Minnie Mouse is another one of those totally timeless birthday party themes for little girls – well, I know a few big girls that would like it, too. The theme is easy to customize and put your own spin on – think black, red and white polkadots or some variation of them. Here is some inspiration for you:

1. Minnie Mouse Cupcakes found on Pinterest
2. Easy to follow tutorial on how to make Minnie Mouse Party Hats from Love & Sugar Kisses
3. Minnie Mouse Favor Boxes as seen on Catch My Party
4. If you have a girly girl who loves having her nails painted, you can do Minnie Mouse Manicures
5. Easy to make Minnie Mouse Oreo cookies are just the cutest snack for this Minnie party – this photo and more Minnie Mouse party ideas at Catch My Party
6. Minnie Mouse printable invitations, cupcake holders, bottle wrappers and more on Etsy.

And here are even more items you can use for inspiration or to add to your Minnie Mouse Birthday Party:

Disney Minnie Mouse Deluxe Party Pack Disney Mickey / Minnie Mouse Party Backdrop Minnie Mouse Party Favor Value Pack Disney Minnie Mouse Sticker Sheets (4) EK Disney Sticker Minnie Mouse Disney Minnie Mouse Party Favor Box Disney Minnie Mouse Shopping Cake Topper Disney Minnie Mouse Edible Icing Cake Topper Disney Minnie Mouse Centerpiece Clubhouse Minnie Mouse Pink Toddler / Child Costume- 2T Disney Minnie Mouse Ears Headband Disney Minnie Mouse Standup Disney Minnie Mouse Tablecover Minnie Mouse Head Jumbo 28" Foil Balloon" Minnie Mouse Tin Box Carry All Disney Minnie Mouse Hair Ponies Assorted (8) Disney Minnie Mouse Invitations (8) Disney Minnie Mouse Bracelet Sets Assorted (8 sets of 4) Minnie Mouse Award Ribbon Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – Pink Minnie Mouse Drawstring Treat Sack Disney Minnie Mouse Tumbler (8) Disney Minnie Mouse Blowouts (8) Disney Minnie Mouse Deluxe Adult Costume – 12-14 Disney Minnie Mouse 18" Pull String Pinata" Disney Minnie Mouse Giant Wall Decal Disney Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday 18" Foil Balloon" Disney Minnie Mouse Fun Pack Activities

Sock monkeys are a classic toy that are making a huge comeback for a new generation even bigger and better! If you are planning a Sock Monkey birthday party, baby shower or just have a thing for sock monkeys in general, take a look at some of the fun sock monkey party inspiration we found!

I love fairies. I always have, so imagine my surprise to find out there is a holiday to celebrate Fairies! I visited a website called Fairy Day. I was inspired to celebrate this day and thought I would share what I made to celebrate it with you.

I found the most adorable and easy to decorate fairy cookie cutter on Etsy – here is the listing. My cookie cutter was $2.25 plus shipping. I was thrilled at the size of the cookie cutter when it arrived and I quickly made up a batch of sugar cookies to try these out.

If you have a fairy enthusiast in your home why not use this celebration as a springboard into reading this summer?

This summer “holiday” for fairies is a great time to introduce the kids to a wonderful line of books called Rainbow Fairies by Daisy Meadows. These very easy to read book series are sold individually and have 7 books in each series. I personally have more then 80 of them in my collection. They are perfect to read to preschoolers or along side of your child. They are written at a second grade reading level and are the perfect summer book series for you little fairy enthusiast. I also recommend the series of books based on art work by Cicely Mary Barker her fairy art work is so endearing and her child like fairies images stay with you.

Enjoying my Fairy Sugar Cookies with tea and my favorite book and wishing you a very Happy International Fairy Day!

~Karen Owen (Karenmomofthree)

Here are more Fairy books, party ideas and Fairy crafts for you to do in celebration of International Fairy Day or for anyday!

How to Host a Flower Fairy Tea Party Tinker Bell’s Tea Party (Disney Fairies) Disney Fairies Porcelain Tea Set Fairy Crafts: 23 Enchanting Toys, Gifts, Costumes, and Party Decorations Fairy Crafts: Green & Groovy Fairy Parties: Recipes, Crafts, and Games for Enchanting Celebrations Kids’ Arts & Crafts: Kids Fairy Threading Card – Fairies Lacing Cards Fairy Painting Craft Kit Each Fairy Party Deluxe Favor Set Fairy Party Ultimate Birthday Box Fairy Party Centerpiece Garden Fairy Deluxe Party Pack Disney’s Fairies Deluxe Party Pack The Rainbow Magic Collection: Ruby the Red Fairy / Amber the Orange Fairy / Sunny the Yellow Fairy / Fern the Green Fairy Volume 1: Books #1-4 The Rainbow Magic Collection: Sky the Blue Fairy/ Inky the Indigo Fairy/ Heather the Purple Fairy Volume 2 – Books 5-7

Charlie Sheen has certainly provided the world with quite a bit of wacky entertainment lately. His off the wall sayings and quotes are making their way onto shirts, banners, and they are even the inspiration for parties suddenly! You could have a lot of fun with the whole Charlie Sheen party concept – inviting your friends to show up wearing their gaudiest Hollywood star knock-off apparel, big sunglasses, hats, even come dressed as a member of the paparazzi.

