins the prize.

Tags: baby shower, baby shower game, baby showers, couple gets, Each couple

Caribbean Decorating Ideas

If you want to add a feeling of fun and sun to your interior, Caribbean decorating is for you. This style looks perfect as a whole-house makeover, although you can also focus on a single room or an outdoor space such as the patio, porch, deck or garden. Approach this style with a sense of adventure, and do not be afraid to play around with color. Does this Spark an idea?

Caribbean Palette

The Caribbean decor is more than a nautical palette. To evoke island chic, integrate some bold blues in your interior. In fact, complementary shades of blue look ideal, such as a more indigo shade set next to a sky blue, or a bright splash of turquoise. Dusty or muted blues do not keep with the Caribbean aesthetic, but muted and bright yellows, golds, tans and lighter earth tones echo the sandy beaches and bright sunshine for which the region is known. A bright Caribbean palette also includes splashes of bold pinks, yellows, greens and oranges next to one another, but this look may overpower some spaces. You might want to paint a bold accent wall instead, and use accessories to deliver the other colors in the Caribbean palette.

Furnishings

One key to Caribbean decorating is that the furnishings can endure direct sunlight. Natural fibers such as wicker, rattan and bamboo are popular, and also evoke the trend in green design. White tile floors or white carpeting has a Caribbean beach house look, but tile floors or hardwood floors with throw rugs or mats also have a beach house aesthetic. Use bright baskets with bold patterns and designs as storage, or go for cool white lidded boxes for a more upscale look. Avoid dark stains, lacquered surfaces or anything that could be described as minimalist.

Accessories

Nothings says the Caribbean more than shells and coral as accessories. However, you can take this look a bit further by incorporating authentic Caribbean art into your interior design. The key is to look for photographs, paintings or mixed-media pieces that do not evoke Caribbean hotel room, but rather daily Caribbean life through the eyes of an artist. Landscapes and beach scenes are popular, but so are scenes of brightly-painted houses, people in different regional dress, images of ethnic cuisine or portraits of people. Images of tropical fruits and flowers also look great on textiles, wallpaper, ceramic tiles, flower pots and dishes.

Tags: your interior, beach house, Caribbean decorating, Caribbean palette, more than

Couples Shower Invitation Ideas

Couple showers, referred to as "Jack & Jill showers," tend to be more casual.

As wedding planning and baby rearing become more equally shared by couples, so are the showers given to celebrate these events. Couples wedding showers or couples baby showers not only have the groom or father-to-be attending, but his friends, relatives and significant others of the guests as well. Because men participate in these festivities, the theme, food, decorations, entertainment and even the invitations must be fashioned to make the male and female guests feel equally welcome and comfortable. Does this Spark an idea?

Wedding Showers

Coed wedding showers are replacing the more traditional women-only bridal shower and often take on the feel of a party rather than a shower. The invitation for a coed wedding shower must appeal to all recipients. Themes for coed wedding showers may involve cocktails, togetherness or activities both men and women enjoy. Invitations might have graphics of wine bottles and wine glasses, martini glasses or other cocktail themes to indicate the shower will be casual and that cocktails will be served. If the soon-to-be-married couple has a favorite shared hobby or activity, such as camping or gardening, select that for your theme. Invitations can have graphics with a couple enjoying the activity.

Baby Showers

Soon-to-be fathers are taking a more active role and interest in the upcoming birth and preparations for their newborn, and so both the mother and father often attend a baby shower. If you are planning to include both the mom and dad, you will also be inviting men as guests, so themes, decorations, and invitations should not be cutesy, but instead should make both men and women feel welcome and comfortable. You want your baby shower invitation to inspire the recipient to attend. Keep the theme of the invitation directed toward the arriving baby with phrases such as "It's a Boy/Girl!" or "Baby on Board." No matter what you decide for a theme, be sure to state in your invitation that the shower is for both parents and that it is a couples shower, so there will be no confusion or embarrassment later.

