DIY Bowling Party... with cute food and favour ideas

Hosting a party at a venue outside your home is a great option... but it's still fun to add some homemade DIY details to make the party memorable and special. When my oldest son turned 11, we hosted a party at a bowling alley, but of course we created some fun games, food, and party favours. Below, check out the DIY details that made our DIY bowling party unique and fun!

We started with a simple DIY invite that I created on Picmonkey. If you design a 4X6 invite on Picmonkey, you can print the photo invites inexpensively. Mine were $0.19 each.

The main activity at the party was obviously bowling, but I wanted to add a few more activities to make the party fun and unique.

After the kids finished bowling, they were able to "guess the candies in the jar". The party guest that guessed closest to the actual number of Skittles won the jar. Fun, right?

We also had a prize punch (which has become a staple at my boys' parties). It's always a hit with party guests, and you can get the full tutorial here.

Of course, we had to have festive bowling party food. We had pizza and lots of treats at my son's personal "canteen".

And I made a simple "bowling cake". I carved a bowling pin from a rectangular cake and a bowling ball from a round cake. They were simple cakes, but they were cute and went well with our party theme.

And finally, our guests left with adorable bowling party favours (with sweet tags that I designed). You can download the tags for free here. 

I thought the bowling party theme was fun, and I enjoyed planning out all the DIY details. Have you ever hosted a bowling party? What did you do to make the party fun and unique?

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

DIY Sledding Party

Winter is the perfect time for a sledding party. You can host a special afternoon for a few kids, or you can invite the whole neighbourhood for a super sledding themed birthday party. As long as you have a few fantastic treats and activities, all your party guests will have a great time. Below, I am sharing all my best tips, tricks and ideas for hosting a sledding party... including a special hot chocolate bar.

The key to the success of a sledding party (besides snow), is a fun hot chocolate bar. Using different sizes of mason jars to hold the different components of the hot chocolate bar is simple, and it creates a lot of visual interest. Fill the jars with hot chocolate, chocolate kisses, marshmallows, and cookies. Whipped cream and different types of sprinkles are fun too!

You can also decorate with dollar store snowflakes, a winter themed tablecloth, and this cute "hot chocolate bar" sign. 

To download this sign for free: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8x10 photo.

Getting the party guests to decorate their own cups is a fun party activity, and it will help the kids remember which cup belongs to them... in case they want a refill. Drawing on styrofoam cups with Sharpie markers is simple and fun.

Doesn't the tablescape look cute when it all comes together?

And the hot chocolate is going to be a hit after an afternoon of sledding.

You can use sleds you have, ask guests to bring sleds, or you can make designing and crafting a duct tape sled a party activity.

And, after the party, you'll want to send guests home with sledding party favors. "Make your own snowman" kits are perfect for a winter party. (Get all the supplies you need at the dollar store: hats, scarfs, and some big buttons. Attach notes that say "Just add snow!") 

Snowman Soup (a bag containing hot chocolate, marshmallows, chocolate and a candy stir stick) is also fun.

Snowmen gum favors are adorable and inexpensive too. They are easy to make with scissors, a couple Sharpies, and a little felt (for the scarf).

A sledding party is a simple party theme, and it is perfect for winter. I love the hot chocolate bar and party favor ideas, don't you? Do you have a child that would enjoy this type of party with their friends?

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

PS - These cookies would be perfect to serve at a sledding party too...

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DIY St.Patrick's Day Hot Chocolate Bar... using dollar store supplies

Who doesn't love a simple holiday celebration? And setting up a hot chocolate bar is the perfect way to add some fun to a St.Patrick's Day party... or a day at home with family. To set up an easy and inexpensive St. Patrick's Day hot chocolate bar, all you need are a few dollar store supplies, and the information below.

I had a bunch of empty mason jars. Then, I picked up: a dollar store shamrock necklace, black paint, gold chocolate coins, and Skittles.