Get supplies for your Charlie Sheen Party at Shindigz - Hand out inflatable swords, use money themed notepads and leave “money” on the tables, create your own red carpet, and get ready for the fun. Decorate your cupcakes with plastic swords (photo and recipe courtesy of justJenn recipes) or come up with your own version Tiger Blood (I’m thinking Bloody Mary mix would be a good start).

Because Charlie Sheen’s quotes are becoming so infamous, I put together a quick party game for you and your guests. Print out the “Out of Charlie Sheen’s Mouth” activity below and see how many of his wacky quotes you can complete. One point for each one that is right and then give out prizes for the top three.

Click on the image to view and print the Charlie Sheen Quotes game full size.

For the answers, visit the Charlie Sheen Party page at Shindigz and scroll to the bottom for the complete quotes.

Guaranteed, you will be WINNING by the end of the night!

The Disney Princesses continue to be one of the all time,  most popular birthday party themes for girls ages 2-7!  Depending on which of the princess movies Disney has re-released or is promoting at the time has a lot to do with what Disney Princess party supplies are available.

Our sister site, Printables4Kids.com has a huge selection of free printable princess coloring pages, crafts and activities that are a perfect companion to your princess party.

Below are the most popular Disney Princess Party packages available right now – for some of the princesses you have a choice of designs.

Buy Now Disney Princess Dreams Deluxe Party Pack Store: CelebrateExpress.com   Buy Now Princess and the Frog Deluxe Party Pack Store: CelebrateExpress.com   Buy Now Princess and the Frog Party Birthday Box Store: Birthday in a Box   Buy Now Cinderella Dreamland Deluxe Party Pack Store: CelebrateExpress.com   Buy Now Little Mermaid Deluxe Party Pack Store: CelebrateExpress.com   Buy Now Little Mermaid Party Birthday Box Store: Birthday in a Box   Buy Now Disney’s Tangled Deluxe Party Pack & 8 Favor Boxes Store: CelebrateExpress.com   Buy Now Disney Princess Dreams Ultimate Party Pack for 8 Store: CelebrateExpress.com   Buy Now Disney Princess Dreams Deluxe Party Pack & 8 Favor Boxes Store: CelebrateExpress.com

Welcome to the June 1, 2010 edition of All Things Family. We are celebrating all things summer in this edition. Kick back, pour a nice glass of iced tea and enjoy the reading.

Let’s Party

• Shannon presents Host a Craft Birthday Party posted at Partyelf, saying, “Keep your party guests entertained by hosting a Craft Birthday Party with these ideas.”
• Heather presents The Princess and the Frog Birthday Cake posted at Celiac Family.
• Heather M. presents How to Have a Dollar Store Wedding posted at Dollar Store Crafts, saying, “Here are some great ideas for saving money on your wedding, or any party.”
• Digerati Life presents Water Fun Activities To Cool You Off This Summer posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”
• Pamela presents Double Digits posted at Blah, Blah, Blog.
• Randa presents Scavenger Hunt Lists and Ideas at FreeStuff4Kids.

Get Crafty

• pickel presents Grown In My Heart » Blog Archive » 4th of July Crafts posted at Grown In My Heart, saying, “4th of July Crafts”
• Jen presents How to Make a Silly Bug Headband at Projects for Preschoolers – how cute!
• Wendy presents Kids Flower Crafts at Craft Jr.
• Char presents Printable Princess Tiara craft at Printables4Kids.com – perfect for any princess!

Family Reading

• Philip Dean presents Parenting Should be a Group Sport posted at Random Acts Of Parenting, saying, “I am convinced that our “go it alone” parenting style is neither intended or healthy. I like to consider it a group sport. Here is a short explanation why.”
• Madeleine Begun Kane presents Bugged By Mosquitos posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.
• Dana presents Parenting in the dark posted at Roscommon Acres.
• katie presents Blended Family – An Ex Perspective posted at Blending Ex’s… Stick that in your Cuisinart.

Over the weekend I took the kids to the new bowling alley in town. They each brought a friend and we had so much fun! So much so, that my son has asked if we can do a bowling themed party for his birthday next month when he turns 14. I don’t expect it will be a large party, but as long as it is even numbers we can have fun with a team approach.

I found this awesome bowling cake at CakeCentral.com that I may use as inspiration or it might be fun to just do cupcakes with a cute homemade pick, chocolate bowling pins or bowling pin keychains for decoration (see below for where to order bowling pin chocolate molds).

