Weekend Edition--Who Wants Candy? I Do!

TGIF on another very cold day in NYC. I hope the deep freeze will finally be over as February ends and March begins.

Today, we'll take a look at some ideas for candy-themed parties. This is another theme where there are so many possibilities, from Candy Land parties for the very young to sweet-shoppe-themed school dances. We'll start off with offerings from the website Shindigz, which offers many of the supplies one would need for your party, including decorations, favors, tableware, and of course, candy! 

Personalized party favors from Shindigs.com

As always, a great invitation is key. For the DIY-er, here is an adorable Candy Land invitation created from a recycled Altoids tin and Candy Land game pieces. Step-by-step instructions are visual only. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Marie.

Jean from Hostess with the Mostess styled an adorable Sesame Street-themed party for a young client, which featured a candy buffet in a rainbow of colors. All candy came in bulk from the Sweet Factory

The owner of Couture Celebrations, a party-planning company in Oklahoma, saw her daughter's favorite childhood board game come to life with this Candy Land-themed party. All the components of the game, such as Lollipop Woods and Gumdrop Mountain, are featured.

Juliana Sohn from the site Momfilter posted an article about a candy-themed birthday party. I'm enamored with the decor, which featured a "candy button game" where each guest poked a button and found a surprise, along with a Candy Land obstacle course! The invitations resembled sticks of gum.

For more sweet inspiration, look to Hollywood Candy Girls for their unique edible centerpieces, party favors, and goody bags. I'm loving the sweet stick candy kabob shown below. They ship nationwide, too.

How about a Katy Perry Candy Land-themed party? This is an idea that comes from Maria Frufru Festas in Brazil. The buffet table featured gumballs in plastic ice cream cones, brownie toppers featuring her songs, a cake topped with Katy, and of course, framed photos of Katy. This is perfect for the tween Katy Perry fan!

The candy theme is extremely popular for Bat Mitzvahs and Sweet 16s. Here are some very cool centerpieces based on one of my favorite places, Dylan's Candy Bar. Photo courtesy of Mazel Moments.

We are offering a few candy-themed games at the shop and plan to expand in the future. Two items we feature are a "Sundae Brunch Word Scrambler" and a word search featuring Hershey's candy brands. Both games are tailored to fit your party theme with the name of the celebrant, date, color, and font scheme.

Listmania for the Weekend:

Black History month is about to come to an end. I hope you had fun reading the interesting facts that I provided each day. Today's Freebie Friday is a trivia matching game featuring African American "Firsts." As usual, just right-click the file to download and print. Answers will be published on Monday.

Black History Month Fun Fact of the Day: Dihann Carroll was the first African-American woman to star in a television series without having to play a stereotypical role such as a maid or servant. The series was called "Julia," in which Ms. Carroll played a widowed single mother who was a nurse and raising her young son.

Today's birthdays: Kate Mara (32), Josh Groban (34), Bobby Valentino (35), Brandon Beemer (35), Shonna Tucker (37), Roderick Clark (42), Chilli (44), Donal Logue (49), Noah Emmerich (50), Grant Show (53), Adam Baldwin (53), Leon Mobley (54), Johnny Van Zant (55), Paul Humphreys (55), Timothy Spall (58), Adrian Smith (58), Neal Schon (61), Debra Monk (66), Howard Hesseman (75), Barbara Babcock (78), Mirella Fireni (80), and Joanne Woodward (85).

Tomorrow's birthdays: Bobb'e Thompson (19), Quinn Shephard (20), Madisen Beaty (20), Michelle Horn (28), Geoffrey Arend (37), Rory Cocharne (43), Tasha Smith (44), Pat Monahan (46), Robert Shawn Leanord (46), Maxine Bahns (46), Rae Dawn Chong (54), Cindy Wilson (58), John Turturro (58), Gilbert Gottfried (60), Ilene Graff (66), Bernadette Peters (67), Mercedes Ruehl (57), Mike Figgis (67), Stephanie Beacham (68), Kelly Bishop (71), Frank Bonner (73), Tommy Tune (76), Sam the Sham (78), Don Francks (83), and Gavin MacLeod (84).

