Welcome Parties Hosting welcome parties for different occasions is fun and often very rewarding. If a new family has just moved into your neighborhood with children around the same age as yours, consider hosting welcome parties. This gives the new neighbors children a chance to make friends with others in the area and is a great way for the parents to meet their new neighbors and establish new friendships. Before you host any welcome parties, give the new people a chance to settle into their new home and area. It is always very busy the first few weeks after moving and getting everything put away and organized takes a little time. Start planning the party at least three weeks before the big day as welcome parties are like any other type of party. Because there will be many children at the party, planning the party includes ideas for activities, decorations, snacks and food ideas and invitations. Before you send out the invitations, speak with your new neighbors to make sure they are available on the day you choose. Holding welcome parties with the guests of honor absent is certainly not a great idea when it comes to planning a party. Once you have established a definite date, it is time to buy or make party invitations and send them out. There are wonderful invitations available at dollar stores, which are inexpensive and great for welcome parties. Make sure you send your invitations out at least a couple of weeks prior to the party. On the invitations, inform everyone that you are hosting a party for your new neighbor. Include the day and date, start and ending times, address and any additional information such as; bring no gifts or bring folding chairs. Include your phone number or e-mail address for RSVP. Do not forget to mention that this is for everyone in his or her family, not just the children. Because welcome parties are very casual, when planning the party menu, choose snacks and food ideas that are very quick and easy. You want everything to take very little preparation on the day of the party. Setting a table up outside, if the weather permits, is less messy than when the children eat inside. You can also get some great snacks and food ideas from other parents. Some easy snacks and food ideas are:  Chips and dip  Popcorn  Jelly sandwiches because kids love them  Pizza  Hotdogs  Vegetable platter and dips  Cupcakes  Cookies  Fruit  Rice crispy squares  Cake and ice cream At any welcome parties, once you have finished planning the party and completed choosing your snack and food ideas for the gathering, it is time to choose decorations. Decorations add not only excitement but also color to welcome parties, and do not cost a fortune if you are a little creative. Buy paper table clothes, cups, plates, cutlery and napkins with welcome printed on them or even a specific color theme. Use helium-filled balloons as decorations and they are always a hit with the children. They can take one balloon home each at the end of the party. Make sure you have a few extra balloons on hand for those popped accidentally. Streamers are great decorations, so put them on your list when planning the party. When there are several children together, you defiantly need many ideas for activities to keep the kids busy. A few great ideas for activities is having a small supervised activity centre where there are inexpensive and simple games such as bubble wands, ring toss, foam dart boards and ball toss. More ideas for activities are having a few coloring books and crayons or water paints and paper for the younger children. If you want some ideas for activities that are for groups, a scavenger hunt is great. If one of your family members or close friends was away for a while and is moving back, a family barbeque is a fun, relaxing way to welcome them home. Have everyone bring one dish such as a salad, the buns or a dessert. You supply the hotdogs, hamburgers and garnishes. If some people would rather have steak, ribs, chicken or other meats, have them bring enough for their family. Set up a cooler full of ice to keep any beverages cold. You may want to make or order a special welcome home slab cake large enough for everyone to have a piece. Keep some ice cream on hand for those who like it with their desserts. The great part of having a BBQ is that there are always people that love doing the cooking so that is one less job for you. Ask some of the people to bring extra folding chairs along so there is enough seating for everyone. Make sure you have a couple of garbage bags set aside so when everyone finishes eating, they just throw their plates, cups and plastic cutlery away. This certainly makes cleaning up after the party at the end of the day far easier. -------------------------------------------If you are a business owner get listed at Best Entertaintment Site, part of Localwin Network.