DIY Party Loot Bags

Well it's official...my little baby boy is 1 year old. We recently celebrated with a Teddy Bear Picnic themed birthday party. In keeping with the theme, I put together these cute (and super simple) loot bags.

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

 

Filled with outdoor toys like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, bouncy balls, kazoos, and stickers, these loot bags were easy and inexpensive to put together. All you need are paper lunch bags, a stamp and ink, and some ribbon. The great think about these loot bags is that you can customize them for any event you might be hosting. By changing up the stamp and ribbon, you can use them as favour bags for a bridal or baby shower, lunch bags for a picnic-themed party, or even doggy bags for a dinner party.

The first step was stamping the paper bags with a "thank you" message. I chose to use black ink because it would show up on the brown bag best. But you can definitely think outside the box on this step and match the ink colour to your theme.

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

Next, I used a single hole punch to punch out two holes so that I would be able to thread the ribbon through to keep the bag closed and make it easier to carry.

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

After filling the bag with all the toys, I threaded the ribbon through the two holes and tied a simple double knot. I chose to use grosgrain ribbon, but there are quite a few options you can use to tailor the look to your event's theme. I think this would look great using raffia, twine string, leather cord, yarn, etc. You can also add a personalized name or favour tag at this stage.

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

So three easy steps and you have cute, personalized favour bags that can be used for multiple occasions.

I'll be posting more ideas and pictures from my son's Teddy Bear Picnic themed party so check back soon!

Q & A: Unique Drink Ideas

Q: I am throwing a Mother's Day brunch this coming weekend and I'm not sure what type of alcoholic beverage to serve. Do you have any suggestions for something fun?

 A: Our favourite go-to alcoholic beverage for that special brunch, shower, or outdoor meal is pink wine, also known as rosé. Often forgotten, rosé wines offer food-friendly versatility. Served chilled, it pairs well with fruit, quiche, cheese, food from the grill, seafood, salads, and more. It's pink colour is the perfect way to inject some fun and colour into your Mother's Day brunch.
 

{Real Party} Baby Shower Meets Garden Spa

Anyone who knows us girls here at Simply Sophisticated Events, knows that we share a few guilty pleasures, spa days, a good glass of wine, a nice flower arrangement, cupcakes and anything sweet.

This baby shower featured on Bump Smitten embodies all of our guilty pleasures. If we were invited to this party, we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves, we'd be so excited!

Thanks to Bump Smitten for featuring this Garden Spa Baby Shower, we will forever be inspired by this party.

{Real Party} Perfect Chemistry Bridal Shower by Alders Photography

Talk about a creative wedding shower. We love this unique perfect chemistry themed bridal shower by Alders Photography that was featured on Style Me Pretty. Click here for the full gallery.

{Real Party} Baby Shower Meets Coco Chanel

Today's Real Party shout-out goes to the talented Mili Ghosh of Memories in Motion. This elegant, fashion inspired baby shower is sure to be any mommy-to-be's dream come true. From the pearl wish tree, to the coordinating pink treats and trinkets, we think you'll be inspired to create your own glamorous event.

*Images courtesy of Pizzazzarie

{Real Party} Blinged-Out Bridal Shower

Featured on Wedding Wire, this Spring Bling bridal shower was put together by photographer Jihan Cerda from Jihan Cerda Photography. We love love love this backyard, Spring Bling bridal shower theme. Don't you?

Event Design: Pineapple Planet
Photographer: Jihan Cerda Photography
Catering: Lombardi’s

Source: Wedding Wire

Bridal Shower Tea Party

We're suckers for anything and everything Tea Party related, especially if it's vintage inspired. Check out this amazing bridal shower tea party photo shoot from the Sweetest Occasion blog and click here for more pictures from this incredible shoot.

*Images by Jennifer Dery and Sweetest Occasion

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Themed Bridal Shower Inspiration

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Wedding Gift Dilema: Asking for Money

These days, it's pretty customary for couples to want money in lieu of a wedding gift. Whether it be for their bridal shower or actual wedding, we're always being asked if there's a polite way to share these desires with their guests.

