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?