Sunday's birthdays (Happy March!):  Justin Bieber (21), Sammie (28), Ke$ha (28), Lupita Nyong'o (32), Donovan Patton (37), Jenson Ackles (37), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (41), Jack Davenport (42), Javier Bardem (46), George Eads (48), Chris Eigman (50), Bryan Batt (52), Jon Carroll (58), Tim Daly (59), Catherine Bach (61), Ron Howard (61!), Alan Thicke (68), Roger Daltrey (71), Mike D'Abo (71), Robert Conrad (80), Harry Belafonte (88!), and Robert Clary (89).

Today's Holidaze: Kick off the weekend with National Kahlua Day! This is a coffee-flavored rum liquor first produced by Pedro Domecq in 1936 and is found in drinks such as White Russians, B-52s, and Mudslides.

Today is also National Strawberry Day. Although this is the one fruit I don't really like, strawberries are enjoyed by millions in ice cream, cakes, smoothies, milk shakes, and fruit salads. They are low calorie and give you the benefit of potassium, Vitamin C, fiber, and folic acid.

Today we're also celebrating National Polar Bear Day. These beautiful creatures reach a height of 9 feet tall and weigh about 1,400 pounds. They live in extremely cold climates and are very strong swimmers. Due to global warming and other factors, the number of polar bears is on the decline worldwide.

Tomorrow's Holidaze: Lots of holidaze tomorrow! First up, it's National Public Sleeping Day. It's a day to take a long nap at the beach, park, bus, or any public place that you frequent. It's not a good idea to be caught sleeping at work, however!

Foodies everywhere are celebrating National Chocolate Souffle Day. The word "souffle" is a French past participle of the word "souffler," which means to "puff up." A souffle is made up of two basic components: a French creme patisserie base and egg whites beaten to a meringue.

Put a little beauty in your life on National Floral Design Day! Flowers are a way to show appreciation on all occasions from birthdays to tokens of friendship. This holiday was created to honor Carl Rittner, who founded a floral design school in Boston.

Tomorrow is also National Tooth Fairy Day. For many years, children who lose their teeth are promised a visit from the Tooth Fairy, who will give them money under a pillow. Hmmmm. I never got any money anytime I lost a  tooth. :-(

Finally, tomorrow we observe National Rare Disease day. This day was created in 2008 by and organization called Eurodis and raises awareness about rare diseases and the impact they have on patients' lives.

Sunday's Holidaze: We kick off the month of March with National Peanut Butter Lover's Day! This is one of my favorite foods and I love it in chocolate, with PB&J sandwiches, cookies, cakes, pies, and ice cream! Peanut butter started out as a food for the wealthy in the early 1900s and was served only in the finest restaurants. However, the holistic doctor John Harvey Kellogg and snack maker George Bayle saw the benefits of peanut butter and were the purveyors of the spread as we know it today. Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and provides several essential vitamins and minerals. Americans spend approximately $800 million each year on peanut butter.

Another foodie holiday celebrated this Sunday is National Fruit Compote Day. This dessert originated in 17th Century France and consists of whole fruits in sugar syrup. Seasonings such as cinnamon, lemon rinds, cloves, almonds, and coconut can be added to the mixture.

On Sunday, we also observe National Horse Protection Day. This day was created by animal lifestyle advocate Colleen Page to raise awareness about the abuse, starvation, neglect, and slaughter unwanted horses.

Finally, March 1st is also National Pig Day. Many events for this day are celebrated at petting zoos, schools, nursing homes, and sporting events. This holiday was created in 1972 by two sisters, Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave in appreciation of the pig as an intelligent and domesticated animal.

Open access to the Internet lives! Yesterday, the FCC voted in favor of broadband Internet as a public utility. This historic ruling has made it possible for micro-businesses like ours to continue thriving without restrictions. Although the ruling received cheers from consumers and technology companies, lawsuits are guaranteed to follow. Stay tuned.

On a sad note, Hollywood has lost another TV icon. Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock on the classic sci-fi series "Star Trek," passed away from complications with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at age 83. He also published books featuring his poetry and photography, and he was a singer as well. Although I was never a fan of "Star Trek" or its spin-offs, I deeply respected Mr. Nimoy as an actor and a person. May he rest in peace.

Coming in March: Celebrating Women's History Month, Purim (the "Jewish Halloween"), Pi Day, St. Patty's Day, baby shower ideas, and of course, shop updates! We will also be spending our time creating new games for the shop. If you have an idea for a party game, please comment here.

Have a PRINTASTIC weekend!

Kathy