The Mario Racing theme can be used perhaps. The Mario Kart series of video games features race tracks where characters such as Yoshi the dinosaur, Mario, Luigi and Mario’s nemesis, Wario, compete in go-karts. Hold a race-themed Mario Brothers party. For entertainment, hold a Mario kart-racing tournament for guests to show off their video game skills. Set up a podium and hold an awards ceremony similar to one found in the game for the winners. Intersperse flags and tires in with regular Mario-themed decorations. You can also incorporate that decorating technique into the cake.

Besides that, you can have a Mario Brothers pool party with a water world theme. The water world is a level in several Mario Brothers games where players must manoeuvre through an underwater environment. Decorate your patio and pool area with the fish found in the games. Place inflatable Mario Brother’s toys and objects in the pool with which guests can play. Play a Mario Brothers version of the water game “chicken.” One guest takes a turn jumping into the pool with his best Mario move. All other guests must follow. If a guest doesn’t do it correctly, he gets a letter from the name “Mario.” The first person to get all the letters loses.

Many party games are available that mimic various parts of the classic Mario Brothers games. Avoid The Ghost is a game in which an adult acts like the ghost character Boo while the kids act like Mario and Luigi from the game. The object of the game is for the kids to freeze when they see the ghost turn toward them—if they’re caught moving they are out. Hot Bomb-omb is a variation on the game hot potato. Choose one child as the “Mario” for that round. Use a little black ball to act as the bomb which could go off at any second. Pass it around as fast as possible, not holding onto it for more than a second. When the “Mario” yells “Bomb-omb!” the player who has the bomb is out. Also any egg games like a traditional egg toss can be used—as long as the eggs are painted to look like Yoshi’s eggs.

One of the major activities to have available at the party is to get several game systems together like Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 and rent all versions of the Mario Brothers games. Many younger kids may never have played the original Super Mario Brothers game from the early 1980s, and this may keep them captivated. Another activity is to purchase or create a Super Mario Brothers piñata. The piñata can be filled with gold coins to resemble the bad guys in the game. For the more creative members of your party, set up Super Mario Brothers drawing supplies such as markers and crayons.

A Super Mario birthday cake can be as simple or as elaborate as you need it to be. You could make a basic, circular birthday cake and use icing to draw Mario. If you’re not much for cake decorating, have it done at your local grocery store or bakery. More elaborate cake-makers could attempt to make a cake shaped like a green one-up mushroom, a level from a Mario game or one of the characters.

Pirate parties are a popular way to add a little adventure to a common birthday celebration. The basic theme can work indoors or outdoors and is versatile enough to fit any budget, from modest to extravagant. As long as you provide pirate-themed refreshments, decorations and entertainment, the birthday boy and his guests will have an enjoyable celebration.

A few creative decorations, in addition to basic balloons and streamers, provide a festive pirate theme. A glued stack of plastic skulls going from large to small provides a table centrepiece. Ship-shaped pieces of poster board covered with tufts of grey tissue paper provide wall decorations with a foggy “ghost ship” appearance. Aluminium foil-covered cardboard swords and white paper skull-and-bones can also serve as wall decorations.

Kids will delight in eating octopus dogs (hot dogs partially sliced into strips to make tentacles) and gulping down “bilge water.” Find a small cask or barrel, fit a bowl or a brand-new bucket inside it, and fill with a sweet green drink. If the barrel doesn’t open easily, use it as a prop. If you’re a foodie, your pirate-themed party for adults could feature a “Barbary Coast banquet,” with dishes from North Africa. Or invite guests to bring dishes from any region known for piracy, such as the Caribbean. Even non-foodies can handle whipping up a signature cocktail. You can rename a classic drink for the occasion, or design your own. If you come up with your own drink, printouts of the recipe, on refrigerator magnets, perhaps, make great party favors.

An assortment of pirate-themed snacks and drinks help keep kids energized and satisfied during the party. Blood red fruit punch in a skull-shaped bowl creates a drink centerpiece for the refreshment table. English fish and chips, fish-shaped snack crackers, apple “dagger” slices, gold foil covered chocolate coins and colorful “gem” hard candies provide pirate-themed snacks. There are several pirate-themed birthday cakes possible, from simple homemade to expensive store-bought. Cover a simple sheet cake with blue icing and plastic ships for a low-cost birthday treat. Decorate a sheet cake with frosting skull and crossbones for another affordable pirate cake.

