Subcribe To FTH

Did you know you can receive the Forever The Hostess posts directly to your e-mail inbox? Become a subscriber to get the latest posts as soon as they are completed!

Just scroll down on the right hand side and find the SUBSCRIBE button just under my photo and information. Simply type in your e-mail address and hit submit, and the latest posts will begin to appear in your e-mail inbox. Its as easy as pie!

Subscribe today!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Back To School Event - St. Petersburg Museum of History

  This Saturday is the Back To School event I have been working hard on at the St. Petersburg Museum of History. For all you teachers out there, this is going to be a great event to show you all the wonderful teaching opportunities the museum has for you and your classroom. And don't forget about the fabulous food, wine, and entertainment we have too! RSVP here! Stay tuned next week for all the details!

It's Finally Free

Once of my FAVORITE online invitation and card sites is finally FREE to use! Cocodot , like eVite, emerged months ago as a new, trendy way to send e-mail invites and cards. I love their graphics and ways to personalize, and after months of using their service "free" with lots of coupon codes, they are finally offering their services to everyone truly for FREE! Check out some of my favorite new designs, and head to Cocodot to send your invites today!

I was not paid by Cocodot for this glowing review, even though I should be! I just love their stuff and wanted to share!

One Week From Today...

I will turn the big 3-0. It is a little bittersweet, and when thinking about the date months ago, I really wanted something low key, maybe a nice dinner party with family or close friends. I had thrown a rather large and elaborate party for my husband on his 30th, and had vowed to not repeat it for mine. It was just too much work, although he had a blast and so did all our friends.

It was not until about a month ago that we went to an event at the local and historic shuffleboard courts that I pictured this as the place for my 30th birthday bash. It will still be a small affair, with family and a handful of great friends, but with some very special, Hostess touches, of course! And just to give you a little preview, here is the invitation, made by me:

My wonderful husband is working on some other details, so after the party, I will post all the details! Until next week, hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July Weekend!

Monkey-ing around

I am helping host a baby shower in two weeks and I am excited about the colors and decor. Here is a little inspiration for the party:

Invitations via FineStationary, Flags via Etsy.

Since the baby is a boy, and the parents are going with a Monkey theme in the nursery, we decided to keep the colors brown, yellow and green. Since the invites are out in the mail, I can show you what I made (of course, personal information has been removed, it looks a little more awkward than it really is):

 

There are some similar invitation styles online, but I created this one from scratch, since we were under a time constraint using my trusty Microsoft Publisher. I know there are better programs out there for invitations, but it is so easy to use and they always turn out well. I can't wait to show you the rest we have planned for the shower!

They Say Old Fashioned Post Is Dead...

But I love receiving party invitations in the mail! This practice is only getting better and more creative, as it should!

Invitations act as the first impression for any party. It gives guests all information about the party details, as well as the theme and environment, so it is important to make sure your party preview is what you want it to be. I usually search the internet to find a few invitations for inspiration to make my own on Microsoft Publisher, but for those who are less creative or savvy, there are some wonderful sites that provide perfectly cute invitations. Here are some of my current favorites (click on the photos for links to invitation websites):

Etsy is also a great site for handmade letterpress and custom printed invitations with any theme by many local and national artists. I got my wedding invitations through Etsy! I also love the online e-mail invitations from Cocodot and eVite, that are decorative and you can make quickly to get the word out to guests for a last minute get together!  Sometimes an Inbox is just as good as a Mailbox, but don't rely on e-mails for serious parties.... spend the money and/or the time on real invites. Your guests will be more excited and eager to come to your next event!

Sip & See Shower & Inspiration

I am planning a "Sip and See" shower for a good friend of mine with a twist. Most "Sip and See" showers are planned for after the baby arrives, so that Mommy can drink, and everyone can "See"  the newborn. However, in this case, the mom-to-be has two other more formal showers, so she wanted something fun, but she is pregnant with twins, so there will be no time after the birth to put together a viewing party.  So here's what we are calling it:

Sip and See The Mother To Be

Really original, I know. So this is more of an anti-shower, cocktail party, completely void of any games, opening presents, and measuring mommy's tummy. Seriously. How am I getting away with not opening presents? Well, included in the invites is this poem:

As Kim is soon to be blessed with twins,

She doesn't really need clothes or bibs with stripes.
She’d prefer to stock up on everyday things,

Like diaper cream, shampoo, Pampers, and wipes.
If to give a different gift is your intention,

In modesty we would like to mention
A donation that will be life-saving for the twins one day

 Even a little will go a long way!

Kim has decided to register for donations toward preserving her babies umbilical cord blood, in the event that they may need it after their birth, so her registry web site will be at the bottom of the poem for guests. A really practical gift that can have so much impact later. For more information, please check out this website.


