I love to throw a party–a full-out themed birthday party or a simple dinner party. I love the creative process involved, and I love spending time with people I love with good food and drink.
At our house good drink is non-alcoholic. At a party I recently hosted our good drink was fruit juice. I love having my guests get involved with the food, and so I love to do “food bars or drink bars” where the guests actually assemble their own food.
It also cuts down on the work for me as the hostess. I don’t have to spend all my time in the kitchen; I can be part of the party, too.
At my most recent party, I put together a Juice Bar starring a new product by Simply Orange Juice Company – Simply CranberryCocktail which they asked me to try. I also made them work for their dinner. I’ll be posting about that tomorrow.
Host a Create Your Own Juice Bar at your next party!
For the Juice Bar I covered my old vintage ironing board with a vintage table cloth.
I provided a selection of juices including Simply CranberryCocktail the newest in the line of Simply beverages as well as Simply Orange® and Simply Lemonade®.
In addition we had some other “mixers”–peach juice, apricot nectar, pineapple juice, coconut, and lemon-lime soda. Simply CranberryCocktail is not made from concentrate so it has a fresh, pure cranberry taste, both sweet and tart and just a little different than the other cranberry cocktails you may have tried. Because it has no added preservatives you will find it in the refrigerator section of the grocery store; it is chilled from the time it’s blended.
I grew up drinking cranberry juice blends and I love cranberry cocktail all by itself but my favorite drink combines cranberry cocktail, orange juice and lemon lime soda. It was our own little “mocktail.”
It was fun to see how creative everyone got with their juice mixtures.
Simply CranberryCocktail comes in a fun carafe so no need to pour it into a pretty container; it comes in one, either 59 oz. or a smaller, personal size of 13.5 oz.
Some of our other favorite juice bar combinations were: Simply CranberryCocktail, pineapple and lemon lime soda; Simply CranberryCocktail, orange juice and lemon lime soda; Simply CranberryCocktail, peach juice and lemon lime soda; Simply CranberryCocktail, lemonade and pineapple.
I highly recommend a Juice Bar at your next party or dinner party. People love the hands-on process and being able to experiment with all different combinations.
As the hostess you provide the ingredients and let your guests do the mixing!
Simply CranberryCocktail is also giving away a $100.00 VISA card to one of my readers – how cool is that?
What is your favorite way is to make a party or get-together at your home more festive? Tell me about it in the comments for the chance to win a $100 gift card!
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to see what we had to eat at the party. Here’s all you need to know to enter:
Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/7/2012 – 6/6/2012
Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
“Simply Cranberry™” is a trademark of Simply Orange Juice Company.
There’s always LOTS of food and we like to play games.
I love making the party a pot luck with a theme to see what people come up with to bring based on theme!
https://twitter.com/LuckyDuckyToo/status/210489221696327680
I add festive music and decorations to create the right atmosphere.
runningmatey at hotmail dot com
I like to do a food bar with everyone can pick what they want to eat and I free to enjoy everyone.
I do like entertaining and my favorite thing is to do theme parties. I customize my food, drinks and decorations/decor around a theme and everyone really enjoys it….I just try not to get too hokey!
We have a theme for every event and encourage guests to dress accordingly.
And I tweeted! : https://twitter.com/RoastedRootFood/status/210059705693896707
Plenty of appetizers and napkins!!
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/MsTofuFairy/status/210033560160178177
A great way to make a party more festive is lights! I love to string up lights all over the house and yard (weather permitting) and not use any other form of light other than maybe a scented candle or two. It really creates a fun and intimate atmosphere!
I like to add flowers and food labels!
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/jfong1130/status/209838476823236609
I love having tons of little finger foods as the main course! You can have a huge variety of food to offer and appetizers are always delicious!
oops, I forgot to answer the question, I love a theme and a fun party favor for everyone to take home!
I want to win so I can beef up my silhouette cameo fund!
Decorate with fresh flowers. Always festive to me and to my guests.
Keeping it simple so that I can interact with guests rather than busy cooking, and cleaning up, works for me.
Blogged:
http://slehan.blogspot.com/2012/06/win-100-visa-from-simply-cranberry.html
Fresh flowers always make it more festive.
