Couples Shower Ideas: Showering the Mom and Dad-to-be

Many awesome dads are involved in every aspect of their partner's pregnancy: going to every appointment, talking to the tummy, painting the nursery, gaining those sympathy pounds...Why not involve them in the social celebration of welcoming their new little one? Although the thought of attending a baby shower appeals to very few men, Paperlicious can help you plan a couples baby shower to honor both mom and dad without scaring anyone away!

To make the men feel welcome and comfortable in this traditionally "girly" territory, you're going to have to convince them with your invitation that this isn't your typical "cute" get-together. Paperlicious offers everything from animals to airplanes and guitars to grills; so no matter the theme (or lack thereof), your hip invitation is 100% appealing to the men (and the environement). For a simple gathering of well-wishing friends, we love the red plaid and diaper pin from the punk rock invitation series.

Forget cute games like "identify this secret baby food" or "guess how big mom's belly really is" (does any pregnant mother enjoy that?). If games suit your group, here are a couple that go great with a co-ed crowd. How about a race? Get a couple of inexpensive umbrella strollers used at a thrift store or borrow a few from your other parent-friends. Divide into two teams (can be guys against girls or coed teams) and set up a short course to run with the stroller. Put a doll in the seat that must stay safely inside the stroller at all times. Be sure to use a stop watch and let the pregnant couple keep the time and decide the winners.

Play "some assembly required" and have couples work together to assemble common baby equipment. Make it fun with no directions or inadequate tools for more laughs and creativity.

Food brings people together. Your shower menu will set the tone for the event and provide an avenue through which your guests and friends can enjoy one another's company. A meal is probably the best option. You could have a casserole style buffet of feel-good foods or try a man-friendly back-yard barbeque.

Don't fuss too much about the decor as half of your guests will not notice it! Cover the main table and use a vintage baby toy for your centerpiece. We like the new and like-old toys on warmbiscuit.com. Your table will be simple and your centerpiece(s) will have guests reminiscing about their favorite old toys. If your purchase a new version of an old toy, you can then give it to the parents of honor.

Gifts are the same at a coed shower as at a girls only shower. The difference is that dad shares the fun of opening gifts. In fact, let him open them all if he likes. Mom will most likely have other showers for baby where she is the sole gift-opener. Here's a fabulous non-traditional idea. Give a group gift. Talk to your guests ahead of time and arrange to pay for the family's birth announcements once baby is born. Paperlicious offers so many choices, your friends will find just what they are looking for in an announcement as personal and special as their little one. Your thoughtfulness will touch their hearts and save them money at a very expensive time.

Make Waves At The Best Pool Party Ever! Pool Party Ideas & Pool Party Invitations

Memorial Day has come again, welcoming the official start of the swimming season. That means it's time to start planning your summer pool party, and paperlicious.com is here to help. Planning something for younger kids and their parents? Use a fish or aquarium theme and choose this super cute clownfish invite.


Boys are sure to love this gnarly surfboard-Dude, it's totally cool.



And for the socially savvy girls out there who just want to have fun with their friends, send out these cute beach blanket and bathing suit invites in bright summery shades of pink. Be sure to check out paperlicious.com for even more summer fun options.

No matter the theme, everyone loves a pool party, and these simple tips will help you make a wave that your guests won't forget!

Safety first, folks. Especially with kids around water. Be sure to go over house rules with guests before the water fun begins and have a first aid kit on hand. If you can't have a certified lifeguard, it would be great if some parents could stick around to help out when you have to step inside for food and party supplies. Have sunscreen available around the pool and remind kids to re-apply. Offer water bottles and sports drinks in ice buckets or coolers to keep everyone hydrated.

Since the main focus of the party is the pool, it will take care of most of the entertainment for you. It's a good idea to have a couple party games planned as well. For older kids, buy a large inflatable floating animal, like a duck or a shark. We like this one from prankplace.com. One kid gets onto the animal from outside the pool and immediately raises one arm above his or her head. The goal is to stay on the animal for eight seconds, like a bull rider in a rodeo. The challenge is that everyone else in the pool is creating waves and other commotion to knock the rider off (without making physical contact).
For a younger crowd, float two buckets in the center of a round innertube and divide kids into 2 teams. Now dump a large bag of ice cubes into the pool and see which team can get the most ice cubes into their respective buckets in a given amount of time.


Keep your menu kid friendly and simple. Have homemade whole fruit popsicles on hand. We're drooling over the recipes on this kids' cooking site. Try to avoid foods that require refrigeration or that contain milk products as they could upset kids' stomachs in the heat. Have a simple pasta salad and chips to go with grilled hot dogs or sandwiches.