Since the event is going to be held at the Columbia Restaurant, so I wanted kind of a Spanish/Moroccan color theme. Here is the invitation I created:

I will be updating with more information about the food, specialty drinks, activities, and centerpieces soon!

Super Bowl Sunday Givewaway from pingg.com

Invitations are so easy these days with online sites like pingg.com providing quick and free e-mails to invite all your friends and family for that big bash. Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday (Feb 6th), pingg.com is giving away a Super Bowl package worth $100 of game-worthy snacks from Harry and David! You can enter following the directions below, through this Friday, January 28th. Three (3) winners will be announced on Monday, January 31st in time to order those snacks in time for the game.

Here is how to enter:

1. Go to pingg.com and choose a design from their Football Collection, or even upload your own picture!
2. Choose FOOTBALL PARTY GIVEAWAY as your Event Theme, and complete the remaining details of your invite.
3. Send the invite to 3 or more guests, and you're automatically entered to win!

Easy as that! If you need more information, you can also go to their blog here.  I have also picked out some of my favorite Football themed invites below:

If you aren't hosting a Super Bowl party, send an invitation for another event! Enter today and best of luck!!!

TOY STORY Party

As huge PIXAR fans, my husband and I wanted to host a "TOY STORY 1 & 2" movie night for our friends and their kids, before "TOY STORY 3" came out in theaters. Using a photo of and "Etch-a-sketch" online, and a free downloadable "Etch-a-sketch" font, I created the invites:

I thought it would be easy to find Toy Story toys at garage sales and on eBay that I could use to decorate with, but with the new movie coming out soon, the toys online were in high demand. I managed to find a few for under $5:

Buzz and Woody are having out on the food table, and you will notice I used my silver letters again to show the party's theme. Because we invited our friends and their children, we wanted the food to be kid friendly (and honestly, who doesn't love pizza bites and corndogs?!). Here's Rex hanging out with the pizza bites:



And Bullseye hanging out with the corndogs:

I kept bright colors with the plates and napkins and serve ware, and added some Dollar Store Slinkys and army men to scatter around the house. Here you'll find the amazing 7-layer Mexican dip and chips.... a huge hit!!!

And Peanut butter, M&Ms, and chocolate chip cookies. I used some clip art in both spaceships and sheriff's badges to make food labels.

And what movie night is not complete without popcorn! Buttered popcorn and kettle corn were served in mini bags, which I found on clearance after Christmas, and just kept in the closet for a special occasion. Kids (and adults) don't like to share popcorn, so everyone got their own bag!

Kids got a goody bag to take home. The bags were left over from another party and tied with some leftover ribbon. I used the same clip art to use name tags, and the bags were filled with "Toy Story" stickers, "Toy Story" gummi snacks, silver sheriffs badges, and Slinky's. I used a vintage Slinky to decorate the bowl.

We watched both movies back to back on the lawn, and I think everyone had a great time. We're all ready to see "Toy Story 3".

Halloween Invitations

In honor of the first day of October, it is finally time to think about Halloween! Even though it is 31 days away, there is much to do, and time seems to fly by! If you are thinking about having a fabulous Halloween party, or even a small get-together at your home to pass out candy to little ghouls and goblins, you need to get friends and family in the mood for a good haunt. Just a few simple tips to make Halloween a fun and frightful night!

If you are hosting a costume party, you want to be specific about what guests should wear if there is a more specific theme. I have had friends host costume parties where guests are asked to dress as Famous Couples, TV/Movie Characters, Superheros, or their favorite decade. This should be noted on the invitation. You also want to encourage guests to dress up, regardless, so a simple phrase like . We have had friends show up with no costumes, and they were the only ones the entire evening who never felt the spirit of Halloween.

Since Halloween is a night time event, you also want to be clear on whether you will be serving food (besides candy) and drinks. For many events, the host has provided a large spread of food but for drinks, it was BYOB. Other parties have only provided heavy appetizers with drinks. Depending on the size of your party, you may want to consider this costly detail, and let party-goers know on the invite what to expect.

A timeline for your guests is important too. Be sure to clearly state party times... if you want your guests to be there to help pass out candy to little kids, you should start the festivities around 6pm, as that is when it typically gets dark and the little ones come out. Older kids will start Trick-or-Treating around 7.

There are many options for Halloween invitations too. The ones pictured here are from Martha Stewart and Tiny Prints (click on the invites for the links) and you can send them via snail mail. If you are short on time, or are having a large list of guests, Evite or Pingg are your best bets for online invitations.

Any way you do it, just ensure your guests that it's a party they don't want to miss! Happy Haunting!