This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Arbor Mist
In my natural state of eagerness, I cannot wait to get to what I believe will be the most fun part of wedding planning: Making Stuff!
Stuff as in decorations and centerpieces and everything else that will unleash my inner Martha — and give our wedding that personal touch.
So when I was asked to envision a themed party featuring Arbor Mist Sparkling, a new sparkling wine with a twist of fruit, I thought hey, how about a Wedding Stuff Making Party?
I just love the idea of assembling all my giggly, gossipy girlfriends and female relatives in my slave labor camp dining room, cranking up some Taylor Swift and gluing hearts onto name cards (or flowers onto napkin holders or buttons onto boutonnieres — I’m not sure yet !). Oh, how I miss girly craft time. We just don’t get enough of it in adulthood, in my opinion.
What I would need for the Ultimate Wedding Stuff Making Party:
— Girls. Preferably ones who can cut and fold. But any willing female participants will do. Those with questionable fine motor skills can stuff little bags with confetti.
— Instructions on how to Make Stuff. Print-outs on Martha’s pom poms should be in the mix.
— Snacks and Arbor Mist Sparkling in the raspberry and peach varieties. Hey, guys bribe their buddies into moving furniture with pizza; girls lure their friends into curling ribbons with delicious sparkling wine. And yes, we’ll be sure to clink glasses after working with scissors.
— Lots of craft supplies. Tissue paper, glue, the works.
— Awesome girly music.
I’m not quite ready to host this type of party just yet (we first need to figure out how we’re gonna feed our hungry pack of guests before we decide how to knot the ribbons on their programs), but when I do, Arbor Mist Sparkling would fit just perfectly.
Now I’m offering one lucky reader a $100 Visa gift card!
To enter, leave a comment sharing a creative party theme, or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. You must also leave you DOB (month/day/year) in your comment to be eligible for this sweepstakes
The contest starts on 12/10 and ends on 12/31/09 at 5:00 p.m. (PST). Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.
Rules:
* No duplicate comments.
* You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
* You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
* This giveaway is open to US residents, aged 21 and older
* Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
* You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
* Please see the official rules.
Be sure to check out Arbor Mist at their official site, become an Arbor Mist fan on Facebook, take a break at the Refresh Your Fun blog and follow Arbor Mist on Twitter.
Also don’t forget to stop by the review / giveaway roundup page: BlogHer.com special offers page. There are 7 chances for you to win!
Oh, what a fun giveaway!
When I think of weddings, I think of fun pretty bright colors, best gal pals, etc… so I would do a Clueless themed party. I know it sounds odd, but everyone could get dressed up, serve fun drinks, and have fun making things together. :-)
I hope that I am your lucky reader that gets the $100 Visa Card!
So my creative theme will have to be dedicated to your lovely fiance Matt. Since we (your readers) have enjoyed hearing about your lives together, I think that I would use some Arbor Mist for my party to teach Matt how to “kick it with the girls” 101. He seems to be pretty good at it with his quick wit and bright personality, but I would work to help teach him the ways of Martha Stuart. At least so he can help you out with finishing your art projects!
This is a one -day class …I mean party and he will walk away with ornate homemade bows, paper mache flowers and maybe even have knitted you a sweater by the end.
I’d have a Purple Paint Party
-my gaggle of my favorite giggly girls, ready to get down and dirty
-huge white canvas
-old sheet to protect the floor and furniture
-paintbrushes
-lots of shades of purple paint!
Just in case you wanted a wedding party idea, then I would use the finished canvas as the backdrop for where guests leave you notes – piece of paper, thumbtacked through the canvas – voila! Guest art.
I had my bridesmaids over to make wedding favors too. It was a fun small party. I think another fun party would be making handmade Christmas cards. (Birthday: 03/09/1979)
Tweeted this too:
http://twitter.com/aznaphrodite
Um, hello sweetest giveaway ever!
I’m going to jump in on the crafting + Christmas bandwagon and suggest a cheesy ornament party!
