Valentine’s Day Decorations for Party

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Valentine’s Day Decorations for Party

Thinking about having a Valentine’s Day Party? All the planning tips you’ll need for everything from Valentine’s Day party decorations to ideas for games are contained in this guide.

Valentine’s Day decorations for a party can create that perfect, romantic atmosphere that will make the event memorable. Valentine’s Day party decorations can run the gamut from heart streamers to full-out themed party mania. The plan below covers all aspects of planning a Valentine’s Day event that will have guests talking and remembering for years to come.

Valentine’s Day Party Invitations

The invitation you send to invite others to your Valentine’s Day party will set the tone for the party itself. If you haven’t already chosen a theme for your party, now is the time to do so. I’m going to give you a few ideas for themes, but use your own creativity, think about what you love that’s romantic and choose the theme that works best for your personality as a party planner.

Possible Valentine’s Day Party Themes

v-day drinks
V-Day drinks help set the mood.
Source: jfelias

Death by Chocolate: Chocolate and V-Day seem to go hand-in-hand. Chocolate can easily translate over to your party theme. For the invitation, send a small piece of high quality chocolate along with an invitation that is dripping with a graphic of melted chocolate.

Red Hot Party: Who said Valentine’s Day has to be tame? Use red hots candies to outline a few letters and graphics of flames to show the tone of the party.

Anti-Valentine’s Day: Not everyone loves the holiday. If you’ve been burned more than once on Valentine’s Day, or are single, consider hosting an Anti-Valentine’s Day party. A heart invitation with the heart X-d out is a nice way to start the theme.

Candy Hearts: Do you love those little candy hearts that can only be found in February? Why not turn them into a party theme. Hearts with letters are easy to cut out and hang everywhere. Start with an invitation with the words to the invite spelled out in little graphics of candy hearts.

The Love Bug: Remember that Little Rascals episode where Darla sings, “The love bug’ll get ya if you don’t watch out?” Why not turn that into a theme for your party. Find graphics of a cute bug, like a caterpillar. Make two kiss and put little hearts over their heads and create the party invitation.

Microsoft Publisher is a nice place to start if you want to create your own invitation, but there are many online companies that also offer inexpensive invitations. You can also visit your local craft supply store and pick up card stock, ribbons, cut outs, stamps and other items to make beautiful, handmade invites.

Valentine’s Party Decorations

When it comes to Valentines Day party decorations, the only limit is your imagination. If you are short on time, visit any party supply store, or even a big box retailer like Walmart or Target and purchase cutouts and helium balloons to decorate. If you have the time and want to get really creative, then try adding one or more of these ideas:

  • Blow up red and pink balloons and tape in an arch over a doorway.
  • Cut out paper hearts in white and red and hand everywhere. Alternately, if you are going with a candy hearts theme, cut the hearts out in pastels and write “Be Mine” and other sayings on the hearts.
  • Purchase shallow glass bowls at the thrift store and float heart-shaped candles in them.
  • Wrap wide red ribbon with white twinkle lights and hang from the ceiling.
  • Cover lamp shades with pink or red scarfs.
  • For the “Red Hot” party theme, create paper tubes out of red and orange paper. Cut the top to the shape of flames. Place a battery-operated, flameless candle in the center and line up strategically to create the look of fire.
  • Cover the table in red satin. If the material is too costly, purchase a small bit and pool it in the center of the table and then place a large bowl with water with a bit of red dye and white floating candles in the center. Place a mirror under the bowl to add to the effect.
  • Create a beautiful heart flower centerpiece, like the one on Martha Stewart’s website.
  • Pull out the lace and drape it over everything. Follow by scattering hearts cut from red cloth on top.

The key to beautiful, but inexpensive decorations is to use what you already have on hand, buy a few inexpensive items and borrow anything else.

V-Day Party Food

The key to entertaining with food is to keep the menu filled with simple, finger foods and one really amazing centerpiece item that guests can ooh and aah over. Finger foods are perfect for parties. They allow guests to eat their fill without slowing down the pace of the party. There are some tried and true finger foods that work well for any party, such as:

  • Cheese ball and crackers
  • Veggie tray
  • Fruit tray
  • Small sandwiches

I would add some Valentine’s Day themed food to that list, like:

  • Cut sandwiches into hearts with cookie cutter
  • Heart-shaped brownies or brownies with heart in powdered sugar
  • Celery sticks with cream cheese dyed pink
  • Chocolate fountain with items to dip in it, like strawberries, bananas, pretzels

I would then add a truly amazing dish to the lineup that people would remember. Here are some examples. Please don’t try to do all of these for your party. You will wear yourself out and that isn’t fun for anyone. Choose one amazing signature dish that screams Valentine’s Day. You can always have another party next year and make something new.