While we wouldn't recommend adding this type of request on a wedding invitation (after all, you don't want to imply that guests HAVE to give you something) we do think there are other creative, more subtle ways to get the message out. We find using your wedding party and close family members as to help spread the message works best. In our experience, many times guests will ask if the couple is registered anywhere or if there is anything specific they'd like. This is the perfect opportunity for your close knit group to share that you'd really like money in lieu of a gift.

Having said that, sometimes it's still a good idea to register or have a few stores in mind that you wouldn't mind receiving gift cards from. Some guests still may not want to just give money as a gift, and would appreciate knowing which stores you frequent so they could at least give a gift card.

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Bridal Shower Angst: Make It Fun with Themes

We know there are a few anti-brides out there who don't necessarily love the idea of what a traditional wedding has to offer. Not only may the idea of a wedding hall make you cringe, we're sure that the words bridal shower are enough to make you call off your pending nuptials altogether.

But, what if we told you you could have a non-traditional type of wedding shower that would satisfy your need to break free from the norm and even make your mother happy? Enter the theme shower.

Do you like Twilight or Alice in Wonderland? Maybe you're a die hard 80's girl who'd love to have a Madonna themed shower.

Well, thanks to Julia, a member of the website Offbeat Bride, we think we've found the ultimate shower theme: high school crush meets cafeteria lunch.

Starting with the invitations: a hand written note folded up (very high school style), and continuing with edible centre pieces made from Twinkies and candies, Julia provided her guests with hand made lunch bags to help carry their favors at the end of the party.

Julia made sure to keep the food cafeteria style by offering her guests chicken nuggets, meat loaf and mac and cheese, served by lunch ladies (the brides father and uncle) while the games were kept old school with cootie catchers, high school trivia.

While we've all heard of the traditional guest book, and even more modern fads such as the wish tree, this bride-to-be opted to keep with the school days theme and provided a composition notebook equipped with a little assignment for their guests:

For more information about this shower, visit the Offbeat Bride's website.

*Photos courtesy of Offbeat Bride

Bridal Shower Decor

Our friends at The Hostess With the Mostess Blog (THWTM) really know how to plan the perfect bridal shower. From DIY ideas, to menu options to planning the perfect colour palette, THWTM provides much needed inspiration to anyone needing some TLC in the planning department.

The proof is in the pudding with these fabulous bridal shower decor ideas. Trust us, you'll want to plan your friends next party after catching a glimpse at these inspiration boards.

*The following images are courtesy of The Hostess With the Mostess Blog.

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Tell us, what was/is your inspiration for planning a bridal shower? Not a big fan of pink? Show us your anti-pink bridal shower themes, we'd love to see them!

DIY Favor Idea: Great for Mother's Day

Looking for a last minute idea to personalize your sweet table? Thanks to the folks at TomKat Studio, you can personalize any yummy favor with these DIY Printable Party Cards.

While these are perfect for Mother's Day, you can use this idea to personalize any cupcake, cake, brownie or other yummy treat for any event. We think they're perfect for baby showers, bridal showers, weddings and even theme parties (think Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day).

Click here to access TomKat Studios (also known as Project Nursery) DIY Printable Party Circles and Gift Tags.

Looking for a great DIY blog to browse through? We love TomKat Studios blog, it's filled with great ideas and unique projects. Check them out!

Bridal Shower Q & A: Guest List Anxiety

Q: Help! My bridesmaids are throwing me a bridal shower and have asked for my guest list. Who should I invite?

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A: We get this question often and our first response is always to assure our brides that they don't have to invite every single female that is invited to the actual wedding! The second, most valuable piece of advice we can give is this: only invite the ladies in your circle that you're closest with (think closest friends and relatives) and don't forget to invite the women in your groom's family (mother-in-law and sister-in-law's to be, aunts,) cousins etc.) unless they are throwing their own shower for you. The third thing we like to suggest is this: sometimes it's a nice gesture to ask your mother and mother-in-law if they have any close friends they'd like to invite as well. While you may not necessarily be close with them, sometimes parents like to share these milestone's with each other's families. Trust us, just the thought to open the invite up will mean a lot to your family.