Kid's pool party invitations are fun to send and fun to receive. Kid's love summer and few things can beat swim party invitations for a child's birthday party theme.  

• Invitations:  Pool party invitations get the party started and your invited guests excited to attend the party. Be sure to tell guests to bring their suits, their towels and to wear sunscreen.  Here are a few of our favorites:

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Reel in your party guests with fabulous Fishing Invitations for the fisherman in your life.  Highlight your guest of honor's love of fishing whether he's a weekend enthusiast or a more, party guests will love this personal theme. 

• Invitations:  Set the scene with fabulous Fishing Themed Invitations for a party guests won't want to miss. 
• Decorations:  Decorate with fish nets, plastic fish, fishing gear, boat paddles, tin buckets, bobbers, and seashells. Check the dollar store for fabulous finds.
• Food:  Fish and chips is a fun idea for young and old or fire up the grill and serve your favorite catch - salmon, trout, catfish, or halibut for a few ideas, with cornbread, coleslaw and any other favorite side dishes.  Snacks can include goldfish crackers mixed with nuts. Stock your coolers with sodas, beer, and wine - whatever your guests prefer. 

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I've had a few surprise birthday parties in my life - my 16th, my 30th, my 39th - and each one was totally different and lots of fun once I got over the shock.  

Here are a few tips if you are in charge of planning the surprise:

1.  Make sure you know the schedule of the guest of honor and that they have no conflicts with your planned surprise party.

2.  You'll need a decoy person or diversion activity to keep the party a secret until the last moment.

3.  Make sure your invitations clearly state the party is a SURPRISE! List a phone number and email on your invitation order (if they need to call you for any reason) and on your invitations themselves so the guest of honor will not see or have access to your plans and ruin the surprise.

4.  If your guests can't "lie" to the guest of honor about their social schedules, hopefully they can avoid the guest of honor until the party or you might want to come up with a decoy story they can tell to keep the secret.

5.  Ask your guests to arrive early, at least a half an hour before the guest of honor's timed arrival, and stress that they can't be late or be seen sneaking into the party a step ahead of the guest of honor.

6.  Request guests park their cars out of site.  You don't need to hear "Why's Joe's car here?"

7.  Pray no one will slip-up and blow your surprise.  If you've done steps 1-6, you are probably in the clear.

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• Outdoor Party Planning Guide

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and what better way to celebrate this occasion than with a BBQ with friends and family. 

Be sure to take our Memorial Day Quiz to see what you know about this national holiday. Some of the questions you'll find are:

• Memorial Day was founded to honor military personnel who died in what war? 
  
• What is decorated in remembrance of Memorial Day?
  
• Since the end of World War I, Memorial Day is also called what?
  
• Who said, "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived?" 

If you're planning a Preakness Stakes Party, you have to serve crab cakes! Here's a fabulous recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tbl Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. crab meat, shell and cartilage removed

1. Mix bread crumbs, mustard, Old Bay and salt together and set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine egg, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Gently fold in bread crumb mixture. Add crab meat and shape into individual cakes. Place them on a platter or cookie sheet. You should end up with about 6 or 7 cakes.
3. Refrigerate for at least two hours, so they won't break apart when cooked.
4. To cook the crab cakes, you can either put them under the broiler or saute in oil. It takes about 3-5 minutes to brown each side. To keep warm, place on cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven until you're ready to eat them. 

Serves 4-6

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Whether a baby girl or a baby boy is on the way, these cute baby elephant baby shower invitations are fun with their fresh colors of teal and orange, pink and orange or gray and lemon elephants and chevron stripe background.

Here's some ideas to make your elephant theme baby shower one everyone will enjoy:

• Invitations: Get the party started with fabulous boy baby elephant or girl baby elephant themed shower invitations. 

• Decorations: Decorating with lemon and gray, teal or pink with touches of orange in balloons, streamers, plates, napkins and tablecloths. 
• Favors: Here are some fun elephant party favor ideas:  Fill a cello candy cone with peanuts and chocolates for a mix anyone will love. Make sugar cookies with an elephant cookie cutter and decorate in your shower colors.
• Note Cards: Don't forget thank you notes make a great baby shower gift! Have each guest address an envelope to themselves to make sending thank yous a breeze for the mother-to-be.

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Whoooo's on the way? If the expectant parents have not announced the gender of their baby, a Gender Reveal Baby Shower could be an ideal theme for a couple's baby shower.

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We love the questions we get from our fabulous customers and today's question was one I haven't heard in all the years I've been creating party invitations.

               "How do you word invitations 
                   to ask guests to bring tips 
                         for the bartender?"

First, if you can afford a bartender, or your event supplies a bartender, you can afford the tip at the end of the evening. 

At most events, alcohol is the the responsibility of the hosts. If you can't afford an open bar, limit the guest's  selections to beer and wine or coffee and tea, whatever you can afford. If alcohol is not in your budget, consider inviting fewer guests so you can budget for this expense.  Also, check with your venue to see if the cost of a bartender and their tip is included as part of the overall bill for your event. 

I have been to events where there is a tip jar at the bar, and as long as you agree, it is fine for the bartender to put out the tip jar (remember, some guests will think this is tacky.) If you aren't okay with a big jar with a handwritten "Tips" note attached messing up your beautifully decorated venue, then make sure you let the bartender know that you are paying for their services as well as the tip at the end of the event and you would rather they put the tip jar under the bar for the duration of your event.

You don't expect guests to tip the wait staff and other people who made sure your event ran smoothly, so you shouldn't treat the bartender any differently. Figure out how you can cover the cost of serving cocktails and beverages to your guests and include that amount -- plus the tip -- in your event's budget. 

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A Ladybug Birthday Party is a fun theme for a little lady.  Your party will be cute as a bug and sweet as can be with little lady bugs everywhere.

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