5 Fantastic DIYs for your New Year's Eve Party

After the craziness of Christmas, I love a simple New Year's Eve celebration at home... but simple doesn't need to mean boring. The key to an easy, inexpensive and fun party is to focus on a few DIY details. Check out these 5 fantastic DIYs for a New Year's Eve party.

1) Reflect on last year and look forward to the year ahead. Print these fun "year in review" sheets, and take a few minutes to remember the past and look ahead to the future. Click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it on an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of paper.

2) Create activity bags. Every year, I fill several bags with different treats and activities, and the party guests open a new bag every hour. It's a lot of fun, and it's something my kids look forward to every year. (For some ideas on items to include in the bags, you can click here.)

3) Have fun party food options. A milk and cookie toast is perfect for kids, and adults will love store-bought fortune cookies dipped in melted white chocolates and sprinkles. 

4) Set up a simple photo booth. Party guests of all ages love an opportunity to take a fun photo. Use dollar store accessories and the photo props below. To use the photo props I designed: click on the photos below, right-click, save them to your computer, print on 8 1/2 x 11" card stock, cut them out, and attach them to sticks.

5) Send guests home with fun party favors. Put chocolate kisses in plastic cups with "midnight kisses tags, or attach "ring in the new year" tags to candy rings. To download the cute tags I designed: click on the tag (below), right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4 x 6 photo.

Will you be hosting friends this year? Or will you be celebrating at home with family? Either way, there is something on this list that will help you make your New Year's Eve even more special. Happy New Year!!!

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

Simple "Grinch" Movie Night

There is no better way to celebrate the holidays than with a festive movie night with family and friends, and you can "up the fun factor" with some movie-themed treats, decor and party favors. Today, I'm sharing all the easy and inexpensive DIY details of my family's simple Grinch movie night.

First, you can set the stage with a little DIY decor. I turned a door of my house into a Grinch vignette. with some card stock, cotton batten, and a dollar store ornament. I cut out the pieces (see below), and attached them to the door with painters tape. Cute, right?

I also took a picture of my door, added some details using Picmonkey.com, and printed it out to display on my table of movie treats. 

You can download your own copy by: clicking on the picture below, right-clicking, saving it to your computer, and printing it like a regular 8x10 photo.

And what's a movie without festive treats? I set out some popcorn mixed with red and green M&Ms, a jar of green candies, and some cookies decorated with "grinchy" green icing and green sprinkles.

And what's a party without a party favor? This homemade Grinch ornament (using dollar store supplies) is simple to make. You can can find the instructions and the free printable tags here.

A Grinch movie night is the perfect way to spend an evening this holiday season. With some simple decor, food, and party favors, it can be a really special Christmas celebration.


♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

The Cutest DIY CAMPING PARTY

I love a fantastic party filled with tons of easy and budget-friendly DIY details, don't you? Today, I am sharing all the elements of my boys' joint camping-themed birthday party. It's a wonderful party theme that appeals to a wide range of ages and personalities.

Camping party decor - For our camping party, we had tons of DIY signage, balloons, camping gear, and more. You can find all the fun camping party decor details here.

Camping party activities - For our camping party, we had a large variety of games and activities to entertain our party guests. We had a scavenger hunt, we cooked s'mores, we made candy kabobs, we had a prize punch, and more. You can find all the fun camping party games and activities here.

Camping party food - For our camping party, we had a wide variety of camping themed party foods. We had a bbq, bug juice, camp candy, campfire flames, bears, fish, and more. You can read all the details about the camping party food we served here.

Camping party cake - Homemade cakes are economical and fun. For our camping party, I made each of my boys their own campfire cake. My middle son had a chocolate cake, and my youngest son had a vanilla cake. You can find all the info you need to make your own DIY campfire cake here.

Camping party loot bag - A take home gift is always a great way to show guests you appreciate that they took the time to celebrate with you. For our camping party, our guests brought home prizes from a prize table, water balloons, and prize punch prizes. You can find out about our camping party party favors here.

For a quick video of our camping party, you can check this out....

 

My boys and their friends had a lot of fun at our camping party. It's a party theme that works for kids of all ages... and adults would like it too... with a few modifications. What was your favourite part of our party? If you throw a similar party for someone in your family, I'd love to hear about it!

♥

Gina Bell

(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

Find MORE DIY party ideas here.

Camping Party Loot Bag

Every party needs a fun party gift / loot bag, and today, I am sharing the simple camping-themed party favors I gave to guests at my boys' birthday party. I have a couple of treat ideas you are going to love.