The adults in my husband’s family are making gifts for one another rather than buying presents and so I thought it would be hilarious to make these
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/treeornaments/ss/puxreindeer.htm
as a joke. Plus they’re pretty cute!
We could also spend the party making Christmas cookies.
Cookies + sparkling wine! Yesss!
If we’re feeling really crazy, maybe we’ll even try our hand at making caramels!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chewy-Caramel/Detail.aspx
Although, just like scissors and wine don’t mix, I’m thinking boiling hot candy might not mix with wine either. Maybe we’ll break out the wine afterward to keep us entertained while completing the oh so boring task of wrapping millions of caramels in wax paper.
(DOB = 04/13/1984)
My favorite parties are regifting parties. It’s so funny to see what people are excited to get rid of!
DOB: 2/19/83
Ooh ooh I just went to a prom party and it was so much fun!!! There was a back drop to take pictures with and a punch bowl that may or may not have gotten spiked.
DOB: 7/12/84
Party theme, eh? If we’re allowed to branch outside of wedding planning themes:
Pirates vs. Ninjas
Decades Party [decade changes every hour, on the hour, and people have change their costume accordingly]
Kungfu Karaoke
[4/15/85]
Living in NYC, we have a wide variety of friends. International pot-lucks are a favorite party theme. 5/21/73
If you have a wedding making stuff party, you better invite me. I feel like I have this very untapped creative side. And I’m killer with an Xacto knife. Take that however you want to.
That said, I’ve always wanted to have a rubix cube party. Everyone wears all the colors of the rubix cube and then swaps clothes so that, by the end of the night, they’re only one color.
So, here’s my tweet: http://twitter.com/andreaki/status/6546544193
And my DOB, which I forgot in my excitement on my previous comment: 2/10/1983
http://twitter.com/sarahmariep/status/6546898383
Tweet!
I think a fun party theme would be: “Dress like your favorite Pop star” theme. Yes, I know you’d be Taylor Swift. I think I’d be a Posh Spice.
Unfortunately at your party, I might demoted to the confetti stuffing section. Although I do have all my sorority craft stuff from college. You need anything wine and blue, I’ve got you covered!
A “create the wedding music playlist” party! 30-sec excerpts of potential song candidates followed by voting on how the song makes you feel: like I am at an elegant cocktail hour, like I want to boogie, like I want to tear at a slideshow, like I want to scope out the tipsy single scene at the reception… WITH (duh) food and drinks. 8/4/81
A Christmas cookie baking party is on my mind at the moment. Sweets, drinks, friends, music, a Saturday afternoon? All sounds fantastic to me :)
DOB: 7/16/85
I love the idea of cupcakes and cocktails. My gal pals and i kept talking about it but never followed through – everyone brings a few of their favorite cupcakes and a bottle of wine to share :) The ultimate girls night :)
dob: 4/12/83
11/08/1975
You can never have enough leg warmers, white-framed Ray bans or sliced-up sweatshirts in one room, so I suggest a Totally Classy 80′s party. And, play John Cusak flicks while everyone’s slaving away. Sweet giveaway, also!
I am having a peacock wedding theme. So I went to ebay ordered 100 peacock feathers for cheap and am now in the process of making some pins with the peacock feathers for the girls and then boutonnieres for the guys. Also going to do something with the centerpieces with the feathers. May need more feathers!
7/12/1981
I would totally have a “breakfast for dinner” party. Bacon, eggs, mimosas and other yummy drinks with all my girlfriends in their comfy PJs. Kind of like a grown-up sleepover–complete with boy talk and overeating!!
In honor of holiday traditions, I would say an ugly holiday sweater party. Fingers crossed!
I’d have an “M” themed party. In honor of Michelle! and Matt! And Marriage! Everyone comes dressed as things that begin with the letter “M,” you Make crafts and food, Meet new people, play Mahjong, drink Milkshakes and Mint Mojitos, eat Mexican food, and leave people wanting More More More!
