"Donut" You Know I Love You Bridal Shower

     I've done quite a few showers now, although the greater portion has been baby showers. However, not to insult anyone, but a bridal shower is not that different. People have the same expectations: decor, food and presents! And it is always fun to celebrate, whether for a new baby or a new marriage!

 This was an especially fun shower to plan because it was for one of my sisters. She *loves* donuts, so it was an irresistible theme choice. She also loves pink and glitz, so we tried to incorporate those, too.

 The piece de resistance was the donut hole croquembouche! I shamelessly copied this one, from "O Happy Day".  I am so glad that I did! It was very dramatic-and while it was quite a bit of work (and a little on the pricey side, but it was cheaper than a big floral arrangement!) it wasn't exceptionally difficult. It did require FIVE boxes of donut holes, though!

 My sister's fiance was an absolute wonder and delivered four dozen fresh, beautiful, color-coordinated donuts at 9:30 am so they would be just perfect! I topped them off with little flags I whipped up out of washi tape and toothpicks.

I also added a little banner that I made from colored circles and skewers. I stuck that in the bride-to-be's favorite kind: maple bars! Putting the donuts in pretty dishes added a little bit of class to these rather humble treats. 

I couldn't resist adding a little "flair" and some sparkle in her honor. I set up a "sprinkle bar" and used an amazing sprinkle set I found at Michael's and put them in cute little dishes. 

 I also added an array of dipping sauces. Yes, I know that it looks like I spelled sauce "sause", but it really is just my not-fantastic handwriting! Surprisingly, people really enjoyed using the sauces and the sprinkles!

I finished the table with a handmade tulle skirt-it took me seven rolls of tulle, but it was lovely. I hung gold circle decorations I got from Hobby Lobby overhead. My mom bought the daisies to finish things off. 

I put together a little printable of Colossians 3:14, "Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection." and decorated it with a donut printable I got, again, from "O Happy Day"-what can I say? She has cute stuff!

   We had so many donuts they merited their own table, so we had a separate table for all the rest of the food. I set up a little candy station around this cute printable. (Because we needed more sugar!)

My sweet mom and aunt thoughtfully provided all the "not sweet" things. I don't even have it all pictured here! I put these cute flags on toothpicks and put them in the food, and then I used these printable donuts and glued them to skewers to put in the flowers.

More flowers with donut skewers, a picture of the happy couple, and this cute printable (Free! So great!) graced the drink station.

We (Did I forget to mention my charming co-hostess? My next youngest sister, Katy, is the other half of that "we".) bought these pretty sparkling lemonades at Trader Joe's. It was so nice to not have to re-package them!

The coffee area was a little more plain, but this donut garland made it a little more fun! We also added colorful dots to the coffee cups to jazz them up a little. 

I made a crepe streamer backdrop for the gift table. I also made the little banner with the happy couple's names on it. So many people did such a great job with their wrapping-and clearly appreciated the donut theme.

I, of course, had to match mine, too! Another appearance of those darn adorable "O Happy Day" donuts! I put together a little breakfast in bed set-hence the tray.

My co-hostess provided the inflatable donut-it was just too fun to pass up! We put these little gold stands and some plants in the seating area.

My tasty treats! I think the sprinkles really took it to the next level, don't you? The delicious quiche and sausage balls were made by my aunt and grandmother. We also served tasty mocha punch.

We had to make sure the bride-to-be coordinated so Katy picked up these adorable donut charms and chains at Hobby Lobby. Our mom had one, too!

We packaged up washi tape wrapped votives and candy for "thank-you" gifts. We decorated the favor table with confetti with the bride and groom's names (Party City!) and I used this cute printable and some circles on skewers (It needed a little something and I was short on time!), too. The extra donuts were for guests to write messages to the couple for keepsakes. It was our version of a guestbook.

In all, I had a great time helping to put this together. It is always so wonderful to be able to bless your family with something you really love doing! "Donut" you love it when a party comes together? I "dough"!

Linked up:
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less

Great Grinch Party

            I have wanted to have a Grinch party for a while now. It has long been one of my most favorite Christmas movies. My friend Sarah and I talked about it, and we agreed that it was a holiday necessity. However, we all know how crazy this time of year is, so we didn't want anything over the top that required too much time or money.

     I decided that I would not make any decorations before the party day-I put everything together this morning, the only thing I did beforehand was shop and make the cookies. I used a great recipe I got from my sister for "Gooey Butter Cookies" and simply added green food coloring.  Oh, and I had already made these "Cake Batter Truffles" a few days ago, so I just put them in a pretty white dish!

   One of my favorite decorations was this paper garland. I literally put it together in about 15 minutes! I had some paper strips left over from my wreath (yes, I am a scrapbook paper hoarder!)  and then I cut a few more on my paper cutter. I didn't worry about the widths or lengths, I wanted them to be varied. Then I hot glued them onto a ribbon, randomly choosing strips. It turned out so cute!

   I made the tulle pom-poms for Josie's birthday (I plan on sharing that next month!) and they were just perfect for this party. I printed off this Grinch printable and used some ribbon to make the frame longer for hanging. Then put green striped candy canes in a vase with this printable on the front, and a little green tissue paper in the bottom. I put my truffles in an olive dish and a few floating candles in a glass bowl and put everything on cake stands. My peppermint tree worked with the color scheme so I put it on there, too. My friend Sarah put together these cute "Grinch" fruit kebabs. The kids loved them!

    I taped my "Paper Straw Snowflakes" over the pictures on my wall. They were the right color, too. I love this kind of decorating- simple, easy and cute. I put everything up in about an hour, and that included printing the printable, and making the garland!

     The best decoration isn't one I made. Sarah's talented husband drew this amazing Grinch free-hand so the kids could play "Pin the Heart on the Grinch". He looked so great on the wall!

           The kids had a great time trying to get the felt heart onto the right spot. And doesn't the Grinch look like he needs a heart (or 6)?!

    I put together this "Melt the Grinch's Heart" game. I used cherry Runt candies (not only do they look like hearts, but they are the right color). I made put them in ice cube trays filled with water dyed green. The water did mostly remove the color from the candies, though!

   I told the kids they could use any part of their bodies to get the candy free from the ice. They were kind of hilarious! They really enjoyed it, and I provided several towels to warm and dry their hands with. Their reward for getting the candy out was another heart candy.

The favors were the last part. So easy and cheap, too! I had a coupon so I got the Market Pantry reindeer grahams from Target for $1. Just like Max the "reindeer"! The tree shaped bubbles were $0.75 for two at Target-just like the trees the Grinch stole. And then I tied two green striped candy canes with a little curling ribbon.

 I used more of the Grinch candy cane printables to top cellophane bags with! I love having favors and these were so simple and inexpensive, less than $1 each!

    I forgot to take photos of the "green" hot chocolate I made. I used this "White Peppermint Hot Chocolate" and it was delicious! We topped it with whipped cream, snowman marshmallows and sprinkles. The kids had a "teeny" sugar high, but it was worth it. We munched all the goodies while watching the classic "Grinch" movie and it was just delightful.

      We decided that this little party definitely needs to be an annual event. It was just perfect for the holidays-easy, fun, and low-key. I think Sarah and I liked it almost as much as the kids!

Linked up at:
"Whatever Goes Wednesday" at Someday Crafts