The Christmas Season is here. It is time to drag out the Christmas decorations and get in the holiday mood. With so many possibilities and holiday décor becoming less expensive, there is no excuse why you can not have the holiday wonderland of your dreams.

A new trend that has developed in recent years is to decorate your tree, or sometimes even your entire home, in a theme. This theme can be anything from a coordinating color scheme, an thought based on a certain Christmas character, or even a well loved cartoon or television character. Does it sound complex? Not really, just use the following thoughts as inspiration.

Modern: It is simple to decorate your tree in a contemporary theme. Most modern designs in home décor involve sleek lines and standard color pallets. Use this same thought in decorating your tree in a modern theme. Choose clear or white lights from top to bottom, a simple tree topper of glass or silver, and an elegant black and white color scheme. Since it may be hard to find black ornaments, opt instead for black silk flower stems. This gives you the necessary color and takes you one more step away from the traditional Christmas tree.

Color Coordinated: If you are not wanting to decorate the entire room, or if you room has a color pallet that won’t flow with traditional red and green, you can color coordinate your tree with you existing décor. Ornaments are now available in a variety of styles and hues. Select shades that blend with you existing décor and make a few artificial seasonal floral arrangements in the same colors to easily complete your Christmas decorating.

Snowman or Santa: This may sound like an ancient fashioned Christmas theme, but it has a new twist. Rather than having a variety of holiday ornaments, select one character such as a snowman or Santa. Buy different ornaments of this character for your tree from dollar stores and a few figurines of it as well. By following through with this one character throughout the room will make your Christmas decorating look as though you hired a professional for a very limited cost.

Disney or Cartoon Theme: This is one of the most simple and least expensive theme to do yourself and it is also the one that attracts the most attention. For this thought, use multi colored lights heavily throughout the tree and room especially if you are lucky enough to have a fireplace with a mantel. Go to the party supplies section of any store and buy cheap party favors of your selected character. With just some thread or clear string, you can turn these items into ornaments with ease. Don’t underestimate the possibilities of printed gift bags, fill with glitter and place on the tree as well. For a tree topper, buy one stuffed character or doll from the toy department and secure to the tree with floral wire. Simple, unusual, and certainly a conversation starter.

Sparkle and Elegant: This is my personal favorite. I keep thinking that I will do this once my daughter outgrows the cartoon theme. Cover the tree with many clear or white lights, there is no such thing as too much! buy inexpensive clear ornaments in snowflake and ball shapes and place on the tree. For a bit of added elegance, add peacock feathers as well. I get mine from a local flea market, but many craft supply stores carry them as well. For a tree topper, spend a small extra money on glass or crystal. When a tree in this theme is lit, the clear glass and plastic sparkle and no one can help but notice the stunning colors of a peacock feather.

These are just a few thoughts to get you started. The possibilities are endless and the only limitation is your own imagination.

Are you looking for a fantastic thought for party favors for your next celebration? How about covering chocolate bars with wrappers customized for your occasion?  You can even make them yourself.  They’re cheap, simple and appeal to all age groups. Besides, everyone likes candy.  Here’s some simple ways to make these festive treats.

Wrapping paper

You don’t have to be crafty, if you want to make these yourself.  An simple way to make candy bar wrappers is to simply cover the bars with gift wrap.  This material is fantastic because it’s thin enough to mold around your chocolate. Plus, it’s available in festive prints, like balloons for a birthday or hearts for a wedding.

Use the rolls and not the folded sheets of paper, to avoid creases where you don’t want them.  Choose quality paper. Dollar store wraps may be cheap, but can easily tear.  It’s better to pick something a small stronger, even if it costs more.

Next, measure and cut out your candy bar wrappers from the paper.  If you’re covering regular 1.55 ounce Hershey bars, for example, you will need to cut pieces that are 5.25 inches by 5.5 inches. Then all that’s left to do is to place the chocolate face down on top of the unprinted side of the gift wrap and pull both sides of the paper to the center of the treat.  Use double stick tape or a glue stick to hold in place.

If you want to personalize these even further, you can print out a message on paper.  Use fancy fonts in complimentary colors.  Cut out your text with regular, scallop or other decorative edge scissors. Then use a glue stick to adhere to the top of your completed bars.  Or, you can set up your personalization in your mark software on your computer and print it on inkjet peel and stick marks.  Also, check the scrapbooking section of your local craft store for adhesive backed tags and journaling blanks that you can write on and attach to your treats.

Free stuff online

If you want something that looks a small more polished, you can find websites that offer free printable candy bar wrappers or templates.  Try looking for these on your favorite search engine.  You’ll be surprised how many nice people are giving these away. They’re available in many sizes to fit different chocolate treats.  You may have to hunt a small to find something close to what you want, but most of the work has already been done for you.

You will find two types of freebies.  First, there are the printable designs.  With these, all you have to do is print them directly from your web browser.  Then cut up, wrap and glue.  The other type are templates that you download.  These are generally set up for specific programs, such as Microsoft Word.  After you save it to your computer, you open the template in the corresponding program.  You can then edit it, if you want.

Some extra tips

If you will be making a lot of these party favors, you may want to consider investing in an inexpensive paper trimmer.  It will make all that cutting go quicker and your cuts will be straight.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of well loved commercial candy bars are now packaged with plastic wrappers that are crimped at the edges.  They no longer have the foil covering underneath.  So, if you like the look of the ancient-fashioned chocolate bar with foil peaking out of the edge, you can still achieve it.  First, tape down the crimped edges, so they don’t poke through.  And cover the whole thing with either thin aluminum or confectionery foil (found online).   Then place your personalized wrapper around it.

Also, you may want to experiment to see what will work best to hold your wrappers together.
Glue sticks don’t seem to hold as well as double stick tape.  Adhesive dots and strips are even better.  You can find these at the local craft store.