Etiquette

When you address your couples shower invitation, both individuals of the couple must be named, either as Mr. & Mrs., or individually. You only need to send one invitation to a couple living together, whether they are married or not. Do not exclude single people from your couples shower simply because they are unattached. Let them invite a date, or they can attend alone.

Tags: couples shower, wedding showers, baby shower, both women, coed wedding

Costume Ideas For Gilligan'S Island

The silly sitcom about tropical castaways provides great costume ideas.

Gilligan's Island costumes are a great idea for a group costume or costume party theme. The silly sitcom about seven castaways on a tropical island provides ample fodder for fun and games. If you need more than seven basic costume ideas, you can always add some absurd "native" costumes from assorted episodes. Does this Spark an idea?

Gilligan

The klutzy deckhand, Gilligan, is the clown of the castaway crew. His basic costume is easy to replicate. Gilligan has blue, bell-bottom pants and white canvas shoes. His red, long-sleeve shirt has a pointed white collar with three white buttons down the front. He wears his white sailor's hat with the brim down.

Ginger

Ginger is the sexy movie-star castaway. Her costume is glamorous with a sparkling, gold evening gown and matching heels. She has teased, shoulder-length red hair that flips outward at the ends and a dark mole on her cheek. Her heavy eye shadow, sleek eyeliner, false eyelashes and red lipstick are always perfectly applied.

Mary Ann

The farm girl, Mary Ann, is the sweet and nurturing castaway. Though she can wear a few different costumes, her short, brunette pigtails are her signature. The best Mary Ann costume has a red-and-white checked, sleeveless, button-down shirt tied in a knot below the bosom. Her short shorts are blue with a waist that ends just above the bellybutton. No shoes are required for Mary Ann, though a simple pair of sandals can be used if needed.

Mr. Howell

Rich and arrogant, Mr. Howell is the haughty millionaire castaway. He wears a pair of white yachting pants and a blue, emblem-embroidered suit jacket. His tailored white shirt opens at the collar to reveal a fancy silk ascot. The costume can be paired with a pair of leather loafers or fancy canvas yachting shoes.

Mrs. Howell

Mrs. Howell is the sweet, but clueless and spoiled, castaway. Called "Lovey" by her husband, she has short, platinum-blonde hair that is always perfectly styled. She wears pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, white gloves and white shoes with a low heel. Her main outfit can include any matching coat and skirt/pant combination, such as floral-patterned silk pants with a ruffled, pearl-buttoned, floral jacket and matching sunhat.

Skipper

The robust and cheerful Skipper is the captain of the wrecked ship and the leader of the castaways. He wears white pants, white canvas shoes and a blue, short-sleeve shirt that hangs loosely over his big belly. He has a dark blue captain's cap with an embroidered emblem in front.

The Professor

The professor is the brilliant castaway who can create a coconut radio, but cannot fix a hole in a wood ship. The professor wears a white, tailored, long-sleeve, button-down shirt tucked neatly into his beige slacks. A pair of simple leather loafers and a simple leather belt finishes his outfit.

Tags: wears white, always perfectly, basic costume, button-down shirt, canvas shoes, costume ideas

Costume Ideas For A Sea Party

Sea parties encompass both above and under the water.

Somewhere beyond the sea is the perfect costume for your aquatic-themed party. When deciding on a costume to wear for a sea-related event, you can choose between going as a creature of the sea, someone who enjoys the sea or the sea itself. These sea-themed costumes can be created with old clothes and accessories, or you can purchase ready-made costumes in stores to achieve your desired look.

Fish

Choose to be any fish.

Make a fish costume. You can choose to purchase a ready-made fish costume or paint your face to resemble your favorite aquatic creature. Use fabric paint on a solid-colored sweatsuit to add scales for a homemade costume.

Seaweed

Take several green fabrics of different shade and cut them into strips. Lay the strips over yourself or glue them to a T-shirt to become seaweed.