Thanks for the contest.
Theme, decorations and music are always great; but fabulous friends/family make the party a real party!
An ice cream sundae bar is a great way to make any event festive!
I think the best way to make a party festive is to include friends!! Even if you’re having a simple BBQ, having good friends attend (and feel welcome) is key to a festive atmosphere!
I like to find one unique thing to do that is unexpected. I have done hot dog bar, chili bar and I am trying the Italian soda bar for my son’s grad. party this month.
I love to pick a theme and then get decorations to match as well as food and drinks. Getting ready to host a hawaiian party for my daughter’s 6th birthday!
yummy food and we always try a different drinlk recipe
tweet https://twitter.com/prizepuzzle/status/209459506223132673
Parties are more festive with special bite size snacks and board games to get people interacting. I love the juice bar idea…will definately try that idea!
I tweeted this post! I hope my followers like it. 🙂
https://twitter.com/DianaRenata/status/209348421360959488
What a wonderful idea! It’s been HOT here lately and I really think my friends would LOVE this at our next game night. It’s a great way to class up even a casual event! 🙂
dianarenata[at]live[dot]com
Tweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/209053515820183554
I love to themed potlucks. One time might be slow cooker foods, everything from appetizers to desserts. Another time might be sandwiches. It’s fun to see how creative we can be within the theme.
lots of snacks and cocktails.
And fun colorful decorations.
O and don’t forget the music.
I love to have spooky Halloween party’s..
dollhousecreation(at)gmail(dot)com
I always like to have a theme for the food & drink. We did a taco bar one year for my daughter’s birthday and all the appetizers and drinks were authentic Mexican too.
tweet-https://twitter.com/CrazyItalian0/status/207632251201134593
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
I love to add great music and lighting to make a gathering more festive.
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
I make sure there is a variety of food and drinks.
2ND ENTRY TWEET https://twitter.com/kytah00/status/207222669798682627
LOTS OF HOMEMADE FOOD & FUN AT THE BEACH!
I tweeted about this giveaway: https://twitter.com/ctong2/status/207020002111533057
ctong2[at]gmail[dot]com
My favorite way to make a party or get-together at my home more festive is selecting a theme but with simple decorations. I love to prepare homemade finger food, nice dessert and drinks. Love your juice bar idea, will plan it for my next party. Thanks for the giveaway.
ctong2[at]gmail[dot]com
I always make sure I have plenty of different foods to make the party festive.
tweeted http://twitter.com/DeeGee13/status/206813800610013184
I love making a party more festive by making cupcakes catered to the theme of the get together as well as themed ice cubes! 🙂
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/206803717108936705
We love to decorate for the party and keep it in theme!
tweet https://twitter.com/thismomwins2/status/206510221399572482
[email protected]
P*A*R*T*Y Recipe
Mix:
A lil family.n.friends
love.n.laughter
a dash of spring, winter or fall ~
a pinch~o~revelry
games.n.sports
yummy treats.n.snacks of sorts…
sippin’s or brew,
a lil bubbly or two,
[email protected]
or sweet twinklee lights
music.n.drum
a smidgen of “hum”
hugs.n.sharing
lots of caring~
Simmer in a pan until done!
That juice bar is the cutest! I love having drink stations at parties. To make things more festive I always fully commit to a theme of sorts and carry that out through food, drink, and decorations. And music never hurts!
When I do a get together I really try to keep it simple and let my food do the talking! I get overwhelmed when I try the ALL-OUT approach!
I love the Simply juices! A gathering at our house is never complete without a dance party and a delicious dessert.
When I have guests for dinner, I like to have the table set and decorated before they come. I also like to use colorful disposable napkins. Your pics are amazing of the parties you throw. I wish I had your creativity and energy.
This looks so good! I like putting up crepe paper and having some sort of game/prizes to make it more festive.
Fun appetizers and finger food and good music help get a party rolling!
punch and good food, I would do the cranberry juice and ginger ale and raspberry sherbet for a fun punch or beverage container
Definitely some music and delicious food make our parties more fun!
tweeted for a second entry
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/205258722786811904
good food and good music make a party quite festive!
Great idea- love the vintage ironing board. Cranberry juice and ginger ales is one of my all time favorite drinks!
