By now everyone’s busy planning a Halloween party for kids. Everyone’s cementing plans for menus that will delight and startle the younger members of the family. But what about teenagers? If you’re planning a party for teeners, you should know by now that the menu, decor and theme of the party has to be more extreme compared to a kiddie party…

But it can also be more fun to plan a party for teenagers! Here’s why…

Contact lenses! First of all, teenagers can wear multi-colored and scary contact lenses, which adds a different dimension to any costume or party theme. Get the baddest, scariest one and let the host of the party wear it. He can wear something red or yellow if he’s attending as Count Dracula. His fanged lady friends can greet the guests with him as they enter his otherworldly abode.

Party Food

The food can be pretty much the same as that served in kids parties but don’t serve too much candy for your teener’s party. Instead, serve more meat dishes and finger food (junk food) that they can munch on while they’re playing pranks and enjoying your Halloween decor. You can “theme” your dishes by adding red food coloring to soups, sauces and salad dressings to make them look like they’re laden with blood. You can also use green-white food coloring to add a mildly ghoulish feel to your food. Serve soups in cauldrons and let your spooky meatballs float…

Some themed food you can try include Dracula’s Favorite Bloody Burgers, Ghoulish Goulash, Witch’s Brew, Hobgoblin’s Delight, Black Cat Stew, Diabolical Chili, Witch’s Fingers, Spooky Soup and Creepy Rolls.

Help Out Those Who Didn’t Come in Costume

Choosing what to wear to a Halloween Party can be a little frustrating, and you will soon find out that some of your guests will attend the party without riding on the “costume” bandwagon (we’re talking about teenage rebelliousness here!). To avoid being called killjoys and to make these teeners feel more at home in the spooky environment, hire a face painter and ask the guests to get their faces painted.

Some face painting designs your teeners can try include Kitty Cat Face, Witch, Skull, Vampire, Fairy, Bunny and Bumble bee. However, before you try this, make sure your face painter uses hypoallergenic materials. Teenage years are prone to acne and some teeners have never heard of acne treatment yet, so you have to be careful.

Parties are not complete without a lot of fun parlor games for adults and kids. If you’re wondering what the more famous parlor games are during Halloween, here are some of them…

“Pin The Face On The Great Pumpkin”

Cut a large pumpkin shape from orange poster board. Cut three triangle shapes from black construction paper as well as a jack-o-lantern type mouth from the black construction paper. Place on piece of double sided tape on each triangle and mouth shape. Blindfold the child or the adult, spin him or her around two times and allow him or her to position the facial features on the great pumpkin.

Here’s a good alternative to this parlor game for younger kids (toddlers)…

Simply cut a stem shape from green construction paper and allow the children to “Pin The Stem On The Great Pumpkin.” For this game, tape the facial features to the pumpkin before the game begins.

“Guess The Ghost”

This is a good activity for a classroom Halloween party where there are many activities happening at the same time. Using one white sheet, a parent or teacher randomly (and discreetly) selects one student and takes them to the hallway to put the sheet over him or her. The parent brings the student back into the room and the remaining children must guess who the ghost is.

To add an element of surprise, occasionally place the sheet over the principal, school nurse, librarian or a fun loving parent.

“Bobbing For Apples”

Cut a large apple shape from red construction paper. Place it on the floor. Place a paperclip on a number of stickers, “no chores” vouchers or other fun, lightweight items your guests will enjoy. Scatter the paper clipped items all around the apple. Tie a string to a stick and at the end of the string tie a small magnet. The object of the game is to “bob for apples,” or touch the magnet to a paperclip. Whatever the child picks up with the magnet is theirs to keep.

“Halloween Treat Ring Toss”

Again, cut a large pumpkin shape from orange poster board. Place it on the ground and scatter candies and small items (i.e. eight pack of crayons, play-doh, fruit snacks, etc.) all around the pumpkin. Using diving rings or another type of ring (even doughnuts if you really want to be silly), the child tosses the rings and gets to keep the items that are inside of the ring.

There you have it, several parlor games you can try on the parties you’re going to attend, or the party you will throw this Halloween season.

A reminder for party planners…. Beware of Candy Overload!

If you’re a party planner with a liking for candy, you might find yourself looking for appetite suppressant pills to stave off the urge to let loose like most kids will during Halloween. There’s an easy solution to candy overload during Halloween… always have a bar of granola to munch on when the candy bars start coming. Even if Halloween candy is for kids, adults still find themselves prone to gorging on sweet goodies like they’re kids again!

Home decorating is a great way to make immediate changes in a person’s space. Even slight changes in home décor can make a space seem new and refreshed. And since it’s the holidays, people will have an excuse to come over and see what you’ve improved inside your home in a year.

A party planner’s home is her pride.

It’s the shining testimonial of your good taste, your organizing skills and your creative nature. It is safe to say that the more successful party planners have “celebrity-style” homes with which to impress their would-be and existing clients with.

Home decorating is an excellent way of taking a tired looking space and transforming it into a bright, happy atmosphere. It is a terrific way to bring people up when they are feeling down.

Home decorating can involve all kinds of different colors, fabrics, furniture, flooring and accessories. Some people spend thousands of dollars decorating their homes while other people use only imagination to make magnificent changes. Home decorating depends on the individual’s taste, their intentions and of course their finances. When people have plenty of money to use for home decorating, often they will hire a professional home decorator.

But if you’re on a budget, it’s time to rely on your own tastes and skills as a party planner slash home decorator to get your house ready for your party.

Here’s a home party motif tip you can use this holiday season:

If you are an individual who loves color and authentic home interior decorating, there are several designs to choose from. Primitive home interior decorating is interesting because it concentrates on old and handmade items.

This is a wonderful opportunity to display collectibles and hand me down treasures. This style suggests using accessories and furniture which appear extremely old, worn, stained or antique. If you are a person who likes antiques, primitive interior decorating might be right for you. When choosing a paint color for this design, dark and warm shades are recommended. Deep grey or red brick would work well in this space.

Add some ethnic charm and give your guests a glimpse of your heritage by putting items that represent your hometown or the country where your family’s from.

From Christmas mini-lights to scented candles, to patio cushions… the fact is, you can use anything to spruce up your living room, or any other room in your house.

Remember, your guests will be looking around and they will be seeing a bit of who you are in every nook and corner of your fab home!

We’re nearing the end of the year, and soon Christmas parties and New Year gatherings will stop. What’s the next BIG occasion to celebrate? Valentine’s?… but a lot of people don’t consider Valentine’s a family affair… so what is it then?

Easter, of course.

And, the good news is that you can use some of the gifts and party implements during Christmas to plan your Easter party early.

• Did you watch any Christian videos during Christmas? You can watch them again during easter, so make sure you keep them out of the attic and a regular in your DVD case.

How to Create Easter Flowers from Colorful Tissue Paper?

• Take the ribbons and the tissue paper used to wrap gifts and turn them into… easter bouquets! Here are the tips on how how to make your very own easter bouquets from tissue paper and ribbons:
• Collect the following materials: tissue paper, pipe cleaners (green), styropore, vases (or regular glass jars) and ribbonsPick the colors you want from the tissue paper piles and roll up the tissue together. Wrap an end of a pipe cleaner around the center of the tissue paper and twist. Detach each sheet of tissue paper to create the folds. You can then pull the edges up so that they surround the end of the pipe cleaner. Cut the “extra” length of the tissue.Do this over until you make one bouquet, and then wrap a piece of ribbon around the tissue flowers. Stick the pipe cleaners into a styropore and arrange the “flowers” inside the vase.