For fun, set some waterproof disposable cameras around the pool and let kids take pictures that you can develop and send to them along with a thank you card from paperlicious.com to match the invitations you chose.

Plan The Perfect Polka Dot Party

Our favorite Southern hostesses with the most-ess, Miss Stacy, is back with more fabulous ideas for your Polka Dot themed party! Party ideas that are the easiest to execute are the simple ones, which is why we love the Polka Dotted theme for your next children's birthday party.

Invites:
If you’re dreaming of polka dots, Paperlicious.com is your dream come true! For a polka dots party theme, you can find them here in every color on invitations, thank you notes, favor tags and more. If seeing all those spots has you too dizzy to think about party plans, try these polka-licious ideas!

Décor:
Dots can be made of scrapbook paper to match a color theme for your party. You can purchase all sizes and colors of polka dot wall decals at most home improvement stores. We like the ones on www.mygrowingchild.com. Welcome guests with a polka dot path (foot size) leading to the party area. Use paper lanterns to hang polka dots from the ceiling. Ask guests to arrive sporting their best dots or just create a special polka dot ensemble for the polka-princess (or prince). Go to any fabric store and choose a polka dot material to drape over tables for gifts, food, activities, etc. Make a large banner for your event with each letter printed on a separate circle (Example: H-A-P-P-Y on five large circles) Set up a bubble machine out of the way somewhere to spread polka dots all around.

Food
This party menu is limitless. Decide what you’d like to serve and think circular. M&M’s add bright dots of color either placed around the party area in smaller bowls or on a buffet style food table. You can even custom order them with your own words at www.mymms.com. Make your own polka-dot veggie pizza (recipe on www.allrecipes.com) with a round crust and veggies cut into small circle shapes: baby carrots, grape or cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, broccoli, etc. Make English muffin pizzas for the main dish with dots of cheese and pepperoni. You can find polka dot tableware from any party supplier. We love the variety and style on www.platesandnapkins.com.

Activities
All things cute seem to sport polka dots these days. Since polka dot has become synonymous with creativity, let your guests express some of their own with Do a Dot Art. Check out www.learningexpress.com for a variety of kid friendly colors. These are just like old-school bingo dobbers…which raises another great polka dot activity: BINGO. Only call it DOTS-O. You can create your own to match party colors or customize the board to represent the party guests. The game show network’s Bingo show has a program online to print your own custom bingo boards. http://print-bingo.com easy to follow and free to print. Just cut out some polka dots to use as covers for the spaces.

Music
Frank Sinatra’s first big hit in 1940? Come on, anybody know? “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.” Several versions are available on www.youtube.com. Another oldie but goodie that kids will also love is Brian Hyland’s “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.” Check this one out on itunes. Or introduce the itty bitties at your party to polka music. Go to www.pintsizepolkas.com for a just-released great-priced CD of catchy kids polka tunes. Even if you’re not a polka fan, you have to admit, that hoppin' beat makes you want to dance! A New Jersey children and family entertainer, Ron Albanese aka Polka Dot has a Polka Dot Pals jingle on his site: www.ronalbanese.com.

Just a few ideas to get your started with your polka dot themed party!

Check back soon for more party theme ideas or drop us a line at cs@paperlicious.com with the theme you'd like to see covered!

Thanksgiving Dinner Party Ideas You'll Gobble Up!

Fall is here and it brings vibrant foliage, pumpkins, and preparation of a Thanksgiving Day feast for family and friends. While the preparation of such an event may seem overwhelming - no need to fret because Ms. Paperlicious' Bestie (as in friend) Madame Soiree is here with some delicious recipes and fabulous party ideas.

Invitations:
Are you looking for the perfect invitation to let people know the big feast this year will be hosted by you? Paperlicious is your source for custom and expert invitations. You can select from pilgrim hats, pumpkins, or fall leaves. Coordinate your invitations with custom dinner menus. Let us take care of the invitations and menus so you can concentrate on the celebration.

Decorations:
The invitations are printed and ready to be sent out. What else is on the list of to dos? Making your home even more inviting with touches of Thanksgiving and fall throughout. Order or make your own exquisite cornucopia bouquet from FTD. as the centerpiece of the dining table. Bring the outdoors in with the gorgeous colors of silk fall leaves scattered around your fall bouquet and appetizing food. Add some additional flare with these crafty Fall Buffet Table Pumpkins from Michael's craft store. The aromatic scent of Yankee Candles’ Home Sweet Home flowing will make your guests feel they are at home.

