Funny Christmas Cards

Honestly, I can't help myself. I love funny Christmas cards. I love the humor and the smiles and the chuckles. Even the groans when a funny Christmas card is a pun worth groaning over.

So, I needed to find a great funny card to send out this year. I have had the sneaking suspicion that my family and friends are waiting to see what kind of card I'll send out each year. Seems I may have gained a reputation. That means I have to keep finding funny Christmas cards to send out.

I found some cute ones all around squirrels. Oh, yes, holiday squirrels make some funny and cute cards to send out. But, that's not all I found.

The funny retro Christmas cards I found are hilarious. There's just something about the world of the 1950's that provoke our funny bones these days. Not to mention the great sense of humor of those who write the verse on these cards. They come up with the best captions for retro pictures.

And then who can leave out Santa's reindeer? They can be greatly humorous in their own right. Of course, the card designers took advantage of that. Funny reindeer Christmas cards are worth just the viewing. But, I will end up choosing a great funny card this year. Probably just in time to get it sent out.

Decorating the Porch for Christmas

Oh, yes, Christmas is that fun time of year when we tend to decorate everything. Well, at least I do. Many of us decorate our outside world as well. Not just the lights on the house, but the porch and entryways as well.

Since I have a country porch look to both my front and back porches, I like to decorate them for the holidays as well. Christmas door mats are one of the things that always goes on my porches. They just seem to be ideal to welcome my guests, whether they be family or friends.

But I also love to little accents to my country porch look. Of course for me, they tend to be unique or unusual. Yes, the sweet white lights or bright Christmas lights are part of the tradition, but a little snowman, charming wreath or holiday bird house also make a great effect.

As far as I'm concerned, Christmas time is one of the great holidays we all celebrate. No matter what country or what part of the world we live in. And there is plenty of Christmas stuff out there to decorate with. It's a matter of our own taste and personal preferences.

For me, the Christmas door mats that I use are a big part of my decorating. But adding in the extras that make my porch look festive are a tradition for me. And I never seem to have enough of those extras. Every year I search out a few more fun ones to add to my collection.

No matter what theme or style you like to use in your holiday decorating, there is a new option for you to enjoy. Whether it's a great new Christmas door mat, or a few new unique holiday decorations, your porch and outdoor areas can be part of the festive look.

Halloween Fun Ideas for Party and Home

Planning a Halloween party is just as much fun as the party itself. The planning, the arranging and preparations are great enjoyment for me. So you get the benefit of my planning for this year's Halloween party.

My Halloween decor is party creepy and part scary, with a little humor added in. First, I start off with my creepy cloth and plan where I'm going to put that. Usually it's in multiple places in my home. With parties, I enjoy putting some creepy cloth at the top of entry. Guests have to work their way through what feels like an old spider web. I stretch the cloth quite a bit to get this cobweb feel.

I also use plenty of creepy cloth for draped tables. This gives that very old effect to my rooms, as though the table cloths have been decaying for hundreds of years. Just for fun, I tack in a few plastic spiders coming up the side of the cloths as well.

My guest bathroom door always has a Halloween door cover, too. My favorite is the skeleton on the toilet reading the paper. But there are others, too. There seems to never be a question about where to locate the bathroom after the first guests start telling everyone about my Halloween door cover.

Food becomes part of my fun decor as well. When I choose food items that continue that Halloween ghoulish cookbooks that I work from. These help me create the most amazing menu of creepy and spooky food items. They have to taste great, no matter what they look like, so I found those great cookbooks with the creepy looking food that delights with how delicious they are.

theme, my buffet table contributes to the whole effect. I have a number of

The final touch is usually those sweet treats that I offer my guests. And chocolate is a favorite, and expected, dessert. Using Halloween candy molds is the easiest way. These I make in advance since they store well in the refrigerator.

So add some fun to your next Halloween party or for the family. Get some creepy cloth to decorate your home, add a Halloween bathroom door cover for a little humor and start planning the perfect foods. Ghoulish cookbooks for the fun and tasty and Halloween candy molds for dessert. Your Halloween will be a delight this year.

Summer Pool Birthday Parties for Kids

Birthdays do qualify a holidays in my family. All the kids think their own birthday should be a national holiday. So it's fun to serve them up with a great party, especially for those who have summer birthdays. That's where a pool party works great.

My own birthday is in the winter time, but I have two sisters and 2 daughters with summer birthdays. As a child, I was always jealous when my sisters got to have pool parties. When my first daughter asked for a pool party, all I could do was give in. If I couldn't have one for my own birthday, I would live vicariously through hers.

