Modern Home Decorating

my daughter will be turning 8 next month and I have luau theme party planned for her and 18 friends/family at our home. here are the details:

front walkway will be littered w/flowers, door will have a sign on it w/flamingos, the front yard will have two signs that have pink flamingos on them that say luau party.

table will have a grass skirt on it, a real pineapple centerpiece w/balloons attached to it. there will be paper plates w/parrots and pink flamingos on them (w/napkins to match). kids will be given plastic tiki cups and straws w/umbrellas attached to them.

my youngest daughter will greet guests at the door and hand them their leis as they enter.

FOOD:

-chicken teriyaki skewers
-fruit skewers (balls of watermelon,canteloupe,grapes,bananas,kiwi,and strawberries) w/lemon and chocolate fruit dip
-mixed nuts
-strawberry punch,water,juice

CAKES (i’m making 3 to accomodate all the guests)

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipeID=33203&Source=SearchResultPage&terms=flip%20flop%20cake

http://www.fancyflours.com/purple-amethyst-cake-jewels.html (using these to decorate the flip flops)

http://www.cakethat.com.au/hula%20003t.jpg (making two of these using different kind of dolls)

after eating, the kids will do their craft then do the water games outside (to let the paint dry on their crafts)

GAMES:

BALLOON POP: there will be 2 kiddie pools set up on one side of our backyard filled w/water and balloons. the kids will be divided into 2 teams and will have 15 mins to take turns trying to pop the balloons by sitting on them!! first team to finish wins.

SPRINKLER FREEZE: kids will run around the yard while sprinklers are off. once water comes on, the kids have to freeze in place until the water shuts off again. will do this for about 15 mins.

SLEEP PANT RELAY: kids will be divided into 2 teams. there will be a bucket of water and 1 pair of my bf’s sleep pants for each team. they will take turns dipping the pants into the water, then putting them on and running around an orange cone and back. first team to finish wins.

CRAFT:

kids will design their own beach tote using these:

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=56/9006&mode=Searching&erec=12&D=white+bag&Ntt=white+bag&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=12+Design+Your+Own%21+White+Bags

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=56/2368&mode=Searching&erec=6&D=luau+stamps&Ntt=luau+stamps&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=Terrific+Tropical+Foam+Stamps

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=56/2337&mode=Searching&erec=3&D=luau+stamps&Ntt=luau+stamps&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=Under+The+Sea%21+Stamps

they will also stamp their names on them.

after the water games, the kids will do the limbo and hit this pinata:

http://partycity.com/cgi-bin/parties/show.cgi?parties=Products&productstype=Characters&products=18001&&zoom=1

the kids will then be given a homemade grass skirt (made from green streamer strips attached to ribbon) and we’ll go outside to take a group photo.

GOODIE BAGS:

each child gets a sandpail/shovel, the candy from the pinata, stickers, and these toys:

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/search/processRequest.do?Ntt=hibiscus+bubbles&requestURI=searchMain&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&N=0

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=39/1229&mode=Searching&erec=3&D=fish+squirts&Ntt=fish+squirts&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=Fun+Squeeze+Fish+Squirts