  • Multi-tiered cake with red hearts
  • Cake pops shaped like hearts. Simply bake a fairly thin sheet cake, cut out hearts with a cookie cutter, stick on a candy stick and dip in chocolate and allow to set. Yummy and pretty. Once the chocolate sets, you can add additional decorations, too.
  • Raspberry tarts shaped like hearts – I just found this recipe and I can’t wait to try it out. They are gorgeous aren’t they?

Don’t forget to make a big bowl of Cupid’s Punch. I love to make this punch. You can change the color by using different flavors of Hawaiian Punch, lemonade, fruity drinks and sherberts. For Valentine’s Day, I call it Cupid’s Punch. For St. Patrick’s Day, I call it Leprechaun punch and make it with green ingredients. And so on…

Cupid’s Punch

You’ll Need:

  • Pink lemonade (64 oz. premade or 12 oz. can frozen concentrate)
  • 2-liter of ginger ale (some people prefer lemon-lime, but I like the taste of ginger ale in my punch)
  • 1/2 gallon raspberry sherbert

Pour pink lemonade and ginger ale into a punch bowl and stir together. Drop spoon fulls of sherbert into the mixture and stir until mostly dissolved. It creates a creamy, beautiful punch that you’ll be proud to serve to your guests. Want to make it lovelier? Add a few fresh raspberries just before your guests arrive.

 

Games for a Valentine’s Event

If you’re hosting the party for children, then games are a major part of the fun. If the party is for adults, then limit the games to just a couple or you risk losing the interest of those present.

Games for Kids

  • Pin the arrow on Cupid’s bow
  • Heart-shaped Pinata (actually adults like this, too)
  • Crafts: Make and exchange Valentine’s Day cards
  • Face-painting V-Day style (hearts, flowers, the word “Love”)

Games for Adults

  • About.com Guide Megan Cooley had an excellent suggestion to play V-Day Pictionary. Her idea was to have the kids play this game, but I think adults would enjoy it as well.
  • Scavenger hunt. The best way to create a scavenger hunt is to get local businesses involved. Write out the clues, break your party guests into teams and send them out in cards to gather up items and see who returns first. For example, a clue to go to the local florist could be “Love is as sweet as roses at this local store.” Worried your guests will have trouble with the clues? Just list items for them to bring back.
  1. 1-rose from local florist (pay for the roses ahead of time)
  2. Advice from Mary Jones, who has been married for 53 years (make sure everyone knows her or has her address and that Mary knows they are coming)
  3. Picture of husband and wife tombstones where it’s obvious they were in love because of their epitaphs.
  4. Heart-shaped cookie from my grandma (again, make sure grandma knows and everyone has her address).

You’ll also want to throw in some challenges that are funny, such as ask a stranger for a hug or ask someone to be your valentine. Send everyone out with cameras (you may have to borrow a couple) and have the computer hooked up so you can view them when everyone returns. Scavenger hunts are great fun for adults.

Goody Bags

Send everyone home with a Valentine’s goody bag to help them remember the good time they had at your party. Here are a few ideas for goodie bag items…

Goody Bags for Kids

Kids like fun little items. You don’t have to spend a fortune to make kids happy. Use one of these items, a few or come up with your own ideas.

  • T-shirts that the kids decorate and get to take home.
  • Heart-shaped lollipops
  • Heart-shaped cookie with the child’s name in icing
  • Helium balloon
  • Bag of candy and inexpensive toys
  • Pink and white Play-Doh
  • Small stuffed bears

Goody Bags for Adults

Many adults hate clutter, so try to stick with items that can be consumed. If you have a smallish group or a big budget, you might be able to send them home with nicer presents. Below is a mix of very inexpensive and more expensive ideas. Choose what works best for your party.

  • $10 Godiva gift card or the chocolate itself
  • Romantic book, such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
  • Bath beads
  • Candles
  • Valentine’s Day coffee mug filled with hot chocolate packets
  • Starbucks gift card

A Memorable Party

Don’t get so caught up in decorations and food that you forget to enjoy your guests and have a good time. The main reason for inviting friends and family over is to spend time with them and build memories. If all the planning seems overwhelming, then just order pizza and forget the decorations, fancy food and games. It is more important that you open your home with a genuine heart and truly enjoy time with those you love. After all, isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is truly about?