Not really. But, I did enjoy planning those pool parties for the kids. I enjoyed the sheer delight on my children's faces as they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. And I will do it again in a heart beat.

Summer pool birthday parties for kids are all about that kind of fun that can only be had in the hot days of summer. Of course, we all know there are precautions that must be taken. Plenty of sunscreen is needed for outdoor parties. Arranging activities that are out of the water give the kids a break from too much pool time. And enough of the good snacks for kids to fuel their active bodies.

While swimming, make sure you have lots of floating devices in the pool. That allows the kids to relax a bit while still in the water. And always have enough adults on hand to keep an eye on the kids. No disasters are allowed at a pool party to spoil the fun.

Be sure to let all the invitees know it's a pool party for the kids. Get the kind of invitations that make it easy to know right away. Some of my favorites are highlighted in Children's Pool Party Invitations. Take a look and choose your own favorite. The kids will love it and so will you.

Celebrating Mother's Day with a Tea Party

Not that we need any excuse to have a tea party, but Mother's Day does make a perfect one. When we gather together for a Mother's Day celebration, we usually plan it around a meal. While a tea party isn't typically considered a meal, it's still a nice event with food.

With Mother's Day always on a Sunday, the brunch restaurants go crazy with the reservations and traffic. So why fight that kind of crowd? And why put together a whole meal yourself? A tea party doesn't require the same kind of work as making a whole meal.

If a mid-Sunday morning works great for your mother and family, that's a wonderful time to have a tea party. But mid-afternoon works wonderfully as well.

In my family, tea parties weren't part of our family traditions. Although my mother loved tea and enjoyed her relaxing tea time, she never thought of tea parties as events. So the first year all of her daughters put together a Mother's Day tea party for her, she was delighted.

The Mother's Day tea party continued as an annual event. Some years, we got very creative with unusual themes, other years we went with wonderful formal tea parties. There were times when we tried to outdo each other in our creativeness.

Yes, we did invite the men to our tea parties. And most of the time, they shared it with us. But, it typically ended up with the men in one room and us women in another. That turned out great though. We all got to have some mother/daughter time together. All over tea and treats.

Plan a Mother's Day tea party this year for your own mother. That fun excuse to have a tea party will delight just about everyone. Well, maybe not the men in the family, but certainly your mother.

Decorating for Easter, Inside and Out

We celebrate big holidays in my home. OK, let me rephrase that. We celebrate holidays in a big way in my home. Easter is one of my favorites. This is the holiday that heralds in Spring time. Yes, this year Spring is already a month old before Easter arrives. But, doesn't mean we can't still enjoy Spring and Easter as a great combination.

One of the first things I do is switch to an Easter garden flag. The bright colors and charming look are so welcome as the brown grass is just beginning to turn green. Some years, the perennial Spring flowers are blooming for Easter. Some years they aren't there yet. But the Easter garden flags show off plenty of those flowers. Tulips, crocus and daffodils all grace our flower beds, or garden flags.

Then it's time to move indoors. The Easter decorations for the house are also bright and colorful. They make such a welcome change from the dullness of Winter. I always include several decorative throw pillows for Easter.

But my favorite Easter indoor decoration is a teapot or pitcher as the focal point of my table centerpiece. If I can get a bouquet of daffodils, they go in the teapot or pitcher. Otherwise, it's something like brightly colored ribbons pouring out. Of course, with plastic Easter eggs laid around the centerpiece.

There are plenty more ideas to decorate your home for this holiday. Hopefully, my suggestions of Easter garden flags, table centerpieces and decorative throw pillows have gotten you started on your own ideas.

Baby's First Easter Celebrations

When my first granddaughter was born, she was 800 miles away from me. Although I was able to celebrate her first Christmas with her, I couldn't make the trip for Easter. I wanted to be there. I wanted to share with her.

What worked great was to be able to send her a Baby's First Easter greeting card. I found some darling ones. Actually I found a enough that I had to narrow it down to just one. That wasn't easy. I wanted to send her all of them.

There are plenty of options for those who can't share baby's first Easter in person. But, I loved the idea of a physical greeting card. It was something that was included in her memory book. It was something her parents could easily share with others. That's why I took the time to pick out the perfect Baby's First Easter greeting card.

Oh sure, I know it's old-fashioned in some circles. But, I don't care. Sharing with my granddaughter for her first Easter was important to me. Sending physical greeting cards is one of those family holiday traditions that I love to share. It wasn't a text, it wasn't an e-card. Instead, it was a wonderful part of her first Easter celebration. I have and will send plenty more physical greeting cards. Those 800 miles can be bridged easily.