Food/Refreshments:
Recipes abound on the internet these days. Sites like www.allrecipes.com, www.foodnetwork.com, and RealSimple.com as great resources and you don't have to buy the whole cookbook! You can make a basic roasted turkey or if you are more adventurous, you can prepare a turducken. Did I get a big WHAT IS THAT? A turducken is chicken stuffed inside a duck which is then stuffed inside a turkey. It is fast becoming a more recognizable main dish for Thanksgiving Day meals. Add side dishes of dried cherry and Italian sausage stuffing, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole or cranberry relish, you will have an unforgettable meal. Make sure you end the meal with a tasty dessert of pumpkin pie with toffee walnut topping.
Prepare some caramel apple cider or pop open a bottle of sparkling apple cider or apple-cranberry cider to accompany your dish.

Activities/Entertainment:
Thanksgiving Day traditions range from everyone giving thanks for the people and blessing of the previous year to fighting over the wishbone. Which ever the tradition, each family will create their own unique memories.
After all the food and refreshments, what can you do to keep a stuffed bunch entertained? The most entertaining activity is being a couch spectator of the national Thanksgiving Day sport, FOOTBALL! For the little ones, keeping them entertained will not be difficult. Just hop on over to Disney's Family Fun website for a few ideas like these: Set up a kid’s fun table and have a variety of different activities such as making pilgrim napkin rings or turkey hats. You can make a colorful turkey caddy and print out some turkey coloring pages for the smaller kiddos. And of course there's the ever popluar handprint turkey! Only this one has a fancy background you print out to draw the turkey on.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope these fun festive ideas help you prepare for a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration.

Paperlicious.com gives thanks this year for our ever-growing list of wonderful customers. We sincerely appreciate your business and look forward to helping you with your next big shindig!

Cupcakes Parties Are All The Rage!

Planning a cupcake-themed birthday shindig for your little, uh, cupcake? One of our favorite Southern hostesses with the most-ess-es has a bunch of tasty ideas for your treat filled party! Ready on for fresh fun ideas from our friend, Miss Stacy...

Invitations:
Make Paperlicious.com your one stop shop for all your cute-as-a-cupcake stationery. From coordinating invites to thank you cards and adorable party favor tags, the yummy cupcake design is the perfect “first bite” for your scrumptious cupcake social. Speaking of first, what could be cuter than one little candle in one little cupcake to announce the all important first birthday?

Décor:
Turn the main table into a cupcake. Use a circle card table and cover it first with a long brown tablecloth. Next layer a tablecloth color of your choice to be the icing. Sprinkle confetti on top to represent sprinkles. Put a large cherry in the center. Most hobby/craft stores sell cupcake display towers of various styles. Use one or more to showcase the treat of honor on your food table. Cupcake napkins, plates, balloons, etc. are easy to find. Check with any party supply store or order online. We love www.celebratetheday.biz with its table products and wide selection of cupcake balloons.

Food:
Keep thinking “cupcake” and food for this party will be delightfully simple. Mini quiches can be purchased frozen, or if you prefer to cook, try www.cooks.com for anything from kid-pleasers to gourmet grown up food. Muffins can be a healthier option if you want to cut some of the sugar from your smorgasbord. If you’re offering several varieties of muffins or cupcakes, try baking in a mini-muffin pan so that guests can sample all the flavors. Serve drinks with a cherry on top and an old-fashioned soda-fountain style straw.

Activities:
Oriental trading carries blank chef’s aprons that would be super fun to decorate or paint them ahead of time to use as favors. Create a splattering of sprinkles with a fun relay. (Of course can be played cooperatively instead of as a competition) Use jelly beans for the sprinkles and fill a clear container. Give each participant a plastic or wooden spoon. The goal is to carry a spoonful of sprinkles across the room and fill an empty container with them. Another fun sprinkle activity is to toss them into a cupcake pan on the floor. Again, use jellybeans or other small colorful candies for the sprinkles. Play “leaning tower of cupcake” and give kids packs of mini muffins and containers of icing to see how high they can build a cupcake tower without it tipping.


Music:
Ever heard of the “Cuppy Cake Song?” Rumor has it Judianna and Buddy Castle wrote the song for a little cuppy cake as a special gift. Go to www.youtube.com for dozens of renditions of this cutey-patooty little ditty. The lyrics express all the love that drives a mama to create a custom party, which remembered years from today, will still serve as a reminder of her love. Enjoy!

“You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum, Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie. You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop, Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye. And I love you so and I want you to know That I'll always be right here. And I love to sing sweet songs to you Because you are so dear!”

It doesn't get any sweeter than that, folks!

Visit us again soon for our next sweet retreat: LOLLIPOPS!