First, I had a prize booth where the kids were giving the opportunity to choose their own gift. The kids went on a scavenger hunt, and when they completed it, they were allowed to pick a prize.

Every party guest was also able to claim a prize from the prize punch. I have been making prize punches from dollar store supplies for years, and they are a staple at all our parties. You can find the full tutorial here.

And finally, as the guests were leaving, they were given a package of water balloons with a thank you note that I designed using Picmonkey.com.

I love an easy, inexpensive, and useful party favor / goodie bag / loot bag, don't you? I especially LOVE how these little treats fit in perfectly with the camping party theme.

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

Find more camping party ideas here.

Camping Party Decor

Setting the stage for a party doesn't need to be expensive or difficult. You can easily create simple (and adorable) decor for very little money. Today, I am sharing the fun way I transformed my house into "Camp Bellzie" for my boys camping themed birthday party.

I started by creating a simple photo banner. I designed 4x6 pictures using Picmonkey.com, printed the photos, and strung them on a piece of twine.

I also used Picmonkey.com to create other signage, including a camp schedule that I placed by the door in a simple dollar store frame. Using camping supplies I already had (like this lantern) added to the atmosphere too.

And of course, I used balloons that matched my red and yellow colour scheme. Every party needs balloons, right?

I also set up a tent.

And I set up a fun party food table. I used a red and white checked tablecloth (from the dollar store), red dishes, and food labels I designed using Picmonkey.com. Sticking with a consistent colour scheme is key!

Simple decor and a cohesive colour scheme can really make a party look pulled together. This camping party decor is easy, inexpensive and fun... and is guaranteed to impress your guests.

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

Find more camping party ideas here.

Camping Party Food Ideas

A camping party is a fantastic party theme any time of year, and one of the best parts of any party is the party food. When I hosted a joint camping party for my two youngest boys, I had a lot of fun coming up with easy, inexpensive and fun camping party food ideas. Keep reading to check out all the simple DIY details!

I set the table with a red and white checkered tablecloth (from the dollar store) to set the mood. Then, we had a BBQ, and I filled the table with camping themed treats.

We had "bug juice" (which was really red fruit juice).

And I filled dollar store canisters with "camp candy". 

And Graham cracker teddy bears were part of the fun with a "don't feed the bears" label I made using Picmonkey.com.

Cheesies were transformed into "campfire flames" with another little label I designed.

And Goldfish crackers became "fish from the lake".

I also set up a s'mores bar with a huge selection of marshmallows, cookies, and chocolate.

And the kids made their own "candy kabobs" to take home.

And, finally, I served two different campfire cakes... one for each of my birthday boys. You can find the full instructions for these DIY campfire cakes here.

With a little imagination and a few "punny" food labels, it is simple to create camping party food that will impress guests of all ages. My boys and their friends loved all the yummy treats we served at our camping party, and I loved that they will all easy and inexpensive to prepare!

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

Find more camping party fun here.

And you can find more party food ideas here.

Camping Party Games and Activities

My two youngest boys have summer birthdays one week apart, so joint birthday parties are perfect for us. However, it's always a challenge to come up with a party theme that works for everyone, but "camping" party games and activities are fun for ALL ages. Today I am sharing the details of the camping party games and activities from our party.

All of my boys' often get called "Bellzie" (because our last name is Bell), so the name of our camp was "Camp Bellzie", and I posted a simple camp schedule. Our schedule included: a scavenger hunt, games, a prize bunch, supper, cake, making s'mores, and crafting a candy kabob.

The scavenger hunt was a highlight for the party guests. I set it up before the guest arrived, and broke the kids into teams. The scavenger hunt had puzzles to solve, clues to find, and challenges to do. It was a lot of fun!

In the end, everyone got a prize... and the first people back got first picks of the prizes.

The kids also played a variety of games. I put a bunch of balls and Frisbees on the lawn, and the kids made up their own games. I also had a booth for "guess the number of jellybeans in the jar".

Of course, a camp out wouldn't be complete without some toasted marshmallows and s'mores. I set up a little s'more bar stand by the fire pit, and the kids loved it! 

The kids also enjoyed making their own candy kabobs and playing chocolate bar bingo.

Finally, the kids were all able to try their luck with our prize punch. Prize punches are staples at all our parties, and you can read all about them here.

There are so many fun ways to entertain kids at birthday parties, but I think these camping party games and activities are extra fun. Have you ever hosted a "camping" party for your kids? What were your favourite games and activities?

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

You can find more camping party ideas here.

You can find more Party Game Ideas here.