Indoors or outdoors, a treasure hunt is an amusing game well suited for a large group of boys. Hidden chocolate coins and a “treasure map” list with clues are the only materials required for the game. Guests break into groups and try to find the largest amount of coins. The winning group receives a small prize, such as a bag of chocolate coins. Quick and easy pirate party games for boys can include Pin the Patch on the Pirate, Bash-the-Sea-Monster Piñata, Water Balloon Pirate War, Pirate Bingo or Musical Ships. Kids can hop on one leg for a peg-leg race or play Captain’s Orders, a pirate twist on Simon Says.

General pirate-themed activities help keep boys entertained when they get tired of playing games. Activities can include creating a paper eye-patch, cardboard sword or skull-and-crossbones fabric flag. The boys can also watch a kids’ pirate movie, have their faces painted with pirate-themed pictures or build a pirate fort out of boxes and blankets.

Party favours are a popular part of any birthday celebration for boys. Low-cost favours can include a small cardboard chest filled with gold foil-covered chocolate coins and colourful hard candy or a plastic pirate eye patch with matching bandanna. Expensive favours can include a pirate costume set with eye patch, sword, sheath, belt and bandanna, or a DVD of a popular kids’ pirate movie.

A golf-themed party will please sports lovers of all ages. If your friend or loved one is celebrating a birthday, consider hosting a golf-style bash, which is sure to entertain party guests. Whether the honouree is a professional or amateur golfer, they will appreciate golf decor, party favours and games. Transform your backyard into a mini golf course, or hold the party at a country club.

Golf invitations should be well-aligned with the theme. Homemade golf invitations are easy to make. Card stock creates a sturdy base for the invitations. You can put card stock in a computer printer making it easy to print the party details. Cut the card stock into the shape of a golf ball, golf tee or golf flag. Another option is to hot glue a golf tee to a piece of green card stock with the party details printed on it.

Green and white is a logical choice for the golf party colour scheme. Other primary colours also fit into the golf theme well. Hang golf flags on the wall. If you don’t have access to real golf flags, cut your own from poster board or felt. Instead of writing a number on each flag, write the name of the location. For example, you might have flags for the food, games, crafts, cake and bathroom. Golf club and golf balls also make ideal decorations.

If you plan to have food at your party, place a golf-themed centerpiece on each table. One idea is to use golf equipment as the centerpiece. Take a golf ball, a tee and a glove and wrap together with tissue paper. Place the tissue paper into a decorative bowl or another festive container and center on each table.

If you’d rather stick with a pro-golf theme, adorn each table with professional golf trading cards. Use green tablecloths to give each table the look of a putting green. Additional table decorations include score cards, ball markers and divot repair kits.

If you don’t want to transform your entire backyard into a course, delight party guests by planning golf-inspired games. If you are hosting a party for a child, fill a small plastic pool with sand and bury several golf balls. Give each child a plastic toy shovel and have them dig for balls. Provide a prize for the person who can find the most balls in 30 seconds. As a treat for kids, rent a golf cart and take them for rides around the block. For older children and teenagers, create golf challenges. Make a “sand trap” and have each guest take turns hitting the ball out of it, or ask partygoers to hit balls through a hanging circular wire. During a summer soirée, host a golf game in your backyard pool. Throw golf balls into the pool and provide each guest with a pair of goggles. The participant who collects the most balls in a minute wins.

Use party favours and snacks to enhance the party’s golf theme. Create personalised golf towels, balls and tees favours. Enhance each item with the guest’s name or with the honouree’s name and party date. As an edible treat, give out chocolate golf balls. Make a golf-inspired party cake. Bake a regular sheet cake and decorate it with green frosting to represent a course. Make golf “flags” using pretzel sticks and pieces of fruit-roll ups. Use blue icing to create a “water hazard,” and crushed graham crackers as a “sand trap.”

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For some girls, it’s all about being fancy. For Fancy Nancy, more is always better when it comes to being fancy. Fancy Nancy is a young girl from a beloved children’s book known for her “fancy” way of dressing and zany personality. Concentrate on one theme or mix and match ideas for an extraordinary event.