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How to Make the Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs – How Long to Hard Boil an Egg

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How to Make the Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs – How Long to Hard Boil an Egg

How long do you cook a hard-boiled egg? 12 minutes is the simple answer, but the process is a lot more involved. It sounds like an easy thing to make, a hard-boiled egg, but knowing how long to hard boil an egg can be challenging. If your eggs are rubbery, runny in the middle, or hard to peel, then you can use these tips that will help you boil the perfect hard-boiled egg.

As a mom, I have cooked untold numbers of hard-boiled eggs over the years. The best way to learn how to cook the perfect egg is trial and error. However, hopefully I can help you cook a hard boiled egg easily with these tips.

Tip # 1: How Long to Cook a Hard Boiled Egg

As I mentioned before, there is a lot more to cooking the perfect hard boiled egg than just throwing an egg in a pot of water and boiling it.

  • Place your eggs in the bottom of a sauce pan. You don’t want the eggs too crowded and a single layer works best. If you need to boil more eggs, invest in a larger pot or cook them in batches for the best results.
  • Cover the eggs with tap water (just tap temperature is best).
  • Place the pot of eggs covered in water on your stove top and set the burner to high heat. Bring the pot to a hard boil.
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a small pot or 1 teaspoon to a large one. This will make the eggs easier to peel. I don’t know why, just do it because mom says.
  • Once you’ve added the salt, turn the burner off but leave the pot on that hot burner. If you own a convection stovetop, put it on the lowest heat possible.
  • Leave there for 12 minutes. You can leave them a bit longer if you are cooking or preparing other things. I’ve left them on the burner for up to 18 minutes with no problem.

Tip # 2: How to Cool the Hard-Boiled Eggs

It is just as important how you cool the eggs as how you cook them. Once the time is up, drain off the hot water and run cold water over the eggs. Drain, add more cold water. Now, add about 10-12 ice cubes (double if using a large pot) and let sit for five minutes. This will cool the eggs so you can peel them. If the ice cubes melt and you aren’t quite ready to peel, add a few more ice cubes, but don’t wait too long to peel the eggs.

Tip # 3: When to Peel Boiled Eggs

I get the best results when I peel them as soon as they have cooled. If you let them sit too long, the shells tend to stick to the egg and create an ugly, pitted surface instead of a smooth, pretty hard-boiled egg. If you are making deviled eggs, for example, then this is important. If you’re just cutting the eggs up to put them in a salad, then it might not matter.

See? Hard-boiled eggs really are pretty simple to make once you know how long to boil the eggs and how to go about cooling and peeling them.

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Coloring Your Own Gray Hair at Home

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Coloring Your Own Gray Hair at Home

Coloring Your Own Gray Hair at Home

For years, I paid a stylist to color my hair at $90 a pop plus $30 for trims. I always hated the way my hair looked. Even though I told my stylist over and over that my hair seemed orange, she never fixed it. I would see photos and my hair was clearly orange-tinged. One day, I went in and asked for a specific cut (even had a photo) and asked for some white-blonde highlights. I walked out with a layered cut (I never do layers other than long ones) and caramel-orange highlights.

That was the day I decided I’d had it. I knew I could do at least that well with a box kit. Thus began some experiments that I’m going to share and hopefully you can learn from.

Store Bought Kits to Color Your Hair

I started with a kit I bought from Walmart. I went with an ash color because I knew that ash would tone down how orange my hair looked. I did take the time to study the color wheels and how stylists balance color. This made me understand that my stylist really didn’t understand this balancing act, not even a little. This is why my hair was always orange, even when I told her it had a tendency to go orange.

In a nutshell:

  • If your hair is orange, you need to add purple to tone it down or an ash color or toner.
  • If your hair is green, you don’t have enough red in it.

As you lighten your hair, you strip out pigments. So, if I wanted highlights that were blonde, I’d have to lose all the red from my hair through several stages. It is not easy to highlight hair at home if your hair is dark and I really don’t recommend it for a beginner as you might fry your hair. However, you can start with a 20 volume toner and some powdered bleach or one of the kits at the store, which is the same thing. You just might have a hard time getting away from it being orangey at first.

The light ash brown I put on my hair did tone down the orange, but it was a flat color and I still wasn’t thrilled with it. I realized that the color I loved on celebrities and friends was not made up of one color. I started to really study their hair and what it looked like and I realized there were layers of different colors, highlights and lowlights that gave them that look.