Coral Reef

Paint several large pieces of Styrofoam different tropical colors. Once dry, attach them to a blue sweatsuit using glue or velcro. Once you have the costume on, paint a tropical fish onto both of your cheeks to go as the coral reef.

Starfish

Become a star

A simple starfish costume can be made using a hooded sweatshirt and matching sweatpants. You may have to keep your legs in a wide stance and your arms above your head for the costume to reach its full effect.

Humans

Go to the sea party as an invading human by wearing a wetsuit to be a scuba diver or a sailor suit for a man or woman of the sea. Cover a pirate costume in seaweed and hold a piece of broken wood representing your destroyed ship to become a less than fortunate inhabitant of the underwater world.

Mermaid

Live under the sea as a mermaid

Attend the sea party as a mermaid or merman. A piece of sequined green fabric wrapped around your legs can create an instant set of fins. Women can attach seashells onto a bikini top, while men can go shirtless or wear a brightly colored tank top.

Puns

Instead of dressing like a fish, go to the party dressed as a chicken or horse. Explain to party guests that you are a chicken of the sea or a seahorse. Keep a can of tuna handy for confused guests.

Ships

Become a ship

Paint a box to resemble a ship and cut a hole in the top for your head to fit through. Or try to recreate the Titanic as a costume and bring a guest covered in white Styrofoam to act as your iceberg.

The Beach

Apply glue to an old swimsuit and then pour a mix of sand and gold glitter over the material. Your resulting costume will be a sandy beach.

Tags: costume paint, fish costume, purchase ready-made, your head, your legs

Costume Ideas For A Beaded Dress

A beaded gown is a good foundation for many costumes.

A beaded dress is a versatile wardrobe piece that lends itself naturally to many costume eras. You can dress it up or down to fit in to several different and unique roles. Whether you want to visit the 1920s flapper era, be a Vegas showgirl or be a glamorous movie star for an evening, a beaded gown has no shortage of looks.

1920s Hollywood

The 1920s evoke an image of flappers and art deco design. For this era, consider a knee-length or calf-length straight gown dripping with intricate beadwork. Spaghetti straps or a sleeveless gown with a v-neck will give you the most authentic look. Accessorize with Mary Jane shoes with an ankle strap, bright red lipstick, short bobbed hair or a wig and a decorative headband.

Vegas Showgirl

If you want the look of a Vegas showgirl with more modest coverage than some costumes allow, pair a beaded gown with a large feathered headdress. For an over-the-top look, consider a feathered fantail dripping with crystals. This can be worn over your dress and, when paired with a headdress, will make your costume stand out. Feather boas, stick-on sparkly face jewels, sparkly gloves, long false eyelashes and heavy makeup will complete this showgirl look.

Movie Star

Revisit old Hollywood glamour by donning a beaded gown for the evening and dressing it up with vintage accessories, makeup, and hairstyles. Select a gown simple in its lines without ruffles, puffy sleeves, busy necklines or overly large skirts. Because the beading of your dress should be the star, opt for a sleek dress with a straight or a-line skirt. Spaghetti straps, strapless or sleeveless are the most indicative of this era. Accentuate with simple, uncomplicated hair in a classic chignon or simple pin-curl waves. Keep face makeup pale and uncomplicated with bright lips, long, elegant eyelashes, and a touch of blusher.

Jessica Rabbit

Jessica Rabbit from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" is famously depicted in a long, slinky red dress. You can emulate her look with a long beaded red gown of your own, preferably with a long slit up one leg. Purchase a red wig that falls at least halfway down the back and softly curl the ends to get the Jessica Rabbit look. Bright red lips and soft blue eye makeup, bright blue long gloves, and shiny red high-heeled shoes finish the Jessica Rabbit look.

Tags: beaded gown, Jessica Rabbit, dripping with, gown with, Jessica Rabbit look, Rabbit look, Spaghetti straps

Costume Ideas For 24 People

Dressing in a group can give your costume idea more punch and make Halloween more fun. Gather your closest friends and brainstorm together for costume ideas, and then you can decide whether to purchase the costumes or make them at home. Have fun dressing as a team this Halloween.

