Every day is a special day, when you get to share it with someone that you really like. But once every year, there’s a remarkably special day – that’s St. Valentine’s, the day when you’re expected to really make sure the person you love gets treated with a wonderful time. The best thing about this day is that both individuals are expected to work hard for mutual benefit, so that’s double the energy in making everything perfect!

In fact, it’s almost funny that some people are oftentimes eager to think of something that will surpass their other half in expressing their mutual affection. If you’re looking for ideas that will get you ahead in the game of love, maybe we can help! For example, some people apparently believe it’s all about spending lots of money; this is a most unfortunate misconception, since genuine affection can hardly ever be expressed with something as crude as a price tag. So, if you want to grace your loved one with a perfect Valentine’s day, you should really dig deep into what you know she or he likes, to find the right course of action.

You do know about the legend behind St. Valentine, right? It’s all about a martyr priest who sacrificed himself for the sake of delivering romantic messages. Now, that’s the true essence of Valentine’s day: expressing your affections with full, unabashed clarity. And the best way to show someone you really care is showing them you know who they are; their darkest fears as well as hopes and dreams. So to organize a perfect Valentine day, you just need to put your head and heart into it, and try to figure out what will really make your lover happy! And hopefully, no one is better qualified for figuring that out than you are.

It’s true, these holidays we are getting back to the 1920′s, with the ghost of the recession hanging on our heads! But in the end, it could be all about returning to the basic, to the meaning of the season itself!! ‘’Saving it” only depends on your ability to show others your feelings for them, to be kind to the others, to really get the meaning of it in the personal sphere, without the material requests of this society of consumption!

So, this season keep it simple: be with your family, show the support they need, and be gifted with the affection and the wellbeing that they provide you! Be a present member of your community; help the others with your own work and dedication, stand for a greater good, putting aside your personal goals to archive a common one.

That is the true spirit of the season, the ability to be and to give something to the others, rather than a material gift, to ‘’catch-up” with your loved ones, to be part of a celebration that is intended to be a spiritual reflection about your year, about your projects, and about yourself!

In the end, you will see that, sometimes, in this stressful world, all you need is to lie back, and enjoy the simple things in life… like a smile, a simple conversation, or even an ‘’Hi, how are you?”! That’s really something you can hold on to!

If you really want to spend your money on gifts, be sure to visit sites like: eBay and Fatwallet to find deals!

Also, visit the Planaganza Event Shop to save on items to make your gatherings a blast! In addition to FREE SHIPPING on orders greater than $50. We are offering 10% off orders over $100. Use Discount code “HOLIDAY08″ (offer good until 12/31/08).

So you’ve decided to buy a new home!  Congratulations!  Buying a new home is exciting so why not involve your friends and family in the fun. 

Before you put your existing home on the market, have your close family and friends over for a “Dream House” dinner party!  Ask your guests to bring in photos of their favorite kitchen’s, bathrooms, living rooms, and home exteriors.  After dinner, have your guests help you make an inspiration board for your new home combining elements from their photos and some of your own.  Use this creation as your guide when telling the realtor what you would like to see in your new home.  This will save both of you a ton of time when deciding what houses to visit.  Also, creating it will bring everyone together for one last get-together in your old digs. 

You might also choose to put together an electronic inspiration page with photos from Flickr and our inspiration gallery at Planaganza.com.  You can then invite your family and friends to view it online and add their comments.

Plan this event and more at Planaganza.com - the place for life’s events!

I love game nights!  All I asked for this Christmas was games!  I received TEN new games and I can’t wait to have people over to play them all.  A game night is such an easy way to bring people together for an unpredictable event.  I always seem to learn something new about my friends when we have games night!  Here is a list of my top five favorite games. Oh it’s so hard to narrow it down

1. Trouble - Yeah I know its old school but I LOVE this game.  The adreneline of racing around the board trying not to get sent back before you make it to homebase!  Plus the the center dice popper makes a cool sound!
2. SceneIT - This is a new favorite.  I have to specify that while I have the board game version of SceneIt as well, I much prefer the Xbox 360 version.  The game comes with 4 handheld buzz devices for you to use in selecting answers to numerous fun question about movies!  This game gives multiple choice options unlike its board game counterpart which makes it fun for people who are not necessarily all about movies. 
3. Cranium and Cranium Pop – I grouped these two games together because although they are different in gaming aparatus they are based on the same premise.  As the name suggests, Cranium Pop is the pop culture version of the game and is played in teams.  A designated team member performs one of numerous tasks including drawing, acting out, or sculpting out of clay based on a clue for the team to guess.  Its fun to see how people recreate clues!
4. Guesstures - An updated verson of Charades, this game can lead to hours of laughter even after the game has ended.  It is so funny to see people act out clues trying to beat the clock!  Always a party favorite.
5. Taboo – This is my favorite game of all time!  That Taboo buzzer haughts my dreams but I love the game.  The object is to get your team to guess a particular word or phase but there are a list of words that you can not say while doing this.  If by chance you do slip up and say one of those words, someone from the other team is standing by to buzz you for the mistake.  It’s hilarious!

And as always, don’t forget to have the camera handy!  You are going to want to capture all the antics a games night can create!

Plan this event and more at Planaganza.com – the place for life’s events!

 Invitations are your guests’ first glimpse into the theme of your event.  Invitations can be as casual and efficient as those sent via email or as glamorous and elaborate as an embossed invite on linen paper encased in an embroidered silk box.  Both invitations announce who, what, where and when, but each also gives your guest a sense of what to expect upon arrival.  If you want to give your guests a sense of your personal creativity, you can opt to make your invitations by hand or by enlisting the help of your handy color printer.  Although this really does personal
ize the invitations and would be nice for a dinner party or social, it may not be the best option for guestlists over 50 -100 people.  However, you could, in fact, through an “invitation party” (popular for constructing wedding invitations) and invite your friends over to help you with the assembly. 

If making your own invitations doesn’t suit your lifestyle, you can always opt to buy pre-made invitations.  FineStationery.com offers exquisite designs for every life event. You can even make pre-made invitations look unique by adding embellishments or patterned lining to your envelopes. Overall, you want your invitations to express the personality of your event. Whether that is simple and casual or elegant and timeless, there is an invitation out there for you.

RBs