all that sounds really good. will you make me the first cake that is so cute•

I am really stressed out about everything, who to invite, what venue to have it at, etc. I called a few churches that I wanted to have it at (and was going to join their church) and they were so rude and unkind that I really don’t even want to have it in a church and then we were thinking about having it on the beach because his grandpa lives by the Chesapeake Bay and then I was worried about the breeze from the bay blowing sand and the cost of renting out tents, tables, etc. I feel like I am compromising on the wedding I wanted because I cannot afford it, a Maymont wedding is too expensive, so is the Carillon at Dogwood Dell and the prettier churches want to charge too much (the ones that will marry you without being a member are about $400-$500). I would prefer an outside wedding, can anyone give me some ideas? I live in the west end of Richmond, but would willing to travel to a nice, but affordable venue (under $300). The church we have decided on is marrying us only because his parents are members, but it really wasn’t what I envisioned, I wanted pews and stained glass windows, this church is modern and has chairs so I can’t really decorate it. As for the invitations my Mom was getting everyone’s address to send out invitations for my bridal shower but then my aunt said to put her daughter and daughter in law’s names on her invite because she thinks that they should be invited. They did invite me to their weddings but I didn’t go because we never even talk to them anymore so I feel like I am doing it to pacify her and I only wanted to invite people that I actually am still in contact with and I wanted it to be small (80 people or less) and his brother is upset because he was not asked to be the best man…In my wedding I am getting my Mom to give me away, I am having a junior bridesmaid and a ring bearer and that is all. He asked his best friend because it is his best friend and his brother has a way of showing up to family functions in a bad mood because of something that happened earlier in the day to him and being in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Ugh I am so stressed out about it and we are going to talk to him about his attitude and if he is in a bad mood then to stay home and I hate it that people feel that they have to go out and buy new clothes for this occasion (and my fiance’s parents would have to buy clothes for themselves and his brother and SIL), I told them to just wear what they have. My cousins I haven’t seen in over 10 years and they have children I have never met, you never hear from them unless they want money and they never come to any of our family functions.
Also, if anyone knows of an inexpensive rental for a tent, chairs and tables in the Chesapeake Bay area let me know!
Thanks for the kind answers everyone and yes I am really stressed out, not just over the wedding. There is a lot more going on with me than I will include in this and it is a bit overwhelming to me.

I agree, I was thinking about a wedding consultant but did not do it because of the cost, I was trying to have a nice, but not overly expensive wedding and we are going to the Bay to see if that venue will work for us this weekend weather permitting.

I agree, I think that I should just invite those that I would really even send a regular card to, and that would not include my cousins or a lot of my aunts and yes people are trying to make my wedding into theirs and I hate it.

As for the wedding/bridal magazines I will check them out and I like the idea of the binder to keep everything in order.

Personally I didn’t want to invite his brother at all since he is known to have a bad attitude but I feel like I "should" since his children are part of the wedding and he is "family":/

First…Breath! lol

When is the wedding? How long do you have to plan all this? Unless its next month, then you should have plenty of time.

Location – I think the bay by your grandpas sounds best. It sounds lovely, and probably least expensive. Call around for costs of chairs, tables etc, and find the lowest price. Mine is costing me $0.75 a chair, and $5 a table. I’m in Arizona though, so I’m not sure how much it will be there.

As for the chairs instead of pews. I agree its not as "pretty" but its all about what you make of it. Here are some very lovely ways to decorate chairs (and can be affordable if your doing it yourself)

- http://aweddingforme.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/garden-wedding-chairs.155192002_std.jpg
-http://www.wcghotels.com/images/pics/cvgba-wedding-chairs1-500.jpg
-http://www.agradeevents.com.au/images/garden-wedding-chairs-flowe.jpg

Invites – Make a "sample" list. Then also list who you wouldn’t be inviting. If its 10+ people, don’t invite them. If you only leaving out under 10, what is it really going to hurt to throw the invite out there? I read on yahoo once to think of invites this way "Would you send them a birthday card"…whatever your answer is for that questions is also the answer about sending them an invite. And don’t worry, people will get over it. There is always something else that will come up more exciting later and draw their attention away.

Family Drama – Your wedding, ignore you future brother in law. He might be fussy now, and he’ll probably be fussy at the wedding. If he’s known to be a grouch, just expect that. I wouldn’t really go telling him not to show up, that might make matters worse.

New clothes – Its their money, who cares. Let them buy what they want. lol

Good luck! Take this one step at a time. And remember its your wedding. Granted you might feel like your compromising because of a budget, but having a dream wedding doesn’t always mean a hefty price tag.

