GINGERBREAD PARTY ON A SMALL BUDGET

This year I threw a Gingerbread Christmas party for my Girl Scout Troop. While it was really just for the girls, I also invited the parents and one of the girls little brother to join us.

I had their Christmas presents lined up for them. I found really cute Gingerbread house bags to put the gifts in. Perfect!

I also got them each this darling little Smore kits. After all when you think of Girl Scouts you also think of making Smores!

Plus, I fell in love with the little felt bags the kits came in. They had a gingerbread boy and a gingerbread girl making the Smores.

I got these at Walmart for only $5.00 each.

The theme was picked last December. My two sisters always take a trip to Vegas around Christmas time and they made a stop at the Williams Sonoma's Outlet.

They found these darling little gingerbread plates and cups. I knew as soon as I saw them I wanted to use them for a gingerbread theme tablescape.

I wasn't a Girl Scout leader yet so I just thought I would have a few of Trinity's friends over and we would have a lunch and make Gingerbread Houses.

I found these sweet little Gingerbread figures at the Dollar Tree. I grabbed them right up because I knew they would go fast. They each were a little different. I just added the kids names and used a glue dot to hold the name. Instant place card holders and also an extra little take home gift for them.

Last year I found these napkin ring holders. I couldn't pass them up, knowing what my theme was. They were only 25 cents each!

I found the red tablecloth at Big Lots. I have some nice red tablecloths but this was only $3.00 and so I figured if this one got stained I wouldn't mind.

After I opened the package I was very surprised to find it was a very nice tablecloth that I would use often.

The centerpiece is a Gingerbread House cookie jar. I found it months and months ago at Goodwill. It was only a few dollars. I also found the gingerbread man sugar shaker there.

The brown big plates were given to me by my sister, Maureen. She found them in the clearance section at Target months ago. She is always on the look out for bargins for my theme parties and luncheons.



Here is a better look at my Goodwill finds.

These darling chair covers came from the 99 cent store. My sister Maureen also found these for me.

The kids each got to take their chair cover home too.

They all sat down and ate lunch first. Once again, provided by my sister, Maureen.

Then I gave them all the gingerbread aprons I made them. Here Trinity is modeling it for us.

I wasn't expecting the little boy to be joining us and by the time I found out I didn't have enough time to make him a gingerbread apron too. So, he got his own special Christmas penguin one. He loved it.

It came from the 99 cent store too.

The kids all got their own gingerbread house to decorate. I just bought the kits and put them together for them the night before so they would be dry and easy for them to decorate.



I had tons and tons of candy for them to use. Some came from the kits (that I got 40% off with a coupon at Michaels), some I had left over from Halloween, some I just bought and some my sister brought with her.

Even though the kids were decorating the houses, some of the parents couldn't help but get in there and do a bit of the decorating too.

I told them that next year I'll be sure to get them their own gingerbread houses to decorate. It became the running joke.

Lots of candy was eaten, lots was spilled on the floor but, most ended up going on the houses.

It was fun to watch the kids decorate their own houses. Adding a bit here and there, until it was just as they wanted.

Each Gingerbread House was so different. Each one made me smile.

After they finished decorating their houses, we all went out to the living room and did our Christmas gift exchanges. The girls each drew names. I gave gifts to all of them. I was so surprised they all gave me gifts too!

The parents were not left out either. I gave them all a few jars of jam that I had made and wrapped in celobags with bright red bows.

We then had Christmas decorated cupcakes that my Co-Leader brought for dessert. Yum!

After playing awhile, it was time for the kids to leave.

We all had a fun time. It came out great and by planning way ahead of time I was able to pull it all off on a very low budget!

I'm already working on next years party. We are going to have a Christmas penguin theme. Can't wait to hit up the after Christmas sales now.

GINGERBREAD APRON

I'm going to be throwing a Gingerbread theme party for my Girl Scout Troop this year. They know we are having a Christmas party but have no idea what we will be doing or what everything will look like.

I started getting ready for it tonight by making them aprons that look like Gingerbread Men.

I thought that since the girls were going to be decorating their own Gingerbread Houses, they needed to wear aprons.

These little cheerful guys were quick and easy to make.

I'm going to have everything in Gingerbread theme for them. The tablescape, the goodie bags, the treats inside the goodie bags, the crafts and of course the Gingerbread Houses.

I think the girls will look super cute in these aprons. I hope they like them as much as I do.

I think I get more excited planning the parties then the kids do going to them. I've been planning this Christmas party for months.

Now that I'm done planning this party, I've already moved on to start planning for next year's Christmas party. I know, I'm strange that way.

I'm linking up to Show and Tell Friday over at My Romantic Home. This is the first time I've joined in the fun there. If you have not stopped by, please do so. You will find all sorts of fun, new blogs and a few old friends, showing all sorts of different things.

IT'S NEVER TO EARLY TO PLAN A PARTY!!!

I'm sure by now you know that I love putting together a party and/or setting tablescapes with a theme.

Well, today I was so excited when I met up with my sister, Maureen and she told me she had some brown plates that she bought me from Target.


She found them in the clearance section and they were such a great price she couldn't pass them up and she knew I would find some way to put them to good use.

Well, I already have a few ideas on how I'm going to use them. I can't wait!

Last Christmas I had my great niece, Trinity, and a few of her friends over for a Christmas Cookie party. We had dinner, made cookies and it was so much fun we all said we wanted to do something like that again for Christmas 2010.

Well, one thing you may not know about me but I never have the same party twice. The theme may be the same but it won't look or feel anything like the other one.

I knew I was going to have a Gingerbread theme. I figured after Christmas was the perfect time to find things for the party. But, nope! I didn't find one thing...Until later.


My other sister, Patty, went to Las Vegas a few months ago and she always stops at William Sonoma Outlet store.

She came home with this great set of Gingerbread items. I wondered how she could have known about my theme of gingerbread when I never told her.

The thing is she didn't. She just thought all these items were cute and they were marked down so low she had to get them. She figured, if nothing else, she would give them to someone for a gift.


Well I couldn't let her do that. They were perfect for my party theme. I shared with her what my plans were and that I thought she could keep them.

Since I live with her I knew if she kept them I could use them too. That night, she came to me and said "I want you to have the gingerbread set". Boy oh boy was I ever happy.

While all the plates have gingerbread men on them, each one is different. Don't they look great on the brown plates Maureen gave me today?

There is also a set of mugs that match the plates. Perfect for hot chocolate.

These spoons are so cute. They can be used to stir their hot chocolate and then they can be given to each little girl to take home and hang on their tree.

Yes, they too have the different gingerbread men on them. So cute!

About a month after Patty gave me that gingerbread set I found these sweet little napkin ring holders on clearance at Kohls. Only 49 cents. At first I could only find three and was sad about that but then as I was walking through the store I found one more in a different area.

I'm telling you, this theme was meant to be!

Then, today I went to the thrift stores and first I found the gingerbread man. He is actually a sugar shaker but I thought he would be cute as part of the table center piece. He was only 75 cents.

At a different store, miles away I found the gingerbread house cookie jar. I couldn't believe it.

It was only $3.99 and not one chip or crack is in it. I had to get it. There was no way I could pass up this deal.

Here it is only April and I already have my party for December planned and almost everything bought.

I tell you, it's never to early to plan. When you do, you save so much money and if you hit up the thrift stores you will have a party that is one of a kind.

Remember it's the little details that make the party stand out.

How about you? Do you plan your parties or tablescapes early? If you do, what do you have planned for the up coming months?