Food Groups

Dress as one food group with your friends, such as fruit, vegetables or meats. You can make a grape costume by attaching a bunch of inflated purple balloons to a sweater or shirt. You can also find ready-made grape, banana, apple, lemon, watermelon and pineapple costumes for children and adults at costume stores or large online retail stores.

You can dress as condiments. If you have two people, you can dress as ketchup and mustard, or salt and pepper, and, if you have four people, simply join the two pairs. You can purchase ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper costumes at most costume stores. If you have three people, you can dress as peanut butter, jelly and banana.

Television Characters

Return to your favorite childhood television show by dressing as your favorite characters from the series. TV show themes work well for groups of any size. You and your friends can dress up as Big Bird, Elmo, Bert or Ernie from "Sesame Street," or Pebbles, Bamm Bamm, Fred or Wilma from "The Flintstones." Making your own "Sesame Street" costumes will require a bit of ingenuity, but you can also purchase them at costume stores. You can make your own "Flintstones" costumes with simple, inexpensive fabric decorated with felt shapes attached with hot glue. You and your friends can also dress up as a group of Power Rangers, Smurfs, Muppets, Care Bears or "Peanuts" characters.

Superheroes

Salute your favorite comic books or action movies by dressing as a group of superheroes. You can make your own superhero costumes using items from your closet and simple craft supplies. Begin with tights or leggings and a leotard as a base, and hot glue insignias made out of felt to the leotard. Make a cape out of inexpensive metallic fabric, and purchase or make a mask. You can also purchase readymade costumes for Robin, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, Superman, Batman, Captain America, Spider Man, Wolverine and more. For groups of girls, look to the X-men series for inspiration; you can dress as Rogue, Dark Phoenix or Storm.

Tags: costume stores, your favorite, your friends, also purchase, ketchup mustard

Correct Way To Address Graduation Announcements

Graduation announcements share your achievement with family and friends.

A graduation announcement tells friends and family about the milestone you have reached. It is a memento of an important accomplishment. An announcement may or may not be an invitation to the event or any related celebrations. Graduation announcements come in two envelopes. One envelope is for mailing and the other contains the announcement.

Instructions

1. Select the outer envelope. The outer envelope is going to be used for mailing the announcement. It will have a stamp and your return address on it.

2. Choose a black or blue ink pen.

3. Address the outer envelope using proper names and complete addresses without abbreviations. Even if the announcement is sent to an aunt and uncle, it still should read Mr. and Mrs. John Doe.

4. Select the inner envelope. The inner envelope holds the announcement.

5. Address the inner envelope in a personalized manner. The inner envelope will be written in a more casual demeanor, such as Aunt Jane and Uncle John.

Tags: inner envelope, outer envelope, Graduation announcements

Corporate Christmas Party Gift Ideas

Selecting the right Christmas gift for a corporate event can be tricky.

The annual Christmas party is a great place for executives to show appreciation for their employees. A gift given to each individual or department can spread good cheer and let people know how important they are to the company. Whether you're a big spender or on a tight budget, you can find an appropriate gift for this event. Does this Spark an idea?

Personalized Gifts

In a small company, you may be able to provide a personalized gift for each individual. The best choice is a classic desk accessory or business item that can be engraved with each individual's name. Consider items such as desk clocks, pens, paperweights, business card holders and portfolios. If you have a chance before the big event, pass by the cubicles of your recipients and choose an item that is not already prominently displayed on their desks.

You can also personalize items by department rather than each individual person. Custom-printed note pads and pens are widely available and can feature a catchy motto, phrase or inside joke pertaining to the group. Stay away from anything off-color or inappropriate, but don't be afraid of clean humor that will inspire a little chuckle.

