Bottoms Up: Shamrock Shake & Shooters

Perfect for your St. Patty's day entertaining! This recipe is super simple.. it's a must try!

McDonald’s Shamrock Shake Copycat Recipe (makes 1 giant shake, or 2 generously sized shakes)

3 cups good quality vanilla ice cream

1 3/4 cups 1% milk

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Green food coloring, if desired

Blend all ingredients in a blender until completely thick and smooth

Pour into glasses and serve!

If you don't want to indulge in a huge milkshake, a shooter is the perfect guilt free alternative. Plus they are too cute!

image & recipe from babble

Pour shakes into shot glasses and garnish each one with whipped cream, sprinkles !

Enjoy!

Josh's Jungle Jubilee

It's such a gorgeous day out today.. 70 degree's here in the NY/NJ area!  A mild day like this is perfect for a stroll at the zoo. Which reminds me.... I never shared the Joshua's Jungle Jubilee.... a party I designed last year for the cutest little boy celebrating his 1st birthday party at the Zoo.  It was mid summer then, so the party was in one of the zoo's  air conditioned classrooms.  No need for AC today!  Enjoy!

The kids decorated sun visors before venturing out in the "wilderness"

Centerpieces were little storage boxes wrapped with coordinating baby animal jungle fabric, and housed all craft supplies needed to decorated the visors.  I also added pieces of wheatgrass and the #1 to add the the jungle feel along a giraffe print runner.

Lunch boxes were outfitted with id stickers provided by none other than my go to stationery girl Christine of  The 3 Chatty Chicks  and The Olive Branch Papery.  Christine did an amazing job designing the

paper goods for this event.

An itinerary provided guidance for the parents throughout the day

Whats a party without sweets and treats!?  I used giraffe print linens along with an accent of the baby animal jungle scene fabric, bamboo sticks, banana leaves, and wheatgrass to decorate the sweets display.

Marshmallow bananas are a must! That's if you dare take them away from his tight grip! ;-)

Wheatgrass added a special touch to a simple cupcake stand 

Kids went home with a personalized tee with Josh's logo. They couldn't wait to wear it, so most put them on during the party, and wore it to enjoy the day at the zoo.

 Parties at the zoo are perfect for the entire family to enjoy!

2 Cent Tuesday: Invitation Woes

Do you have any design dilemma's, customer quandaries, catering conundrums, or event horror stories, or just simple event questions you've had to handle!? We'd love to hear about them, because we have them too! Share them with us and let us know how you handled it!  Or share your 2 cents on the situations presented on Fete Fanatic.  I'm sure your advice will be greatly appreciated by the readers! 


Tuesday's Topic: Invitations

Predicament: You are having a celebration (wedding, party, shower etc.) and some guests informed you prior to receiving an invitation that they would be unable to attend. Do you still send them an invitation?  What's your 2 cents?  Would you do?

My 2 cents: I would still send an invitation.  It shows that though you understand they will not make it, you still would love for them to be in attendance. Plus you just never know.. their situation may change.
Want to share your experiences, or hear others' 2 cents on a topic?  Email me at www.theflairfactor@gmail.com with your experience or question. Please include the predicament, solution, lessons learned(if any) and your 2 Cents! Can't wait to hear from you!






Happy Valentine's Day

Make it a good one!! 

Enjoy!

Last Minute Valentines Day Gift Idea: Skinnygirl Cocktails!

Valentines Day isn't only for your sweethearts! What about those sweet girlfriends of yours?  Do you have anything special planned for your besties, or having your girls over for a drink this Valentines Day?  Well here's a simple gift idea they're sure to love. Serve up Skinnygirl cocktails! Or, how about gifting them a Skinnygirl Cocktail to show how much you love them?!  It can also be a great hostess gift.  There's a drink for every palette, and you don't have to worry too much about your waistline.. so bottoms up ladies!!
For the Cosmo Lover.. the new White Cranberry Cosmo is sure to be a hit! (I'm a Cosmo girl)

For the Sangria Lover..

For the Margarita Lover...

You don't have to break the bank to show your appreciation. Try one or try them all! :-)

What kind of Skinnygirl are you?

Head over to Skinnygirl to find your local retailer! Hurry!

Have a Happy Valentines Day All!

/

Hot Pink & Paisley Dinner Party

I'm back with the first celebration of the new year.  This hot pink and paisley party was an intimate dinner in celebration of a 70th birthday.  Giving limited time to plan (one week..yikes) we had to pull it together with materials that were readily accessible.  With the holidays just coming to an end, I found this really pretty paisley wrapping paper as my inspiration and used it throughout the party.  Paisley prints are very classic, elegant and punched up with hot pink details .....ta-da.. it worked perfectly for this 70th dinner party celebration!

Wrapping paper turned paper fan decor

 Simple tablescape included lots of hot pink details and candles

I love the incredible ambiance candlelight gives to a space

Paisley paper was also used for the centerpieces

The cake also reflected our paisley theme

Sweet treats are a must 

Everyone went home with a cupcake!

You can also adapt this hot pink and paisley party into a sophisticated Valentines Day party!

Coming up for air...

I'm coming up for air with lots of goodies to share!!  

Looking forward to many splendid reasons to celebrate

 in the new year!

photo source