The second school rally was well prepared and once again the sensation of excitement was shared by the school as they waited for the cheerleaders to reveal who was chosen to be the lucky 15 in the running to be Homecoming King and Queen. With a few interruptions during the rally such as a few beach balls thrown across the room, overall the rally promoted great spirit.
A skit was played in recognization that 2008 homecoming will be nearing soon. The objective of the rally’s skit allowed Homecoming’s theme to be understood as well as presenting the top 15 to be voted once again for the next top 5 in the following week of Oct.6-Oct.10th.
With the exception of the chanting of “freshmen go home”, the ‘Under the Sea’ topic of homecoming was perceived into a creative satire having many students much more enthusiastic about 2008’s homecoming, regardless the new front to back policy. Despite the newly enforced rules, senior Allison Courtier hopes ”it’s more special than the others because it’s my senior year, but last year’s was a lot of fun so hopefully it’s even better.”
Top 15 Rally was particularly memorable for the nominees. The students squealed and were in awe when they saw their names on the neatly crafted huge papers decorated in yellow and blue balloons. Some were completely in shock as others were predicted they may be chosen. “I thought about it especially after the prom nomination last year” Brittany Walter says,” but it’s so much harder when the kids elect.” For others such as Daniel Wong the nomination was shocking. Wow, it was really surprising!” Daniel Wong(12) reminisced,” It’s an honor to be up there in front of the school and also repping the WHS band, because a lot of hard work they do often goes unrecognized”.
Students find this experience rather amazing but student Erika Roos (12) appreciates it much more because of the fact she is experiencing with her friend. This nominee agreed that this was something to be proud of. “It’s an honor to be in this group because all of the other nominees are supermen and superwomen and the sunglasses and inner tube are pretty darn cool!” Each person who stood in front of the student body had an indescribable expression. All in all, it can be said that the Top 15 Rally was enjoyable for the nominated students. Sadly, the many disruptions resulted in newly enforced rules output from West High’s administration. This includes no underclassmen such as freshman, sophomore, and junior to be involved with rallies anymore. Hopefully we will learn to respect and learn the real definition of a school pep rally and

Damn I wish we had a school news paper. I would so be editor.
I’m in Australia, you see. We don’t have school papers … or Homecoming or cheerleaders.

REVISED

The second school rally was well prepared and once again, the feeling of eager anticipation was shared by the school during the wait for the cheerleaders to reveal the lucky 15 chosen to be in the running for Homecoming King and Queen. The rally promoted great spirit in its attendees and the few interruptions only added to the overall animation of the event

An amusing skit denoted the impending 2008 Homecoming and elucidated Homecoming’s theme to all. During the skit, the top 15 were presented and opened voting for the next top 5, who will be revealed in the following week of Oct. 6 – Oct. 10th.

…

I did the first two paragraphs and then realized that it is already October 10th! Ah, sorry I didn’t get to this earlier I would have loved to finish it. I hope all went well.

Okay so I am 32 and he is 29 we were married last June. We had been together for 3.5 years. We had lived together for 2.5. Immediately following our beautiful beach ceremony he began to act like a child. His wedding party decorated our truck with shaving cream and they were so excited but he flipped out and started yelling at them saying they messed up the paint. To make a long story short he drank too much at the reception, started a fight with me after and embarrassed both of us in front of a lot people I had just met. I ended up sleeping on the couch on my wedding night.

Since then he has become irresponsible and lazy. He was not like this before the wedding. We used to hang out with friends and go places. He was very responsible and stable. Now, he stays in bed all the time when he’s not at work (he is a teacher) and doesn’t feel the need to take care of his responsibilities. He did not finish correcting his semester end projects so the students didn’t get grades for them. He went out gambling and lost $250.00 we didn’t have. He hasn’t paid his part of the bills this month…etc. I am not his mother and I don’t "tell him" what to do. I make suggestions and he says he understands and will change it but doesn’t.

