Theme parties--So much fun!!!

Well, those of you who are into such things, will notice that for the month of July I have 5 (count them, FIVE!) posts already and there is still a week to go in the month! Woohoo! I have really been trying to be more attentive to this blog. I'm still not sure that anyone (other than my daughters) is reading it, but I shall persevere and continue to write posts.
My week has been interesting. We did a seminar today with a carnival theme, so most of the week was consumed by trying to think up a centerpiece that said "carnival" to go with their other activities. Hmmmmm. I enjoy coming up with things like that, funky solutions to weird off the wall problems. But this one took some real thinking! We ended up with a tall vase that we filled with peanuts and had those mylar grassy fountain things coming out of the peanuts in purple, green, and red. Then we put stuffed animals all around the base with pictures from carnivals and fairs that I printed off and cut out, all over the animals. Then we put peanuts around them on the table. It turned out great. The pictures were all bright and interesting and really made it eyecatching.


We used lots of colors of cloth toppers on the tables and we put contrasting colored napkins flat in the center of the tables for additional color under the centerpieces.


The food was the most fun. We served hamburgers, chicken, potato salad and baked beans for lunch, with funnel cakes, deep fried Twinkies and deep fried Milky Ways, for dessert. For their afternoon break they had tortilla chips and salsa, popcorn, pretzel rods, and snow cones! It was definitely a fun theme to do this week since our county fair is going on out at the Expo Center. Patti even went to the fair to do some research on how to get those deep fried Twinkies and Milky Ways perfect! I hope this doesn't catch on for wedding receptions though! Those Twinkies and Milky Ways took a long time to fry! It was a fun day and a really interesting and fun project to work on. I like doing stuff like that. It keeps my brain working.
My theory about doing a theme, whether it's a seminar, a wedding reception, or any other type of party, is that you have to carry your theme through to touch all the senses--sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch. When we have an Asian buffet or a Spanish buffet, or any of our many themed events, we play music that goes with the theme, the food and the menu hit sight, smell and taste, the decorations on the buffet and the tables go for the sight and touch. It makes for a complete event. If you leave any of the senses out, then your theme has holes in it. So if you are thinking about a themed party, remember--appeal to all the senses and your party will be a huge success!