A lovely parting gift

Today is the day! I'm moving all of the party talk over to my little side venture's very own blog - PartyOn!
And with Valentine's Day lurking just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate with a lovely parting gift. So check us out at http://affordablepartyplans.blogspot.ca/ and get a free printable Valentine's Day Invitation!

Affordable DIY party planning

SimplySoirees is taking on a life all of its own. So, it's time to give it its own platform. I'm starting a brand new blog that puts the focus squarely on affordable DIY party planning and everything it entails. Get ready to PartyOn! Coming soon.

Hosting a hot sauce tasting party

My husband is a HUGE chili head (this isn't just a reference to his red hair, I promise), and there would be no better way to celebrate his birthday than with tongue burning endorphin rush. So I took what I already know about cookie exchange parties and applied it to hot sauce to create an interactive hot sauce tasting party! So we not only have a hot sauce tasting, but a bit of a competition for guests to get creative about the type of hot sauce that they bring to the party.

Inviting guests to your hot sauce tasting

Not everyone is into spicy food, in fact some people downright hate it, so if you're planning a hot sauce tasting, make sure your invitation tells people exactly what they're in for! That's not to say that the faint of tongue aren't welcome, especially if you're celebrating a milestone birthday. Just be sure to have a few mild options on hand.

When inviting guests, instead of gifts for the birthday boy or girl, ask them to bring a bottle of hot sauce (you may wish to specify craft sauces -in other words, no Tabasco, Frank's, or anything most people have already tried). If they're stuck for ideas, you can always steer them toward one of the dozen websites that specialize in selling interesting hot sauces. Let them know that you will be giving awards for things like the best tasting sauce, the hottest sauce, and most unusual sauce. That's sure to help get their creative juices flowing.

Setting up

On the day of the hot sauce tasting party, set up a table where guests will sample the sauces. You'll want to add tiny bowls, ramekins or disposable shot glasses into which you will decant some of each sauce for sampling. Also, be sure to place dishes of saltine crackers or tortilla chips on the table that guests may use to taste each sauce. If you wish, you can separate sections by Hot, Hotter, and Hottest.

As guests sample, have them take note of each sauce and then vote their favorites. In addition to awarding the best sauces, you might also enjoying giving awards to guests that are best able to handle the heat as well as to those who can't take it at all!

In my next post, I'll talk about turning your tasting into a full blown hot sauce tasting party! Stay tuned.

Return of the roller skating birthday party!

I grew up in California, in the 80's, which means that when it comes to birthday parties, the roller skating birthday party was the best thing ever! Honestly, about 50% of my birthday parties took place at the skating rink. LOVED!

So when I started researching party trends for my shop's new batch of birthday cards, I was completely stoked to see that the roller skating birthday party is on its way back! It seems that that ladies are definitely leading this trend, and not just little girls! Teens and 20-30 somethings have been behind a return of roller derby. Talk about girl power!

Roller Derby girls were definitely my inspiration for the new 

Sk8tr Grrlz roller skating birthday party invitation:

In fact, I love it so much that I'm planning to create a matching printable party pack. Who knows, this could be my 40th birthday theme in a few years...or maybe I'll go with something less likely to land me in emergency.

The #1 tip for planning men's birthday parties

There's no doubt about it, when it comes to adult birthday party themes and party styling, women's birthday parties always come out on top. Chances are it's because the parties are planned for women by women. We know what we're into and plan events accordingly, whether it's a spa theme, shabby chic decor, or the latest book. And if theme ideas are scarce we can always rely on pretty -pretty colors, pretty flowers, pretty designs.

For men however, their parties tend to require purpose. You typically can't just do a citrus-themed party for your guy just because it's pretty.

So we research. Unfortunately, if you've scoured the internet looking for men's birthday party ideas lately you've probably discovered that there are approximately 4 themes to choose from: professional sports, beer/booze, poker, and the now ubiquitous mustache theme. But what happens if your guy isn't into any of those things?
The answer is simple, and my #1 tip for planning men's birthday parties:

Think like the man you're planning the party for

Figure out what your husband/boyfriend/dad/grandpa/etc is into and build a party around that. Practically anything can become a party theme, from mastiffs to mountain biking, muscle cars,  money, and even mustaches. And if you think you won't be able to find things like invitations and party decor to go with that theme, think again. There are invitation designers who can create them for you, many at very affordable prices. So don't be afraid to dream up something that really speaks to your guy.

Gum bottle plus Puffs equals happy baby

I confess, I'm a container horder. Most of the time this just results in a stockpile that eventually goes into the trash. However, sometimes, it really does pay to hold on to some things. A prime example of this is empty gum bottles.

I was at the kitchen table today, trying desperately to have my lunch while my daughter squirmed and protested in her highchair. she had already "enjoyed" her lunch and her toys were oh so yesterday. The bottle of Puffs was still on the table and my husband's empty gum bottle was on the counter, when suddenly I got the idea to drop a handful of Puffs into the gum container. GENIUS! My little girl was entertained for at least 45 minutes (hey, you take what you can). I left the single serve flag on the bottle open, so whenever she tipped the container a certain way a Puff would fall out. She loved it, and I got to enjoy my lunch and my baby's happy smile.

Hosting a holiday wine exchange party

This year you won’t have to break the bank in order to have a successful holiday party, because there’s a new exchange in town! Move over cookies, it’s time to swap wines! The wine exchange is an exciting new party theme that  is perfect for a gathering of non-baking friends, when you want more than just a ladies’ night in, or when there simply isn’t time to bake 6 dozen dulce de leche shortbread cookies. Best of all, a wine exchange is affordable to host, because it’s essentially BYOB. It allows you to concentrate your time, effort and budget on providing elegant, wine-friendly bites. 

With a new baby in the house you can be sure that my entertaining budget is practically minuscule this year, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to take a pass on holiday entertaining. That's why I am sooo in love with the idea of a wine exchange. It's elegant, entertaining and definitely brings a hot, new twist to the old white elephant gift exchange.

There are essentially two parts to a wine exchange party: sampling and swapping 

When inviting guests, ask them to bring two bottles of one favorite wine (be sure that they understand that it has to be two bottles of the same wine) within a specified price range. One bottle is for guests to taste and the other is for swapping white elephant style. Easy as pie, right? All you have to do as a host is provide the food and atmosphere. 

Of course I've already started pinning some ideas for decor and tasty nibbles to serve with the wines. You can find my board here http://pinterest.com/digwriter/holiday-wine-exchange-party/.  I've also created a wine exchange party printable set for my Etsy shop -Simply Soirees by Domestinista. My Winter WinederLand and NEW Sleek and Chic Wine exchange sets includes an invitation, wine signs, party circles, tent cards, a wine label, along with a few other printables, including a detailed how-to sheet.

I can hardly wait to get this party started!