In Fancy Nancy’s world, fashion rules the day. At your daughter’s gala, have plenty of dress-up clothes on hand so all your guests can try on dresses, tiaras, hats, shoes and other accessories. And, of course, a Fancy Nancy party is not complete without feather boas. Once the girls are dressed up, let the fashion show begin. Put down a red carpet remnant, beach towel or construction paper for the runway and play some music in the background. As a take-home item, provide the girls with tiaras to decorate. Purchase kits that come with tiaras, jewels and a template to follow, or cut out your own using construction paper and buy jewel embellishments, glitter and markers.

When it’s time to eat, get out your best tea set, the finger sandwiches and snacks, and let the proper little girls show off their fancy manners. Because the girls might not actually drink tea, apple juice is a good substitute. And instead of a birthday cake, petit fours will advance the fancy theme nicely.

If your daughter is anything like Fancy Nancy, she likes fancy words – and French words, too. Nancy prefers canine to dog, parasol to umbrella, excursion to trip. Make a list of ordinary words and have your guests come up with their fancy counterparts. Also, have a list of French words for the girls to learn. And, of course, make sure you find the French words for fancy things.

A gala featuring Nancy would not be complete without butterflies. Have the girls cut out butterfly shapes to decorate with glitter, markers, jewels, feathers and craft foam. Have poster board on hand so the girls can make their own butterfly wings to decorate. Attach the wings with string or yarn. In the summer, the girls can chase butterflies outside. Or, print out Fancy Nancy printable for the girls to colour.

Cake is one of the most important parts for a Fancy Nancy part. You can actually make a standard round cake and frost with pink icing, or use pink fondant for the cake. Green or purple also can be used depending on your party colour scheme. Use the icing or fondant to create ribbon bows for the edge of the cake. Place a large, sparkly tiara crown on top of the cake. Another option is to buy a crown-shaped baking pan at a craft store and make a cake shaped like an actual crown. Decorate the crown with pastel colours of frosting and candies or pastel coloured sprinkles.

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Although dinosaurs themselves are quite old, the idea of a dinosaur-themed party rarely gets old with kids. From the decorations to the food and down to the activities, it is possible to plan and have a great party, incorporating dinosaurs into every aspect of the event.

The first step to setting up the best dinosaur-themed birthday party ever is choosing appropriate invitations. While there are dozens of dinosaur-themed invites you can either purchase or print out on your home computer, you can also consider making homemade invitations out of construction paper. Use a dinosaur-shaped stencil to cut out shapes to use as your invites, and ask your child to help personalize them.

Incorporate as many large green plants as possible to create a dinosaur-like environment. Create dinosaur footprints out of brown paper bags and make a dinosaur trail either as an entrance into the party or from one area of the party to another. You can also invest in a large cut-out dinosaur and hang it on the wall. After the party, you can hang the dinosaur in your basement family room or in the guest-of-honor’s bedroom. Cut dinosaur feet out of construction paper and tape them to the walls, too. Place a banner printed with pictures of dinosaurs along one wall if you’d prefer. If it’s a birthday party, look for a banner that reads “Happy Birthday!” and that has pictures of dinosaurs on it. You can also make a cartoon talking balloon out of white poster board and write “Happy Birthday” in it. Tape the balloon next to the cut-out dinosaur’s mouth.

A dinosaur-shaped piñata is a fine way to entertain the guests at your child’s birthday party, but it’s not the only game possibility. Amazing Moms suggests dinosaur-themed variations on familiar party games, such as “Pin the Horn on the Triceratops” and ring toss with long dinosaur necks as the target. If your child and her friends are dinosaur experts, you can play a flashcard game where the guests must guess the name of the dinosaur pictured on the card.

Keep the food kid friendly. Serve chicken wings or drumsticks but call them pterodactyl wings and dinosaur meat. Make sandwiches but use dinosaur-shaped cookie cutters to create dinosaur shapes. For the cake, use a dinosaur-shaped pan or make cupcakes for each guest. Frost each cupcake so it resembles a volcano and add a dinosaur cupcake topper to each one.

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If adventures on the open range fascinate your daughter, host a cowgirl birthday party that will capture the excitement and ambiance of the Wild West. Even if you want to celebrate on a budget, concentrating on theme-related details will help you create a happy hoedown that the guests and guest of honor will always remember.

