Mama Knows » traditions

How to Plan Valentine’s Day Party

Hanna Trafford — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:33:17 +0000

Valentine’s Day is the occasion to have some fun with your friends, close ones and the love of your life. Check out some exciting tips to arrange a perfect Valentine’s Day Party:

Invitations:
First – make a list of people who you want to invite for your Valentine’s Day party. Send out cards to the intended guests in the shape of a heart or cupid, or with the shape of a heart on the front. It’s even better if you can make some invitation cards yourself for your Valentine’s Day party. You can make them quite attractive by designing them with pictures of famous lovers and putting in some famous love quotes. Tie each card with a red satin ribbon, put inside a small red box filled with candies and stick an invitation note to it. If at all possible, deliver your invites personally. If you are going to mail your invitations, allow extra time for postal delivery – either way you do it, you guests should receive their invites no later than 2 weeks prior to the party.

The Place:
Where you hold your Valentine’s Day Party depends as much on you as on your guests. You can throw a party at your house, provided your celebrations are a family affair and you have the confidence that you can make all the necessary arrangements for it. If you want to make it a little bit different, you can invite your sweetheart/friends to a play at the theatre nearest to your home and have a little get-together before or after. You can also arrange a picnic on the lines of a camp at some good location, one that is safe and nice to spend time at. Getting creative and making a memorable event where everyone is comfortable and having fun is the key.

Decorations:
That depends mostly on the nature of your celebration. If you’re planning a special Valentine’s Day evening for you and your honey, a handful of candles and a bouquet of red roses are enough to set the mood. But if you’re throwing a Valentine’s Day celebration for your friends and family, your will need a good theme and appropriate decorations. Proper decorations go a long way to set the mood for a party and make it an outstanding one. You need to decorate your house according to the theme of the party. You can place heart shaped candle stands and flower vases at different corners and windows.

Decorate the ceilings by hanging heart shape balloons, cupids and paper hearts made of yarn, string or streamers. Red, pink, purple and white are the traditional Valentine’s Day colors. Cut paper hearts of various sizes from construction papers and write messages like “Be Mine”, “My Love” or “I Love You” on them. Add some sequins for that extra colour and sparkle. Scatter the cutouts randomly over tabletops and beds. Cover your table with a white table cloth or sheet and put little candy hearts at one side of the table. These will be your party favours. Fill candy bowls, champagne flutes and martini glasses with colourful treats. And for a special little touch, place a Happy Valentine’s Day banner on the main door.

You can also buy some of vintage Valentine’s Day cards and stand them up across a fireplace mantle or on your drawing room table, or tape them to the bathroom mirror. And last but not the least, to really complete the theme, place a statuette or cardboard cutout of arrow-toting Cupid on your dining table. No Valentine’s Day party is complete without this item. To add to the mood of your party, play some nice romantic songs and spark the mood for romance. Prepare garlands of valentine flowers and place them all over – and your entire home will be saying: “Happy Valentine’s Day”

The Ambiance:
Creating the right ambience for your party is very important – that is what will make the time a memorable one. Dress up your party zone according to the theme of the party. Choose your bed sheets, table covers and curtains in colours like red or pink that goes with the mood of Valentine’s Day. If you are having a private romantic evening with your sweetheart, plan to get some special movie to watch – or select some romantic music to set the mood. If you want to celebrate the time with your friends and family members, groovy numbers or dance tracks will be the best. Make sure, however, that the music for your party suits the taste and preferences of your guests.

The Food:
You will never go wrong if you think hard about pleasing the tastebuds of your guests so what you will select to prepare and serve at your party is an important factor. If you prefer – you could organize a get-together with your friends and family, select your favourite restaurant to meet up with your them and order what you enjoy the best. If you are planning a party in your home, write out the names of your intended guests and think about the selection of foods you will need to prepare based on what you know about them. If your guest list includes vegetarians, make adequate provisions for them. If you want to restrict the celebrations to yourself and your sweetheart, go in for a romantic candlelight dinner. For desserts, chocolate recipes like chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate truffles, chocolate fondue or chocolate heart-shaped cookies are just great.