2/3/87
PS. I’m invited to your crafts making party, right? Better be, girlfriend!
I would host a WELCOME BACK LOST party full of island flavor and Dharma initiative fun but there will be a beautifying theme as well because I expect eyebrows need some shaping after all that time on the island! :)
http://twitter.com/DeeGee13/status/6606786425
tweeted!
blogged
http://the-prestigiator.xanga.com/718156924/arbor-mist-giveaways/
whoops please delete my first comment above at 12:19 pm. forgot my DOB 3/25/86 ahh sorry!
I would host a WELCOME BACK LOST party full of island flavor and Dharma initiative fun but there will be a beautifying theme as well because I expect eyebrows need some shaping after all that time on the island! :)
I love the pom pom’s! So cute!
The kid in me will forever love blacklight parties. We have one every year for just the girls… it usually starts out with everyone putting blacklight/UV/neon makeup on each other and painting our nails in bright fluorescent colors that we’d never wear in the light of day. We take pictures of each other looking goofy, have a few drinks, break out the karaoke machine, and fingerpaint on my basement walls with laundry detergent (ERA glows!) and washable glow in the dark paints. Everyone loves it! And this year we’ve introduced the tradition to the little ones in our family – they have their own separate, kids-only blacklight party.
3/14/85
Ooooh! Such a great giveaway! (My birthday is 8/25/84.)
Being that I recently did a small cookie-decorating get-together, I couldn’t help but think of doing something with a bigger group of ladies next year. Especially because:
A) Everyone likes cookies. If they don’t, then they’re not human.
B) Everyone loves the holidays. If they don’t, then they are a Scrooge.
C) Sparkly beverages + sugary treats + friends = amazingness.
We’d make cookies, drink wine, listen to music and eat frosting straight from the jar (obviously). It would be fun to take polaroid photos of every guest with their favorite cookie and send it home with them! Also, there are some adorable goodie-boxes that Martha Stewart makes…how fun to give them out to the guests so they have something cute to pack up their cookies in to take home!
Yesssss!
Here’s my tweet: http://twitter.com/wishcake/status/6632616189
Geeez, girl! Another amazing giveaway? Love it!
I’m quite a fan of Arbor Mist. Yummy.
I’d like to have a Make It Party. Everyone bring something to sew, cook, knit, paint, or otherwise CREATE. Lots of chatting and giggling while we eat finger foods and drink a bit of Arbor Mist. Oh, and do our creating, of course!
YUM. And, FUN!
Want to come?
PS: My birthday is 10/14/84. And here is my tweet: http://twitter.com/ashleymarie6/statuses/6634384600
Too fun! My favorite party theme that my friends and I have done in the past is Pirates and Schoolgirls. The idea is simple: come dressed as one or the other. The best part is how completely unrelated the two are, but we’ve done this three times now since college and it never fails to be a hell of a party :)
DOB: 5/5/1983
My good friend and I are throwing a Kevin Bacon Bash in early 2010, wherein the premise is brunch (Bonus points for dishes including, you guessed it, bacon!) + ridiculously awesome (and horrible) Kevin Bacon movies + Kevin Bacon (and regular bacon) games and trivia + a costume contest with prizes (we’re asking everyone to come dressed as their favorite Kevin Bacon character from any movie he’s ever been in). It’s pretty much going to be EPIC.
DOB: 06/15/1982 (Yay! Geminis)
cookie decorating party! so fun!
09/10/1985
I love a nice ugly sweater party! 4/9/74
9/18/83
Michelle…i think you should do a bundt cake party. screw all of the other kinds of sweets…cookies..cupcakes…other cakes that don’t have holes in them. BUNDT CAKES are the way of the future. they will take your wedding party to places never seen before. they can be fruity, sweet, light, heavy, delicate, etc. it’s all up to you! not to mention the fact that they HAVE A FREAKIN’ HOLE IN THEM!
hope you take my theme seriously. because i do. =)
p.s. i hope you get to rock that bun hairstyle!!!
also linked to my twitter!
http://twitter.com/michellewoo/status/6539689280
i want to have a cookie swap and/or cooking making party!
