Recent Posts

• Planning an Animal Party

  

  Animals in the wild, at the zoo, and at the circus fascinate children. What little boy or girl does not want a puppy or a kitten? An animal themed party is sure to be a hit with pretty much any kids. The party theme can be based around all animals, a group of animals like ocean animals or birds, or a particular kind of animal such as a horse or a dog.

  Perhaps the easiest way to hold an animal themed party is to have the party at the Oregon Zoo. The zoo not only showcases a wide variety of exotic animals, but also includes a farm where kids can pet goats, rabbits, and other farm animals.

  Several farms in the Portland area also have party space and animals for kids to see and pet. For instance, Kruger Farm on Sauvie Island offers birthday party packages and a petting zoo.

  Want to bring the animals to your party location? Consider having a petting zoo, a reptile zoo, or pony rides at your party. Having a face painter who can paint animal faces on the kids is another fun party entertainment idea.

  Along with having real animals at your party, you can get animal themed inflatables and play equipment for your party. Inflatables like the Lion Bouncer and the Gorilla Bouncer feature are perfect for an animal themed party.

  You can pick up animal invitations, decorations, plates, cups, party favors, games, and toys at dollar or party stores. Buy or make a cake with decorations to match your theme as well. One simple way to decorate a cake is to use plastic animal figures on top of a simple frosting job. You can also get cake pans that are shaped like animals, or frost an animal face on a circle shaped cake.

  Kids are wild about animals so your animal themed party is sure to be a wild success. Have fun!

• Ice Cream Bars for an Ice Cream Cart

  

  If you are planning a large warm weather event, like a fair or a concert, selling ice cream bars is a no brainer. When people get hot, they are going to want to cool off, plus ice cream is a delicious treat. People even buy ice cream when the weather is cold (or else all the ice cream shops would close for the winter).

  So what kind of treats can you put into an ice cream cart? Pretty much any kind of frozen ice cream bar or popsicle will work. Check with bulk grocery stores such as Costco or Cash ‘n Carry to see what is available locally and watch for sales at local grocery stores. Sometimes grocery stores will have sales on ice cream bars that make them even cheaper than the bulk stores.

  Here are some ice cream bars and frozen treats that you can consider selling in an ice cream cart:

  Ben and Jerrys
  Bars (chocolate dipped ice cream): Cherry Garcia, Fudge Brownie, Half Baked

  Blue Bunny
  Bar (stickless): Big Alaska, Nutt’n Better
  Bars (with sticks): Bananas and Cream, Banana Pops, Blueberry and Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt, Bom Pop (cherry, lime, raspberry), Caramel Ice Cream, Carmello, Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt Swirl, Chocolate Caramel Cashew, Chocolate Ice Cream Sundae Crunch, Chocolate with Almonds, Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Raspberry, Chunky Mango, Chunky Strawberry, Creamy Coconut, Double Chocolate, Double Dutch Fudge, Double Fudge, English Toffee, Fudge, Fruit Burst Bomb Pop (watermelon, lemon and green apple), Heath, Jolly Rancher, Lemonade Bomb Pop, Lucas Chamoy (chamoy and chili), Lucas Pelucas (tamarind and hot chili), Orange Dream, Orange Sherbet Tubes, Pina Colada, Root Bear Float, Slush Pops (cherry, grape, orange), Sour Power Bomb (watermelon, orange, green apple), Star Bars (milk chocolate and vanilla ice cream), Strawberries and Cream, Strawberry Ice Cream (chocolate coated), Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae, Turtle (chocolate, caramel, and pecans) , Twin Pops (cherry, lemon-lime, orange), Twirlix (chocolate and banana), Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Fudge, Vanilla Ice Cream Crunch
  Cones: Bunny Tracks, Caramel Lovers, Classic Sundae, Chocolate, Chocolate Lovers, Cookies ‘n Cream, Strawberry Shortcake, Vanilla
  Sandwiches: Big Bopper (chocolate chip cookie) Birthday Party (cake), Chips Galore (chocolate chip cookie), Double Strawberry, Milk Chocolate, Mint Grasshopper, Mississippi Mud, Neapolitan, Peanut Butter Fudge Chip, Rocky Road, Vanilla Bean