Edible Gifts

Almost everyone loves a chance to munch on tasty snacks throughout the work day. Edible gifts can be given to each individual or en masse to whole departments. Avoid meat products around the holidays to keep from offending anyone at this time. Sweet treats should come with a sugar-free option for those with dietary restrictions. While a bottle of wine is generally well-received, make sure that the recipient does, in fact, drink before giving this type of gift. A varied gift basket is a good choice if you don't know the preferences of the recipient. You can also give a delicious gift in the form of a restaurant gift card. Select an establishment located in the area with a broad menu and you're sure to please.

Monetary Gifts

You can rarely go wrong with money. While cold hard cash may seem a little tactless, you can class up a monetary gift by giving it in the form of a gift card. Visa gift cards are as good as cash as they are accepted almost anywhere. Discount retailers that offer a wide range of items are a good choice as well. Avoid cards to specialized stores unless you're sure that the recipient shops there. Another way to give a monetary gift is in the form of a donation. You can donate money in the recipient's name to a variety of charities. If you aren't sure which charity to support, give a gift card from an organization that allows the recipient to choose the charity.

Tags: each individual, gift card, gift form, given each, given each individual

Fun Games For 12yearold Kids

A variety of games can be played by 12 year olds.

While many 12-year-old kids seem shy, when you get a group of them together the shyness wears off rather quickly. Playing games, interacting with each other and sharing stories will get children to open up and have a great time. These games can be played indoors, outdoors, at birthday parties--or just for fun.

Scavenger Hunt

If you have a group of 4 or more 12 year old kids, this is a fun game. Break the group up into even teams; you can have two large teams or a few small teams. Make enough lists so each team has a list of items to find. You can have the scavenger hunt in your home, backyard or if you all live in an especially friendly neighborhood, the kids can try to locate the items at their neighbor’s houses. Their lists should contain items like toenail clippers, a roll of toilet paper, an old sock, and an inflatable pool float--anything you can think of that a neighbor might have. Make a couple of the items fairly challenging, such as a 1999 penny, an artificial or alternative sweetener packet, or an old shoe. This will make the hunt even more fun. The first team to collect all the items on the list wins.

Silent Charades

Four players are needed for this game and players will divide into 2 teams. Topics such as movie names, celebrity names and everyday names should be mixed together in a hat. One team picks a member to draw a name from the hat. That person will act out the topic, while their team members have 5 minutes to guess what it is. The person can only act out what the topic is and cannot speak. If no one has guessed correctly after 5 minutes is up, the other team can make a guess; if they are right, they steal the point. Each time a team makes a correct guess, they get one point. The first team to earn 10 points wins the game.

Hula Hoop Game

You will need a group of at least 5 kids, and the bigger the group, the more fun this game will be. Have everyone stand in a big circle and hold hands. Take a hula hoop and slip it onto one kid’s arm, then make sure she rejoins hands with her partners. The object is to get the hula hoop all the way around the circle without letting go of anyone's hand. If the group is big enough, the game can be played with more than one hula hoop to make it more challenging. The game is over when the hula hoop makes it all the way around the circle.

Tags: this game, around circle, first team, games played, group more

Cool Things To Do Near The Kona Seaside

Taking a bicycling tour is one of many activities near the Kona Coast in Hawaii.

Kona is a 60-mile long district located on the western coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. The coast is known for its beautiful beaches and its proximity to the island's major attractions such as the Mauna Loa volcano and the Kaloko-Honokohau National Park, which includes ancient temples and petroglyphs. Visitors who want to participate in some memorable and "cool" activities can choose from such things as bicycling down a mountain summit and exploring underground lava caves.

Take a Bicycle Tour

Orchid Isle Bicycling (orchidislebicycling.com), based in Kailua Kona, offers a variety of bicycling ranging from two hours to a seven-day Kona Coast Tour that includes six nights of accommodations. For those wishing to explore the Kona Coast in one afternoon, there are four daily tours: the five-hour Mauka Makai (40 to 55 miles roundtrip to the 3,500-foot Kohala Mountain), the five-hour Wiki Wiki (21 miles from Waimea Village to the Waipio Valley Lookout), the three-hour Kohala Downhill (21 miles downhill from the mountain's summit, and Alii Tour, which is a completely customized tour. All of the tours include a bicycle, helmet, support vehicle, tour guide, fresh fruit, and water and Gatorade.

Take an Air Tour

Big Island Air (bigislandair.com) is located at the Commuter Air Terminal in the Kona International Airport. It offers a variety of air tours on its fleet of Cessna Caravans, which are the only turbine-engine, jet-prop aircraft in the state of Hawaii. The aircraft have been redesigned to include nine seats (instead of the original 13) to guarantee window seating for each passenger. In addition to private charters, the company provides three daily tours: the two-hour Circle Island Tour (a circular air tour of the island), the one-and-a-half-hour Sunset Volcano Air Tour of active Mt. Kilauea, and the Five Islands Volcano Air Tour, which takes about three hours and completes a circular tour of the Big Island of Hawaii and its four nearby islands.

Take Some Surfing Lessons

Surfer Bear Hawaii (surferbearhawaii.com) provides individual and group surfing lessons for all ages and levels. Each staff member is a first-aid and CPR-trained lifeguard. The primary location for the lessons occur at Kahalu'u Beach Park on the Kona Coast, but other locations can be arranged based on surfing conditions and ability. The company provides reef shoes, rash guards and soft surfboards (required for all beginners), but more advanced students can bring their own hard surfboards. Tandem options are also available, where students can ride with the instructors on the same boards.

Explore Lava Caverns

Kula Kai Caverns (kulakaicaverns.com) are located 45 miles south of Kona and consist of several miles of underground caverns, which are only a portion of the larger Kanohina lava tube system that runs more than 20 miles. Five different guided tours are offered that range from the 45-minute easy Lighted Trail Tour to the more physical Complete Cave Experience, which is an extensive tour of the caverns that requires crawling through short tunnels on hands and knees. The longer tours include all safety equipment, helmets, lights, knee pads and gloves. All of the tours are available seven days a week, and reservations are required.

Tags: Kona Coast, circular tour, company provides, daily tours, Island Hawaii, mountain summit, offers variety

Cool Things To Do In Kona

Pulling a pig from the imu at a Kona luau.

Kona, the west side of Hawaii's "Big Island," is full of cool activities. Visitors just need to decide if they want to focus on the region's unique culture, its adventure activities, its off-the-beaten-path attractions, or a bit of each.

Local Culture

What could be a cooler Hawaiian activity than a luau? The Kona Village eco-resort offers a traditional luau and imu pig-roast ceremony every Friday evening (Reservations at 808-325-5555), while the Waikoloa Beach Marriott offers a luau and imu every Wednesday and Sunday at 'Anaeho'omalu Bay (Reservations at 808-886-6789).

The Pu'uhonua Honaunau National Historic Park (www.nps.gov/puho), set along a rocky black lava shoreline, has a pretty cool history: it was once a place of refuge for vanquished warriors and those who violated the sacred laws known as "kapu." Today, visitors can see the 10-foot-high and 17-foot-thick Great Wall that defined the refuge and an ancient temple guarded by wooden statues of gods known as "ki'i."

The Kona Historical Society (www.konahistorical.org) offers an array of cool history-related activities, including a walking tour of historic Kailua village; a visit to a historic Kona coffee farm and Japanese-style farmhouse; and lessons in baking bread in the fashion of the Portuguese settlers who arrived in the late 19th century.

Adventure

Great visibility and a diversity of marine life make Kona an ideal place for underwater fun. The website Let's Go Hawaii lists Spencer Beach Park, Kailua Bay, Kahaluu Beach Park, Kealakekua Bay and Pawai Bay among its top diving and snorkeling spots in Kona (See the Resources section for a list of outfitters). However, the coolest underwater activity in Kona may be a manta ray night dive or snorkel. Kona Honu Divers (www.konahonudivers.com) is a recommended outfitter.

