Tips for your Valentine's Day Party
Serve simple cookies and punch on doily lined plates. Set up a table for the kids to make homemade Valentine's while they are at the party. You could even set up another table for everyone to decorate their own sugar cookies! Make sure you keep everything simple.
Prom Party
If you're looking to throw a fantastic theme party, you might want to consider that perennial high school event, The Prom. The following is a "how to" primer for all you prom party planners:
1. Rent the tackiest hall you can find. If you can find a very spacious "dive bar" that is typically empty on a Saturday night, save a few regulars. It should have a nice VFW hall quality to it, which is exactly the kind of atmosphere you need to create prom ambiance. Most owners are more than thrilled at the prospect of bringing in 200 customers.
2. Make a simple web page or design an online invitation on one of the free invitation sites like evite.com. If it becomes an annual event, make a collage of pictures from the previous prom and post them online. This generates excitement for the party and also gives people some good ideas for tacky prom outfits and hairstyles. You can add icons from your particular prom era, like John Travolta in his "Staying Alive" suit or a verse from "Stairway to Heaven" or "C'mon Eileen".
3. Decide on a theme. You can even ask for submissions on your invitation. A good response might be "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night".
4. Plan Your Decorations: Get a roll of butcher paper and some poster paint. Make banners with classic high-school slogans such as "Class of '82 rules!" or "Have a Bitchin' Summer". Next, decide on a color scheme. Two colors is best and the tackier the better. Pink and mint green is a nice combo, as is silver and baby blue. Get a bunch of helium balloons in your colors. A mylar curtain in the doorway is a must. If you don't know what a mylar curtain is, ask at your local party store--it comes in a variety of colors, so you can probably find one that fits your scheme.
5. Make a "balloon arch" for photos. This is not the easiest thing to do, but it is a must. Tie balloons of alternate colors into clusters until you have a long chain that you can make into an arch. People can either take their own photos or you can go all out and hire a photographer with a Poloroid camera and one of those umbrella lights. The umbrella light really makes you feel like you are back at the prom.
6. Hire a deejay who is willing to stick to music from 70s and 80s (or 60s and 90s depending on the age of your group). This is the most important thing of all, besides your costumes. If he starts playing Ricky Martin, it just won't feel authentic. And there's something about those songs you haven't heard since high school that gets you dancing like you're 17 again.
7. Get a Great Outfit. This is by far the most important element of the party. If people don't dress up, it won't work. A good suggestion might be wearing your ugliest leftover bridesmaid's dress or your real prom dress (if it still fits). Men or women who don't have
anything on hand can pick up amazingly tacky ensembles for $10 at the local thrift shop. A wrist corsage or carnation for the lapel is also very prom-like.
While it might sound complicated, this prom plan is fairly easy to plan and relatively inexpensive. There is no food involved as most of the prom couples go to dinner beforehand (or have dinner at home with their kids). Everyone buys their own beverages and at the end of the party you can pass a box around and ask for donations toward the deejay's fee.
