What is the best way to avoid bugs during an outdoor party?

Of course there are your standard cintronella torches and candles that can be used and are very pretty.  Another idea is putting Listerine in a spray bottle and spray around the party area.  This keeps the mosquitoes away. Another idea is to put some water in a white dinner plate and add just a few drops of Lemon Fresh Joy dish detergent. Set the dish on your porch, patio, or other outdoor area. Not sure what attracts them, the lemon smell, or the white plate, but mosquitoes flock to it, and drop dead shortly after drinking the Lemon Fresh Joy/water mixture, and usually within about 10 feet of the plate. My last idea is to be sure there is garlic in the foods that you are serving at your party.  Mosquitoes do not like garlic and will stay away and hopefully your guests wouldn’t be staying away from each other if they all have garlic breath.  Hope that helps and happy party planning!

Birthday parties come with a lot of waste and Snap Parties has found an easy way to help parent’s change that with an environmentally-friendly "green" rainforest party box that includes all the products you need including decorations, favors, tableware, and games.

Grand Rapids, MI (PRWEB ) September 22, 2008 — Children’s birthdays are a time for celebrating and for throwing parties. Unfortunately, parties often include a lot of waste including disposable tableware, plastic goody bags, and toys that are often broken before the child arrives home from the party. Snap Parties is a party in a box business which sells themed party boxes for children’s birthdays. They have just launched an environmentally-friendly "green" rainforest party box. In the box you will find safari hats, natural wood tableware and cutlery, beeswax candles, plantable invitations (invitation has flower seeds imbedded in it so that guests can plant invitation after the party to see flowers grow), cloth goody bags, wooden fairly made safari animal toys, bamboo whistles, twig pencils, make-your-own chewing gum kit and much more.

This box is made for the busy parent to be able to put together a birthday party easily and in an environmentally conscious way. Jennifer says about the boxes, "I love all your boxes, they are all so great and I think with what you offer your prices are great! I mean, you only have to order the box, write out some invites, and buy food. The rest of the party is done for you! "

Jenna Krick a mother and environmental advocate says, "Every thing we do can impact the environment. It is important that we not only think about the impact of throwing a birthday party but what it teaches our children when we do use and purchase a lot of items that may not be good choices for our environment. Snap Parties rainforest box helps parents be able to make those good choices."

Snap Parties is owned by Ivanna Parker. She and her husband live in Michigan and have 4 young boys, ages 4 and under. She saw a need for eco-friendly, higher quality birthday supplies that weren’t as disposable as party hats and blow horns. She hopes to add more eco-friendly boxes in the future. You can purchase a Rainforest party box at www.snapparties.com .

Fruit Kebobs

What are the best finger foods to serve at a kid’s birthday party?  -K

At what age is it appropriate to invite a child to a birthday party without a parent? -M

I believe that ages 4 and up can go to a party without a parent, anything younger then that may be a little difficult.  One of the biggest reasons is that generally 4 year olds are potty trained and generally are okay being without their parents.  My son actually just went to his first child only party and it was all 4 year olds.  If you are throwing the party, I would suggest keeping the party smaller (6 kids or less) if the children are under 5 and their parents will not be with them.

Any ideas for a Dora the Explorer party?

For a Dora birthday party I would suggest going with the explorer theme. Safari hats and binoculars will get the children all in the mood to explore. A scavenger hunt with a map (of course) is a great idea. You could begin the party by handing out party favor boxes to all the kids. When they open them up, they could all be empty. You could then act all shocked an announce that you have no idea where all their treats went. Who do they think took them? Hopefully they will think of Swiper. Then ask them what they could do to help find their treats. They then could call out for the map. It would be great to be playing Dora music in the background during this. Along with the map, you could give the birthday girl a special backpack that has tools to help the children get through the scavenger hunt. Of course they should find their treats at the end of the hunt. If a scavenger hunt is too advanced, you could try a simple obstacle course to find their treats. Hope that helps and happy party planning!

I would like to throw a birthday party for my 2 year old son and his friends and family.  I have a theme picked out, now what?   -A

The next step after coming up with a theme is writing a guest list. The guest list will help you decide many things. If you have a small budget but a large guest list, then you may consider having a cake and punch party. If you want to keep it small, then maybe you could have enough in your budget for a lunch and better quality party favors. After you figure out a guest list and what kind of a party you would like to have here are some things that you may want to consider. Invitations, food, cake, decorations, tableware, games and activities, and party favors. Most of all be sure that your party is a reflection of your unique self. Sit down and think about what you can do at your party that will make it extra special and unique for your son.

What types of games can I play at my kids’ parties to keep everyone entertained?  -A

How far ahead can you fill helium balloons to ensure they are  full the day of the party?  -K
Helium balloons can be tricky. If you are just using latex balloons, you can have them filled the day before with no problems. Foil balloons, tend to loose their floatation more quickly. The general rule for all balloons is 8 hours before the party. Here are a couple of tips. Place your order for balloons before the party at your party store and ask them to have them ready the day of your party. This is a great way to ask another adult to take the kids with them to pick up the balloons and do other errands, giving you time to get other party tasks done without distractions. If you have bought your balloons from a different source, you can drop them off to the party store before the party and ask them to have them ready by the birthday party morning.

What is the best way to keep the adults and kids happy at a 2 years old birthday party?   -K

The best way to keep both the adults and kids happy at a 2 years old party is be sure to have lots of play and activities for the children and good food for the adults. I think many times adults are forgotten about and are left to either not eat or eat dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets with the little ones. Have a special table for adults only with fun appetizers and even a fun non-alcoholic drink. Adults also will be very happy if the food you choose for their 2 year old isn’t messy and is easy for the children to eat on their own. So finger foods are the best. 2 year olds are so much happier with activities more then games. So try to stick to activities like coloring and play. If you are having a barnyard party pull out all your child’s barnyard toys for the kids to play with it. Music is also great. Play some fun music that goes with the party theme and let the little ones dance the day away. Hope that helps and have a great party!

My son is turning 4 years old and wants a transformer party.  Do you have any ideas for making a cake that would be easy but still very nice?   Where would I purchase supplies to make a fun design?                                                        -S

Transformer Edible Image