Halloween Costume Ideas for Couples

With the Halloween approaching and first Halloween fancy dress parties starting this bank holiday weekend we have put together some ideas for couples. It is always nice to show to everyone that the two of you belong together.

Get inspired with our top 7 couples ideas. For more costume ideas see our Facebook Page or have a look at our website: http://www.thebigparty.ie/productgroup/37/costumes__fancy_dress.html.

Vampires

Red Hot Devils

Witch and Phantom of Darkness

Skeletons

American football player and Zombie cheerleader

Jesters

Zombie Police

Candy Buffet

 

Successful in the US, we are now happy to introduce to Ireland the Candy Buffet theme. This range is popular for 18th, 21st, wedding after parties, as well as seasonal and Halloween celebrations. 

Colour is so important to create impact and the colour options from the Candy Buffet theme are truly spectacular. TheBigParty.ie offers a range of products such as striped Popcorn Boxes, Polka Dots treat bags, cone shaped bags, scalloped labels and matching scoops. To maximise the success of your Candy Buffet we have mixed these essentials with matching decorations and tableware to make shopping easier for you.

 

Say yes to our Candy Buffet Theme. It's time to get spoiled! 

 

Oh and don't forget to have a look at our Pick n Mix range, where we have a great selection of sweets in big value packs.

1st Birthday Party Tips and Ideas

After all the hard work of the last 12 months parents and baby deserve a great 1st birthday party celebration. One without too much work and planning would be nice so lets see what tips and ideas we can come up with to help.

First lets look at some handy tips:

• keep the guest list small and let your baby enjoy the party too. No crowds.
• keep it short, an hour and a half max
• have plenty of balloons because ‘babies love balloons’
• get some help, don’t try to do it all yourself. A babysitter or family member will make it much more enjoyable for parents
• create a special play space for the babies away from chairs and other dangers

These are simple but will help to make it a party to remember and will keep the stress levels down for everyone

Our favorite theme for 1st Birthday is the Fisher Price circus theme. It’s suitable for boys and girls, is bright and colourful, is cute, and has a great range of tableware and decorations for you to choose from.

Some people prefer a girl or boy theme for their party. For the girls I would recommend the sweet little girl range which has lots of pink and cupcakes featuring. Again the hanging decorations and balloons are great for decorating at home.

Selecting a favorite for the boys is easy as it’s got to be the My 1st JCB party range.The hard hats, tablecover and balloon are excellent. The pictures will be great to look back on.

This is one of the few parties where you will make the decisions so enjoy it

Top 5 Themed Party in 2014

There has never been a better time to organise a themed party. Get you friends together and plan a party that will be fun and be remembered. A themed party is great for photos and videos that will live ling in the memory.

It used to be the case that to plan a themed party was a DIY task involving mixing and matching colors and decorations from different shops or waiting for slow and expensive deliveries from the UK or US.

Now all that has changed. thebigparty.ie have brought a range of products together in one location on one website giving you a choice of themes with every decoration, accessory and costume in an easy to browse format. It makes planning a party what it should be FUN. 

So what are the popular and not so common options?

Surprisingly throughout the year Hawaiian or Luau is by far the most popular theme. Buying a unit of 20, 50 or 100 Hawaiian Leis is a great way to get everyone dressed up and in the mood to party. The inflatable Palm Tree is another favourite for setting the scene.

Next in line in popularity is the disco 70's theme with some fabulous decoration and great opportunities to dress up and show your dancing talent. Scene setters can set the tone with handing decorations helping to create a 'busy' dance floor feel

The Casino party theme is increasing in popularity possibly because of it's strong visual impact and that it is a favorite among the make section of the market. Great for a boy's 21st or 18th or any milestone age. It is very easy to create a Las Vegas style look and feel with table decorations and scene setter being tip sellers. Also this range is popular for fundraisers in GAA clubs and other local clubs and charities.

Year round but most especially in March leading up to the Oscars the Hollywood theme is a big seller in Ireland. The iconic Hollywood stars and red carpet are a 'must have' for party planners. Again the Hollywood scene setter is a big seller.

Among the large group of country & western fan's & others around the country the Wild West theme is always popular. Again with a  great range of scene setter, decorations & tableware to choose from. The opportunity for 'dress up' is another attraction with cowboy hats and boots being an easy option.

This you tube video is a great source of instruction for anyone decorating a room or venue with a scene setter from any of the themes above https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5-JlP8d_3Jw

Halloween Ideas

http://www.thebigparty.ie/productlist/3/610/animated_figures.html

Communion Party Ideas – Garden Games

With Easter coming late this year, communion time will be restricted to May in most parts of the country. Hopefully that means some nice warm weather and an opportunity to allow your guests to use both indoors and outdoors as part of the celebrations.

Bouncy castles are, of course, popular, but party planners are increasingly looking for outdoor alternatives. As a result the range of garden games on the market has increased over the last 2 years to a point where there are 50 plus options for some outdoor fun.

