Valentine's Day Party

Last year we were inspired by Jaime to throw a Valentine's Day party. We wanted this to become an annual thing but this year Valentine's Day is a week before my due date so we opted out of this year's celebration. But anywho! Here's some of the fun things we did last year:

The Dollar Store was the perfect place for the decorations (some pictured below.) They had plenty of items that were Valentine's day themed including the napkins, plates, fabric rose petals and doily hearts that we got. With the doorway decorations I cut rectangles and squares from red cardstock and wrote love, kissy, and xoxoxo with one letter per square then threaded them with red thread and viola, doorway garland!

Games:
the Newlywed Game,
Battle of the Sexes,
Guess the Famous Couple through hints,
make a story with 10 conversation hearts,
love song charades (whichever couple could guess 2 songs in the shortest amount of time won),
and a group mad lib (on strips of paper were written adjective, noun, etc and were put into a mad lib which was hilarious!)

The food had to be within the theme of course. We included on the invitations for our party guests to bring a treat that was red or pink.

Treats We Made:
Of course I didn't take hardly any pictures especially of the food...
Sliced red potatoes with sprinkled cheese and bacon bits on them (and baked for 15 min at 400)
We did a red fruit platter with Cool Whip for a dip
Pink Rice Krispie Treats
Ok, we didn't make these but we did supply hot tamales and red hots...YUM

Treats that were brought:
Strawberry Kiwi drink
Pink Oreo truffles
Chocolate covered strawberries
Cinnamon sugar donut holes
Brownies
Red and pink trifle (which won the prize for best treat which included taste and overall pinkness)

We gave out prizes for some of the games and treats. The prizes were:
Newlywed game: My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Famous Couples: Gossip magazine
Best treat: Oven mitt with matching hand towel with a large french chef
Love song charades: lollipops (get it? Pop stars?)

What do you like to do for Valentine's Day? Go out to dinner? Netflix night?

I tried to figure this out but just couldn't. If anyone knows how to embed a PowerPoint into your blog post let me know and I can share our Newlywed and Battle of the Sexes games!

How to Host Your Own Trivia Night

If you've been a reader of WGC for several years, you'll know I have thrown a Valentine's Day party for the past 2 years. 2012 and 2013.  2014 was year 3 and I came up with a really fun theme: Stupid Cupid Trivia Night! A trivia night is a really fun way to have everyone involved in an activity and it can be done any time of year or for a fun birthday party. We had 25 people attend the party and it was a good number. Here's how we did it:

1. Break up into three groups. Give each group a nose maker of some kind, like a buzzer, bell or clapping hands. It's best if they are different sounds so you know which team rang in first. 

2. Have the host introduce the game and categories. My friend, Jessica, hosted and read all the questions. She did really well! We did a Jeopardy style game where anyone on the team could ring in with the answer. To help, we plugged my laptop into the TV so players could also read the question. 

3. Some of the questions were actually team challenges. For example, each team was given a Barbie to dress up like cupid using only things they had on their person in 2 minutes. The best cupid was given the points for that question. It was a fun way to break things up. 

4. After two rounds, the team with the most points was the only one who could participate in the Final Jeopardy round. They wagered what they wanted and then wrote down their answer for the question. The winner got caramels from Trader Joe's and movie passes!

We also gave out painted ceramic measuring bowls for the best dish and Trader Joe's candies to the best dressed (the one wearing the most hearts!). It was a really fun night. 

We made the Jeopardy board using Jeopardylabs.com which made everything MUCH easier. It keeps track of your points and has all the answers. Here's one of the boards we used--it has a cupid theme to it: Stupid Cupid Trivia Board Round 1

Two Valentine's Party Themes!

Jaime throws a mean party. She's hosted a couple Valentine's parties, both with awesome themes, decor, games and fun!

RED-themed Valentine's Party

Decor

Heart chandelier

Giant heart pompons

Vintage Valentine display

so so so much more!

Games

Guess your couple

Battle of the sexes

Costume contest: who wore the most red?

Dancing ("Lady in Red" and more)

Food

All things red!

Queen of Hearts Valentine's Party

Decor

Card garlands

Card themed paperware

Balloon chandeliers

Games

Build a house of cards

Linked-arm challenges

Costume contest

What would your Valentine's party theme be?

