Free Chinese New Year Year of the Horse Party Printables

Chinese New Year 2014 celebrates the Year of the Horse or Wu Ma. It begins January 31 in 2014. Hosting a CNY party? Here are free printable resources, lessons, crafts, puzzles, games, decorations. There are Kung Fu Panda and lantern festival crafts, too. Teachers and homeschoolser, use these for world connections.  Free Printable Activities for the Chinese New Year

Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Advent Party Ideas

December 8 marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception is one of six recognized Holy Days in the liturgical calendar. Here are free printable activities and lessons to celebrate this feast day. If you're Catholic, why not throw a party to honor the Blessed Mother? I did. Here's how. Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Advent Activities for Parents and Children
I've gone through all the noted Catholic websites and linked this article to children's liturgy activities that explore the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother. 

Five Worst Gifts for Women, With Better Alternatives

It's the holiday (or birthday) of your beloved and you did it again, didn't you? You put off shopping too long. Whatever the gift giving holiday, most guys can usually found at the store last-minute, frantically searching. And since you put off shopping so long, you'll be in a hurry and will grab the first thing you see. Guys, we women hate it when you do this. But never fear, I am here to bail you out of your own foolish mess. Here are five gifts ideas that you should avoid with alternate gifts that will always be appreciated.  Five Worst Holiday Gifts and Great Alternative Presents for Women

Roaring Twenties Flapper Gangster Couple Halloween Costume

I dressed as a dead flapper for our Haunted Museum Saturday. I used costume ideas from a vintage carnival photo we had done in 1983. And a Roaring Twenties gangster-flapper couples' costume my husband and I wore in 1994. Wish I could find the photos (no, that's not me!) Here's how to make, easy and cheap, dead or alive (scary version or living one). This couples' costume is tres Gothic and very definitely for adult-only parties. .Roaring Twenties Flapper Gangster Couple Halloween Costume, Dead or Alive

Dual Purpose Halloween Costume, Scary and Non-Scary

 I just wrote about dressing up for Halloween this year and needing two costumes. I'll need a non-scary one for helping at my daughter's school concert. The I'm volunteering at our local "Haunted Museum." Here's how I plan to make one costume multitask for both. I'm going as Boudica, Warrior Princess. My Dual Purpose Halloween Costume, Boadicea Scary and Non-Scary

Host a Harvest Apple Party! Crafts, Activities, Recipes, Printables

Looking for a non-scary Halloween party theme? How about apples? Apples are the perfect party theme for fall harvest frolics. Here's an interactive apple activity planner with crafts, recipes, art, creative writing, math and more. I've added free printable apple-themed crafts and worksheets for activity extenders.  Preschool Apple Unit, Cross-Curricular Hands-on Crafts, Activities, Recipes 

Uninvited to a Party? The Term Is Social Ignorance

There's more to planning a party than decorations and recipes. There's social protocol. Case in point: invitations. My daughter just told me she was "uninvited" to a party. She didn't do anything wrong, wasn't rude, was just her sweet, loving self. The hostess was asked by another invitee to exclude my daughter. And the hostess kowtowed.

I didn't think this needed saying, but there is no such thing as uninviting. Call it what you will, it translates to bad manners. In any respectable socal group, taking back invitations is socially verboten. What the hostess more accurately should have said was "I have no pride or self-respect. I'm so desperate to be popular that I'll kick my friend to the curb to please." What she in fact looks is foolish. Read more Uninvited? The Old Term Was Bad Manners