Loving this giveaway!!
What a great giveaway!! I am going to put this juice on my shopping list right now.
https://twitter.com/#!/akronugurl/status/204928102361600002
I love all the Simply beverages!!
tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/ChelleB36/status/204793157811048449
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
I love plugging up the Wii and putting in Dance Revolution
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
we like to try a new recipe or two each time we entertain.
I love planning parties especially for my kids’ birthdays! I usually come up with a theme and research games, food, and crafts to go along with it. Food is always important because they are very hungry after fun games and crafts.
I love giving door prizes and party favors! Love the juice bar!
Honestly, I don’t ever have parties or get-togethers. I think all the time that I want to be a “party-planning/party-throwing” kind of person but I get scared every time I think of trying it out!
Serving things family style or buffet style loosens things up a lot. Conversation cards are fun, too.
A party would not be complete without food, drinks and good conversation among friends. A little wine and some music can really make a difference too.
simply limeade, yummy food, family & friends – – perfect party!
I’m all about setting the mood with fun decorations, and yummy food. I love the planning process! A gift card would be great ~ then I could throw a party!!!
Great the guests and make sure they feel special, enjoy the party yourself, you set the tone!
Favorite place to entertain is on our deck for a b-b-q. This atmosphere, some sumptious food and the people are all we need to make a great party. Its kinda funny that you have this give away as my hubby’s favorite is Simply Limeade and it is always front and center as our guests arrive.
The guests and the food are the stars of the party.
For holiday parties, a cute little themed goodie bag is a treat to hand out to guests as they leave. The juice bar is a very fun and interactive way to incorporate your guests into the party. That will leave the hostess available to greet other guests as they arrive.
Music is always important to me in setting the tone for a party :). Love the juice bar idea!
I think every party needs lots of color to make it festive. It immediately sets the mood when a guest walks in the door.
I love all Simply products, what a great party!
So fun a juice bar!
What a clever idea! I like making everyone work :)!
I think a good party has fun people and delicious food, and good conversation.
Background music always helps!
I think a party is all about the guests and the food. I plan the party around the food. The mood sets itself. 🙂
I like to make parties more festive with fun decorations and Bly involving the guests..teaching them the hula for example.
i tweeted – https://twitter.com/#!/onitnaram/status/204489298601451520
i like lots of balloons
I tweeted this
https://twitter.com/#!/The_Sunshyn/status/204407334317981697
Interactive games usually help. My husband got me a Wii when they first came out, and its most fun when we have people over.
i think almost every party or get-together needs a game of some kind
[email protected]
Music definitely helps make the party more festive!
By bringing together people that don’t know each other…always fun after everyone gets comfortable.
wolverina401 at gmail dot com
Tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/marybug2/status/203789768478298112
marybug2 @ yahoo . com
I would just use a variety of flavors for my guest to try and decorate with an Island theme.
marybug2 @ yahoo . com
I love a mix of simple and fancy dishes – the fancy ones make the whole party more festive!
Tweet!
https://twitter.com/#!/tcrowley122/status/203652173047939072
I love decorating with bright colors! I use simple serving dishes/trays so all I need to do is focus on the linens and flowers/decor!
It’s all about the decor in my opinion!
I like to make things ahead so I can focus on the guests at the party!!! Thanks for a chance to win and have a great day!
kmassmanATgmailDOTcom
tweet https://twitter.com/#!/abitnerdy/status/203181870647754752
Selecting the perfect playlist does a lot for a festive atmosphere, also a theme so everyone will get into the groove of things, then dedlicious beverages 😉 xx
This juice bar is such a fun idea! When I have a party, I focus on making sure the food table relates to the theme…and a cupcake tower is a must!
tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/BBirdie2/status/202842912000716802
Take help yourself food & drinks, add some favorite music, and have everyone share a recipe
https://twitter.com/#!/HappyTina0115/status/202554658974212096
I will prepare lots of games!
https://twitter.com/#!/auntiethesis/status/202439878460444672
Our last family party we had everyone list a few words about each of the other family members..words that we though described each person. My sister compiled the words and put them on a photo placeholder for each of us. It was fun to read what everyone thought about me and it was a great memento to take home.