The Party Favours
It is always nice to send your guests home with a small gift or party favour. It ends the festivities on a sweet note and keeps the memory of the party alive for your invited ones. These party favours can range from little candy hearts and chocolates to small cupid dolls. Purchase heart shaped boxes to pack sweet treats and heart-shaped chocolates for your guests to take home. It is a good idea to match the party favours to the theme of your party.

Hope these tips were helpful to you – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences! You input is always very much appreciated!

All About Groundhog Day

Hanna Trafford — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:56:41 +0000

I think this is one the nicest traditions around! Especially since it breaks up the monotony of grey, snowy and cold days for some of us living in the climate that gives us reasons to get excited about spring coming possibly soon.

If you are not sure what Groundhog day is – or if you haven’t seen the 1993 movie with Bill Murray, the concept is pretty simple: Groundhog comes of his burrow – is he doesn’t see his shadow, winter will end soon. And on the other side – if he does see his shadow, winter will last for 6 more weeks. You have to like how this is structured:

No shadow = spring will be here soon.

Yes shadow = 6 more weeks of winter.

Looking out of my window right now, 6 more weeks of winter is not so bad!

I have a feeling that this tradition is a good reason to have a party and celebrate – and there is nothing wrong with that. But I did look into the history of the Groundhog day and I found out some interesting facts:

Groundhog Days is celebrated on February 2^nd and held in United States and Canada.
The tradition comes from on old folklore that states: if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow, the groundhog will leave its burrow and winter will end soon.
This celebration began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18^th century and has its origins in ancient European weather lore, where the main characters were either a badger or a bear as opposed to a groundhog.
This holiday also bears some similarities to the medieval catholic holiday of Candlemas andto Pagan festival of Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which was celebrated on February 2^nd and involved weather prognostication.
The most famous Groundhog day celebration are held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where as many as 40,000 celebrate the holiday and wait for the appearance of the famous Punxsutawney Phil. This celebration started in 1886.
Punxsutawney is located in Western Pennsylvania, about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburg.

About Punxsutawney Phil

The groundhog’s full name is actually “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.” It was so proclaimed by the “Punxsutawney Groundhog Club” in 1887, the same year they declared Punxsutawney to be the weather capital of the world.

For most of the year, Phil lives in a climate-controlled home at the Punxsutawney Library. He is taken to Gobbler’s Knob and placed in a heated burrow underneath a simulated tree stump on stage before being pulled out at 7:25 am on Groundhog Day, February 2, to make his prediction.
Most major television stations across the country, as well as the big screen in Times Square, broadcast the official Groundhog Day ceremony.

About Wiarton Willie.

Wiarton Willie is an albino groundhog, which means he is pure white, who, every February 2nd, climbs out of his hole, and predicts the weather. If Wiarton Willie sees his shadow, we will have six more weeks of winter. However, if he doesn’t see his shadow, we will have an early spring.
Wonder how Wiarton got to be the Groundhog Capitol on Canada?

Well, 54 years ago, in January of 1956, a local by the name of Mac Mackenzie was trying to stir up a little fun in Wiarton, because back then, it wasn’t a very active place in wintertime. So, Mac decided to have a party. He sent out invitations to his friends, calling for a ‘Groundhog Day’ celebration, and set the date for February 2nd. Somehow, one of these invitations fell into the hands of a Toronto Star reporter.

This reporter traveled to Wiarton, hoping to write a story on the bog festival. However, when he got here, nothing was going on; it was just Mac and a few of his friends having a drink at the local pub. The reporter told Mac that he just couldn’t go back home without a story so Mac, thinking quickly, grabbed one of his friend’s wife’s hats (which was white and furry), dug a hole in the snow, popped the hat into the hole, and made a weather prediction. The reporter took the photo, and the next day the story ran in the Toronto Star as ‘Groundhog Day’. The next year, about 50 people showed up for the festival, and the legend was born.

Nowadays, the festival attracts close to 10,000 people a year, with such activities and events as parades, dances, ice hockey tournaments, pancake breakfasts and the fabled Wiarton Willie Weather prediction.

I hope you have fun day on the Groundhog Day and that either one of those furry creatures will see his shadow!