I have a 13 year old daughter (Had her at age 18 and I raised her on my own) and at first was very reluctant to have more children but I decided it wouldn’t be fair to him since he doesn’t have any. So we had been trying. Just this last Sunday he told me we wont be raising our children like I have raised mine. He thinks I am too lenient but I have an amazing relationship with my daughter. She does not get into trouble. I am at a loss for what to do. It seems to get worse daily. He doesn’t help with anything around the house or take care of himself anymore.. I work full time and do the cooking and cleaning at home. I can’t help thinking that it would be a horrible idea to have children any time soon. But Im also not getting any younger. Anyone have any advice? Please serious answers only. Thanks

Your a fool if you have a child with this man. Plain and simple.

You’ll so hate doing everything once a baby comes. He won’t change. In fact the guy you say in the beginning was a facade

I have made 4 friends at my new school. I know my birthday isn’t until May but I want to pick what I should do for my birthday.
Most of the children (friends included) come from low income family’s can’t afford a shopping party or can give me a gift BUT I am ok with that
My friends are girls of all different ages.
One is in 8th maybe 9th grade.
2 of them are in 6th.
2 others are in 10th grade.
They are all my friends and we all get along well together.
Their will be me and them at my party. Which makes 6 of us girls.
I live in south Florida and I have a few options in my home town and towns around.
Some of my options are
Spa Day – at WoodHouse Day Spa ~ it is very near our school and my mom could pick us up from school and take us there (because most of the girls don’t have rides)
Beach Party – I’m not the most appealing thing in a bathing suite and the other girls are. But also what would we do at the beach? There is a place to eat cake but that would be GRRROOSSSS and why would we go to the beach after school on a Friday that is something you do on the weekend here.
Ceramics – but the thing about ceramics is that we have to pay for everything ~ the ceramic thing the cake the pizza or food AND then what do I do after ward ? Have a sleepover at a hotel ? my house can’t hold all of us
Hotel Party – have all the girls bring clothes and a bathing suite and robe and slippers and have an amazing slumber party with junk food and a room decorated with favors.
the last thing I could even think of is taking the girls to an amusement park like disney or epcot?
Spend the weekend at a hotel like nickoloden resort or laki tiki?
I just don’t know what to do or where we should go ?
If we spend 2 days in a resort we could get room service and go get our nails done but like I said thats all on me and my family (the money)
So please help me
I want to make invitations and order personalized party favors and have my cake designed special
but everything is so much money
Please HELP ME find a good median between all my ideas and problems

http://purpletrail.com/partytrail/birthday/teens-birthday-party-planning-ideas/

http://www.teenpartyideas.com/

http://www.celebrations.com/teen-birthday-party-ideas?sort=first

http://www.teenpartyideas.com/html/miscellaneous.html

http://parentingteens.about.com/od/partyplanningresources/a/teenbirthday.htm

http://www.party411.com/teen-birthday-party.html

http://www.pink-heaven-party-ideas.com/teen_party_ideas.html

http://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com/index.html

http://www.momswhothink.com/birthday-party-ideas/teen-birthday-party-ideas.html

http://birthday.lifetips.com/cat/64634/teen-birthday-parties/index.html

Me and my girlfriend have been dating 5 years now and we’re looking into getting married in the next few months. No date has been set but we’re looking at some time in June. Why? Because I’m trying to keep it small and cost effecient. This is my first wedding and I really don’t have a lot of money to do the whole big wedding thing. This is my girl’s second wedding. Her first one was the princess type. Long flowing white dress, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flowergirls, etc. That’s great for a girl’s first wedding because that’s what she wants.

With the economy the way it is I just don’t see spending a bunch of money for a 30 – 45 minute ceremony.

My plans go a little like this. I’m 39. We keep it small and quaint. Only invite family and a few friends. The ceremony will be at our church where we’re both members. There will be no invitations because since we’re only inviting friends and family we can do that by word of mouth. Ok, I’ll have my brother as best man and my girl will have her sister as the maid of honor. No, flower girls, ring bearers or anything like that. We don’t need anyone singing or reading poems and the wedding march can be played on a CD through the church’s sound system. As far as the reception I’m thinking we could either do a cookout at our house for everyone afterwards because I really don’t mind cooking food over a grill and having everyone sit around and talk and share some laughs. Or we pick a restaurant and let everyone know where we’re going and if they wanna come they are more than welcomed but they are responsible for their own food. This would take the place of presents since we’ve been living together going on 4+ years and we already have everything. A honeymoon can come later when we save up some money to go away for a weekend or so. Even the attire can be scaled down. We don’t need to decorate the church, rent tuxs or get a wedding dress. My girl has a lot of nice dresses and I’ve got quite a few suits.

NOW, my girl, who’s 38, has a slightly different idea in mind. Again, this is her second marriage. The minute we started discussing marriage she got all excited. Several people have already volunteered to be her wedding coordinator and I’ve had to tell her we don’t need that because we’re not doing some major production. We know what we want to do. She wants to look at wedding dresses and things like that and has already asked a question here as to what kind of dress she should buy. She wants to get her hair and nails done, which I don’t mind but we’re trying to cut costs here. Last night she came home with a worried look on her face saying that she’s gonna feel bad by not asking her best friend to be in her wedding. I told her this isn’t about their feelings. It’s about our pockets. Because if she adds this girl then she’s gonna want to add that girl and before you know it she’ll have 4 or 5 girls wanting to be in the wedding and she’s not one to tell anyone no. She wants our church minister of music to play during the wedding and I told her we can scale back there too because he’s gonna want to be paid. Again, download a nice version of the wedding march and play it on a CD in the church’s sound system. One of her sons asked her last night about the honeymoon and how he wanted to go. She’s got 2 from her previous marriage and I have a daughter from a previous relationship. I told him we’re not going on a honeymoon and she looked at me all shocked and surprised. We just don’t have the money. That’s why I told her we would go somewhere later when we could afford it.

Granted, any girl getting married for the 1st, 2nd or 3rd time is gonna be excited but at what point do you get your head out of the clouds and start thinking "this wedding isn’t about what I want but what can I afford." I don’t want this to turn into some major affair that we can’t afford but I think we can get married without all the ruffles and lace of most weddings.

Am I being too frugal or should I give a little to my girl’s ideas?

Again, money is an issue here. Her job is shutting down her division in May and she’s gonna be without a job soon. I’m already unemployed but will be going back to work on a part time basis soon.

A few friends of ours met downtown at the magistrates office during their lunch time and got married. They’ve been happily married several years now and are expecting their 2nd child. So I think my plans are consideriably nicer than that.

How do I get her to get her head out of the clouds and back to reality. Money is tight and we can’t put every one in the wedding nor can we afford to go to the Bahamas or even the beach for a week after the wedding.

And for those who ask, yes, I’ve told her this and we’ve talked about it but it doesn’t take but one friend of hers to want to either be in the wedding or just help her out and we’re back to square one, again.

I totally agree with you. It seems your girl for 38 years old doesn’t have a sense of your financial situation or hers. She seems a bit immature and I get the feeling its more about the party then the marriage. This may be a big hint for you to take as to why her previous marriage failed. You need to have a serious talk and understanding. You also mentioned her job will be gone. Are you planning on picking up all of her outstanding bills and supporting her with your income only? You will be married you realize? If you are both in a position with little money and no money for a honeymoon and her without a job soon, seems like your marriage is headed for disaster before it even happens. You really need to think this through.

i am getting married in jamaica in november, then having a reception when i get home the folowing saturday. the reception hall is an italian restuarant. i would say the banquet room only somewhat reflects that. its a tan room with high cielings with bowl shaped dark yellowish light fixtures. i think i want to go with light blue,cream and chocolate colors because i could do oceanic/beach theme. but the reception will be in oklahoma in november- so i also thought autumn colors would be nice. im open to any ideas though. what do you think?!?! what colors would you use? how would you decorate?

Go with the tropical colors to reflect where you had your wedding. Who cares what season it is!