  Good Humor
  Bars (ice cream): Candy Center Crunch, Choco Dipped Vanilla, Chocolate Éclair, Cookies and Cream, Ice Cream on a Stick, Mounds, Oreo, Reeses, Strawberry Shortcake, Toasted Almond, York
  Cones: King Cone, Triple Chocolate Brownie Giant King Cone, Vanilla Chocolate Giant King Cone, Sundae Cone
  Ice Cream Sandwiches: Vanilla, Neapolitan, Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich

  Haagan-Dazs
  Bars (chocolate dipped ice cream): chocolate and dark chocolate, vanilla and milk chocolate, vanilla and dark chocolate, vanilla and almonds, coffee and almond crunch, raspberry and vanilla milk chocolate
  Frozen Sundaes: Vanilla Caramel, Vanilla Chocolate

  Klondike
  Bars (chocolate dipped ice cream): Original, Caramel Pretzel, Dark Chocolate, Double Chocolate, Heath, Krunch, Mint Chocolate Chip, Neapolitan, Oreo, Reeses, Rocky Road
  Choco Taco: Original, Chocolate, Peanut Butter
  Sandwiches: Classic Vanilla, Chocolate, Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookie, Oreo, What the Fudge? Brownie

  Magnum Ice Cream
  Bars (chocolate dipped ice cream): Almond, Classic, Dark, Double Caramel, Double Chocolate, Mint, Mochaccino, White

  Popsicle
  Popsicles: Cherry, Grape, Orange, Airheads, Banana, Banana Mania, Big Stick Cherry Pineapple, Firecracker, Jolly Rancher, Jolly Rancher Awesome Twosome, Lemon Lime, Marvel Super Heroes, Rainbow, Rootbeer, Scribblers Pops, Slow Melt Dora the Explorer, Slow Melt Mighty Mints, SpongeBob Squarepants Pop Ups, Sour Patch Kids, Sugar Free Healthy Bunch, Sugar Free Tropicals
  Creamsicle
  Fudgsicle
  Yosicle: Duos, Layerz, Torpedo
  Sno Cone

  Now that is a list to make someone hungry for ice cream! Hope all of the options inspire you and help you plan out the perfect items to sell in an ice cream cart at your event.

• Host an Easter Party

  

  Its nearly Easter and a lot of kids are starting to get excited about seeing the Easter Bunny, coloring eggs, and searching for their Easter baskets. If you are organizing an Easter party for your church, family, or friends, here are some pointers to help you get started.

  The Easter Bunny makes a wonderful guest of honor for Easter parties. Kids love getting their picture taken with the big furry guy. Another fun option is to get a Petting Zoo with real live rabbits for the kids to pet.

  Consider what activities you want to have at your Easter party. An Easter egg hunt is practically a requirement. You can have kids (and adults) paint and hide the eggs as part of the party if the event is going to be a long one or you can have the eggs ready to hide or hidden when the guests arrive. If spoilage is likely to be an issue, use plastic eggs instead and fill them with toys and treats. Make sure the eggs are hidden in places where searchers are not likely to step on them, especially if you are using real eggs, and hide them with the age of the searchers in mind. If the egg hunt is for little kids, you might want to make all of the eggs in plain site. If you have many different age groups, you might want to separate the groups either by area or by time slots so the little kids have a chance to find their eggs.

  Decide whether party participants should bring their own Easter baskets or whether you will provide them. Even if people are expected to bring their own, it is a good idea to have a few baskets just in case anyone forgets. You don’t want the kids to suffer. Check the dollar store, the party store, or the craft store for Easter baskets, candy, toys, plates, cups, tablecloths, and decorations.

  Pick a place to hold your party. You can have an Easter party at a church, at a restaurant, at a park, or pretty much anywhere else that you hold events. Just make sure the location you pick has sufficient facilities for an Easter egg hunt and any other activities you are planning. If you are holding your party outdoors, have a plan in case of rainy weather. If the venue does not have shelters, rent a tent just in case so everyone can stay dry and comfortable.

  If you are holding your party at a restaurant, the food is probably taken care of. Otherwise you will need to make arrangements for any food you are serving. Are you planning to hire a caterer, fix the food yourself, or have a potluck? Make sure you know what food equipment will be available to you at the venue so you can plan accordingly. Brunch is typical for Easter celebrations, though you can certainly have a party any time of the day. For some reason serving breakfast type foods just seems right on the holiday. This probably partially because many people who celebrate Easter attend church in the morning and go to their Easter parties immediately following the service.

  The most important part of any party is to have fun. Easter is a wonderful holiday with lots of fun family activities for kids and adults to enjoy.