Tweet!
https://twitter.com/#!/tcrowley122/status/202415984714321921
I think having a fun color scheme makes a party feel more interesting…I love combining bright pops of color like turquois and red!
tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/syytta/status/202305402149408768
songyueyu at gmail
I put on upbeat music and lots of snacks. Thanks for the review and giveaway.
songyueyu at gmail
https://twitter.com/#!/tcarolinep/status/202158060272226305
Plenty of all sorts of desserts and music always help.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
https://twitter.com/#!/karinaroselee/status/202152513477156864
i like having a theme
I like to hang decorations, put on some music, and make way too much dessert! 🙂
[email protected]
We like to play interactive games like Scattergories, Apples to Apples, Pictionary, and a few others!
I tweeted about the giveaway! https://twitter.com/#!/angelamhunt/status/202036565852160000
I love having fun food and drinks and of course many many many fun decorations! They all make a party fabulous!
I like organizing games or crafts to all the kids busy so parents can have a nice time as well.
yay! so fun to see how this turned out!!!
I make the party based around a theme, like our housewarming/Halloween party was an “open coffin” so the food and decor was based around a vampire theme. I plan on having another party this year themed around mustaches and old timey cirrus fare.
I like to play some kind of game that helps everyone feel comfortable and lets them know who all of the guests are. There are many creative ways to do this kind of introduction.
Most of our parties are kid-related and I’ve found anything with water makes it more fun whether it’s a pool party, hot tub night or just a big tub of water and a bunch of plastic cups for a water fight. Of course, you can’t forget good food!
When my kids were younger having an ice cream bar was lots of fun. Thanks for the giveaway.
We usually throw themes parties too!! To make a party more festive we make the food match the theme. We also dress up to match the theme. For instance we just thee our daughter a princess party and everyone dressed up like princesses!
Great idea. Thanks for sharing!
games!
Tweet!
https://twitter.com/#!/tcrowley122/status/200785950534664192
I love decorating for the theme of the holiday! I use simple serving dishes that will go with many types of decorations!!
Tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/sharonjo2/status/200772360033411074
I confess I don’t entertain very often, mainly because I have a tiny kitchen/dining area and use that as an excuse! My favorite get-togethers are outdoor barbecues and picnics where people can spill out onto the deck and yard and enjoy simple fare like burgers, brats, fajitas, etc… My best tip is to be relaxed and enjoy yourself, then your guests will too.
Of course it is all about the food and drinks! Sometimes a good game or activity can make things really fun but if you have good fun and great people usually talking and mingling is more than enough fun! I love the juice bar and the grilled cheese bar…I like variety and these are both fun and different! can’t wait to try them at a party of my own!
i”ll have to try the Simply Cranberry Cocktail. I like all their other juices. My favorite parties also have themes. I like doing food for book club parties and trying to figure out food that goes along with the book.
My favorite way to make a party more festive is to have a theme.
I love all of the “simply” juices! I like to make sure there are lots of fun decorations and things to do (like make your own cocktail) because those kind of things always start conversations!
Every party should have a theme! I like to have the food, music, decor, and sometimes even the dress code match the theme.
I make sure that the kids and adults alike are having a great time by making sure that there is plenty for the kids to do to keep them happy. music always make things more festive
The best thing about a party is the company. I like to keep things simple but yet fun and cute. I want to create lasting memories and that’s why parties are so much fun.
My secret? Invite interesting people and let them speak for themselves… Because you know my decor doesn’t!
I love your posts! My favorite of the “Simply” brand is the Raspberry Lemonade!
Banners make any party that much more festive! 🙂
i like to have lots of balloons
I like to have my kids make place cards and any other table decorations that they’d like to. We also love to go all out on the appetizers and dessert!
I like getting my kids involved with our parties. My boys have snow cone maker and I buy them sugar free Torani syrups (with a pump) and they set up their own snow cone booth in the backyard. It keeps the kids entertained for a long time and since it’s sugar free & outside I don’t worry about it.
Love your ideas! I love to pull out my great grandmother’s dishes or my mother’s china and some of my other antique dishes I have for serving and eating. Just seems to make the occasion special. This makes anything served special.
