12.13.2008

Twilight Theme Party Ideas

Below are links to some great sites where I found my initial inspiration for the Twilight parties:

Squidoo: A Party Planning Guide for Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Fans
Squidoo: Twilight Party Food
Twilight Moms rock!: Twilight Moms Forums
This site is gorgeous: TwilightQuotes.com
Twilighters Anonymous - we used the Bella's Birthday Party Quiz

I think I visited a million more websites that I don't have links for. Just google "Twilight birthday party" or "Bella Birthday Party" and you'll find tons of sites with great party ideas, food, recipes, gift ideas, games, etc.

Best of luck in your search for the perfect Twilight/Bella theme party! Hope you have as much fun planning and enjoying your party as we did. This was definitely a party to remember.

Hasta la pasta! er, Mushroom Ravioli, that is...

This post was supposed to be published on Dec 13 ~ not sure what happened, but here it is! Happy New Year!

12.12.2008

A Twilight Birthday ~ the Goods

The “VIP Vampire Pass” was found on eBay, but because of our time crunch, we had to make our own version, using the Twilight font we found online (have to get that link from my daughter). Thank you to the originator of the "backstage pass" idea. That was a gem!

Most of the supplies were purchased locally; and many can be found online if you have time to order in advance. I got the gorgeous mercury glass candlesticks from Pottery Barn online, and the mercury glass votive holders from Pier 1 locally. The pinecone lights and crackled glass bowl were found at Wal-Mart. The pink rose petals and 'sparkling ice' were a great surprise that jumped right out at me from the wedding aisle at WM. I would say most of the fun stuff just found me as I was looking for the fundamentals.

Basically, to do a party like Bella's, you want a table covered in a white tablecloth, glass plates, silver-wrapped gifts, lots of pink roses and pink candles. The Japanese lanterns would be really nice if you have time to get those. They're easy to find online, and you may even find them in a local shop. I embellished where I could to set the tone for an elegant 'pink and silver' party. And, apparently, it was a big hit.

I'll never forget, in the middle of dinner, hearing her friend yell, "Nova's birthday party ROCKS!" How much more fun does it get?

Here's wishing you a Happy Bella Birthday Party! This is the kind of thing that makes memories to last a lifetime.

12.11.2008

A Twilight Birthday ~ the Menu

Although there was no dinner served at Bella’s Birthday Party in the book, we chose to serve a dinner much like the meal enjoyed by Edward and Bella at a local café.

The menu included Mushroom Ravioli with Red Sauce, Caesar Salad, and Garlic Breadsticks, along with Sparkling Cherry and Sparkling Strawberry juices which were a nice dark pink. The Pink Cake was decorated with roses and rosebuds.

For the treats, I used silver organza gift bags, filled with Eclipse Polar Ice Gum (for icy, cold Vampires), Wrigley’s 5 Flare Cinnamon Gum (for the Vampire's stinging bite), a huge Hershey’s Kiss (for Edward's comforting kiss on Bella's forehead when they arrived at the party), Baseball Chocolates (Vampires play awesome Baseball) and Gummy Teeth (need I say more?).

Each bag held a little jar of Sparkling Powder in White Icing for the guests and Lilac Frosting for the birthday girl – so the girls can sparkle like Vampires in the sunlight! The birthday girl also received a large bar of Ghirardelli Twilight Delight Intense Dark Chocolate. They were blown away by the gift bags and everyone enjoyed their goodies.

12.10.2008

A Twilight Birthday ~ the Ambiance

Strands of glittering, white, pinecone lights hung from the ceiling like miniature Japanese lanterns. Sparkling icicles dripped from a small Christmas tree twinkling with little white lights near the dinner table along with a glass vase full of pale pink silk roses. This is where her shimmering silver birthday presents lay waiting to be unwrapped. Pink silk rose petals were scattered around the floor throughout the dining room and entryway.

Pink taper candles glowed above silvery, statuesque, mercury glass candlesticks. The mercury glass was chosen to emulate the silver, the crystal, and the broken glass. A nearby table held a crackled glass bowl on a black iron stand filled with floating pink rose candles.

The dinner table was covered in a white linen tablecloth, strewn with pink silk roses and the ‘pièce de résistance’ – ‘sparkling ice’ – an excellent likeness for shards of broken glass. Mercury glass votive holders in the center of the table softly glowed with pink votive candles. Clear glass dinner plates were placed on black, glitter-sparkled chargers. Silvery organza gift bags were placed above the plates for each guest, to be opened after dinner.

The birthday girl sat at the head of the table like a princess, and we waited on them as if they were VIPs in a fine dining establishment. They were blown away. My daughter is still gushing over the whole thing... "That was an awesome birthday party, Mama!" Even my friend, Kathy, who attended the movie with us and helped with the party, exclaimed, "You know how to put on a drop-dead party!" It was fun.

12.09.2008

A Twilight Birthday ~ You’re Invited


The invitation we chose was a “VIP Vampire Pass” hung on a lanyard like a backstage concert pass that we found on eBay. The front of the pass shows a picture of Edward and Bella with a quote from the book. The back is the invitation. It was all carefully planned… movie at 4:45, then home for a special birthday dinner and a sleepover.

This would not be your standard sleepover with pizza… this party was going to rock their teenage socks off!

12.08.2008

Bella's Birthday Party ~ the Inspiration

All the awesome ideas I found online for the Twilight parties were mainly centered around the images on the books – apples, chess piece, red, black and white; Red Velvet was the birthday cake of choice. But Bella’s birthday party was all pink, silver, crystal, glass, roses – and the cake was pink. So, I picked up New Moon and read excerpts from the party in Chapter 1 to learn more about the actual events…

“A long line of glowing Japanese lanterns hung from the porch eaves, reflecting a soft radiance on the huge cedars that surrounded the house. Big bowls of flowers – pink roses – lined the wide stairs up to the front doors."

"Alice, I assumed, had covered every flat surface with pink candles and dozens of crystal bowls filled with hundreds of roses. There was a table with a white cloth draped over it next to Edward's grand piano, holding a pink birthday cake, more roses, a stack of glass plates, and a small pile of silver-wrapped presents."

Not only was there a completely different color scheme, there was something interesting that happened at that party… “I landed in the mess of shattered crystal." ...this was going to be fun.

12.07.2008

“Nova’s birthday party ROCKS!”

I don’t think I’ve ever received so many compliments in my life, and never have I had more fun planning a party.

Our daughter was born December 23, and as you can imagine, it's not the best date to host a birthday party. So, we always do her “party” early in December, with a private celebration on the actual date. This year, I thought it would be nice to do something different from the usual theme parties. We just saw the Twilight movie November 21, and knowing how much she loved the movie and the books, it seemed reasonable that we could take her friends for another viewing – and with a little pizza and a sleepover, everyone would be happy. Nice and simple – just the way I like it.

We had planned her party for Saturday, December 6, and it was fast approaching. This would be great... she saw a Twilight party invitation online and maybe we could do one like that. It's Sunday, Nov. 30 and I need to get things rolling. The birthday girl tries to find this invitation she saw online, and suddenly, it’s not there. Next thing you know, I’m googling “Twilight birthday party” and I’m up til midnight, like a blood hound on a hunt. Not only do I find a very cool invitation, but tons of awesome ideas for Twilight themed parties, and I order these beautiful red candleholders online from Target...

Then, Monday morning, after sharing with the girl unit, we both remember that the Cullens throw a birthday party for Bella in the second book, which is not black and red themed, but pink and silver... I’m intrigued by this idea... what if we have a “Bella Birthday Party?” Hmm, this could be interesting...