Thank You!!!

What better way to end a month about parties than by talking about thank you cards?!?

I think a lot of people do thank you cards as an after thought following a party. Like, "oh yeah, I have to do that, right?" Whether you're hosting a birthday party, baby or wedding shower or it's your wedding day it is very easy to include thank you's in your plan.

A lot of store-made party decor themes will have coordinating thank you cards. If you didn't use a pre-made theme there are plenty of thank you card sets available out there. Or you can even buy simply designed, blank cards and stamps with different words so you can make your own cards for thank you's and other things.

Is writing that stack of thank you's daunting? A lot of times you already have to send out the invitations and have a list. Keep the list of names and addresses and if you get any early deliveries put what they gave you and send out that card right then and mark it as sent! Then when the day actually comes, print out that list and fill in the gifts you get as you open them. After that, type in the gifts and run down the list. Even just sending a handful a day for the week or so afterwards, that list will start to get smaller and smaller.

So, here are some thank you cards for inspiration!

(Wedding Thank You Photo Card)

(Artistic Color Thank You Card)

(Personalized Thank You Card)

(Silver Foil Floral Thank You Card)

(Kid's Thank You Photo Card)

BAM!! Superhero Party

There are some great inspiration and DIY posts out there for a superhero party! You could purchase or craft the costumes ahead of time or just prepare the costume supplies and let the kids put together their own cape, cuffs and mask.

(Superhero Party Theme Inspiration)

(Superhero Party Theme Inspirations)

(Superhero Party Theme Inspiration)

(Superhero Party Theme Inspiration)

Pretty Princess Parties

You can never go wrong with a princess themed party!! Whether you go with the standard pink or branch out to purple or gold, a girl has a right to feeling like a princess on her birthday!

(Gold and Blush Princess Party Inspiration)

(Gold Pink and Blue Princess Party Inspiration)

(Purple Princess Party Inspiration)

(DIY Princess Putty Party Favor)

(DIY Lace Princess Crown Party Favor)

Outdoor Party Ideas

So how about some ideas just for a party outdoors? It's mid-August now and school is approaching. Take advantage of the end-of-summer weather and throw together an outdoor party!

(DIY String Light posts)

(Indoors Out Party Inspiration)

(Canoe as Beverage Station Inspiration)

(DIY Beverage Station)

Sport Themed Party

As we keep getting closer to fall, I can't ignore football season! It could be a birthday party or a watch party but theming a party around a sport can be so much fun!

(Sports Theme Party Inspiration)

(Football Theme Party Inspiration)

(Sports Theme Party Inspiration)

(Baseball Theme Party Inspiration)

Party Themes

Sometimes the hardest part of throwing a party is figuring out where to start. Browsing websites for inspiration can sometimes be great and sometimes be overwhelming!

My tips for themes are:

1) If the party is for someone else (i.e. birthday, wedding or baby shower) have you noticed if they have any obvious favorite things? Even a color, decorating style, TV show, movie or animal could be a great starting off point.

2) If the party is for a sporting event don't go overboard! It is likely that not everyone you invite will be an avid fan of your team. Make it a social event too.

3) If it is a kid's party don't forget the adults! The chaperones shouldn't have to stand against the wall just monitoring the children. Make sure they can get involved with the kids as well as giving them things that are pretty much adult oriented.

With those things said, here are some pretty party themes!

(Monster Party Theme Inspiration)

(You Are My Sunshine Party Theme)

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!! This is my personal obsession right now! You Are My Sunshine can serve as inspiration for a party, home decor, nursery decor...and humming the song can just lift my mood! I just love this theme!

(Camping Party Theme)

Party Favors

Whether it is a wedding, a birthday party or New Years, giving your guests a favor to bring home is yet another way to remember a remarkable event.

(DIY Teacup Candles)

For a girls luncheon or wedding shower you could do the teacup candles.

(Beach/Luau Favor Inspiration)

For a beach/luau you could make a kids and adult version of this. For the kids a lei, colorful plastic sunglasses and bubbles would be a good start. For adults you could still do the sunglasses but add a mini-alcohol bottle, shot glass and party-personalized koozie. Just be sure to put the adult version where the kids can't reach ;-)

(DIY Sugar Scrub Favor)

Another idea for the girls - creating your own homemade beauty products is a great personal touch to add to a ladies only get-together. There are sugar scrubs, lipgloss, lip stain and other ideas galore!!

Party Games

Almost any party will need some activity stations so that people can decide how to spend some time at your party. Whether you set out a deck of regular cars, uno, cribbage, crimes against humanity or a more active game like a corn-hole toss or twister, people will appreciate a way to pass the time. A game will make for a good icebreaker too if your party includes people that don't know each other.

(DIY Yard Twister)

(DIY Punch Box)

(DIY Corn-hole Toss)

Party Snacks

What better way to serve food at a party then by divvying up the food ahead of time? No messy fingers all over the communal chip, veggie or dip bowl!

(Veggies and Dressing in a Cup)

(7 Layer Dip in a Cup)

(Jello Cup)

Party Tablescapes

Every party should have a table that is themed and fully decorated! Whether it is the snack or dessert station, sign-in table, crafting area or present staging area just go all-out!

(Dessert Station Inspiration)

(Car Themed Tablescape Inspiration)

(Snack Station with Banner and Flowers Inspiration)

I might have ironed (or lazy-steamed through the dryer) the tablecloth for this one.

(Baby Shower Onesie Station Inspiration)

Don't Forget the Ceiling!

When hosting a party it is easy to get caught up in all the details. Creating a party atmosphere should include every space of your space including the ceiling!!

(Tablecloths and Balloons Inspiration)

(Large Pom Poms and Streamers Inspiration)

(DIY Streamer Canopy)

Party Tablecloths

There are plenty of ways to jazz up your table for your party!! I love the idea of adding ruffles or tulle skirt around a solid color tablecloth. It's double duty - it protects your table top and adds a layer to your party decor.

(DIY Tulle Table Skirt)

One thing I would differently from this is to make sure there is a table skirt underneath the tulle so you can't see underneath the table.

(Ruffle Table Skirt Inspiration)

This skirt is so darn cute! And of course it could easily be toned down by going with just one color or 2-3 similar colors,

(Tulle Table Skirt Inspiration)

I'd say that this table skirt looks very easy - just fold over a length of tulle and keep it full as you secure it to the edge of a table cloth. Personally, I would just hand stitch it to the tablecloth underneath. Then I'd add a length of coordinating ribbon on the edge the same way. Easy peasy!

Birthday Party Wreaths

How about some inspiration for a wreath made especially for the birthday boy/girl?

(DIY Balloon and Pipe Cleaner Wreath)

(DIY Ribbon Curl Wreath)

(DIY Tulle Tutu Wreath)

DIY Photo Back Booth PVC Back Drop Frame

I found a handy-dandy tutorial that explains how to make a PVC pipe photo booth frame

(DIY Photo Booth Frame)

I plan to use this to make a frame that I can wrap with fabric that will coordinate with the rest of the party decor. By not using any adhesives I would think that this frame would be easy to assemble/disassemble in case you want to use it inside, outside, store between parties or even bring to a friend's shindig.

Party Photo Booth Props

No photo booth is complete without a few fun things to use as props! Be sure to provide an assortment of items like a large empty frame, a crown, a funny hat, chalkboards...the possibilities are endless. Just theme your items around the party and be ready for some laughs!!

(DIY Chalkboard Thought Bubble)

(Hanging Frames Inspiration)

(DIY Photo Booth Props)