The Queen of Hearts Party: The Games

I think one of the most important parts of party planning is the games or activities planned for the evening. The decor could be great, but if there isn't a lot of mingling, people will leave early. So my party planning crew and I worked hard to make sure these activities would be enjoyable.

We had two games at the party. The first turned out to be the main event. As people were arriving we had them pick a card. Each suit then became a different team, breaking up couples and mixing people up. When all the guests were there and most people had a little something to eat, we announced the game. Each team was given its own work space (table). On the table they found a brown paper bag with the supplies for the game and directions. I've found that you will have to explain the game at least three times but with written rules/directions you will only explain them once and then you just refer them to the written directions! The activity, was of course, building a house of cards. We gave each team two decks of cards, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, dry pasta, marshmallows and a glue gun. They were to build their house on a foam board, purchased from Dollar Tree. The teams were instructed they would judged on structural integrity, height and ascetics. We gave the groups a little over thirty minutes to construct their houses and had a dramatic countdown during the last 10 seconds. When time was up we yelled "Hands off!" a couple of times, just like on those Food Network challenge shows. We had each team present their creation and explain their inspiration, etc. We had everything from Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to a Scotland castle represented! Each team took a picture with their creation and then we broke out the measuring tape to see just how tall each of them were.. Finally, an "earthquake" was simulated for each house to test its structural integrity. (Bragging: my husband's team's house withstood 10 seconds of the craziest earthquake you've ever seen. We deemed it indestructible). We awarded each team points according to height, aesthetics and structural integrity. Judging was tough but really fun too!

This was the best part of the party, because it got people talking and mingling. It involved both the guys (building) and gals (creative). And got people working together. It was so fun to watch and the party planning crew was giddy to see how much fun people were having. 

Our second activity was fun but not as big of a hitl. We had 42 guests at the party, which was a large crowd. It worked well for the house of cards game, but not as well for the second game we played, which we called Two of a Kind. There were three rounds to this game. For each round, each team had to have a set of partners come up to contend. We set up around a card table, with each set of partners on a side. The partners linked arms and then had to complete an activity using their free or outside arms The first to finish the activity earned 25 points for their team. The first round we had them stack 10 conversation hearts on top of each other. The second, tie a shoe. The their was the most entertaining, put a diaper on a baby doll. One team thought they'd won, but we stated they were disqualified for having the baby doll's arm through the leg hole of the diaper =) In the end we thought this activity was fun, but with this large of a group, people were done with games and just wanted to eat and socialize. Lesson learned!

 

In the end we awarded the prizes for the best outfit for each suit. They were given a goodie bag and a necklace with a playing card on it (they were actually for Mardi Gras but were perfect and at Dollar Tree, so I had to get them). We then announced how each team did in both games. The overall winner was then awarded a box of chocolates! 

As you can tell, the decor and games weren't all that Valentines-y so this would be a great theme for a party any time of year! It's also great for both single people and married people. We had fun and are excited for next year's Valentine's Day Party!

Queen of Hearts Party Decor

As I mentioned, I had a Valentine's Day party! It was my second time throwing a Valentine's Day party and I wanted to go in a different direction. This year's theme was Queen of Hearts. The hearts was the only tie to Valentine's Day. Our decor focused on playing cards. I probably purchased 30 decks of playing cards, but when they come in a two pack from Dollar Tree, it was quite affordable. Here is what it looked like:

To make the heart, I cut out a large heart from cardboard. Then I covered it with the hearts cards and hot glued the hearts to the cardboard. It looked a little lonely so I made a background for the heart using the backside of two different cards (one pack was from Michaels). This was a great activity to do during Downton Abbey. We added balloons and lanterns to fill it more.

My friend, Anne, made the banners. She simply hot glued cards to twine, but there were a lot of cards. She made three banners and strung them from her top banister to three different places on her curtain rod. Then we added balloons.

I found some fun playing card stuff from Party City included these mints:

 

And this centerpiece (it was a little smaller than I thought it'd be, but it was still cool).

I also cut out spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds with my Silhouette Cameo and scattered them around the food table. We used red chargers and silverware and got some fun plates and napkins from Tuesday Morning that reminded me of the back of playing cards.

I decorated some cups for the party as well. I purchase red cups from Dollar Tree and then hot glued playing cards on them. I finished the look off with a bit of twine.

We also had a photo booth with some great props (thanks to Anne!). The large playing cards were a fun addition to the decor, something I used in Jasmine's engagement card. Another classic is the balloon chandelier used in above the dining room and kitchen tables.

