Here’s a quick scenario.  I had a client who was hosting a birthday party in Los Angeles.  She was using a mardi gras theme and wanted it to be “over the top” without spending a lot of money.  (and she needed them within a week!)  Knowing her attendees get invited to lots of parties, she wanted to make sure her invitation set the stage.  I found an imprintable that was very glitzy, but left little room for information.  So I decided to have a foldover card printed with the information and mounted the imprintable on the front of the foldover.  The imprintable had a mask die-cut that came with it.  So I glued green, yellow and purple feathers to the invitation and mounted the mask over them.  We then wrapped the invitation in purple tissue paper and mailed in a narrow box.  She was ecstatic!

Yes, I spent a little more time on her order than most, but I had a happy client.  Many of my competitors did not want to be bothered with the labor intensive work involved in these invitations.  But I was all about building a business.  I wanted my clients to know that I was there for them.  While I offered more than 50 invitation albums and hundreds of imprintables, my referrals came from my ability to help my clients design an invitation that created excitement and anticipation for their events.

Even as a do-it-yourselfer, you can think outside the box.  Visit your local thrift stores, garage sales, even the local “dollar store”.  Stop picturing the traditional invitation and start visualizing your event.  You will be amazed at what you start seeing in front of you!

1. Cookie party

2. Gift wrapping party

3. Recipe exchange party

4. Cocktails and Desserts party

5. Cheese and Chocolate Fondue party

6. Wine and Cheese party

7. White Christmas party

8. Boat Parade party

9. Gingerbread House Decorating party

10. Christmas cupcake party

11. Ornament party

12. Christmas caroling party

13. Sharing traditions party

14. Girls Night Out party

15. Pamper Me party

16. Traveling party

17. Toys for Tots party

18. Holiday scavenger hunt party

19. Christmas around the world party

20. Christmas in Spain party

21. Christmas brunch party

22. Secret Santa party

23. Men’s night out party

24. Christmas Eve party

25. Christmas Day party

Make your party your own and have fun with it. Plan every aspect and accept any help that is offered. But most of all, enjoy it and have a happy holiday!

Collect pine cones from your yard. Wash them off. If you want to make them glitzy, paint the edges with glue and sprinkle with glitter. Then place them in a large bowl. This makes a great centerpiece.

Inexpensive ideas:

1. You can do the same thing with Christmas ball ornaments. Pick a color that you like and buy a box of the ornaments to fill a bowl.

2. Tie a Christmas ball to fishing wire and hang with tape from a banister. You can do this between each banister and hang at different lengths or use different size ornaments. Since the fishing wire is clear, the balls look like they are floating.

Another idea is to use decorative water crystals. These are plastic “pellets” that, when combined with water, expand to become “marbles”. Since these are available in several colors, they can be used anytime of the year, but are especially great at the holidays. I like to use clear water crystals and then “float” mini ornaments in a vase. It provides for a great conversation piece!

The basic standby for holiday décor is to use candles. These are easily accessible and reasonably priced. You can use crystal candleholders, holiday plates for large pillars, votives in holiday dishes, and the list goes on with the possibilities.

The final suggestion in my list is to use food items for décor. All of the fall squash choices make pretty, colorful decorations and are certainly plentiful this time of year. You can also spray paint the squash in gold or silver to make it more festive, which of course, would make it inedible.

For more holiday entertaining ideas, please follow us on @eventperfect on Twitter for updates and more information.