Invitation is an essential part for any party. Create a card that resembles a wanted poster with a photo of your daughter as the “outlaw.” Inside the invitation, surround party details like the date, location and time with a lasso made with rope stickers or thin jute glued around the edges. Encourage guests to dress up as cowboys and cowgirls and to bring their favorite horse stuffed animals to round up in a miniature corral.

If you are hosting the cowgirl party outdoors in the fall, consider setting out bales of hay for extra seating and decoration. Use bandannas for napkins or place mats. Set sunflowers, real or artificial, in mason jars as the centerpieces. Place cardboard cutouts of cactus, boots, horses and stars around the room or outside. Turn the food table into a chuck wagon. Cut out wagon wheels from cardboard. Hang a white sheet on the wall behind the table and hang ropes to make it look like the inside of a covered wagon. A small covered wagon can also be made with a wagon and two Hula Hoops and white fabric. Set the Hula Hoops standing up in the front and back of the wagon and then cover with the white fabric.

When it comes to the food, you can serve classic camp food like hot dogs and baked beans, watermelon and apple pie. Or go Mexican and serve tortilla chips with cheese and salsa and quesadillas. Other options include sloppy Joes, hamburgers or wagon wheel pasta and chili. The cake can be cut into the shape of a horse’s head before frosting, and you can make sugar cookies with a boot-shaped cookie cutter.

Set up games to give your guests the cowgirl experience. See which guest can lasso the most stuffed animal horses in one minute or use squirt guns to knock down the most paper outlaw cutouts. Try activities like square dancing or a western relay race that requires guests to dress up in cowboy hats, vests and chaps before galloping on broom horses across the finish line. You can also let guests decorate their own foam or straw cowboy hat with stickers, ribbon, foam shapes and glitter glue.

Design a goodie bag for all the little cowgirls from a white paper lunch sack on which you have drawn black circles to mimic a cow print. Fill with hair ribbons, sheriff badge, strawberry licorice rope and other novelty items. You can also include a cowgirl coloring page that you printed from the Internet and a small pack of crayons.

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No matter the age of your child, a birthday party with a circus theme can be tailored to fit. A circus party with clowns treats and even a big top can be a party to remember. Whether you’re choosing your invitations, your decorations or your activities, you’ll find lots of ideas that will fit your circus theme.

Every circus needs a big top. The big top or the big tent is the central tent in any circus. It’s where all the action is. For your circus theme party rent and set up a big tent in your back yard. Make this the center of the action of your party. Let the birthday boy or girl perform a magic show to amaze his friends under the big top. Or simply place your cake and gift tables under the tent and invite kids in to eat their treats. Set up a table for face painting and water tattoo applications. This will add to the big top of fun idea. Play some big top circus games, too. Play circus music while leading everyone in musical chairs. Play clown toss. Let kids throw bean bags through the mouth of a cardboard clown.

While some kids are afraid of clowns others love them. Hire a clown to make balloon animals at your party. If you don’t want to hire a clown find a friend who is willing to wear a red nose and some silly shoes for the day. Have clowns at the circus party playing with kids and acting silly. Bring in a trunk of clown costumes that kids can wear. Visit your local dollar store and stock up on silly noses, bow ties and wacky wigs. Let kids dress up and make their own clown outfits. This can be a little less frightening. Take lots of pictures of your guests clowning around.

Continue your circus theme by offering circus style snacks. Bags of popcorn and peanuts are easy to make ahead and stack on a table. You could also serve giant dill pickles and pre-bagged cotton candy. Die-hard circus fans may want to offer giant corn dogs and funnel cakes/ too. Circus snacks are easy to hold and eat while walking around. More snack ideas would pizza slices and nachos with cheese. Serve cold canned drinks to everyone and have garbage cans in open areas people can easily find and use.

Elephants are famous circus animals, so create an elephant-theme party. Serve a cake designed to resemble an elephant. Blow up a picture of an elephant for a game of pin the trunk on the elephant. Set up a craft table for kids and help them to create elephant masks. When the masks are complete, all of the elephants can join in an elephant parade.

If your child enjoys carnival games, focus on a gaming theme. Set up different game booths in your backyard — a traditional fishing game, for example. Tie a string with a plastic hook to a pole, and allow the kids to fish for prizes that have been placed inside a kiddie pool. An adult should help younger children “hook” their prizes. Or set up the clothespin game; have guests take turns trying to drop clothespins in glass bottles. Give prizes to the successful guests.

