Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Graduation Parties for the Overwhelmed

Last Saturday was party time around here!
It followed the last week of school with kids, and weeks of concerts, banquets, awards nights, and other party-preparation-time-sapping events.

Enter my Top Ten Ways to Throw a Last-Minute Party

1) Have a friend convince your introverted child that others love her enough to attend a graduation bash in her honor.  Save your most convincing spiel for two weeks before.   That way you can't  shouldn't second-guess your decisions.



2)Scour Michael's for milk bottles and yellow chevron straws.  These will delight the graduate and spark her enthusiasm.



3) Hit the dollar store for masses of tissue paper to make these poufs.  Instant (and cheap) pizzazz.



4) Be tempted to kiss the feet of the friend who offers to make potato salad for 50.

5) Spray paint mason jars in your theme color.  Fill them with daisies and Monte Casino.  Be happy. 



6) Bless the friend who shows up at your house while you are at one of those many banquets and makes your graduation hat candies out of Lindor squares and mini-Reeses cups.  Add a tassel of embroidery thread. 

7) Enlist someone else to create an ombre cake.  Top it with pinwheels created on the Silhouette.  Prove to your husband again that you are still thankful he splurged and bought you one for Christmas. 


8) Add "perfect weather for an outdoor party" to your list of 1000 gifts.



9) Eat leftover buffalo chicken and coleslaw for days.

10). Celebrate the end of an era.  Be grateful for the past. Embrace the future.  



Following,
Ginger

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Deep Breathing

Hi.
I almost feel I should introduce myself again.
Does anyone else struggle with consistency in their little corner of cyber-space?
We have survived graduation...and graduation parties!!

And it was a fun day.
And that was good, a gift.
And I am recovering today with lots of reading and leftover-eating (and will be for a while...since we had a super-abundance of food). 
I promise to return (pinky-promise) and share graduation party survival tips.
Following,
Ginger

Friday, May 9, 2014

May-hem

I had planned a thoughtful, maybe deep post that might appear yet, but I must pause to ponder the merry, merry month of May(hem).
Maybe June is your month when all kinds of crazy collide, 
but ours is now, especially with a graduate in the house.
A graduate who just agreed to a graduation party this week.
("What's the big deal about graduating anyway? Everybody does it!") 

Damask graduation cake
(Her cake-of-choice if someone besides Mom can make it..)
There are two weeks before graduation.
Graduation Party Drinks ~ Be Different...Act Normal
(These are cute and doable!)
Did I mention her parents teach?
How about a cheesy "diploma" for your graduation party?
(Another cheesy idea for graduation food.  (I'm tired; can you tell?)
And they have finals for their students--as well as all the usual last-week-of-school chaos--
  the day before graduation?
Graduation party food Little chocolate covered strawberries shaped like a cap and gown.
Adorable, but I might lose my mind!
(She also detests the phrase, "Congrats, Grad", so that eliminates many options.)

black and white congratulations banner. doubles as gift bags!
(Though this is super-cute to me!)
Thank You, Lord, for Pinterest.
I know you can laugh and cry at once, but can one laugh-happy and cry-sad all at the same time, too?
Excuse me while I go put out another fire/call another guest/plan a menu/ roll my eyes at the honoree/grab a tissue.
Following,
Ginger