Ski Resort Themed Office Party

Since I was setting the scene of a ski resort at the office, the lower photo with Santa starts with arriving at the town and with holiday shoppers. (You can click on any photo to enlarge it.  The second scene is the bus arriving at the lodge with skiers in the background.   In the top scenes, farther into the office, above the couch, is the skating
lodge with ice skaters taking up all four panels.

To add to the outdoor theme, I made 12  6" x 8 foot birch trees from wall insulation.  I painted all sides white, then marked them with black sharpies.  I bought white birch branches on Amazon and poked holes in them to add the branches to the stems.  (The staff and guests LOVED these.  In above photo you can see the inexpensive coat rack I bought on Amazon, but used as a ski rack.  Add a few artificial trees, and I set the scene.

 Every lodge needs a fireplace.  The company who prints them made them too short, but I used them anyway.  I had a wooden frame from a construction project that was 5' x 5'.
I added another piece of trim for the mantle, black science boards, birch logs, and flashing lights for the front of the poster.  The moose is one of my new acquisitions.  He was a popular guy at the party.

Here is an up close look at the fireplace.  That is yellow cellophane I've wrapped around
remote controled flashing lights.

The MAIN EVENT, which the office participated in for the 3 days previous to the party, was a dog sled event.  Our dog sled was built with a 24" x 45" handled dolly.  I  velcroed a 
stadium seat to the back and added a pillow.  Please notice the pool noodle velcroed to
the front to protect the office walls.  We have a very long and wide main hall that lends
itself to these rides. If you will also notice there are two snowball launchers and a box
of bean bag snowballs that are going along for the ride.

How do the dogs tie in?  I am glad you asked.

The dogs are waiting to be fed at the feeding station.  I bought two fold-able step stools.
I recycled 12 empty 20 oz pineapple cans and made new husky dog food labels.  Have you figured out that they are going to use the launchers and snowballs to knock them over.
Since this is a timed event, they were given points  for their speed added to the number of points for each can knocked over. The oil pan actually worked for catching most of
the snowballs.  Each team had to pick them back up after riding through the kitchen, around the tree, and back to the start.  
                  BUT...after the first day of runs, they were still going way too fast.  Hubby was afraid of someone getting hurt, so we needed a way to slow them down.

We adapted this game for just the office pre-run.  I had large hoops you had to throw around the goat's head.  It worked.  No points, but it slowed them down.  This area
was the ski resort's PETTING ZOO.  You had to get the baby animals back in the pen (shoe rack) by their mamas.  There were 3 babies per mama.  I brought the Chicken Toss game back from last year.  Instead of throwing rubber eggs, you just tossed the baby chicks in their "nest" baskets.  Each basket has a different points value.  I bought this game on Amazon for the beach. It comes with bean bags (which you can swap out for your games).

Back in this nice area of the kitchen, I reused my baby skunks on sliding boards and my
mop stick (minus the head) for a shuffleboard.  This is always a popular game, and not an easy one either. 

Above is my fun foam- science board Caps Hockey player. Since we designed the Capital's Hockey Center, I felt this was a nice touch.  There is a triangle beneath his legs and a net behind him.  He is standing in front of a shelf with bricks loaded on it for weight.
The hockey sticks have furniture moving slides velcroed to them.  I bought a teen-sized
set on Amazon that included the stick, pucks, and net.  This was fairly inexpensive. The
kicker was they strapped on carpet skates (made with furniture sliders).  I bought those on Amazon also.

                                                        

You might have caught a glimpse of an empty baby pool earlier and wondered what it was being used for.  Well, I had four of them.  I filled two of them up with white play pit balls for the POLAR BEAR CHALLENGE.  I bought the plastic play shovels at Target when I first saw them, then built the game around them.  I already had the polar bears from the polar bear birthday beach party (see post about that).  The object of the game was to ride a 
scooter back and forth across building lobby, fill up small bucket with balls, bring balls to other side of lobby, and empty them into other pool.  This was a two team relay.