The big advantage with garden games is that you can tailor the game to suit your guest list. Bouncy castle’s etc are really the preserve of the under 8’s whereas garden games can include everyone.

Adults and children having fun in the garden can make for some great photos and some great memories too.

The top selling Garden Games in 2013 was the Rounder’s set. A bit of competition with a ball still seems to be many peoples idea of fun in the garden, park or beach. Great for improving eye-hand co-ordination and getting the heart pumping!

If you want to have a look at the full range available for some outdoor party ideas just click the link to thebigparty http://www.thebigparty.ie/productlist/2/34/garden_games.html

Best new party ranges for 2014

Some years it all seems to happen in the party industry! For 2014 there is a fantastic array of new children’s party ranges coming on the market. Some such as Lego are to coincide with a movie release while others are released to compliment a successful TV show or game.

But this is a crowded market with some proved winners like Mickey Mouse, Spiderman & the Disney princesses already established and ever popular.

So what will be the winners? With 15 years plus in the market and with sales already very strong in the first 6 weeks of 2014 we are well placed to predict the future in this regard.

Our top 5 would be:

WWE Wrestling 

The new WWE range is brilliant with a combination of graphics and pictures of the main fighters featured on every item. The Scene Setter and WWE Foil Swirls are the best decorations we have seen for a while. This is aimed primarily at young boys and I think it will knock many of the super hero ranges off the top spots in sales terms. A must have for a young boy who likes his wrestling.

Angry Birds

The Angry Birds party range is simple with tableware featuring the distinctive red bird on most of the items. While the range is not extensive it is a sure fire winner with such a large number of kids playing the game on a daily basis. Initial sales from the UK suggest it is beating all expectations so no reason to believe it will be any different here. A piñata featuring one of the targeted guys with a saucepan on his head would have been great I think. It would have brought a bit of fun into the range. Maybe it will come!

 Sofia the First 

Sofia the First is a really popular Disney Channel show for little princesses. For 2014 they have introduced a Sofia the First party range and I think it will be a great success. The range is different in that there are no tableware pieces but there are some great hair accessories, games & room decorations. The scene setter is brilliant. A winner for sure.

Moshi Monsters

Adding to their toys and online magazine come a Moshi Monsters range of party supplies. Really well designed with bright colours and featuring all the main characters from the show it is a certain success. The tablecover is sure to be noticed by the party goers and will make for great colourful pics.

Ninja Turtles

Prepare to be shocked! The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles range of party decorations and tableware is shockingly good. Featuring the iconic colour scheme and action poses it is both well designed and features some great products. The mini figurine candles are really cools and will create an impression on the birthday cake and the 24 piece favour pack offers some great Loot bag fillers. All in all they have got this one right and it is sure to be a big 2014 seller.

Cupcake Party

Cupcake party

Want a great idea for your child’s next party? Try a cupcake party for kids. Allow the kids to be creative with lots of colors, flavors and sprinkles which will make for great photos they can share with their friends.

You can either make the cupcake decorating a part of the festivities or as the main theme of the party with all the tableware and decorations to match. 

All you need are cupcakes and plenty of sweets -- and of course, the unmatchable power of kids' imaginations -- and voila! You'll have platefuls of delicious kid creations and some very proud cupcake-decorating artists who'll be eager to show off -- and eat -- their handiwork.

This cake stand from our new 2014 cupcake range is ideal for displaying the finished product.

 

What You Will Need

The first thing you need is enough space around a table for all the children to be able to sit down. I would also advise a maximum of around 10 -12 children as beyond that they can get a bit over-excited and it can be difficult to give each child the help they need.

Aprons are a good idea as with all that icing sugar and buttercream it can get a bit messy but if you don't have enough aprons ask each child to bring (or wear) and old t-shirt or something they don't mind getting messy.

You'll need cupcakes which can either be made or bought ~ if making them it can be fun to buy some themed cupcake cases, maybe birthday ones or a mix of colours. For a really good party you'll need some buttercream in piping bags, some glace icing (though this can now be bought to use in packets with nozzles which is a real bonus) and plenty of sweets. Have a wide range and be ready to use your imagination to show the kids what to do ~ for example jelly beans make great flower petals and chocolate buttons can be eyes or ears.

Have a couple of cakes made up so you can show the kids the sort of things they can do ~ sometimes they need a little help to get them on their way. If you're just letting them get on with it you'll need to allow about 5 mins per cake, so an average child will complete around 6 cakes in 30 minutes. If you want to string the party out a bit have a couple of cakes that you make together so they follow what you do ~ this works out to be around 10 - 15 mins per cake.

Another option is to throw a cupcake related game in there. One of my favourites is what I call the 'straw face game'. Use sweets to make a face on a cake and give either each child, or teams of 2 or 3 kids a cake and the sweets they need to make the face. Also give them each a straw (make sure all the sweets you use are bigger than the end of the straw ~ you don't want any accidents with children sucking up sweets).
Without using their hands they have to suck on the straws to pick the sweets up and put them on the cake ~ the winner gets a prize.