Themes add fun, purpose
From just a kernel of an idea, a full-blown party can emerge. Topics can range from holidays and destinations to icons or animals appearing in food, decor and games.
According to these area residents, where there's a will and an idea, there can be a theme party.
So pick a theme, plan ahead and watch for ways to add to the fun.
Devin Soper's fifth birthday was at the end of April, but her mom, Leslie, wanted to tie a party to a Mexican theme. Then the light bulb came on."I thought, 'We could have a Cinco de Devin party,' and everything flowed from there," Soper said.Last month, their Cranberry Township yard was filled with Mexican food, mariachi music, pinata games and donkey rides.Although Devin's fifth birthday happened but once, theme parties are typical for her mother."For a theme I do something that the kids are into or something they would enjoy," she said, describing the animal-themed "She's a Real Wild One" party for Devin's first birthday."My husband calls me a big kid. He says these parties are more for me. My parents always threw me birthday parties, and I want to do it for my kids.""I admit I get a little 'yeah!' when parents say, 'Our kids love coming to your parties.' With working full-time and having two kids, this is my entertainment."
California girl Diane Rundle brought a little of her home along when she moved to Butler 10 years ago."I had never been to an Academy Awards party; I'd just heard about them," she said. "I just wanted to bring a little bit of home here."Guests receive a formal invitation, stating "semiformal to formal attire required" and noting the "red carpet arrival time."The red carpet is a piece of red felt from the craft store."When everybody arrives, we take pictures of them striking a pose on the red carpet and ask 'Where did you get your dress?' and things like that."She's made three of her own dresses in the seven years she's hosted the event.Her husband, David, generally serves as the photographer. "He's really supportive of my silliness," she said.Sons Sean, 13, and Dylan, 9, are good sports about it, too, though they no longer play a big part."When they were younger, they would get in their shirts and ties and go with flashlights and shine the lights around," she said.Rundle's daughter, Caroline, can't really participate just yet. She's only 3.Food for the party, always held on the night of the televised Academy Awards show, is inspired by the nominated movie names. For example, "Atonement" was represented on the buffet table by a Beautiful Summer Salad, indicating the initial setting in the story. The movie "Ratatouille" was easy. It's food was, aptly, ratatouille, a vegetable dish.At the party, guests receive ballots to mark their guesses about which movie and movie stars will win."We keep score, and the winner gets a prize," Rundle said."Some of my friends have already picked out a dress or picked up some accessories for next year. They get them from friends or second-hand stores or wherever they pick them up along the way. We look forward to the party. It's just fun getting dressed up."
It wasn't a movie being premiered, but Rebecca Reid of Saxonburg hosted a Hollywood-themed party last year.The teenager's sweet 16 birthday party invitations asked guests to "Dress to Impress.""We wanted everyone to be kind of dressed up," the Knoch High School senior said recently.Guests wore black and red, while the birthday girl stood out in silver. "I even wore a tiara for some of the night. It was kind of a joke," she said.Guests received metallic beads as they arrived. Red and black decorations featuring movie posters, star shapes and lights plus a red carpet set the scene. Popcorn bags weighted down helium balloons. The array of food for about 120 included a popcorn vendor and chocolate fountain. And the teenage girls had another reason to wear a party dress.
Christy Vance of Grove City, formerly of Ohio, threw a Fear Factor-themed party for her son, Jack, and his friends when he turned 6 a couple years ago.The highlight was a game where partygoers spun a wheel to determine which color baby food they would have to eat."It was all fruits except for the color orange, which was carrots," she said.Her younger son, Grant, spun the wheel and got the carrots. He really didn't like that. Still, he got to wash down the pureed vegetable with a gummy spider."It was supposed to resemble the real show like with the bugs, but really it was a treat," Vance said.The birthday cake looked like a dirt pile — aka chocolate cake — with gummy bugs crawling on it.Other parties she has assembled had themes like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Spiderman" and "Scooby Doo.""It's a project, but it's fun, and the kids get into it," she said. "With three kids, it's fun focusing on one kid for a day."On Aug. 8, Jack will turn 8, represented by the unique numeric calendar occurrence of 08-08-08. To celebrate, Vance is planning an Olympic-themed party in honor of the summer games.
"My thing is theme parties," said Theresa Delker of Butler, who hosts a free theme party each season for senior ladies from local churches."It gives them something to look forward to," she said, noting most attendees are widowed or divorced."I try to pick up new things still in the box when I see them at St. Vincent DePaul. I pick up other little things when I see them. There are prizes at these parties, lots of prizes, and we always play games."The food, place settings, decorations and souvenirs all run along the planned theme. The decor for a ladybug party stuck to the colors black, red, yellow and white. Dessert was small heart-shaped cakes iced to look like ladybugs. Coasters made from old compact discs — a staple at all her theme parties — were transformed into ladybugs with a little craft foam and paint."I make all my own favors," Delker said. "Sometimes my friends and I get together on a Wednesday and work on a party. You can give me any theme, and I can come up with a party."Her cohorts are Marilyn Fugh and Carol Stamm, collectively known as the Ladybug Brigade.The parties for 30 to 35 people also have focused on Japan, gingerbread and angels. A rainbow-themed party is set for July."I try to have something from scripture for each party," she said.Delker said the scripture for the Japanese theme was "Thou shalt have no other God before me." For a watermelon-themed party, the verse was "The seed is the word of God," Luke 8:10.Parties include a sit-down meal, with food being served by helpers. Even younger children get involved."I think it's important for kids to be around people who aren't their age."However, Delker doesn't do it all herself. Helpers have included Char Rimer, Barb Chamberlain, Janice Petsinger, Gloria Beechey, Cindy Oesterling, Loretta Ward and Delker's daughter, Tammy Garland.Delker said she has been putting together parties for years. She and a friend, Gerry Hall, even wrote a book about theme parties, and Delker said they plan to publish it."It's a God-given talent. I can't take credit," Delker said. "It's something I enjoy doing. It's an outreach, and it helps me to know we're helping someone else by bringing them enjoyment."Delker decides on a theme usually about six months ahead of the party. "(I do) whatever idea pops in my head," she said."I'll probably never run out of ideas."