Cheesy, maybe, but I just love to host Christmas parties. It’s easy to incorporate decorations in my home and make festive food and drinks to go along with it.
(DOB-7/1/1980)
With our family and friends, we have recently started a Gourmet Club. Each month, a different person hosts a Saturday night casual dinner party. The host decides upon the theme and the menu. He/she then sends out a recipe to each of the guests. By having everyone bring a dish, the host is not overwhelmed with all of the cooking. On the Saturday after New Year’s, we will be having our third month’s dinner. So far, our little Gourmet Club has been a HUGE success. We have all such a great time getting together and trying all different types of food!
DOB: 2/14/1976
* Tweet *
http://twitter.com/Nelsby/status/6766455687
Thanks!
DOB: 2/14/1976
At this time of year one of my favorite parties is a Christmas cookie exchange. It is a great way to end up with lots of different cookies, try new ones and share time with your friends.
Oops…I forgot my birthday. 11/17/59
My friends and I have a tradition we’ve done for years now called a Kabob. We all get together at one friends house and have a bon fire. Everyone bring their own meat to cook over the fire and a side dish. We have a great time just hanging out and drinking some adult beverages. It’s great.
05/26/1981
hmmm, i want to have a pink and white party where we all wear pink and white. hahah, so clever. my bday is 4-3-85 but i have been 21 for 8 years, crazy huh.
I would love to throw a popstar karaoke party where people could come dressed as their favorite celeb and we could all sing cheesy karaoke songs.
I am not big on party themes. On my daughters birthday her theme was Tinkerbell. At most of our parties we have a big bar-bq. Just some good old Texas food. Does that count?
DOB 09/19/1979
I blogged this giveaway here
http://mommyblessingsinsmallbundles.blogspot.com/2009/12/enter-for-1-of-7-chances-to-win-100.html
I tweeted you here
http://twitter.com/gijeanie/status/6838425138
I think it would be fun to have an all polka-dot party! Clothing, decorations, food etc.!
With New Years coming, I love to do old Hollywood glam, with a lot of fun clothes and red lipstick and men all dressed up. The festivities can still be casual, but dressing up for something as fun as New Years seems pretty appropriate.
10/7/1986
Every year on my birthday we have a girls night in with all my girlfriends. Each year we have a differant theme. This year we entitled it spa night in! We gave each other facials, pedicures, manicures and watched movies and drank ourselves silly! It was so much fun! I look forward to this every year!
8-11-1985
I tweeted!
http://twitter.com/Haydensmommy05/statuses/6914094124
I like doing movie theme parties. One of the best I did was Alice in Wonderland and Cotton CLub. They are fun and the theme makes it easy to decide what to serve and wear.
02/07/1964
tweeted http://twitter.com/carogonza/status/6933772663
blogged http://theartofrandomwillynillyness.blogspot.com/2009/12/blogher-arbor-mist-and-more-chances-to.html
my friends and I actually have wine tasting parties once a month. it’s a chance to learn about new wines and of course catch up with each other. We actually do blind taste tests and vote for our favorite wine. All win served must cost less than $20 per bottle.
My new baby shower theme is mocktails.
i would say 80s or 90s themed party- it is always fun to go back in time!
09/15/83
would love to host a craft party!
4-30-79
12/29/1972
I like greats in history as themes. Thanks
tweeted.
http://twitter.com/ccboobooy/status/7019809843
Definitely a costume party where everyone would dress up as a celebrity in a spoof type of manner so there would be plenty to laugh and joke about.