Valentine Designs for Candy Jars and Tins

Valentine's Day is definitely about love and romance, but it's also about candy. For me, it's plenty about candy. Oh, yes, chocolate. But all those cute candy hearts, jelly beans and more. That's where a charming Valentine designed candy jar or sweets tin will come in very handy.

And talk about a perfect gift. A Valentine's candy jar makes a great gift for someone you love. But, also think about the kids and grandkids. Around Valentine's Day, you typically have some candy to enjoy with them, give to them, or just nibble for yourself.

Let us not forget party favors, too. When celebrating all sorts of things around Valentine's Day, like bridal showers, school parties, engagement parties, even baby showers, we are looking for favor ideas. Valentine candy tins are perfect. Inexpensive enough to be great party favors, yet designed just for the romantic holiday.

The Valentine's candy jars and candy tins come pre-filled with your choice of a number of different options. So they are ready to go as party favors or gifts. But, then you get the fun of having a container that can be used over and over again.

The candy tins are great for pockets or purse. An easy way to carry around mints or other candies. The candy jars can be used for more than just candy. I put Valentine cookies in them for my darling granddaughters. When the cookies were finished the jar held all the sweet love notes that our family shared with each other. Perfect gift idea!

Decorating for Valentine's Day

Ah, yes, that wonderful romantic day is just about upon us. That means it's time to get our home ready for Valentine's Day. We don't need to be crazy with decor. Well, unless you are like me that is.

OK, I am crazy about decorating my home for every holiday. Of course, Valentine's Day is no different. We all know how drab the house can look when the Christmas decorations are put away. Valentine's Day sure helps to bring the home decor back into fun.

If you aren't quite so crazy about wild decorating for the holidays, you can still add a few well-chosen accessories to add that little extra. One of my favorites is vintage pillows for Valentine's Day.

Decorative pillows are part of my every day decor. So it's easy to switch a pillow or two. From the couch or a chair, just put away the daily one and add a Valentine's Day one. That's what I call easy decorating for Valentine's Day.

Maybe add a few heart wall decals, too. Along with your decorative pillows, you have some great, yet simple, decorations for the holiday. If you are planning that romantic dinner for two, these little extra decor touches could be just right.

Certainly, I love easy holiday decorating. And making use of a few little accessories is perfect. But, like I always say, don't be afraid to go bolder with your decor. It really is easy with the Valentine's Day decorations that are available.

Planning a Romantic Valentine's Dinner for 2

With Valentine's Day comes thoughts of romance. And what a fun way to celebrate that romance. Plan a romantic dinner for two for Valentine's Day. There are certainly plenty of ideas. You may have lots yourself. But, if you're looking for fun ways to do those little extras, I've got you covered.

A romantic dinner for two just works great with candles to set the mood. Personally, I like using LED candles. I just prefer not to have those open flames around. Little tea light style candles set at each place setting is something a little different.

Of course, my table is set with red and white. Either a solid red table cloth and white napkins or vice versa works. But then I like to use the placemats or Valentine's day plates to add the sparkle of decor for the occasion.

The menu typically includes my loved one's favorite foods. And yes, pizza qualifies! In fact, pizza is one of those favorites that tends to show up at lots of special meals. The menu can be as simple or as elaborate as have the time and inclination to cook.

Even the simplest meals can become a romantic Valentine's dinner. It's the little extras that will make the difference. So be sure to get your own dinner planned this year. After all, Valentine's Day comes around only once a year.

Valentine's Day Desserts: Heart Shaped Cakes

Yummy desserts and perfect for Valentine's Day. That's what heart-shaped cakes, and cupcakes, are. I'm a huge fan of cupcakes, but I love those bigger cakes and the fun decorating options they offer. So it made perfect sense for me to get a set of heart shaped cake pans and cupcake pans.

Those darling Valentine cupcakes work great for kids school parties, but also for the family dinner. Maybe for a Valentine's tea party, too. Perhaps you have a romantic Valentine's dinner planned. Then a beautiful heart-shaped cake is ideal for dessert.

One of the things I love best about heart-shaped cakes, or cupcakes, is that you can have any flavor cake you like and just use the frosting and decorations to make them more Valentine's Day appropriate.

Well, I have a hard time not doing something chocolate. Ooo, a chocolate-raspberry cake with white chocolate frosting, I'm in heaven. As far as I'm concerned, you just can't be too decadent for Valentine's Day desserts. There are just sometimes when you need to toss out the diet and enjoy the moment.

That's one of the best things about Valentine's Day desserts. Rich, delicious and lovely made into heart-shaped cakes or cupcakes.