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Hawaiian Donut Birthday Party for Teens
I've got a party for you that comes together really quickly, is inexpensive, easy on you, and will be loved by all ages, boys and girls: a donut party. Ours was a Hawaiian-styled donut party for my twin daughters' 15th birthday. The tropical look was inspired by one...
Get your house party ready: de-clutter and clean step-by-step
When I'm cleaning before a party, I try to do things in stages. It helps prevent overwhelm and makes the process seem so much more manageable. I've made you a list in this blog post (and a free printable checklist!). We’re going to focus on the public rooms – those...
Freebie Friday: 21 Non-Candy Valentine’s Card Free Printables
My girls might be aghast at the idea of a non-candy Valentine, but since they are still eating their Christmas candy, it seems like a great idea to me! Here are my favorite non-candy Valentine's free printables. Whoopie Cushion Valentine From Smashed Peas &...
Tutorial: How to Wrap a Bouquet
One of my girls is the assistant stage manager for a local children's theater production and for her opening night, of course we wanted to bring her a bouquet. I thought it would be a great idea to elevate some simple grocery store flowers by wrapping the bouquet in...
Four Ways to Style Your Chairs for Christmas
Today I’m sharing four ways to style your chairs for Christmas. Each one is easy and inexpensive. If Christmas is the holiday of "let no surface go undecorated," then I am here for the Christmas chair decorations! This year, I have a sick kiddo at home, so I had just...
My 2019 Christmas Dining Room
My Christmas dining room decor this year is a bit of a high-low approach. My goal was to use mainly what I had in a new way. All I added was the wrapping paper and Merry Christmas wood centerpiece. This look is really all about layering. Use the wrapping paper as a...
Tutorial: How to Make a Nutcracker Wreath
I love an easy wreath. They are a great way to start your party at the front door. This nutcracker wreath definitely qualifies as easy -- here's how to make it. If you want to try this idea for a birthday party, any narrow Christmas ornament would work. Just change up...
Mini Party Plan: Barbie Birthday Party
My darling little niece (actually great-niece, but let's not go there because it makes me feel old) has chosen a Barbie birthday party. Her "Kitty" will host the party, but I get to help out with some ideas! And that means, you get a Barbie birthday party mini party...
Mini Party Plan: Strawberry Party
One of our summer plans for this year was a trip to the pick your own strawberry patch. With my broken foot, we've had to skip that plan. But at least I could dream up a mini party plan for a strawberry party for you! It's got bright colors and a modern touch. All you...
Rhubarb Strawberry Tarts
Growing up in Minnesota, we grew rhubarb in our backyard garden, and rhubarb pie was a summer staple. I had in my mind to create a version of my Grandma's rhubarb pie for the 4th of July, but we can't find her recipe. I swear we made it just last year, so it has to be...
Mini Party Plan: Construction Party
I love making these mini party plans for ya'll! They really satisfy my need to plan All. The. Parties. even though I can't afford to host All. The. Parties. Also, boy parties are so much fun! So today, here is my mini party plan for a construction birthday party. All...
My Parties: Middle School Graduation Party
My kids, who -- I swear -- were 4 just yesterday, graduated middle school this week. They each ended their 8th grade year with straight As in advanced and accelerated courses. We couldn't be more proud. Okay, mom brag over. Of course, this milestone had to be...
Tutorial: Sprinkles, Sprinkles, Sprinkles
I'm always looking for ways to party a liiiitle less expensively. So I got all sprinkled inspired and then ran through the grocery store, looking for easy-to-sprinkle treats. What I love about this idea is that you can customize store-bought treats to your party with...
Tutorial: How to make a bowling ball trophy
When I planned the centerpieces for my daughters' bowling party, the dining table still felt a little empty. I needed another idea, and immediately thought about these marbled bowling ball cupcake toppers from Handmade Charlotte. I decided to upsize the bowling balls...
My Parties: Teen Girl’s Bowling Birthday Party
Here's the thing about 14-year-olds: they know what they want. And for their birthday this year, my twin girls wanted a bowling party / sleepover and they wanted their primary party color to be ginger. Allllright-y then. Fortunately for me, I found Jula Paper Co, a...
Tutorial: Easter egg garland and backdrop
For my Easter bunny buffet, Baby B and I made two craft projects -- both easy and inexpensive: an Easter egg garland and backdrop. If you suffer as I do from WAAAAAY too many plastic Easter eggs, these are the projects for you! Plastic Easter egg garland I originally...
My Parties: How to Style an Easter Egg Hunt Bunny Buffet
I don't know how Spring Break works out for you, but Easter always comes right on the heels of our Spring Break. And that makes styling an Easter party a challenge to pull off. So this year, I kept things simple with an Easter egg hunt bunny buffet. If you're not...
Welcome to 2019!
In December, I Marie Kondo’d my uterus. It did not bring me joy. Sooo, that’s where I’ve been for 6 weeks: hysterectomy town. My doctor did not order me to stay off social media and my blog, but I knew I needed a full break. I’ve had about 4 years now of daily pain....
My Parties: Football Party
When we had girls, it did not occur to me that they would turn out to be HUGE college football fans. Time to update my thinking! After the University of Georgia lost the national collage championship to Alabama last year, Baby A just cried and cried. So this year, I...
Mini Party Plan: Superhero Party
One of the most popular posts on this blog is a girl's superhero party. So I thought it might be fun to create a Superhero Mini Party Plan for you. I styled this mini party plan in the traditional red, yellow, and blue, but you could change the color palette for a...
My Parties: Baby Carriage-Inspired Baby Shower
If you are like me, you're hosting several parties a year. I do so many parties, that sometimes I forget to post some here. And then I completely forget about them. For four years. Sigh. So, here ... directly from 2014 ... is a baby carriage-inspired baby shower that...
