A jungle themed shower for a baby boy is an awesome idea (for which we have lots of decorations at All About Parties!), or, for a fun variation – do an underwater creatures theme! “Under the Sea with Baby and Me” could be the title of your theme. Decorate with cute brightly colored tropical fish, octopus, seahorses, turtles, starfish, and seashells to make an unforgettable splash. Feature fun snack foods like Lifesavers hard candies, fish-shaped gummies, and cookies decorated like starfish (use star-shaped cookie cutters).

Your little girl is bound to be a princess, so why not throw a fairy princess baby shower? This idea can be simple or over-the-top-glitzy, depending on how far you’re willing to go to decorate! Tables can be decorated in pinks and purples with glitter confetti on top, and add flowers, fairy figurines, and a few porcelain teacups to set a charming tea party-like atmosphere. If you want a more woodland-fairy than glitter-fairy theme, use butterflies, toadstools, and lots of green.

For writers or book lovers, a literary baby shower theme is a unique way to celebrate your new bundle of joy. Celebrate the pleasures of reading, for young and old alike, by using vintage books as table centerpieces and posters with literary art or poetry. As guests arrive, ask them to sign the guest book and to list their favorite children’s book next to their name. Do a book reading, like a humorous take on what it’s like to be a new mom, and buy a blank journal for guests to record their well-wishes and advice in for the mommy-to-be! Consider using your favorite childhood book, such as Alice in Wonderland or Goodnight Moon, to build a theme around.

If you’re keen on being eco-friendly, have a “green” baby shower and bring “reduce, reuse, and recycle” to a whole new level! You can serve drinks in recycled glass containers with cute handmade labels, ask your guests to wrap gifts in recycled paper, use organic local food, and decorate with potted plants and flowers. If you have a garden, have guests plant a seed each in baby’s honor! For party favors, mini potted herbs or handmade soaps or candles are great green choices.

Some more great ideas:

• Create a buzz with a “Mommy-to-bee” theme that features yellow-and-black bumblebees.
• Throw a “milk-aholic” shower that uses black-and-white cow print decorations and milk jugs.
• A “my-little-cupcake” theme is sure to be sweet with tons of brightly colored cupcakes.
• Have a balloon-themed shower because “Mommy is ready to pop!” Use balloons everywhere, and feature fun games like “Pregnant for a day” (see who can stuff the most balloons up their shirts to look the most pregnant!).
• A nautical-themed baby shower can use invites featuring anchors and the words, “Ahoy, maties—there’s a baby on board!”

Choose a theme that you like, and then cutesy it up in every way possible! DIY-ers will be in craft heaven designing sweet decorations for these fantastically fun baby shower themes. With all the new changes coming in your life, try your best not to get overwhelmed with shower planning—after all, it’s meant to be a joyful experience. Love the baby shower party that you decide on—it’s all for you, and your new family!

The warmer months of the year, starting in late March and ending in early November are the best months to get married. Interestingly enough, October has recently taken over June as the most popular month for weddings. In October, you can still catch some sun for an outdoor wedding in hotter climates, or set up a wedding tent in colder areas.

As far as outdoor weddings go here in Oregon, the most popular places for a reception are:

1. Wineries (we have many beautiful wineries in Southern Oregon)
2. Private backyards and orchards
3. Public parks (check with your local City about reserving space)
4. Your own backyard

Once you pinpoint a perfect location for your wedding reception, you can start figuring out how to decorate it (among other things, like buying a dress and sending out invitations). This is the exciting part, where you and your wedding planner (or mom/friend) get to come up with ideas to make it into everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

Planning Your Wedding Reception:

Step One: Rent a wedding tent (be sure to reserve yours early!)

Step Two: Make a quick sketch (to scale) of your tent on a piece of paper

Step Three: Based on the number of guests you are expecting, figure out the best arrangement of tables and chairs

Step Four: Leave enough room for the band or DJ, a photo booth, and maybe even a dance area

Step Five: Decorate! Here you get to include draped ceilings, floral arrangements, lanterns, balloons, select the colors of your tablecloths and linens, tableware and centerpieces, just to name a few.

It takes six to nine months to plan a wedding, and we are here to help you find everything you need to make your Big Day amazing and memorable! Come visit us at All About Parties in Grants Pass, and we will help take the stress out of planning your wedding.

1. A cookie exchange party: everyone brings 2 dosen cookies for the party, along with the recipes…ask everyone to bring something unique (i.e. no chocolate chip cookies). Set out everyone’s cookies on a table and after the party, everyone gets a bag full of different kinds of cookies from the party (be sure to have recipes handy to give out along with the treats).