The simplest method

If you don’t have the time, inclination or ability to make these chocolate party favors yourself, you can still be involved in making them.  You choose the design, message, fonts, color and maybe even add a photo or two, and let the professionals do the work.  Since these candy bar wrappers will be personalized according to your specifications, they are uniquely your creation. Search online for a company that has fantastic designs and prices, and will work with you to customize your favors.  They may even offer you a choice in chocolates from well loved brands to those freshly made by a chocolatier.

Whether you make these yourself or make them with a professional, candy bar wrappers are quick, affordable and fun. So, the next time you have a special occasion on the horizon, consider these personalized chocolate favors.  Your guests will like them!

Theme Party To Make Bridal Party Favors Simple

Bridal parties offer a fun time for the bride to get together with her friends to celebrate her upcoming union. Choosing favors for the party can be made simpler by implementing a theme for the party. This helps keep everything tied together and helps the [arty flow. The following list describe a few thoughts for bridal party themes and what favors go fantastic with them.

Garden Party:

For a garden party you hold the party outside in a gorgeous garden setting. The food is made of fresh garden vegetables and homegrown fruits. For the favors you can give guests small terracotta pots with garden gloves and a packet of seeds so they can start their own garden. Or let them take a piece of the garden party home with them by giving guests flowers or vegetables from the garden. Make salsa or jams to hand out to guests. They will surely appreciate these simple favors.

Tea Party:

Frilly tablecloths and exquisite tea sets adorn the tables of a tea party. Serve unique blends of teas with finger sandwiches and decadent pastries. Give guests tea cup candles that they delight in at home. Have special tea bags made with the bride and grooms names and wedding date printed on them, package them nicely for each guest. Your guests will like the girly atmosphere as well as the nice favors.

Holiday Party:

If the wedding falls near a holiday bring that thought to the bridal party. For Christmas decorate a tree with nicely wrapped gifts that hold a rich chocolate treat for each guest. Valentines day allows for the extreme use of hearts and anything red or pink. Favors can be simple red hots in a heart tin or special made heart cookies. Reckon of what is usually done for the holiday and go with it for your theme.

Spa Party:

Women like to be pampered and at a spa party it is all about relaxing. Provide manicures, pedicures and facials. Favors are simple. Give guests gift bags with mini bottles of soaps and lotions. Give them small tins filled with bath salts. Reckon pampering and place together favors that will let the guests take the spa feeling home with them.

These thoughts are just the beginning of fantastic theme you can use for your bridal party. The use of a theme helps you make the favor choices easily. Your guests are sure to appreciate being able to take a bit of the party home with them. There are theme thoughts that fit every budget. Some favors, such as the garden party favors, are something that you already have, s you do not even have to buy anything. Other favors, like the spa party favors, can be homemade for less than they can be store bought. The whole thought of a bridal party is to have fun and the favors are just a way to say thanks for coming. Keep the favors simple and your guests are sure to be grateful for them.

Choosing Bridal Party Favors can be simple if you consider the theme you plot to go with.

If you’re feeling a bit burned out and uninspired, but have a child with an upcoming birthday, here’s an thought to please all concerned. Delegate – the key to your sanity. Let older siblings do the decorating or hire teenagers to glam it up for you. BIRTHDAY PARTY Thoughts – SETTING THE SCENE HOLLYWOOD STYLE Ultimately, you will want to bring a small bit of Hollywood to your home. You can keep it simple and cheap, but still fun and exciting by using lots of streamers, balloons, and curling ribbons. Hang movie posters on the walls. Have simple munchies available for guests to delight in. Make a red carpet (made from red plastic disposable tablecloths) along your walkway for all the guests to walk on in order to gain entrance to the party. To rope off the designated walkway from the paparazzi, use balloons attached to sticks. BIRTHDAY PARTY Thoughts – A STAR IS BORN As guests arrive, escort them into an area where they will memorialize their stardom. Have large silver stars cut from poster board available for decorating. Have teenagers help your guests in tracing their hands onto their star and write their name above their imprints. Then have your guests decorate their stars with glitter. Glue or tape the stars onto the red carpet (red disposable tablecloths) that runs into the movie premier room. Place a gold star at the entrance with the name and handprints of the birthday child. BIRTHDAY PARTY Thoughts – WALKING THE RED CARPET Have drama students posing as the paparazzi and equipped with cameras and make-shift microphones along the red carpet walkway to the movie premier room. Have them try to interview guests and snap candid photos as your guests arrive all dressed up in Hollywood glitz and glam. BIRTHDAY PARTY Thoughts – GLAM IT UP! As an alternative, you could have older siblings or hired teenagers glam up your guests. Make a glam station equipped with fun dresses, hats, boas, make-up, purses, jewelry, etc. To keep the cost down, get all of your dress-up gear from thrift shops. While everyone is getting ready, other teenagers could lay out the red carpet and stars on the walkway in preparation for your A-list guests to walk the red carpet to the movie room. BIRTHDAY PARTY Thoughts – SHOW TIME Have someone dressed up in a suit, individually escort your guests down the red carpet and have someone else assigned the task of taking photos of each guest as they make their way down the carpet. Once everyone has been seated, you can then play the movie of your child’s choice. Have someone serve popcorn to all the guests to delight in while watching the movie. As an alternative, you could rent a popcorn wagon and have someone pose as a vendor handing out the popcorn. BIRTHDAY PARTY Thoughts – CURTAIN CALL After the movie is over, serve cake and ice cream and open the presents. Then send your small stars home with a clean popcorn bag filled with Hollywood-related party favors like theme stickers, a bag of microwave popcorn, movie gift certificate, temporary tattoos, sunglasses, etc.

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