9535

DJ, Karaoke & Limo Sweet 16 - Special Memory Cards

September 2004

Donna in New Providence, NJ...USA

Special Mention

I have been having such a ball planning my daugher Krista's Sweet 16 Party with her. So many ideas have flowed. This is going to be the BEST party ever!! We're having the party in our towns VFW Hall. It will consist of about 50 people most of whom will be Krista's friends. She lives with her Dad so I've hired a limo service to pick up Krista and 5 of her friends whom she will choose to drive her to the party in style and pick her up afterwards to bring her home.  I've made a beautiful collage of pictures to hang up which will go home with Krista afterwards. They are all of her with family and friends from the time she was born until now. I took the pictures and went to CVS and copied them so Krista would be able to take the pictures home and I wouldn't have to do without MY pictures from home. Not to expensive at all but took a lot of time about an hour and 1/2 to make all the copies. 100 or so pictures costs me $67.00.

I also bought another large sized paper and am adding an 11 x 14 blow up size picture of Krista centered to this larger paper. I bought a purple marker and this will be the guest sign in "book".   I've hired a DJ who will also host Karaoke. THAT will be a sight to see! We are having a candle lighting ceremony. Krista and I will light the first candle and there will be 7 candles left. She's chosen people who have been important and significant in her life to light one of each of the 7 candles. I found a really pretty candleabra on e-bay for about $30.00 with shipping but when it arrived I wasn't thrilled with the color so I went and bought metalic silver spray paint and painted it.

Krista has chosen silver and purple for her colors. I bought 8 smaller lavender pillar candles. IT LOOKS SOOOO BEAUTIFUL! For each person that she calls up, the DJ will play a special song for example My Brother Krista's Uncle who's a Doctor is one of the people and when he's called we're going to have the DJ play "DOCTOR, DOCTOR GIVE ME THE NEWS I GOTTA BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU" When she calls up her best friend Katherine, the DJ will play the theme song from "Friends" and so on. Krista has written poems for each person not letting them know until the end who she has chosen for example MY parents, Krista's grandparent little poem ENDS with "GAMMA AND PAPA, YOU'RE BOTH SO SPECIAL TO ME, PLEASE COME UP AND LIGHT MY CANDLE NUMBER 3." 

I printed off the computer "Special Memory Cards" which have been put in the envelope with the invitations for each guest to fill out. I wrote a poem it goes: Today Krista turns Sweet 16. She's so dear to all of us. I can't think of a better time  to make this well deserved fuss.  We all have memories of this special girl so let's take the time to reflect. You may have many fond memories of her in your life but only one you need to select.  Please jot it down on this memory card For Krista will read them all. She'll have them to look back on for all of her life Special memories are never to small! (If you would rather write down a special wish  for Krista, please feel free to do so and bring this card back with you on the night of the party. This card is a surprise so don't tell)  I bought a cute little wicker basket at a garage sale for .25 and spray painted it silver and I’m going to buy a big purple bow. The night of the party I will collect all the cards and give them to Krista at the end of the night. 

There's a special song that I sang to Krista from the time she was born for many years. It's by Bad English and it's titled.."When I see You Smile". I'm going to go up to the front and announce that this is a song I used to sing to Krista when she was a baby and since I would look silly dancing with her, I would like to invite one of the most important men in her life, her Grandfather to come up and dance this special dance with his first grandchild. I can see it now. There won't be a dry eye in the house.  I'm having the party catered from a local italian restaurant. 5 trays of good italian food should do well. Krista has picked out the kind of cake she wants. 2 layer yellow cake, buttercreme icing, vanilla pudding fill with strawberries and bananas. 

I found this AWESOME sight on the internet where if you spend over $50.00 the shipping is free. I got EVERYTHING here. 7 84" round plastic purple table cloths, 1 rectangle silver plastic tablecloth for the food, all the cutlery in plastic silver, 3 compartment purple dinner plates, dessert plates, balloons, streamers, dinner napkins AND dessert napkins and cups. I got ALL of this stuff for only $67.00!!!!!!! The site is: WWW.PARTYPRO.COM. Check them out..it will be worth it!  I made Krista's invitations on the computer. They are just darling. I put her baby picture and a "now" picture together with THIS POEM:  "LEFT BEHIND ARE DRESS UP AND DOLLS THESE ARE THINGS OF THE PAST. KRISTA'S BIRTHDAY IS UPON US NOW. 16 YEARS HAVE GONE BY SO FAST"  I made the invitations all different shades of purple matching the memory cards. I've already gotten such wonderful compliments. People are asking me where I went to have the invitations made. When I tell them that I did it myself and saved about $200.00 they are in awe. 

The centerpieces this is awesome! I had been searching around on the internet and e-bay for the last month looking for just the right centerpieces. But everything I came across wasn't right. They were all to "old" for a Sweet 16 or to fancy like for a wedding. Then I remembered..I handcraft very beautiful and uniqe candy wreaths. I've made them for years and even had a very successful business(hence the screen name) but I had to end it because I developed horrible carpal tunnel syndrome from it. Anyway, I'm going to handcraft some candy wreaths and use purple and silver ribbons for hanging. I'm going to put lavender or purple pillar candles in the center of the wreaths. PERFECT RIGHT??? At the end of the night, I will make the announcment that at each table whoever's b-day is closest to Krista's will get to take the centerpiece home. 

The favors. My sister is a wonderful graphic artist who recently started her own business handcrafting hershey bar wrappers. Now I know these things are ALL over and maybe I'm partial but my sister is AWESOME and so very talented. She's going to be making the favors for all of the guests. And of course I'll get a discount. That never hurts right?  Now, my daughters b-day is October 12th but her party isn't until October 23rd and I want her actual b-day to be a special day too so here's what I did. I'm having buttons made up..about 20 with her picture and "Happy Sweet 16 Krista" written on them. I've asked her friend to hand them out the day before Krista's b-day in school so that on the 12th, her friends and some teachers will be wearing the pins. I've also bought about 5 or 6 little gifts all bought on e-bay that will be individually wrapped and her friend will hand them to Krista at different times throughout the day in school. I bought her a belly button ring with a dangling "Sweet 16" pendant. I bought a sterling silver "Sweet 16" neclace. I bought her a stuffed teddy bear that's wearing a "Sweet 16" T-shirt. I bought a BEAUTIFUL customized purple and silver photo album (off of ebay) that on the front is handstitched "Krista's Sweet 16, October 12, 2004". She can use this to put all of her pictures from the party in. I also bought her a T-shirt that says "Sweet 16". I'm hoping that when she gets this one, she'll hop in the girls room and change her shirt. 

Honestly, this party is going to be fantastic and I really haven't spent that much money at all. Hall-$300.00 DJ-$450.00 Invitations and Memory cards-$15.00 (cause I made them myself) Centerpieces-MAYBE, $30.00 for my supplies and candles Catering-$200.00 for 4 or 5 trays Candleabra-$30.00 and $4.00 for the spray paint Linens and cutlery-$67.00. I've bought everything in advance so it's not all coming out of my pocket at once and it's really made a difference. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to have a memorable party. Use e-bay, yard sales, discount internet sites. Ask family and friends who may have special talents like my sis with the hershey bars  I feel like I've been planning it since the day she was born. Besides her wedding day, I want THIS PARTY to be a day she'll never, ever forget!! I know I won't. It's almost here and I'm so excited I could just POP!

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