I love the idea of matching party invitations with the designs on a birthday cake. Here are a few ideas from FamilyFun.com. Check out their website for recipes and more fun birthday cake and cupcake designs.

Towering Sand Castle cake, Horse cake and Fish cake

Pink Castle, Wild West and Go Fish: Boy Party Invitations

Decorate your baby shower with butterflies. There’s something so sweet and dreamy about butterflies. Use this idea board to inspire new ideas for the next shower you plan. It’s perfect for the moms-to-be who love everything natural and girlie.

Butterfly Wood Plaque from Pottery Barn Kids

Butterfly Soaps from ababyshower.com

Hanging Glitter Butterflies from The Company Store

Butterfly Cookie Cutters from Beau-coup

I was watching my favorite reality TV family the other night and got a great idea for a birthday party. On “Jon and Kate Plus 8,” the family gathered together to do dress up night. The kids got a kick out of it, and so did I–which is what inspired this dress up party entry!

1) Decide on a theme. There is a whole lot of different things you can do when planning a dress up party. From firemen and police outfits to cowboy and cowgirl attire, your birthday girl or boy and their guests will have a good time dressing up as anything you choose.

2) Ask guests to bring their own outfits. There are a number of activities you can do with this. You can have a fashion show, or a best dressed contest. And, the kids will have fun trying on each others outfits.

3) Take plenty of pictures. Have your camera handy. If you have a instant camera such as Polaroid, take pictures of your little guests all dressed up that they can take home with them as favors.

4) Set out mirrors. Make sure you take out all your mirrors so kids can see how they look from head to toe.

5) Send invitations. Choose one of these invitations to match with the theme you chose for a fun dress up party!

Cowgirl Lasso

Fire Engine

If you’re planning a baby shower, here’s an idea for creating something memorable for the mom and dad to be. Have little note cards personalized with their baby’s name on it and leave one for each guest. If they don’t have a name yet, just personalize it with the names of the parents-to-be. Bring a handful of colorful pens and ask each guest to write words of advice or little notes to the new parents on them. These are sure to be a big hit with everyone and something that they can save, put into a scrapbook and treasure forever.

If you have an aspiring ballerina in your family who’s celebrating a birthday soon, check out this post for tips on ways to create a successful ballerina themed event! After deciding on your guest list, you’ll need to order invitations. Tiny Prints has fun, new cards designed with your ballerina girl in mind.

IDEAS & TIPS: