Last weekend, on behalf of one of my most favorite companies, Tiny Prints, I hosted a blogger holiday party and with a few tips I used it was a success.

Invite the Right People for the Right Event – If you are having a play date don’t invite people who don’t like children, pretty obvious right? However I’ve seen interesting mixes at parties because often times people don’t want to leave anyone out, but by being selective, {at times}, it can pay off. I invited some amazing bloggers including {in alphabetical order, so as not to show favoritism *LOL*} Faith, Jamie, Jessica, Kelley, Lisa, Maricris, and Susan.

Find a unique place or theme for the party – Sometimes when you are in a smaller city it’s hard to find new venues to host events at, and even if you choose to host events in your home, one key tip is to get creative. Thinking outside the box when it comes to venues and themes are what can make or break a party. Choose locations you wouldn’t normally think of but work out logistically and look on places like pinterest {which I have vowed to stay away from,} for ideas. I chose Fran’s Filling Station because the menu selection sounded different, and it wasn’t a chain and I’m so glad I chose it because the food and staff were amazing, and I’m dying to go back for round 2.

Find some entertainment or a purpose – While sometimes it’s nice to just get together with friends, when there is a purpose or something fun scheduled for a party people get even more excited to attend. At the Tiny Prints event, Chris Garner, local photographer and owner of TPS Photography, spoke about tips for photography which will not only come in handy for our blogs, but also for our own photos during the holidays. Whatever your purpose or entertainment make it a good fit for your attendees.

Make sure the guests leave with something in hand – aka Goodies. We all love them, let’s face it, when you leave a party with a goodie bag you get a little excited. Recently, I went to a Mom’s Night In, where we made pies and the hostess made pie pops {like these from Bakerella} and although my girls didn’t get to go to the Mom’s Night In {for obvious reasons}, they were able to enjoy the goodies. And I must say for this Tiny Prints event the goodies were pretty awesome!

I am a little biased anyway because I love Tiny Prints. Not only do I really love their designs, but there are some celebs designing their products now {which is not HUGE for me but an added bonus for sure,} but most of all because of their AMAZING customer service. And yes, I have to say “AMAZING” in caps and here’s why: last year I was creating my Christmas and New Year’s combination card with them, you know Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, well my mush brain got the best of me and I wrote Happy 2010, but didn’t notice and submitted for printing. Tiny Prints customer service not only called me and left really nice voice messages, but they also emailed a couple of times to ask me if I really wanted 2010 or actually wanted 2011. Phew, crisis averted all because the staff at Tiny Prints caught my mistake. Honestly that catch is a constant reminder of a successful customer service experience and that’s the biggest reason why I continue to use Tiny Prints for my printing needs.

If you want to check them and their 2011 Holiday Line out head over here: http://www.tinyprints.com/shop/picture-christmas-cards.htm. This year, I have been drooling over the Ornament cards, something people can use and reuse every year for their tree, what.a.great.idea! In fact, here are some of my favorites:

Because there are so many different parties to attend this holiday season it’s difficult to make sure yours is unique, but with my tips above, some creativity, and the right tools your party is sure to be a success.

I was compensated by Tiny Prints for hosting this Holiday Party, however the thoughts and words in this post are solely mine. My personal experiences with Tiny Prints and my opinions of their amazing services are my own testament to their work, however yours may vary.

Amazing! That is the one word I would use to describe the great time had by all at the Teddy Bear Picnic this past Saturday. Thanks to North American Bear Company each of the kids received a different bear. Some of the children didn’t even want to put their bear down, while others were playing, “Ring Around the Rosie”s.

The moms and children donned their adorable duds and came to munch on some of these breakfast favorites: organic milk, orange juice {no pulp of course}, gigantic muffins, a great assortment of kid friendly fruit, teddy bear cookies {mostly for theming}, and thanks to Musselman’s not only did we have a picnic basket, but we got to enjoy some of their healthy AND tasty Totally Fruit applesauce, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors or flavors! Love it!!

And of course, to top off the Teddy Bear theme: Tropical Sun’s own Grabeez Gummy Bears in assorted flavors. Easy for the kids to hold and munch. Or read nutrition information: {I actually think “G” was trying to figure a way to just get the red ones out, those are my favorite.}

After their bellies were full, the children danced to music, ran around the shaded area and checked out the beautiful water at Cullman Park in the Ballantyne Corporate Park picked out by the amazing photographer for this event, Jamie, with Photography by Jamie Lea. 

Here are a few more great shots from the event and to check them all out, head over to Photography by Jamie Lea on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/PhotographyByJamieLea and make sure you like her page.

Big thanks again to all those who participated in this event!