You can see that the lobby was a very popular spot.  On right you can see a raccoon food toss (I bought felt food on Etsy last year).  You can see the small scooter I bought for little kids to ride on.  You can spy the large scooter by the pools. And you can spot three of the company's partners, including my hubby.  But to see the most popular game of the evening, you will have to see photo below.

You had to throw 3 bean bag axes, while standing on a balancing exercise board, at the stuffed tree target--to try to knock them over. I had this game--minus the exercise
 board--- at the Chili Contest Lumberjack Party a few years back.  So many people played it, that it broke the trees and I had to install rulers in them to make them stand up.  So I bought cheap ones on Amazon that worked just as well.  Since they weren't falling to the floor this time, they ended up being stored intact.  WHEW!!

                                          

This game also shows the tree signs I made for each game with directions on them. I had bells on the balsam tree you could ring as an option.

What were people doing in the small conference room?  Rolling dice to draw a snowman,
of course.  You're never too old for a favorite elementary school game.  Only the dice chart was using combinations that made it harder and more fun for adults. I posted my snowman drawing on the wall.  Soon it was covered with many more.

We have a phone booth in the office, in case a client needs to take a call.  But, during parties, it is usually a fun place to sit for a small group gathering.  This party, though, it was used for the bear fishing game.  Please note the tree and directions and the raffle box for winners.  Each game has it's own raffle box.  I used my other oil pan which I velcroed to my easel.  I also velcroed shower curtain hooks to the pan.  I laminated pictures of salmon to adapt it to the theme.  There were swimming diving hoops you tossed from the doorway to land on the hooks.  This was a VERY popular game.  Mama bear and her 3 cubs were standing by waiting for the fish.

If you follow this blog, or visit it regularly (thank you, by the way) you are waiting for the DESSERT BAR photos.  Above are the graphics I did for the two monitors that are installed above it. Notice Santa in the red truck.  I am always on the hunt for good tree graphics, and I love the snow covered one I found.

Out came all of my rustic serving pieces, including this new cupcake stand.  I had two of the office wives help me bake this year.  Wowzers!!!!  It was fabulous.  Those little peppermint cheesecakes I made went FAST.  I crushed up Hershey peppermint kisses for the cheesecake part.  I always use Oreos in the bottom of my mini pans, because when you pop them out, these cookies make them easier and sturdier to handle.

I made brownie trees, cutting the cookie sheet layer into triangle shapes (seen on Pinterest).  I drizzled melted green chocolate disks and added holiday sprinkles on each.  I dipped a pretzel in the chocolate to add to the bottom.  All of the desserts nestled on round snowflake doilies I printed and cut out.

I cheated and bought a big chocolate cake from Costco, along with cream puffs.  I added
mousse cakes and cookies from Wegman's.  One of the two Samantha's helping me made
48 s'more pops on sticks.  So, I am HAPPY TO SAY, I made no cake pops for this party.
But I am making moose ones for the Alaska Chili Contest in March.  I am using the same trees, same tableclothes, same stuffed wild animals, same rustic wooden serving pieces. 
Are you getting the drift.  Reuse.  Reuse.  Reuse, and twig the theme so people think you're just so creative.  This same Samantha made all of the live centerpieces on the tables, and the big box of greens.  She has agreed to start taking over the Christmas party, so that I am not so stressed, now that we have even more employees.   



                                                                   A special thank you to the band, Irresponsible.  Bands love this gig because they get to play games.  Too many games (insert sad face icon here)options, so noone danced to the music this year. But a live band always makes for a more festive party.

Just in case anyone was wondering, yes we played Wii Ski on the monitor in the conference room. We gave away lots of cash and prizes for the drawings.  Below are random photos of our party guests.

Samantha the Greens Designer

People waiting hopefully that their envelope from wall has money in it

Yours truly during raffle drawings

Newest member of my stuffed collection, Chocolate Moose.
Bags are prizes for winning sled race team.

Buzz's partner looking festive.  Note
Wii Ski in background.

Happy family

My tech guru and his family. Best cleanup helpers ever, also

First time EVER--line for the buffet.   They'd heard about the meatballs!!!

Star Wars Christmas Letter 2015

 

Our Family in 2015

If you remember, last year we projected ourselves into the future forty years and into living on a space station.  This year we are all in Jedi training.  With Star Wars currently getting ready for battle, we figured all the help they could get.  So with the speed of light, I will begin a review of our past year's antics.

Robbie is our biggest news maker.  Along with helping Han Solo, he has a full time job with an international (and soon to be inter- planet) hotel firm.  He seems to love it.  His home base is still in California, but he can grab a quick space shuttle to other planets if needed.

Annie's firm has been purchased by another firm, so instead of walking to work, she will be taking the metro. She is still in interior design.  The intergalactic council  did contact her for a re-do of their headquarters.  They wanted a new rug design with their logo on it.  She recently visited Iceland, but Darth Vader's soldiers were everywhere, so it ruined her vacation.  She did bring me back a lava necklace as a souvenir, though.

Maryanne is still braving the clubs singing acapella.  Buzz and I went to see her sing, but with aliens everywhere, it was very distracting.  She is a great help to me in my party planning.  She found the BEST band for Buzz's office party who had everyone dancing this year.  She is still an AVID fan of the Washington CAPS hockey team.  She is now friends with the goalie coach.  She tries to capture their funny antics during practices.  She caught Ovechkin blowing a bubble from gum during practice.

Buzz continues in good health, thank goodness.  He has not been called into service as a Storm Trooper, but has been busy designing office space for Inova Health Systems.

I joined him at the National Harbor for dinner with clients at the Design Symposium this fall.  I LOVE going through the exhibit halls and trying to get free "swag."  Our client Margarita party was a huge success this fall.  I re-used a lot of the pieces I had designed for my niece Valerie's wedding.  The girls joined us for a trip to Disneyland in California for my 65th birthday on Thanksgiving. 

Christmas light in Disney's It's a Small World ride

                                       

 The parks were just beautiful with all of the holiday lights.  Robbie joined us for the fun.  We went to his new apartment in Irvine and met up with his California friends for his birthday, which is two days after mine.

I substituted this fall in two first grades in September, but that was it so far for my school appearances.  Two of the teachers and their hubbies, along with Chip and Lois, are joining us  tomorrow night to go to the Udvar Hazy Imax Theater's presentation of .... can you guess?  Yep.  The new Star Wars movie.

Well, off we go towards another year.  I will miss my brother-in-law Nick, and my high school friend Sheila, who both passed away unexpectedly this fall.  It also seems really bare under the Christmas tree without my furry friends, but NO, I am not getting a new dog. . . . .yet.  I hope you all stay healthy and happy and have as many blessings as your hearts desire.

Merry Christmas,

--Jani

 

Patriotic Party at the Beach

My family all gathered at Bethany Beach for the week of the Fourth of July.  Since there would be a dozen of us on the holiday, buying patriotic hats for everyone would have cost too much money.  Having made hats with first graders for so many years, I took my fun foam skills and applied them to this holiday.  We started with long strips for the headbands.  I cut the large 11" x 17" strips into thirds (the long way).  Then I cut one of those strips into thirds (the fat way).  Then I glued the smaller strip onto the longer strip to make a headband long enough for an adult's head.  I brought my stapler and tacky glue with me on the trip.  This took the intimidation factor away from everyone.  We just helped measure each others' bands around their heads and stapled them for the correct fit.