ShawnaMichelle@ymail.com
Tweeted
http://twitter.com/ShawnaMichelle2/status/7119084955
ShawnaMichelle@ymail.com
I forgot my DOB is 3/14/1968
ShawnaMichelle@ymail.com
my theme would be Beach theme lots of fruits to dip in fondue little umbrellas in the drinks big bonfire, tropical Dc music playing
MY DOB 3/22/60
sewitupjulie at gmail dot com
my tweeted link
http://twitter.com/itsallnew2me/status/7135185387
sewitupjulie at gmail dot com
I think a Second Childhood themed party would be fun. Have a sleepover, watch cheesy movies from your teenage years, eat food that is bad for you, wear PJs & bring your favorite stuffed animal, just generally do kid stuff. Sounds fun to me. Thanks for the great giveaway!
DOB~ 9/4/74
blogged
http://pixie13-justconteststuff.blogspot.com/2009/12/100-visa-gift-card-from-arbor-mist.html
tweet
http://twitter.com/pixie13sweeps/status/7166922457
Creative party theme: That is a tough one, but I love when we have game night here!! It’s always a big hit and we laugh so hard at one another. One of our fav’s is pictionary and it’s hilarious trying to figure out what some people are drawing!!
My Tweet:
http://twitter.com/SCMOMOF2BOYS/status/7172853890
A clothing design party theme is what my daughter wants to have for her birthday. I figure we will tye dye shirts, and decorate jeans, perfect for 13 year olds. That is about as creative as I get.
I blogged
http://lunaj1456.blogspot.com/2009/12/arbor-mist-giveaway.html
I tweeted
http://twitter.com/lunaj1456/status/7181017196
I forgot my DOB in the above two comments, it is
3/5/1965
DOB 8-6-71
I am always trying to come up with off-beat party themes. One year I had a Chinese New Year party and decorated the house with Chinese lanterns and dragons and served Asian food. It was awesome.
tweeted http://twitter.com/RePurrPussed/status/7195382489
This past October, I had a Full Moon Frenzy party. It was awesome. The sky was clear and you could actually see the full moon, which was fun. We decorated the house with stars and moons and ran our projector with pictures of skies. Very neat and lots of fun.
DOB 08-11-1973
I tweeted this giveaway here: http://twitter.com/FotoMacro/status/7195497711
my blog post link to this contest thanks
http://mamawjsmomentaway.blogspot.com/2009/12/win-100-visa-gc-httpwwwmichellewoocom.html
sewitupjulie at gmail dot com
I think a scrapbook / wine & cheese party based on any holiday would be fun. I’d provide cheap supplies from the dollar store, and simple foods like cheese, crackers, chips, and dips. Each guest would bring their own favorite bottle of Arbor Mist wine :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
Tweeted
Blogged
Oops — my DOB is 7/11/1959.
Me and my friends had a single ladies party which was women only, and we made a pact not to talk about men. So fun!
04/28/1987
shopgurl101@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/shopgurl/status/7219434836
tweet
http://sweetqt.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/arbor-mist-giveaway/ blogged
11/24/1987
I’d love to have a Polaroid party with everyone taking instant pictures together and scrapbooking it all together!
http://twitter.com/DesMoinesDealin/status/7220082764
11/24/1987
A swap party for my friends’ gently-used clothes and accessories! You get the thrill of having something “new” without having to pay for it!
tweet: http://twitter.com/princessla66/status/7223890653
Sorry, forgot to add my DOB- 09/11/1981
How about a Sushi House themed party-Decorated with fake sushi but real ones will be served as party treats.
DOB: 01/23/1978
Thanks for the chance to win!
I think a cute party theme would be famous couples, i.e. Romeo & Juliet. This is such a cute theme I think.
DOB 4/6/72
Tweet
http://twitter.com/HeartnSoulmom/status/7229110083
DOB: 10/13/1982
I think a “nighttime fun” party would be awesome. I teach kids outdoors, and I know all sorts of awesome games for playing outside at night. I enjoy playing them with the students, but I bet it would be way more cool to play marco polo with my friends on a dark night. As long as we’ve got good boundaries and exercise caution, a little bubbly would serve nicely to bring people out of their shell and enjoy some good night fun.