I love to spruce up a get together by adding fresh flowers to the table! I think that adds so much! Leigh Anne, you have some of the best get together ideas! We often do games and snacks!
Fondue always makes a fun and festive party!
Always love to have guests into our home and I have used some of your ideas, Leigh Anne. Being impulsive, I often call friends at the last minute and invite them over for games and snacks and so throwing something together with what is in my pantry/refrigerator can be interesting. Can’t wait to try a Juice bar.
I love decorating with a theme to get a party more festive!
Fantastic giveaway!
I also like to provide many “little” options for my guests. And, of course,
colorful decorations! Thanks for the chance to win!
I make our parties festive through special decorations. Love the idea for a grilled cheese bar!
For a party at my own home, I like to make it distinctive. I don’t make the fanciest, fussiest things, but I do strive to have it be different from other parties – Memorable. 🙂
If I’m contributing to a party at someone else’s home (like a potluck), I always bring bread. Everyone else is going to bring chips or fancy cookies or sodas. Everyone will remember and appreciate the fresh loaf of delicious bread.
I love theme parties and when my kids were little, I always used a theme for their birthday parties. Some of my favorites were; A Teddy Bear’s Picnic, Come Dressed As Your Mother, Pirate Party, and A Story Book Party.
At parties, we often play our own version of Scattegories. So if you split into 2 teams, Team A creates 20 different words based on the theme (eg, Cinco de Mayo), and Team B also creates 20 different words. Then the teams swap words and they have to act out/guess each others. So much fun!
Tweeted!
https://twitter.com/#!/Danielle_Thomas/status/200408501800017922
https://twitter.com/#!/DesMoinesDealin/status/200399542842171393
with a great music soundtrack!
Love the way you set up the juice bar. Just another idea and why I can’t ever throw anything away!
Recently we did a wonderful Italian Soda bar using LOTS of you fun ideas. It was SO much fun. I love parties where people get to choose what they want and what to add.
I love parties with a theme
I love decorating for our parties!
tweeted:https://twitter.com/#!/uTry_it/status/200338586913079297
Amy [at] utry [dot] it
My favorite way to make a party at my home more festive is selecting a theme. So, the decorations, food, drink, party favor and maybe dress code too, would all follow the same theme. It’s really festive and fun!
Amy [at] utry [dot] it
I really love the lemonaid bar idea and can’t wait to try simply cranberry…I love thier orange juice! For parties I just like to hang out…good food, good friends and games.
Next time you should try a lemonade bar. My friend did this at her birthday party and it was awesome. She had normal lemonade with different purees to mix into it. she had strawberry, blackberry, kiwi, raspberry, peach, and a cucumber lime -that was delicious- there were other yummy flavors that I can’t remember right now.
The food has to be homemade and delicious and the serving ware has to be fun!
Tweeted! https://twitter.com/#!/Bearrabbitbear/status/200313891459309569
Music and a theme (pizza night, etc!)
oo this is such a cute idea! Perfect for a brunch!
Love the idea of juice bar! Genius! We like to make our party’s more festive by playing games!
I like to add music and balloons or candles to make things more festive.
https://twitter.com/#!/elliebunny24/status/200294823826169857
a variety of good food and drink
I dig doing lots of snack foods.
We love doing dessert bars in lieu of or in addition to appetizers.
https://twitter.com/#!/thepryfamily2/status/200272095878455297
[email protected]
music and decorations make it more festive
[email protected]
I try to keep things simple so I can enjoy the party too. Simple things to make a party festive include using small, beverage napkins; greens or flowers tucked around food trays; drink glasses you normally wouldn’t use (ie champagne glasses for your lemonade bar, stemless/plastic wine glasses for fruit smoothies around the pool, etc.); menu written out on a decorative stand.
Love the idea of a juice bar! And love the shape of the Simply Cranberry containers.
To make a party more festive, I think getting the guests involved is key – whether its interactive with the food or playing games or helping out in another way. Keeping guests busy is always best – they feel like they are part of the event more.
What a fun idea! Sometimes, depending on the topic, I have people dress up for the party. EX) Did a book club party on the Nicholas Sparks book, The Wedding, and everyone came dressed as if attending a reception. They all brough their own wedding pics and I made a wedding cake for dessert!
