party

Tryazon- SmartGames IQ Puzzles Party!

Abby H.

I’ve been a fan of Tryazon for about 7 years. It’s an amazing company that works with manufacturers of toys, games, food, and recreational/sporting goods. Manufacturers supply their goods to consumers to try out and review for free.

The kids and I have received toys, games, craft kits, and art supplies to test and have fun with.

Right now, Tryazon has a fun toy sampling opportunity to apply for!

 

Test your logic IQ with this Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from SmartGames! 

SmartGames is back with their IQ Deluxe  Logic puzzle games designed for older audiences (14+). Each game comes with a full spectrum of puzzles from easy-starts to expert-level brain workouts to test your logic, planning, and spatial reasoning! Introducing IQ Star, IQ Square, IQ Pentagon, and IQ Circle. Each has 120 challenges for fresh and exciting problem-solving fun!

Tryazon has 100 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack for free with a variety of IQ Deluxe Logic Games to share with friends and family!

Learn more and apply here. 

Tryazon- New Crafting Opportunity with Grabie Art!

Abby H.

I’ve been a fan of Tryazon for about 7 years. It’s an amazing company that works with manufacturers of toys, games, food, and recreational/sporting goods. Manufacturers supply their goods to consumers to try out and review for free.

The kids and I have received toys, games, craft kits, and art supplies to test and have fun with.

Right now, Tryazon has a fun toy sampling opportunity to apply for!

Bring home over $250 worth of art supplies and kits with this Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from Grabie Art! The idea for Grabie started during the pandemic when they experienced the healing powers of creative expression through art. Grabie is dedicated to creating supplies that are fun, innovative, accessible, and supportive for mental health. This party pack includes a wide variety of engaging art projects with everything needed to create a finished project. Art kits include: Magnet Painting Bundle, Drop to Puff 3D Sponge Kits, Mini Diamond Art Cards, Wood Painting Kits, and Shrink to Sparkles Craft Kits! Get creative with Grabie Art this summer!

Tryazon has 100 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack for free with a variety of Grabie Art Kits to share with friends and family!

Learn more and apply here.

Planning a Mermaid/Under the Sea Themed Party? Dollar Tree To The Rescue!

Abby H.

I’m working on planning a mermaid-themed party for a certain little girl in my house. Thankfully, Dollar Tree has some great supplies on the cheap! These are available in-store and online.

First off, check out these cool iridescent shell-shaped eggs. Perfect for hiding candy or tiny gifts like bracelets or rings. In the store, there are a lot of beaded necklaces, like there.

There are mermaid-themed party paper goods too. Plates, cups, and napkins. One thing I love about Dollar Tree is that with the rising costs of everything, I’m able to host cute themed parties and stay on budget.

I’m loving these cute mermaid buckets, they would be great for goodie baskets. If you aren’t sure what to put in them, I’d suggest mermaid facial masks, nail polish in “mermaid” colors- there are tons of colors in stores, mermaid tail shaped hand soaps,  Nail art sets, nail files (there are ocean/mermaid themed ones in the stores, and bath bombs- some stores have mermaid tail-shaped bath bombs. All locations have bath bombs in various scents and sizes.

Don’t forget to hit up the home decor area to look for beach, ocean, and mermaid themed signs.

As for snacks and menu, we’ll be serving:

  • Strawberry lemonade, complete with frozen strawberries (available in the stores) as our beverage.
  • Cold Pasta Salad using shell pasta (recipe is forthcoming)
  • Goldfish crackers
  • Fresh Fruit cut into star shapes- Watermelon, pineapple, apple (with a hole cut in the middle where I remove the apple core)

I love using the plastic “crystal” serving ware from Dollar Tree too. It makes the party look fancy, without worrying about little hands breaking anything special or vintage.

And for those wondering, we only invite 4-6 of Bitty’s good friends to parties. I can’t have a house full of 20+ kiddos. My neighbors would never forgive me. We may have a viewing of The Little Mermaid while we eat.

And of course, I’ll be making invitations on Canva for free, saving the image as a PDF, and either printing them out to hand out or emailing them to friends parents/guardians.

2022 Brick-or-Treat at Legoland California

Abby H.

It’s back!! My kids love Legoland and I’m so excited for Brick or Treat this year!

Park guests received an early Halloween “treat” as LEGO® Monsters began to arrive for LEGOLAND® California Resort’s Halloween celebration, Brick-or-Treat presents Monster Party. Witches, ghouls, and vampires made their way to the entrance of the family theme park to join LEGO® Zombie Cheerleader and Monster Rocker just in time to boogie down as the Park transforms into the ultimate children’s Halloween celebration. Beginning Sept. 17, families are encouraged to grab their festive costumes and join in on the fun!

In addition to the new LEGO® characters, Brick-or-Treat features the debut of the all-new 4D movie “The Great Monster Chase,” a kid-friendly scare trail, elaborate décor, LEGO building activities, new entertainment and treat stations. For even more electrifying excitement, the Park’s signature roller coaster has been transformed into the Disco Dragon Coaster with a groovy soundtrack and festive decorations.

Brick-or-Treat is included in a general admission ticket and select annual passes. The Halloween festivities begin Saturday, Sept. 17, and continue every Saturday through Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.legoland.com/california.

Tryazon: New Niagara Chocolates Sampling Party

Abby H.

We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food.  You can learn more about Tryazon here.

Prepare to indulge with this Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from Niagara Chocolates! Hand-crafted in small batches, with a focus on creating the most indulgent experience possible, Niagara Chocolates make delicious chocolate divine. These mouth-watering chocolates feature an array of unique flavors, all sourced with exceptional quality non-GMO ingredients and Rainforest Alliance certified chocolate.