I really loved the impact of everything and I know what we'll be doing in the future! Thank you to my friends and co-hosts, Anne and Jessica, for all their hard, hard work! Great job ladies!

The RED Valentine's Day Party

Last year I held a Valentine's day party. I wanted to share it again this year before the big day comes. Enjoy!

Last Saturday I threw my first big party. Thankfully I had the best help a girl can get, my friends Jessica and Anne. The theme of the party was RED. We asked everyone to wear red, with a prize going to the people who wore the most. We also asked them to bring a red dessert or appetizer. The playlist I made for the party had songs with "red" in the title. It was fun to put together.

Anne's idea to have luminaries was a great one. They welcomed everyone and added enough light to the stairs.

 

Aren't the hearts perfect?

Our guests came in and got photo booth style shots taken and then got a name of a famous couple put on their back. I was Olive Oyl. Others names included Bonnie and Clyde, Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and Mickey and Minnie. It was a good ice breaker and got people talking. This was all Jessica's idea. Here's an example:

Then eating ensued. This picture was taken before the party really got started so there isn't much food on the table.

A few close ups of decor:

Three pom balls and a hearts display inspired by Being Brook's idea. For mine, I used my Silhouette and cut out over 450 hearts from wax paper. It was perfect to diffuse the light. I sewed strands of hearts together and then attached them to a lightweight frame, which was strung from the ceiling. I got lots of compliments on it.

My vintage Valentines from eBay. They were so cute!

The main event of the party was a battle of the sexes. The men were assigned to give their wives' a new hair style, paint their nails and write down a quote from a romantic comedy. The ladies were asked to tie a tie on their husbands, draw on some facial hair and write down a sports quote. We set some stations out. I made the signs with my Silhouette. (Do you see my rosette ball and XOXO art?)

Now here are some action shots:

 

Jessica drew on the facial hair of her husband's dreams!

My husband and I were the judges (I have no pictures of myself at the party! That's what you get as the photog). Everyone came out and showed off their spouses' handiwork. 

 

I love this classic Anne face.

We gave out prizes to the winners and then mingled for a long time. We wrapped up the evening with a slow dance to "Lady in Red," It was such a fun party and I had such wonderful help! Anne, Jessica and I stayed up late after the party discussing our next one. I'll let you know how that one goes. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

The RED Valentine's Day Party

Last Saturday I threw my first big party. Thankfully I had the best help a girl can get, my friends Jessica and Anne. The theme of the party was RED. We asked everyone to wear red, with a prize going to the people who wore the most. We also asked them to bring a red dessert or appetizer. The playlist I made for the party had songs with "red" in the title. It was fun to put together.

Anne's idea to have luminaries was a great one. They welcomed everyone and added enough light to the stairs.

 

Aren't the hearts perfect?

Our guests came in and got photo booth style shots taken and then got a name of a famous couple put on their back. I was Olive Oyl. Others names included Bonnie and Clyde, Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and Mickey and Minnie. It was a good ice breaker and got people talking. This was all Jessica's idea. Here's an example:

Then eating ensued. This picture was taken before the party really got started so there isn't much food on the table.

A few close ups of decor:

Three pom balls and a hearts display inspired by Being Brook's idea. For mine, I used my Silhouette and cut out over 450 hearts from wax paper. It was perfect to diffuse the light. I sewed strands of hearts together and then attached them to a lightweight frame, which was strung from the ceiling. I got lots of compliments on it.

My vintage Valentines from eBay. They were so cute!

The main event of the party was a battle of the sexes. The men were assigned to give their wives' a new hair style, paint their nails and write down a quote from a romantic comedy. The ladies were asked to tie a tie on their husbands, draw on some facial hair and write down a sports quote. We set some stations out. I made the signs with my Silhouette. (Do you see my rosette ball and XOXO art?)

Now here are some action shots:

 

Jessica drew on the facial hair of her husband's dreams!

My husband and I were the judges (I have no pictures of myself at the party! That's what you get as the photog). Everyone came out and showed off their spouses' handiwork. 

 

I love this classic Anne face.

We gave out prizes to the winners and then mingled for a long time. We wrapped up the evening with a slow dance to "Lady in Red" It was such a fun party and I had such wonderful help! Anne, Jessica and I stayed up late after the party discussing our next one. I'll let you know how that one goes. 

Happy Valentine's Day!