What Hair Color to Buy from Sally’s Beauty Supply

I then headed to Sally’s, because I knew it would be cheaper to buy several different colors. I was lost. There are so many colors and there are some that are specifically for gray hair (these are amazing and make your hair soft and shiny). I knew I wanted a light ash brown base, blonde highlights and medium golden brown lowlights. So, I chose a light ash brown, a medium golden brown, some highlighting powder and 20 volume toner.

I put on the brown base first. Then, I mixed the bleach and put it on with a toothbrush where I wanted it. My hair takes forever to lighten, so I knew I’d have to leave it on the maximum, 90 minutes. I left it on an hour and then went in and added the golden brown lowlights where I wanted those. 30 minutes later I rinsed it all out and conditioned.

The result? While not perfect, it was 100 times better than what I’d paid my stylist $90 for and it was not orange. There was a slight red tone to my lowlights as I’d chosen golden brown, but they were a pretty slightly auburn type color. I got many compliments.

Other Things to Do to Camouflage Gray Hair

One of the biggest problems I’ve had is that my gray hair is actually snow white. However, I suspect it doesn’t matter what shade your gray is. You likely still want to cover it. If you’re like me, your hair grows fast. So you might color it and a week later gray is peaking through. No one wants to overprocess their hair. There are some things you can do to camouflage it.

  • Touch up just the roots. This only works well if your hair is all one color.
  • Create baby lights. This is something I’ve recently started to do and I love this look so much. I put a chocolate brown at the top, which is about a shade or so darker than my natural color. I then go down about two to three inches and twist sections and bleach them. The look is subtle but adds a lot of pretty lights to my hair, especially when I let the waves go natural. When the gray starts to come in, I just touch up that part at the top or even from the top down about two inches. I don’t have to do the ends, which are often the most fragile. It is a quick touchup.
  • Some people use touch up pens. I’ve not tried these. They are a temporary fix.
  • There are some rinses you can use to add color to your hair, but they aren’t great at covering gray.

These are just a few ideas. You have to find the color that matches your own skin tone and that you love. The ladies who work at Sally’s always help me out and are usually right about the colors to choose and how to fix problems. For example, my blonde kept going orangey or straw yellow. I could never get it where I wanted until a gal at Sally told me to bleach it and then do a lightest ash blonde toner over it at the end. Wow! No more orange. Such an easy fix and makes my hair look BETTER than when I had the salon do it.

Whatever method you choose, it is an ongoing effort to keep gray hair covered. You can do it and you’ll look breathtakingly beautiful.

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What Covers Gray Hair Best?

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What Covers Gray Hair Best?

If there is one thing having kids will get you, it is gray hair. If you are looking for the best hair color to cover gray hair, let me tell you I have tried a lot of different types and brands. What covers gray hair best? It depends on how much of your hair is gray and what color you’d like to get to.

Best Hair Color to Cover Some Gray Hair

If you are just starting to see some gray strands mixed through the rest of your hair, you can easily hide this gray with highlights. If your hair is dark, try some warm caramel hair color highlights. If your hair is light brown or lighter, you should add some honey blonde highlights. the lighter your gray, the lighter your highlights should be to camouflage them. The key is to not go so light that you have to constantly have your highlights redone to hide regrowth. Ideally, your highlights will blend and so will your gray hair, so that the gray hair is covered up.

Color Resistant Gray Hair

If your hair is more than 50% gray and is resistant to color, things get a little trickier. First, you will want to invest a bit more in the color you use. Sally’s Beauty has some amazing dyes specifically made for gray hair and they cover very well and the cover lasts. I also add a gray additive that comes in a little single use packet. If you can’t find them, ask the workers. They are by the red-out, etc.

Also, you will want to choose a color that is a bit lighter than you natural color. This helps make the gray less apparent. The darker you go, the more the gray will show through.

If You Must Have Dark Hair, but You Also Have Gray

I had gone quite a bit lighter to cover the gray. My hair had lightened up to a dark blonde with highlights. However, my natural color is between a medium and light brown. I was really tired of the lighter color as I feel it makes me look washed out and I missed my dark hair. I came up with a solution that worked well for me at this point where my 20-year-old daughter has given me a gazillion gray hairs coming in.

I did baby lights. It is like a very subtle balayage effect. This allowed me to go darker on top and shade down to a bit lighter at the bottom. This also allows me to touch up new growth just at the roots without having to redo all of my highlights every couple of weeks (damaging to the hair).

Salons charge a fortune to do baby lights. I actually stumbled across a very simple technique, which I will share in a video with you the next time I dye my hair. Until then, may your grays stay covered and your hair stay beautiful.

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