I decided that I needed a "pot of gold", so I painted a small mason jar black.

Then, I cut up the St.Patrick's Day necklace. I used hot glue to attach one of the Shamrocks to the front of the black pot, and I set the others aside to be used later.

I filled the finished "pot of gold" with chocolate gold coins. Cute, right? I absolutely love how it turned out!

Then, I grabbed the mason jars (I already had), and added: cookies, mini marshmallows, rainbow covered Skittles, and hot chocolate mix. I attached the charms I made using the dollar store necklace... and voila! I absolutely LOVE how it turned it. 

It is festive and fun... and it was super easy and inexpensive to put together.

I hope I've inspired you to put a simple St. Patrick's Day hot chocolate bar together for your family and friends. It really is a super easy project, and its lots of fun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

You might also be interested in these fun ideas.

DIY Valentine's Day Hot Chocolate Bar

Little DIY details are what make holiday celebrations special... and hot chocolate bars are a wonderful way to add a little fun to a party. They are also fantastic for quiet get togethers at home with family and friends. Today, I'm sharing how EASY it is to create a DIY Valentine's Day Hot Chocolate Bar using simple (and cheap!) dollar store supplies.

I started by repurposing some mason jars that I used to make a hot chocolate bar at Christmas.

Then, I headed to the dollar store to pick up a few inexpensive supplies. I purchased: red mugs with heart-shaped handles, heart-shaped dishes for candy and chocolates, heart-shaped felt embellishments to replace the bells on the mason jars, and wafer cookies.

I filled the jars, attached the heart-shaped embellishments with twine, filled the dishes with chocolates, and made some hot chocolate. Cute, right?

You can leave the hot chocolate bar plain...

Or you can add some handcrafted decor to your display to make it a little more special.

I wrapped a milk bottle in twine (securing periodically with hot glue) to create a vase, and I filled the vase with pom poms and cardboard hearts covered with yarn.

I also made an adorable gnome from dollar store socks and a dollar store mop. You can find the full step by step tutorial for the gnome here.

A hot chocolate bar is an excellent addition to any Valentine's Day celebration... small or large. And I encourage you to try out a few Valentine's Day crafts to add to your display. Let me know how it goes, and Happy Valentine's Day!

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

If you are looking for more Valentine's Day inspiration, check out more than 30 Valentine's Day ideas here.

Celebrating the First Day of School

Planning a celebration for the first day of school is a wonderful idea... and it can be done VERY easily. All you need is a little DIY decor, a simple treat buffet, and an inexpensive party favor. Today, I'm sharing my best tips for celebrating the first day of school with a simple DIY party.

Simple decor - To decorate for a simple first day of school party, start with what you already have. Stacks of books, wooden alphabet blocks, a vase full of apples, and chalkboards are fantastic. You can also use apples to "paint stamp" a fun banner, or you decorate with balloons and printed signs.

Party food - Kids will love this simple DIY first day of school food buffet. The centre piece is a giant cookie made with my favourite soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe. Then, you can use dollar store jars, punny notes, and treats to create an array of goodies.  For example, you can include: sweet tarts (for a "sweet" start to the new year), gummy "book worms", teddy bear crackers (for a "beary good year"), and excel gum (for an "EXCEL"lent first day of school).

Party favors - No party is complete with a little gift / party favor for the guests. I love colourful dollar store party glasses for a first day of school party favor. They are super cute in a jar with a tag that says "LOOKing forward to a great school year!"

Cute ideas, right?!? To download the tags for the first day of school buffet and party favors: click on the photos below, right click, save them to your computer, and print them like regular 4x6 photos.

The first day of school can be pretty hectic, so a simple celebration is perfect for the occassion.

Important milestones deserve special celebrations, and I think this simple first day of school party is easy, inexpensive, and super-fun. Happy first day of school!

♥

Gina Bell
(Mom and Amateur Party Planner)

You may also be interested in this "smart cookie" bar.

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)