My Parties: Back to School Dessert Table
Each year, on the first day of school, I style a little back to school dessert table to welcome the girls home. I make this as easy as possible, because I'm throwing it together in the middle of the day. (It helps to work from home!) The backdrop is a reproduction...
Mini party plan: How to plan a shark birthday party
Our family is a mixed bag when it comes to shark fandom. My husband has never quite gotten over the movie Jaws, and maintains a healthy respect for sharks. Baby B is fascinated by them, and wanted to become a marine biologist for a while. Baby A and I are big fans of...
My Parties: How to Plan a Beachy Bake Sale for Charity
It's become a summer tradition that my girls and I plan a lemonade stand / snow cone stand / bake sale to benefit The Confetti Foundation. It gives us a fun activity to work on together and helps fill their summer free time. Last summer, we chose a beach theme for our...
My Parties: Firefly Catching Party
Our kids always have the best ideas, and at the start of every summer, I have them brainstorm ideas about what they want to do during their school break. (I pulled together 602 summer ideas here.) My favorite of their ideas was a Firefly Catching Party. This could not...
Freebie Friday: 16 Free 4th of July Sparkler Holder Printables
What are you doing for the 4th of July? Are you styling a dessert table? Setting a cute dining table? Or just taking it easy? As it turns out, we'll be going to the mountains so I think we'll be able to avoid the fireworks that terrify our poor dog so much. But, the...
My Parties: How to Style a 4th of July Party Kids’ Table
Last year, we learned an important lesson on the 4th of July: our puppy is completely terrified of fireworks. The girls and I had been away the year before, and Don told us she was scared, but we didn't appreciate just how scared she was until we saw it for ourselves....
My Parties: Selfie Scavenger Hunt Birthday Party
When my twin girls were about to turn 11, they couldn't agree on a joint party theme ... like, at. all. But, I discovered there was one activity they could agree on. Apparently, it was very fun to swipe my phone and take selfies. I'd be looking for a photo, and all of...
My Parties: Royal Wedding Viewing Party
Well, if it's even possible, I loved Harry and Meghan's royal wedding even more than I thought I would. I woke up at 4 a.m. ET because I was not as ready as I wanted to be at the end of Friday. Let me tell you, I needed every one of those four hours before the party...
Freebie Friday: Free Graduation Party & Gift Printables
Let's make one thing about graduation season a little easier. How about some free graduation party printables? You don't have to wait for these to be customized. Instead, you just follow the teal link to the designer's site, download the printables, print and trim....
Hawaiian Donut Birthday Party for Teens
I've got a party for you that comes together really quickly, is inexpensive, easy on you, and will be loved by all ages, boys and girls: a donut party. Ours was a Hawaiian-styled donut party for my twin daughters' 15th birthday. The tropical look was inspired by one...
Get your house party ready: de-clutter and clean step-by-step
When I'm cleaning before a party, I try to do things in stages. It helps prevent overwhelm and makes the process seem so much more manageable. I've made you a list in this blog post (and a free printable checklist!). We’re going to focus on the public rooms – those...
Freebie Friday: 21 Non-Candy Valentine’s Card Free Printables
My girls might be aghast at the idea of a non-candy Valentine, but since they are still eating their Christmas candy, it seems like a great idea to me! Here are my favorite non-candy Valentine's free printables. Whoopie Cushion Valentine From Smashed Peas &...
Tutorial: How to Wrap a Bouquet
One of my girls is the assistant stage manager for a local children's theater production and for her opening night, of course we wanted to bring her a bouquet. I thought it would be a great idea to elevate some simple grocery store flowers by wrapping the bouquet in...
Four Ways to Style Your Chairs for Christmas
Today I’m sharing four ways to style your chairs for Christmas. Each one is easy and inexpensive. If Christmas is the holiday of "let no surface go undecorated," then I am here for the Christmas chair decorations! This year, I have a sick kiddo at home, so I had just...
My 2019 Christmas Dining Room
My Christmas dining room decor this year is a bit of a high-low approach. My goal was to use mainly what I had in a new way. All I added was the wrapping paper and Merry Christmas wood centerpiece. This look is really all about layering. Use the wrapping paper as a...
Tutorial: How to Make a Nutcracker Wreath
I love an easy wreath. They are a great way to start your party at the front door. This nutcracker wreath definitely qualifies as easy -- here's how to make it. If you want to try this idea for a birthday party, any narrow Christmas ornament would work. Just change up...
Mini Party Plan: Barbie Birthday Party
My darling little niece (actually great-niece, but let's not go there because it makes me feel old) has chosen a Barbie birthday party. Her "Kitty" will host the party, but I get to help out with some ideas! And that means, you get a Barbie birthday party mini party...
Mini Party Plan: Strawberry Party
One of our summer plans for this year was a trip to the pick your own strawberry patch. With my broken foot, we've had to skip that plan. But at least I could dream up a mini party plan for a strawberry party for you! It's got bright colors and a modern touch. All you...
Rhubarb Strawberry Tarts
Growing up in Minnesota, we grew rhubarb in our backyard garden, and rhubarb pie was a summer staple. I had in my mind to create a version of my Grandma's rhubarb pie for the 4th of July, but we can't find her recipe. I swear we made it just last year, so it has to be...
Jennifer Needham
Founder of The Party Teacher
I am an Atlanta-based wife, mom and children’s party planner. Between my twin girls, and a full-time job, I am always busy, but party planning is one thing I always seem to be able to find time for. At The Party Teacher, I teach other busy moms how to fit party planning into their lives, so they never miss an opportunity to celebrate special moments with their kids. My blog is your go-to source for party planning tips, party tutorials, recipes and birthday party plans.
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