They have a total of 250 hosting spots open for this opportunity! The first set of 125 parties will be in October and the second set will be in November. Those selected get to receive a party pack with $150 worth of Niagara Chocolates to sample and share with friends and family! Learn more and apply here: https://www.tryazon.com/niagara-chocolates-sampling-party/

Get Some Party Inspiration at Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

Dollar Tree has some really great party supplies right now in some cool motifs:

 

 

 

 

I love Dollar Tree for Party supplies! They have some really great motifs, plus a variety of plain colored plates, bowls, napkins, table coverings, and plastic flatware to tie it all together!

Birthday party, Garden Party, Summer BBQ, whatever your theme or reason to gather, Dollar Tree has all sorts of party supplies, photo booth props, and goody bag filler to make your party a hit.

If you have a gathering this summer, check out the Dollar Tree blog here for party ideas and inspiration for crafts, themes, and decor.

Guess in Ten Game Day (Tryazon Party)

Abby H.

Over the weekend while we celebrated Bitty Bird’s birthday. We also checked out the Guess in Ten games thanks to Skillmatics and Tryazon!

Skillmatics is a new age brand that develops innovative educational products and games that help children build core skills, ranging from math and language to science and logic, through the joy of play!

We played Animal Planet, but if animals aren’t your posse’s jam, Skillmatics makes many other Guess in Ten varieties:

  • Guess in 10 All Around the Town
  • Guess in 10 Things that Go
  • Guess in 10 Cities Around the World
  • Guess in 10 States of America

These games are available on Amazon, or in stores near you.

I’m not sure if the kids or the adults had more fun.

And if you want to learn more about Tryazon, their website has tons of information about all of the cool campaigns and parties they have coming up!

 

DIY Party Fun with Hostess with the Mostess (and a Giveaway!)

Abby H.2 Comments

Recently I learned about Hostess with the Mostess, and wow! I love throwing parties, and Hostess with the Mostess makes doing DIY parties a cinch and looks AMAZING.

There are invitations and printables for so many types of events and themes!

If you are like me, I host 5-8 parties a year (pre and post-pandemic, but the post will def. be different/smaller). Birthdays, Girls Nights, Holidays (Our family 4th of July Party is LIT). In the past, I’ve handwritten labels, signs, and all sorts of party stuff. I love doing calligraphy, but with a Design Hero All Access Pass from Hostess with the Mostess, I have access to over 120 themes to make any event or party awesome! The Design Hero All-Access Pass also includes:

  • The entire PREMIUM LIBRARY of designer printables, including new designs added regularly.
  • An easy-to-use online customizer, so you can add your own text – instantly.
  • Freedom! No waiting on others for text customization & corrections. Make the edits you want, when you want. 💪
  • TONS of creative fonts, curated & licensed for use in the Design Hero Customizer.
  • THOUSANDS of dollars worth of graphic designs – for a price specifically designed to make them accessible.

And the price- Incredible! Only $99 for a one-year pass, and my readers can save an extra $10 off with coupon code: hewesfamilyfun. If you love hosting parties, making special events even more special with customized printables (including invitations, cards, and wrapping paper), you have to check out Hostess with the Mostess!

Here are a few of the recent pieces I’ve made Hostess with the Mostess. My friend’s birthday is this week, and she loves Champagne. I made printables to go with her gift (which is a case of her favorite sparkling white wine).

Bonus! I’m giving away a one-year pass to one of my readers! Entering is easy. Leave a comment on this post with a memory of your favorite party. I’ll choose a winner on April 27, 2021. The winner will be notified via email!

 

House Party by Ripple Street: Host a Scooby-Doo Birthday Party!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2019-08-14 at 4.13.02 PMAs I type this, I am eating Scooby Snacks. I love these things.

Host a Scooby-Doo™ Birthday Party

Gather your gang and throw your own Scooby-Doo™ themed party celebrating 50 years of spooky, mysterious fun—complete with a special screening of Scooby Doo! Return to Zombie Island!

This event is only open to residents of the US.

If you’re selected and confirmed as a host, your exclusive Party Pack will contain:

  • Scooby-Doo themed party supplies from Party City
  • An exclusive Scooby-Doo Funko Pop! Flocked Vinyl Figure from BoxLunch
  • Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island DVD
  • KEEBLER® Scooby-Doo! Graham Cracker Sticks
  • And so much more!

SCOOBY-DOO and all related characters and elements © & ™ Hanna-Barbera. (s19)

To learn more or apply or this party, click here. 

 

Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

stemarie_1650skitchen

AHHHHH!!! The last day of school is Wednesday.  Summer school doesn’t start for the big kid for 2 weeks. I’m going to have to ramp up my frugality to 11! Here is my article about keeping kids fed over the summer, and my article on free lunches this summer for kiddos. 

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian, but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and the Little Bit, and The Big Kid has a specially packed lunch of whatever he’s into at the time (which changes frequently).

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

  • Monday: Chicken meatballs & Cheesy cauli-rice.
  • Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner (Waffles, bacon, and melon)
  • Wednesday: Frittata and fruit salad
  • Thursday: Nugget Night! This was such a hit last week, we’re doing it again! The big kid is a vegetarian, so I make him Chick’n nuggets, and the rest of us have chicken nuggets or another variety of meatless nuggets. The Buffalo Chick’n nuggets are popular among the grown-ups. I serve carrot sticks, and apple slices on the side.
  • Friday: Date Night (dinner out)
  • Saturday: Birthday party leftovers! Bitty’s 4th birthday party is Saturday and we’ll have pizza, cake, and fruit leftover.
  • Sunday: Leftover Night