2. An ugly Christmas sweater party: everyone wears the ugliest Christmas sweater they own, or any ugly outfit for that matter. This is where you whip out your camera and take unforgettable pictures!

3. Christmas songs karaoke party: this will get everyone participating – from kids to grandparents! Have everyone bring an appetizer and serve some drinks to get your guests into a festive singing mood.

4. Have guests dress up as Christmas characters: this is open to ideas, but a great place to start is with classic Christmas characters from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Scrooge,” “A Christmas Story” and the like.

5. Set up a homemade photo booth in the spirit of Christmas: here you can take memorable pictures with your friends and family. You can also make papier-mâché characters with cut out opening for faces, or decorate the booth with tons of garlands and snowflakes…this project will let you be as creative as you want.

6. Do a white-elephant gift swap: everyone brings a gift that cost no more than $XX.00 (pre-determined on invitations). People draw numbers from a hat that tells them what order they will get to pick a gift in, at which point they decide whether they get an unknown (and exciting!) present or “steal” a present from someone who went before them.

7. Solve a murder mystery in a role-playing game: this game is a lot of fun to play, because everyone runs around looking for clues while socializing with strangers along the way. It’s perfect for large crowds of people who may not all know each other. Remember to hide your clues in obvious places like under the chairs, napkins and cups.

8. A snoflake-cookie making party: this is where everyone brings their kids and lets them all participate in cookie-making at once. Snowflake-shaped cookies are a good choice that fits the season, and they can be easily decorated by kids.

9. Meet Santa – at your house! This is a fun block party idea where you get a parent dressed up as Santa and all the kids in the eighborhood can come over and meet him.

10. Progressive Dinner Party: ideal for 8 to 10 people/couples as everyone participates by serving one course of the dinner along with drinks at their house. The party starts out in one house and moves to other houses throughout the night. It’s an out of the box idea that is actually quite fun!

11. Christmas movie night party: everyone can wear pajamas to feel relaxed and and at home. All your guests will get together to watch a Christmas movie, and enjoy some snacks (like milk and cookies). Be sure to have plenty of cushions, pillow and blankets on hand, or ask your guests to bring their own!

12. Throw a caroling party! If you don’t want to go to strangers’ homes, visit your friends’ and relatives’ houses with a caroling crew that will put them into a very merry holiday spirit!

We want your balloons to really stand out as a unique gift on their own, which is why we stock up on some of the coolest balloons you’ll find in the area.

Balloon bouquets are very popular these days – here is just an example of what we can make for you:

It’s true – All About Parties has one of the biggest assortments of balloons – and everyone loves them! From Disney characters, princesses, and animal print, to polka dots, solid colors, and sparkling patterns, we’ve got balloons to satisfy any taste. We make balloon bouquets that fit YOUR party and leave the recipient truly impressed.

These are not just for kids’ parties – balloons are a great way to dress up ANY party. Bachelorette parties can use zebra or leopard print balloons; casino nights use a variation of green and black bouquets; and baby showers use tender pink or blue with white color mixed in.

Nothing says “it’s a party!” like a tasteful selection of helium-filled balloons to decorate the space. These are great indoors and outside, for formal occasions and informal gatherings. Just stop by and see us and we will help you choose the best balloons for your party!

Halloween is right around the corner, and there are lots of spooky items at All About Parties! Here, we have skeletons, bloody fingers, pumpkin-colored and themed decorations, spiders, cool pinatas, and pretty much everything that you’ll need to make your Halloween party amazing!

Also in store – Wilton cake decoration kits and products. The latest trend is to make memorable cakes and cupcakes, which you can easily do with Wilton products. Oh, by the way – we’ve got 3D cake pans that you can buy or rent, and use in making the next birthday cake for your friends or family.

Wilton has lots of neat ideas on their website, like this Mischievous Monster Cake that you can make by using our 3D skull cake pan:

We hope you’ll come by and see us soon, so we can help you enjoy the upcoming Holiday Season!

Here is our new 3D Skull Pan – what do you think?

We’ve got less spooky ones too (like Winnie the Pooh one available at the store), but we are starting to get ready for Halloween soon…so, get yours while they last, and you will have plenty of time to practice your baking and decorating skulls…ahem…I mean “skills.” Mwahahahaha!!!

Our next $50 Gift Card drawing will be on September 30, 2011 – don’t miss your chance to participate – stop by the store and enter to win.