Here is one of my "adopted" kids.  My daughter's friends have become so close to our family, that one by one they've become an integral party of our family.  Trevor married into the family and is now the father of my "adopted" grandson.  He is wearing my original hat pattern.  I cut the white foam strip in the same manner as the red band, gluing on the extra strip for head circumference.  I simply then folded the longer extended white foam piece in half (the long way) and cut into the fold to make a lantern.  Once I had opened it and refolded it the opposite way,  and glued and stapled it into the red band. I then folded the top half of the lantern down into the red band to make the loops.

I didn't have enough white fun foam to do this for everyone.  I bought out all the red, white, and blue sheets our Michael's sold, but Uncle Sam took a LOT of foam.  So, I folded the white sheets (the long way) and cut them in HALF this time.  I again folded one of the white strips into THIRDS for the extensions and glued them onto the longer strips.  The family could cut these strips in any manner they liked. They just had to leave a 3" wide edge that had glue on it.  This edge was glued into the top half of the red band.  I took a small glass and added water to the tacky glue in it--so that they could "paint" the glue onto the foam.  

If you look at the second hat from the right, that is Trevor's WAVE pattern.  His wife Rachel took a pen and curled her white strips, while my niece Valerie cut her strips into thin grass-like strips.  She and her fiance, Steve dropped by for the afternoon for the festivities.  They left to have dinner with their friends in Ocean city. I double-dog-dared them to wear the hats out to dinner.  See below.

Val texted me this photo with the message that everyone in the restaurant was taking pictures of them and wanted to know where they got the hats.

I bought glittery stars, flags, Fourth of July  foam stickers at Michael's.  I also pre-cut lots of fun foam stars.

We had a hat contest and asked people walking on the beach past us to judge.My daughter Maryanne was the winner. 

. 

My husband, Buzz, the architect, only came in second.  He was sure his multi-tiered hat would win with it's hand cut "Happy Fourth" sign on the front.  My daughter Annie's hat had stars on strips.  She's an interior designer and thought she had a shoe-in win.  What she did do was cause a one-up-manship for the rest of the crowd.

                                              Even the baby wore a hat.

            Are you too cool to wear a hat?  Even my son got into the spirit.

I thought my Uncle Sam was so tall, but my future nephew Steve is even taller.  Because Sam is made with insulation and fun foam, he is waterproof.  We took the shark I made last summer right into the ocean.  

  If you want to see how I made Uncle Sam and missed the post, go to  Uncle Sam HERE

I hope all of you had as much fun on the Fourth of July as we did.  The hurricane blew through, but we didn't let it bother us.  I saw a sign in one of the shops over there that said, "DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE FORECAST.  LEARN TO DANCE IN THE RAIN."

--Jani

 

 

 

Make Your Own Party Prop Uncle Sam

I found this clipart of Uncle Sam on the internet.

I decided he'd be easier to make in fun foam without all of the stripes on his pants.

 

So I bought a 1" thick by 2' x 8' piece of wall insulation and decided to make him seven feet tall.  I used my Print Master program to enlarge the clipart to 88" x 24," in black and white to save color cartridges.  I then cut up the pattern and started laying the pieces onto the fun foam.  To form the pants it took me 3 full sheets of the 12" x 18" pieces, plus 5 more inches for the cuffs.  I used them landscaped.  
     In the picture above, you are seeing the masking tape I used to hold the pieces together.  I placed them on the wall insulation piece and outlined the entire thing. 
Michael's sells a "Styrofoam Cutter."  It is kept over on the wall where they sell the styrofoam.  It is an electric burner that melts the pattern away.  I just follow the pencil lines I've drawn.

                                         Here is the back of the cut styrofoam after I painted it.

I will darken the black sharpie lines and add some white stars to his pants.  The lines of the fun foam aren't as obvious when you look at him, as they are in the photo.  I am taking him to the beach for the holiday.  He'll make a great photo op.

(How do I duplicate his face?  I put the paper pattern right onto the funfoam and punch holes with a pencil.  I just connect the dots.  Easy peezy.)  

Have a happy Fourth of July, everyone.