Back on land, Kula Kai Caverns, on the slopes of Mauna Loa near South Point is a series of 1,000-year-old braided lava tubes that are definitely cool to explore (www.kulakaicaverns.com).

While in Kona, fans of outdoors activities shouldn't pass up a trip to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (www.nps.gov/havo/), a 2 ½-hour trip from Kailua-Kona, the Kona region's major city. The park, which is home to two active volcanoes, features plenty of hiking and biking trails, as well as some very cool lava-viewing. Lonely Planet lists the park No. 1 on its top picks list for Hawaii's Big Island.

Off The Beaten Path

For "travelers weary of super resorts," Frommer's recommends a visit to the Kona village of Holualoa on the flanks of the Hualalai volcano, which it describes as "a cluster of brightly painted, tin-roofed plantation shacks enjoying a revival as B&Bs, art galleries and quaint shops." For java lovers, Holualoa is located in the heart of Kona's coffee belt.

The Keahole-Kona International Airport might not be the first place that travelers would look for cool attractions, but kids and science buffs will enjoy the interactive exhibits and videos at the airport's Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center (www.onizukaspacecenter.org), dedicated to Hawaii's first astronaut who died in the Challenger disaster in 1986.

Tags: Beach Park, Hawaii Island, Kona coffee, luau Kona

Best Time Of The Year To Visit Disney World

Mickey Mouse on parade at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

When most people choose a time to visit Walt Disney World, they are limited by certain factors. The biggest one is the school calendar, as many people travel as a family. As a result, the parks are more crowded--and rooms are more expensive--if you travel during common school breaks. Outside of that, there are a number of great times to visit Disney World, depending on where your interests lie.

Low Crowds

For many people, the best time to go is when there are fewer people there. While the parks are rarely empty, there are some traditional low points in the year when many rides and attractions have little to no wait. Disney resort hotels also are cheaper during these periods. The downside is that Disney sometimes cuts back on park hours and services during these periods, and some rides may be shut down for refurbishment.

Early January through mid-February has been a traditional slow period and when you're most likely to experience some of the lightest crowds of the year--with the exception of holiday weekends.

September and October have traditionally been slow periods, although free dining promotions held in September can fill the parks.

The first two weeks of December also have seen lighter-than-average crowds in the past. With mild weather, low crowds and the parks decorated for the holidays, this can be a very pleasant time to visit.

There are a number of crowd calenders available to help you see anticipated crowd levels. Touringplans.com has a great one, but a subscription fee is required.

Big Promotions

Disney frequently runs big promotions to increase attendance during traditional slow periods, or to simply get more people into the parks when the economy is slow. In recent years, Disney has offered free dining to families who book vacation packages in August and September (exact dates may vary from year to year). It's a tremendous value, and the parks can be crowded during these periods. If you choose to go during a free dining period, be sure to make reservations at the restaurants where you wish to eat as early as possible, as they do fill rapidly because of the promotion.

Disney also has offered deals such as free admission on your birthday and seven-nights-for-the-price-of-four deals, and frequently releases discount codes to holders of Disney Visa cards, travel agents and through newspaper, TV and magazine ads. These codes often can be found online at sites such as AllEars.net and MouseSavers.com.

Festivals

Disney holds a number of big parties and festivals throughout the year. Each spring, Epcot Center hosts the International Flower and Garden Festival, and the park is filled with topiaries recreating Disney scenes and characters. There also are gardening workshops, a butterfly tent and all kinds of backyard knickknacks for sale.

In autumn, Epcot is the scene of the Food & Wine Festival. The 11 nations of the World Showcase are joined by temporary kiosks representing additional nations, and all of them sell small (and generally inexpensive) samples of food and wine from those nations.

The Magic Kingdom hosts a number of parties each year. Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party runs from late September through Halloween, while Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party takes place during the holiday season. Unlike the Epcot festivals, the Magic Kingdom parties require separate admission in addition to your park ticket, and take place in the evening. The park is then closed to guests without a ticket to the party.