I tweeted! https://twitter.com/#!/amweeks/status/200227120100806656
We have a big crab feast once a year, and years ago our friend gave us a set of these wonderful big flat-topped resin crabs! So for the party, I put them out on the food table & put some dishes that folks bring on top of them to add height!
Every year it is our tradition to have a “Build Your Own Pizza Party” on New Year’s Day. We invite our friends and thier families to come over and make pizzas! My husband makes both the pizza dough and pizza sauce from scratch, and I assist the day of, with preparing the pizza toppings. (Yourhomebasedmom has her dessert bars, we have our pizza toppings bar.) Our guests are then invited to the kitchen to place their toppings on their masterpiece and my husband bakes them to perfection! The party starts at 12:00p.m. and has lasted until the last person is served at 11:00p.m.! My husband has been known to make at least 26 pizzas by the end of the day! What a wonerful way to bring in the New Year with friends, food and fun!
And I’ve had the joy of being invited the past few years. Can you say “super-yummy!” My favorite part is sitting around talking with everyone while you wait for your mater piece to be baked. If you’re really nice to the cook, he’ll give you a bowl of gravy to dip your slices in as you eat. He make the BEST tomatoe gravy I’ve ever eaten.
We love to do games 🙂
Love Simply Juicy and would love to win!! You always have the best ideas Leigh Ann!!
We always have a dessert bar at our parties. Everyone really enjoys it.
It has to have lots of food to keep them all happy.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/rhoneygee/status/200117613718798337
I do a theme party with decorations.
I like planning events (Bunco, Book Group) around a theme. For the book Secret Life of Bees, all of the foods I served began with the letter B (Brie, banana cake, bean dip etc) the guests had to figure out how the foods were related.
Lots of fun finger foods to start out with. Or sometimes that is all we do, just have everyone bring their favorite appetizers. Always plenty to eat!
Our family always likes to do a sundae bar with all the fun toppings!
If someone who I have invited to the party or event is having a special birthday or celebrating something special, I serve them using our Red “I am Special” plate.
I always make sure we have beautiful table linens.
I like lots of casual finger type foods and desserts.
I love the idea of a juice bar. I also love dessert bars. I also would like to be your winner. Hooray for Simply Juice
I like to have the guests play a game, like a treasure hunt!
I love this idea of a juice bar! I am a huge fan of the Simply brand juices. I like to have simple things when I am hosting a party…I think Simply juice would fit right in 🙂
To make the party festive–the house has to smell good with a candle!
I love having a theme and decor to go with
I like having a theme for the evening and working around that. I love the idea of a juice bar, I know my family will, too! 🙂
I love dessert parties!!
It’s always fun to use the seasons for inspiration with food/decor. Super excited for the summer parties/bbqs. The juice bar would be fabulous with a BLT and salad. We are ready for summer at our house!
I love to have a party with dips and things. Guacamole and chips, vegetables for dipping and fruit with a sweeter dip. Thanks for all the great ideas you have given me…..my family loves, loves, loves your breadsticks recipes!
https://twitter.com/vivaciousgold/status/200014702162620416- tweeted
A good dessert/candy bar is so good for a party.
I love to have punch at a party. It’s one of my favorite drinks that you only really ever get at a party.
I like to have a nice candle burning. Cranberry juice is one of my pregnancy cravings right now 🙂
for my daughters wedding we had a lemonade bar with different syrups and everyone loved it. we like to keep things simple like bbq’s and salads!
definitely dessert and a theme party!! 🙂
to make it more festive, I like to use pretty containers/dispensers, I often cook everything from scratch but even when store-bought, I remove it from the original container and put it in a pretty bowl, basket or tray. I have a couple of dispensers for drinks too. Even o.j. looks fabulous in a glass dispenser.
I like to re-name the party food for the theme of the party. For my son’s b-day party, we had a reptile party with snake skins (potato chips), lizard tails (carrot sticks), chameleon clubs (sandwiches), and chameleon kebabs (rainbow colored fruit kebabs). The kids loved it!
I read the official rules.