Decorations, of course, will need to be colorful and reflect the theme. Handmade banners, in bright colors of red, yellow and white like those in the big top, can be used to announce the big top, the birthday child and areas for food and games. Create flag-style banners by stringing together colorful, long triangles of light-weight paper or felt. To create the illusion of a big top roof, use yellow and red crepe paper streamers gathered and tied together. Attach the gathered streamers on the ceiling in the center of the room. Take each individual streamer, twist it, and attach the ends to the walls at a height of about 6 1/2 feet. Continue to do each streamer in this manner, attaching them about 1 1/2 feet apart around the room. Furthermore, you can also decorate your backyard with bright colors and lots of balloons. Have plenty of inexpensive prizes on hand so that everyone leaves with a souvenir.

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Cinco de Mayo, celebrated on May 5, is the day of the Mexican army’s defeat over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Cinco de Mayo is acknowledged every year with fiestas attended to by people of all ages. A Cinco de Mayo party for kids can include crafts, bright decorations and tasty Mexican food.

The colors of Cinco de Mayo are vivid. Use plenty of red, green, yellow, orange and bright pink. Hang piñatas from the ceiling, place sombreros on tables or on walls, and showcase a large Mexican flag by hanging it in a prominent place. Kids could put on a sombrero and pose in front of the flag for a Cinco de Mayo photo souvenir. Decorate with lots of colorful streamers and balloons.

No Cinco de Mayo party would be complete without a colorful piñata. Hang it somewhere where everyone can see it well before anyone gets a chance to take a whack at it with a stick. Consider hanging several piñatas just for decoration. The donkey piñata is a classic, but there are lots of other great styles that are perfect for an authentic Cinco de Mayo celebration, such as a chili pepper, cactus or sombrero.

Candle light is another way to set the party atmosphere at your Cinco de Mayo festivities. Small terra cotta flower pots with just a few inches of sand in them make great candleholders you can use to light up your patio, deck or walkway or set on tables inside and out.

Set up a taco bar for your Cinco de Mayo party, complete with taco shells, meats and all the fixings ready for partygoers to assemble. Nachos with chili-cheese dip, guacamole or Pico de Gallo make nice appetizers, and a caramel flan or cinnamon chocolate brownies can be offered as dessert. Virgin margaritas or lime punch can be served as the main beverage.

Cinco de Mayo party favors could include maracas; small gift items with a chili pepper theme, such as chili pepper ties or jewelry; flan mix; streamer string; or personalized candy bars. These items can be bundled in small packages for each guest, or used as prizes for party games.

Piñatas games are a traditional Mexican activity, usually favored by children. However, adults will enjoy smashing a piñata, too, as long as it is filled with adult goodies. Piñatas can be purchased empty at most party supply stores, and several vendors even make custom piñatas.

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A Caribbean-themed party should be full of vibrant colors, the sounds of a steel drum band, fresh and flavorful foods and island-inspired decor items. Use a vivacious Caribbean theme to enhance birthday parties, wedding receptions, anniversary celebrations and bridal and baby showers, among other special events. For an authentic look, infuse the party space with airy fabrics and citrus hues.

When throwing a Caribbean-themed party, set the mood with tropical-inspired decor. If you are on a tight party budget, use whimsical balloons to create ambiance. Blow up turquoise, sunny yellow, pink, bright coral and lime green balloons and display them around the party space. Group them into clusters and suspend them from the ceiling, railings or near entryways. Palm tree, flamingo and seashell-shaped balloons are also available. Enhance the party table with vases filled with fresh or silk orchids and birds-of-paradise; place single blooms in bud vases as guest place setting decor. If you are hosing the party outdoors, suspend vibrantly hued paper lanterns over the table or from porch rafters, or wrap colorful string lights around tree trunks and pillars.

One key to Caribbean decorating is that the furnishings can endure direct sunlight. Natural fibers such as wicker, rattan and bamboo are popular, and also evoke the trend in green design. White tile floors or white carpeting has a Caribbean beach house look, but tile floors or hardwood floors with throw rugs or mats also have a beach house aesthetic. Use bright baskets with bold patterns and designs as storage, or go for cool white lidded boxes for a more upscale look. Avoid dark stains, lacquered surfaces or anything that could be described as minimalist.