North American Bear Company – A great assortment of Teddy Bears

Photography by Jamie Lea – Amazing photographs

Anders Ruff – Printables made specifically for our event

Tropical Foods – Attendees Take Home Grabeez Gummy Bears

Musselman’s - Delicious All Natural and Totally Fruit Applesauces

Perfectly Perrywinkle - Fuchsia and Orange headband worn by Miss A

Taylor Mathis – Fun red and white checkered table cloth

I had no clue where to sit so I grabbed a seat next to three great women, Kathy from Kath Eats Real Food, Emily from The Front Burner, and Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point, right away I noticed these ladies were total foodies, I felt a little weird sitting there, being a stay-at-home-mom who usually eats standing and often with my fingers, but again I don’t think anyone really noticed. From what I gathered I think I may have been the only mom blogger there, which was pretty cool. The girls and I talked a little about Virginia and DC as two of them are moving away very soon.

I got to meet Chef Keith Snow from PBS’ Harvest Eating who was really down to Earth and seemed very nice. Once the presentation began the yummy food from Charlotte’s Mimosa Grill arrived on the table. Everything I tasted was very delicious, of course I had my favorites of a goat cheese stuffed chicken breast and tomato and mozzarella tower, and you can’t forget dessert, I was offered two, but the Carolina Mountain Cherry Cheesecake was my favorite by far, so rich and creamy…..yum…oops back to what you all came for, Ball Canning…

I learned so much I hadn’t already known about Ball as a company and their products. I don’t want to overwhelm you with all of my newly acquired knowledge but I will say that I did not realize that Ball is made in the US and was started over 125 years ago, that means my grandma’s grandmother could have used Ball canning goods. CRAZY! Chef Keith Snow’s grandmother used Ball so not only does he love using Ball for his own canning needs, but it carries a personal attachment to his family as well.

Although I don’t recollect details, I do remember people in my family canning, but from what I remember I remember a long, tedious, process with lots of steam, and tongs which at the time was sort of scary for me being so little. Definitely not something I would think I would be considering when I grew up, but here I am, mother of two beautiful little girls, trying to make healthy decisions for my family and not wanting to spend hours in the kitchen because trading off time spent with my girls is just not an option for me.

It seems like a lot of people are in my position, and if not, I know there are a bunch of you who are trying more local foods or better yet growing your own gardens, (go you!!), and canning is a great option for you. For those of us who are afraid of canning I learned at this luncheon how easy canning really can be (no pun intended, unless you want it to be,) an easy process.

Chef Snow showed the luncheon attendees, bloggers, retailers, consumers, how simple it is to make a Zesty Salsa from scratch, using just a few ingredients he cooked up a fresh, vibrant salsa that was ready to be canned. After cooking up the salsa and heating his Ball glass canning jars he poured the mixture in, put the lid on top and screwed on the band and set the jars in the water to heat up and cool. Voila you have a great dish, or even a fun gift and the nice thing is you can make batches to save for future use. There are some items need to be pressure cooked, but water boiling is a great option for canning simpler items.

Ball introduces it’s newest Canning Discovery Kit. This kit is amazing for anyone who wants to learn how to can on a budget. At $10 to $12 you really can’t go wrong, and you get 3 pint-sized Ball Home Canning Jars, with lids and bands, plastic canning rack with lifter, and a step-by-step beginner’s guide to canning and recipe booklet. As long as you have pots, pans, water, and ingredients you’re all set. Not too shabby!

The recipe book that comes with the Ball Home Canning Discovery Kit gives mouth-watering recipes for Dill Pickles, Corn Relish, and more. I’m most excited about trying to make some Blueberry Syrup, but that’s if I ever get enough time to do so.

Check out the Ball Website for more great items here: http://www.freshpreservingstore.com/ and get your Home Canning Discovery Kit at Ball, at Lowe’s, or Walmart. I have yet to see the products on the Lowe’s or Walmart online and noticed it’s back ordered with Ball but you can be emailed through the Ball website.

Have you ever tried canning? What are your memories or experiences with canning?

Ball Home Canning is giving away a Discovery Kit to one lucky MommyB reader.

Here’s how to win: Using the entry form directly below this paragraph (NOT the comment form), submit your name, an email address that you check regularly, and the entryentries you are submitting. *Please note the Mandatory Entry MUST be completed before you can qualify for additional entries.

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Giveaway ends July 27th @12:00 am. The winner will be chosen at random, verified, emailed, and announced in a Winner’s post. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email from MommyB to claim the prize, if the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen at random. You must be a US resident and 18 years or older to enter.

In attendance will be several other local bloggers, retailers, consumers, and local press. The event also features Chef Keith Snow of PBS’ “Harvest Eating.” Chef Snow is a Carolina resident and touts wholesome eating. I’m very excited to meet him and learn some mommy tricks to bring back home to my family and yours. Check out his other site http://www.thoughtfulharvest.com/ as well.

I’ll be posting all about my fun luncheon today very soon. I just hope Baby C is good for daddy while I’m gone.