I think a special drink makes a party extra special. For Thanksgiving, we freeze cranberry juice into ice cubes and add them to ginger-ale or apple juice.
I love the juice bar idea! My family is definitely a fan of the “Simply” juices. I am tucking this idea for our next brunch or lunch get together!
I like the guests to be in the festivities…Like I will throw an 80s party…with food that was big in the 80’s…nostalgic candies and then have the guests come in some 80’s attire…Love throwing parties!
Great idea when hosting a party. Good idea for at school for those special events!
What a great idea! Thanks for hosting the giveaway!
Having my wife there. 🙂
I love making homemade treats and decorating for each holiday. The homemade smell makes it special for me. 🙂
Themed food is fun. A tradition in our family is to choose a goofy movie (like Napoleon Dynamite), and create the menu around the movie (“Napoleon, give me some of your TOTS!”). I do draw the line at cracking raw eggs into my juice, though ;).
A few cocktails, and lots of good music and great food … always gets the party started. I like to make a party festive with themes of some sort.
My favorite way to make a party festive is with a fun dessert…..my favorite part of any meal!
My husband loves drinks, he would just skip the rest of the food and enjoy the punch, so we always have to have a special drink. I love the juice bar idea, can’t wait to try it.
I love to have a theme and work the decorations, food and activities around it.
LOVE to do candy bars at showers and parties. Great way to send off the guests with a nice sweet treat!
I tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/tracylr233/status/199954218935783426
I love to have some games. Badmiton, ladder ball, bocce ball….anything to get us up and moving around.
I add something homebaked, I think a juice bar would be a nice addition to that!
i would make cocktails 🙂
[email protected]
https://twitter.com/#!/akronugurl/status/199951996709634050
I like a theme… decorations and food all going together.
I love having some kind of a theme, and have everything go with it.
I am always trying to do a fancy drink, we also don’t drink alcohol, so that makes the hunt for something new and exciting all the more fun.
Themed food or balloons! They always make a party more fun 🙂
tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/MeandBells/status/199938999211659264
a pool and a bbq pit! 🙂
I think a punch of any kind or special dessert make any party extra special. Thanks for the chance to enter.
Great idea! Definitely going to try it
THEMES. We do get togethers with all of the family once a month and I love focusing on a theme. Always so much fun.
I LOVE the idea of a juice bar!! I’ve done hot cocoa bars, coffee bars, etc. at events, but for a summer party this is a a FABULOUS idea. I also find that it’s fun to invite your guests to bring a dish that fits in with a particular theme. We had a book club party where all the guests brought a dish that represented their favorite character in the book. I also had a “Wish I was on Vacation” party where everyone brought a dish from their favorite vacation destination – just a fun way to have help with the food but also give people a chance to express their own tastes in food.
I tweeted. https://twitter.com/#!/Cinbat03
My favorite to make a party or get-together at your home more festive is to decorate with lots of bright color, party lights, and colorful glitter!
I love having parties too! I found a very easy way to make a house look like a party is BALLOONS!! They aren’t just for birthdays!! If you get the latex ones they are cheaper and you can group them all over the house – tie them to chairs – group them in corners – high and low – and it’s a super inexpensive way to make the room look festive! You can color coordinate with your theme. And if you buy balloons in bulk through a party store or website – they are far cheaper – then just take them the morning of the party to be filled (if you do it the night before with latex they will be on the floor by morning).
I like to put out items that get people talking like scrapbooks and simple games. I can’t remember the name of it but, we used to have a book full of conversation starter questions that was fun.
I think this is an adorable idea and I’m going to use it at my daughters birthday party.
Since I love to bake, the desserts at our parties are always plentiful and different. People always save room to sample multiple sweets after dinner. Maybe all that sugar is why they are so much fun! 🙂
https://twitter.com/#!/ElenaIstomina/status/199920151246807040
Nice music and fresh flowers make party more festive
Games always make a party more festive
I like to make the details count. I make lots of lists and check off each thing as I do it. I had a 25th wedding anniversary party for my sister & brother-in-law recently where I used upside down wine gasses with a rose under the glass and a candle on the base of the glass (idea from Pinterest) for centerpieces for the tables, I also set up a display with their wedding picture and a recent one, as well as candles & flowers, & their original cake topper. Also some white chocolate dipped oreo cookie pops I created as a take home favor for the guests. I really feel “it’s all in the details” to make a successful party. I love all your party ideas, LeighAnn, and I have used several of them in my parties!