Marriages that last are worth celebrating. If you are approaching a milestone anniversary, you can celebrate the achievement with a Caribbean cruise. You can cruise with just your spouse and re-create the romance and magic of your honeymoon. You can also bring your family along on your cruise and celebrate with them at sea. If you plan a group cruise, schedule both free time and organized activities with everyone. On the night of your actual anniversary, plan a special Caribbean cruise ship dinner party for everyone who joined you.

If you are unable to afford an actual vacation on a cruise ship, you can plan a Caribbean cruise-themed party at home. This can be done in honor of a special occasion or can just be a chance to bring friends and family together for a fun time. Encourage your guests to dress in cruise-wear like shorts and tropical shirts, serve Caribbean cuisine like papaya, coconut, jicama, so Frito, mango and ceviche, and plan traditional cruise games like limbo and shuffleboard.

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A bat mitzvah ceremony is the coming of age for a 12-year-old Jewish girl, when she is obligated to follow and observe the commandments. Because of the intense studies leading up to the bat mitzvah religious ceremony, afterward the family hosts a celebration party in her honor. The party is an once-in-a-lifetime event and needs to be memorable. Selecting an appropriate theme for your bat mitzvah party ensures the festivities will not soon be forgotten.

Every young girl has a favorite movie or movie star, or simply loves Hollywood. So a Hollywood theme is perfect for a bat mitzvah. Have a red carpet for the guests to walk on when they enter and request the guests dress in elegant “red carpet” fashion. Video the arrivals just like a Hollywood awards night. Play her favorite movie on a large screen (sound off) as part of the decoration. Use rolls of old film and reels (search garage sales or make fake ones), movie posters, popcorn bags, and spotlights as the decorations. Be sure to have popcorn making machine ready and popping, plus plenty of soda pop and boxes of candy, to give authenticity to going to the movies.

Some girls have a dream of travelling to a favorite place, like Paris, London or Hawaii. Select that favorite place as the theme of her bat mitzvah. Use travel posters and items associated with the location for decorations. The guests can dress accordingly to the location. And party refreshments should be typical of the favorite place. As example: she dreams of going to Hawaii, so a beach or luau theme will be perfect. Decorate with large, colorful paper flowers, palm trees, flower or paper leis, colorful umbrellas, paper lanterns and hanging parrots. Ask guests to wear tropical print shirts and dresses. Serve sweet and sour meats, barbecue, fresh fruits and nuts. Limbo, hula dance lessons, and a hula hoop contest are great activities.

Apart from the theme, invitations are one of the important parts for the party as well. Artistic invitations are a visually stunning way to invite family members and friends to this joyous occasion. The design of the invitation can include a traditional skyline of Jerusalem with the information located above the scene. Another design could be ribbons intertwined around the border of the invitation, which will frame the bat mitzvah information. A more visually stunning invitation can be made out of small squares cut out of construction paper. Pick colors suitable for the event, such as blue and white, and cut 2-by-2-inch squares from the paper. Cut a 3-by-4-inch sheet of off-white construction paper and place the party information on it before gluing this to the center of the invitation.

Many families choose to hire caterers. Catering services vary greatly in their cost per head. If your theme allows cheaper food options, you might be able to save money. A wedding caterer that specializes in sit-down dinners will generally cost more than a company who brings a buffet of pulled barbecue meat and potato salad. Depending upon the theme and location of your party, you can pull off a cheaper caterer without looking like a cheapskate. For a carnival-themed party, consider renting a hot dog truck, a cotton candy machine and other fair foods and hiring high school students to work the booths, instead of professional caterers. A local amusement company can also work smaller events, and can be less expensive than a formal caterer.

Streamers, mini lights and balloons are popular party decorating elements. Take a considerate look at your theme to find out-of-the-ordinary decorating ideas. For an ice princess party, for example, consider hiring an ice sculptor, or re-purposing clearance Christmas snowflake ornaments. For an enchanted forest theme, or a fairy princess theme, pick wildflowers and string them up around the entrance. Depending upon the flowers available, flowered streamers can work well in a luau party, too. Don’t forget the party poster, with a photo of the bat mitzvah girl and plenty of space for guests to sign the matting.

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