There also are some sporting-type events, such as the annual marathon and half-marathon held in early January.

Tags: Disney World, during these, during these periods, free dining, Magic Kingdom

Bridal Shower Table Decorating Pictures & Ideas

Cook up some bridal shower decorating ideas.

Make your bridal shower, or one you are throwing for a friend, a special event by incorporating picture activities and photo gifts. Create a specific bridal theme and decorate the room accordingly with stunning table centerpieces. Choose themed bridal showers to represent seasons, diverse cultures or gift themes like kitchen items or lingerie.

Picture Table Centerpiece

A recent photo of the bride and groom will make a personalized bridal shower table centerpiece. You could frame a photograph in an elegant silver frame to place on the gift table or on the table where the bridal shower cake is placed. Put a photo in a glass vase that accommodates pictures, and fill with the bride's favorite fresh flowers. Another option is to assemble pictures of the bride and groom from childhood into a photo collage and frame it, or make a special photo album to leave out for guests to review.

Activities Using Pictures

Have someone ready to snap pictures of the bride with each one of her guests at the shower. Jot down each guest's email address, and send them the photo after the shower as a keepsake. Alternatively, you could have digital photos developed and printed through a local photo center and have them ready for guests at the wedding reception. If you are not using a digital camera, have the photos developed later for all the guests.

Table Themes

Choose a decoration theme that represents the bride or engaged couple to decorate a bridal shower table. If she is Irish, for example, use green plates or a green tablecloth or, if she is Italian, decorate using an Italian bistro theme. If the couple is getting married on the beach, use decorations to reflect that theme. Use holiday decorations, with poinsettias on the table, for a bride preparing to walk down the aisle during the Christmas season.

Food-Themed Table Decorations

If you are having a kitchen gift-themed bridal shower, consider using colorful food items as table centerpieces. Place fresh fruits like oranges, lemons, or limes in clear containers filled with water, for example, or put bowls of fruit on display. Use pieces of fruit and cubes of cheese to make a stunning centerpiece. Use a polystyrene base and attach fruit, vegetables, and cheese pieces to the base using toothpicks in a circular fashion. Tie ribbons which are color-coordinated to match your theme around salt and pepper shakers, a tea pot, and creamer and sugar bowls.

Tags: bridal shower, bridal shower table, bride groom, photos developed, pictures bride, shower table, table centerpieces

Cool Camping Party Decoration Ideas

Use a lantern to help decorate a camping-themed party.

Camping is usually considered an outdoor activity. Fortunately, there is no need to endure a night of cold weather, hot weather or a bug-infested campsite to enjoy a camping experience. You can bring the camping party indoors and with a few decorations, you can turn your house into a cool and exciting camping adventure for your kids and their friends. Does this Spark an idea?

Tent

Move the furniture to make room for a tent. The larger the tent, the better. Inside the tent, kids can eat their food, play games, open presents and sleep if it's a sleepover. For an activity, turn off the lights, close the tent windows and give each child a flashlight or pass a flashlight around to tell scary stories.

Campfire

Get out the camping chairs and light and surround your fireplace. If you don't have a fireplace, make one with cardboard boxes (painted brown) and red construction paper or tissue paper for flames. Turn on a nearby fan for to make the flames move for an added effect.

Nighttime

Create a nighttime scene with cut-out or glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, black cloths draped on the walls and a hanging moon. Hang or set out battery-operated lanterns. Play outdoor sounds such as chirping crickets or a hooting owl on your music player.

Nature

Buy rubber bugs, lizards and other creatures you might see on a camping trip. Scatter them throughout the house, such as on the food table or inside the tent. If the party is at night, use glow-in-the-dark creatures.

Miscellaneous

Paint a camp sign on a piece of wood. It can just say "Camp" or also include the child's name who is hosting the party. Hang the sign in your entrance way or on your front door. Use green paper products and utensils and hang up green and brown streamers.

Tags: kids their