Great giveaway, Thank you
I tweeted about your giveaway 🙂
https://twitter.com/#!/Murphmommy/status/199914305544663040
I think that the decor has a lot to do with a lively party. I like to decorate according to the theme with bright colors.
Really enjoy Simply Lemonade! Decorations always make a party! It’s the little details I enjoy doing 🙂
I like to incorporate my vintage and new QUILTS in the decorations. Everyone loves quilts, and they are so warm and welcoming!
Love the juice bar idea with all the combo’s of mocktails!
My favorite way to make a party great to have lots of activities to do! Thanks for this post–I’ll do this on Friday for my daughter’s 13th birthday party!
I like to have the party outside with pretty little lights around the yard.
I like to keep things as simple as possible. I want people to feel relaxed and at home when they come to my home. I use (unscented) candles and low lighting and always have a small task for each guest (setting out a dish or stirring up some salsa) – anything to get them involved and talking with each other.
I’ll have to give the Simply Cranberry a try. Sounds delish!
Just did an Italian Soda Bar for a party. Maybe I will try this for a summer party I am doing. Thanks!
I love to find cute ways to decorate the area that I am serving from, whether it’s a buffet or table.
LOVE the non-alcoholic ideas. It’s always a struggle when I have parties with friends expect alcohol. This would be an EXCELLENT way to show them how tasty “mocktails” can be! Thanks, Leanne! I’ll be doing this at our next booster club meeting FOR SURE.
I like to light candles and create the “mood” for the party. Music is also a must!
I love to have a theme–color or otherwise–to really help pull everything together and make it look cohesive. I also love to have a ‘bar’ where guests can have fun putting together their own dessert or drink!
We love to entertain in the summer on the deck.
Most of our parties are family oriented. Having an amazing family and fun friends makes our parties festive…. and good food, decorations, and sometimes games help, too!
we have desserts!
I try to keep it casual, as long as there is great food there will be a great party!
I love doing serve yourself bars or buffets too, since my favorite way of entertaining is keeping it very casual! LOVE your juice bars idea!
Flowers and music make a party more festive for us.
Love the beverage bar idea !!! I have a card group of 20 people and we get together about every other weekend or so and play Texas Holdem. We take turns hosting the game and I find that when I place candles outside on our patio and have some music going, it gives everyone a relaxing place to go if they want to get away from the crowd inside the house. 🙂
I really love the idea of “make your own” foods at a party. For instance, when we have family get togethers, they top their own pizza, create their own salads from a salad bar, and stir in their favorite ‘mix-in’ for lemonade: a spoonful of strawberry, raspberry, or blackberry puree is stirred into their glass of lemonade. This is finished by a sundae bar with their own choices of ice creams, toppings and syrups. Fun!!
Retweeted!
https://twitter.com/HomebasedMom/statuses/199855923437645825
Decorations around my home. If it not a holiday I would come up with a theme and have items around the house using my theme.
I love Simply Lemonade, but haven’t tried the cranberry yet. Guess I’ll be headed to the grocery store today!
https://twitter.com/#!/amidrex/status/199869308694839296
fun cups or glasses with decorations or straws!
i tweeted
i ask everyone to contribute a little something to the feast. it usually gets people talking about their stuff.
For me it’s all about the decorations. I like fresh flowers, or even just the cheesy old school streamers and balloons.
I think parties are much more festive with some good music playing! 🙂
Every party needs a good drink! Like you we go non-alcoholic, so we are always looking for a good mocktail recipe.
I love this idea for our annual picnic, love you yellow ironing board.
I tweeted about the giveaway!
https://twitter.com/#!/KendalBarriere/status/199860900910469120
I love to make fun cocktails to make the party more festive. It gets all the people more talkative and outgoing and makes them relax. I can’t wait to try Simply Cranberry!
tweet–https://twitter.com/#!/mami2jcn/status/199858285451542528
Love the idea of a Juice Bar and would love to win. Thanks
Lively music makes things more festive!