Then I discovered this terrific source for retro bowling shirts and bowling themed party goods and now I am really trying to decide whether to take the 50s Rock n Roll approach or the classic car theme to go with bowling party. It would be a lot of fun to put a 50s spin on the whole thing, get the kids to wear retro bowling shirts, too.

Once I get the invitation put together I will share it here as a free printable. I will also update this post as I get the decorations together and of course, after the party.

In the meantime – here are some bowling party supplies and inspirations to get you started planning your own bowling party. Click on images for specific ordering details.

Bowling Deluxe Party Pack & 8 Favor Boxes Bowling Pin Sipper Bottles (8) ""Bowling Pin 21"""" Pinata"" Bowling Pin Keychain (8) Red Bowling Pin – PiPo Press – Boys Birthday Invitation Bowling Party Box Bowling Party Cupcake Liners

Since one of my daughters is a gymnast, we have had more than one gymnastics themed party and have attended even more. The gymnastics theme is a popular one and even though you don’t find a lot of gymnastics themed party supplies, they do exist. Same goes for gymnastics themed birthday cake designs.

Here are a few cute gymnastics inspired cakes:

You can the images above and find even more at Flickr (gymnastics cake search results).

Depending on the age of the gymnast and the venue where you hold the party, there are so many fun games you can play. One that is always a hit and can be played just about anywhere is called, Here, There, Everywhere.  Other ideas include obstacle courses, handstand or other balance hold contests. If you have the party at your local gymnastics center you can expect even more fun in the form of trampoline time, pit races, and more gymnastics games.

Favors can include fun hair ties, maybe inexpensive medals, or one of the oh so cute and affordable favors for kids from Beau-Coup.

For table decorations, I recommend going with solid color tablecloths and napkins and then using the gymnastics themed supplies and favors below to finish off the display. Click on image for purchase info.

Something tells me that there will be a lot of Twilight and New Moon themed Halloween parties this fall.  After all, Bella and Edward would make the perfect party guests! And I am also starting to hear of Twilight pre-movie viewing parties being planned too!

What do you need for a Twilight party? As always, you can make it as simple or as elaborate as you want.

Let’s start with a New Moon inspired party invitation:

Vampire Moon Personalized Invitation

Then pick up The Twilight Saga New Moon Deluxe Party Pack:

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Deluxe Party Pack for 8
Includes 8 dinner plates, dessert plates, 22 oz. lenticular cups, forks, knives, spoons, 16 lunch napkins, 16 beverage napkins, solid-color tablecover, foil star centerpiece, 18 balloons (3 colors), curling ribbon (3 colors), crepe paper rolls (3 colors), and star confetti to match your party theme. This is an officially licensed Twilight party kit.

And now for the party:

• A traditional red velvet cake mix with white frosting and a drizzle of red raspberry sauce is an easy starter for cupcakes or a cake.
• Red candy in bowls make a fun treat and nice decoration
• Make Bella’s birthday cake using Linette’s recipe at Kids Fun Reviewed
• Twilight Novel Novice had a Twilight party and wrote a really great post on all the details (lots of pictures)
• Play the Twilight Scene It? Game
• Play a Twilight Trivia game or place Twilight quotes in bowls for guest to guess the character
• Hostess with the Mostess has printable Twilight labels and ideas for your drinks and decorations.

Twilight Eclipse Deluxe Box Twilight Eclipse Body Stickers The Twilight Saga: New Moon Deluxe Party Pack for 8 ""The Twilight Saga: New Moon 7"""" Dessert Plates (8)"" ""The Twilight Saga: New Moon 9"""" Dinner Plates (8)"" The Twilight Saga: New Moon 22 oz. Lenticular Cup (1) The Twilight Saga: New Moon Beverage Napkins (16) The Twilight Saga: New Moon Lunch Napkins (16) The Twilight Saga: New Moon Notebook Decal Sticker (4) Twilight Edward Standup Pitch Black Balloons (6) Red Balloons (6) Twilight Eclipse Photos Twilight Eclipse Sticker Twilight Eclipse Beverage Napkins

Having a pirate-themed birthday party or just celebrating “Talk Like a Pirate Day”? Well don’t walk the plank just yet! Gather your mates and start with our pirate party invitation, some pirate party crafts and printables then start planning the party.

Some fun ideas:

• Draw a treasure map with a Sharpie marker on some brown Krafft paper or an inexpensive off white sheet to make a unique table cloth.
• Make a cool pirate ship cake or treasure chest cake using the recipes at Family Fun.
• Have a scavenger hunt where everyone ends up at the treasure box at the end.
• Craft swords out of cardboard and have sword fighting matches. For more adventurous party goers, craft a plank out of wood (or use a picnic bench) and have the sword fight on the plank.
• 15 more fun pirate party games for kids

Here are some extras to make your pirate party a hit: