chocolate fix, fixed

I have this horrible habit of attempting far more than is reasonable when I entertain. Lately, I’m trying to rein myself in.

I had a successful foray in restraint when I prepared an Easter dinner and decided to nix the homemade apricot custard tart I was planning in favor of a build-your-own-s’meeps station. The s’meeps were a hit (mainly for their sheer kookiness), and, quite frankly, a good lesson for me in successful-yet-totally feasible entertaining.

So when friends invited me over for dinner recently and gave me dessert duty, I decided to go interactive again. But this time with five-minute microwavable individual chocolate cakes.

First, I’ll give you the recipe—it’s from a forward my mother sent me that doesn’t list the original source of the recipe. (Sorry, Original Source Person—speak up if you’re out there!) Next, I’ll tell you how my friends and I fared on the project.

get the scoop on party favors

Providing fun and free party help is the name of our game here at Evite, and we love seeing all the clever party ideas other bloggers come up with. Like this one: a retro-cute party favor bag you make yourself.

This clever party idea comes to us from the Tangarang blog (via Craft Gossip — one of our favorite DIY sites), and it's a great way to add an inexpensive, homemade touch to your next ice cream social, girls' night or kids' party.

All you do is download the design on the Tangarang site, print it, cut out the shapes, roll it up, fasten and fill with candy and trinkets.

sweet sushi

As party foods go, sushi can be pretty polarizing — some people can't get enough while others absolutely loathe it. But lately, we've been coming across some recipes for sweet sushi that just about anyone, even those pesky seafood haters, can get behind.

• Perfect for kids, The Kitchn has peanut butter and fruit sushi. Not only is it made up of fairly wholesome ingredients like wheat bread and mangoes, but the construction seems like it would be a fun, interactive party activity.


• For something a little more refined, the Sushi de Fruits at La Tartine Gourmand is practically a work of art. This recipe includes pink grapefruit or apple slices atop a bed of rice pudding with a raspberry dipping sauce. Quelle delish!


• Got a sweet tooth? Candy sushi from Steak & Cakes will give you the ultimate sugar rush. Whether you want cut rolls, hand rolls or nigiri, they'll show you how to get it with flattened Rice Krispie Treats, Swedish Fish and Twizzlers.

• So wrong it's got to be right, Hostess Twinkie Sushi brings the creamy, cakey treats together with dried fruit, gummy candy and green Fruit Roll-Ups.

tees for two

The birth of a baby represents new beginnings in many ways. And not only for your family, but for your clothes. Take, for example, the burp cloth you see above — made from an old concert t-shirt.

This clever idea comes from crafty new mom Christine Romero, who, while cleaning out some drawers to make way for baby clothes, was inspired to give her old tees and pajamas a new life as soft, sentimental and superpractical burp cloths.

We love this idea because it offers countless design options (featuring your favorite fabrics and images) and lets you recycle items you already own and love. Plus, what a unique, personal gift for a baby shower!

Here are Christine's step-by-step instructions for making your own:

1. Take your t-shirt, pajamas or fabric and lay it flat and smoothed out.

2. Cut 2 pieces of fabric that measure 13 inches by 18 inches. Try to center your design in the middle of these pieces.

3. Sew the 2 pieces together. If you are using a knit material, use a small zigzag stitch for this step. Sew the 2 pieces' wrong sides together at 2 inches from the long sides, then again 2 inches from that stitching. If you want the stitches to show, use contrasting thread. Note: You can vary the measurement a bit, as necessary, to avoid stitching directly over your design.

4. Sew ½-inch double-fold bias tape to the entire outside edge of the rectangle. It takes almost 1 package of this to fit around the edge.

party with your s'meeps

Here at the Evite Blog, we have a healthy dose of respect for marshmallow Peeps. We love the bright, happy colors and the adorable shapes, but not all of us actually eat them right out of the box (present company adamantly excluded).

Serious Eats has turned us on to a way of eating Peeps that everyone can get behind: S'meeps! The idea is simple enough — make s'mores with Peeps instead of a traditional marshmallow — but the result is genius. Melty chocolate + crunchy graham cracker + toasty Peep = Yum! Plus, the kids at your Easter party will have fun assembling their own S'meeps (they'll just need some adult assistance with the toasting part).

Looking for even more ways to enjoy your Peeps? Check out a few of the myriad uses of our favorite marshmallow treats.

new! evite party store

Introducing...our new party store! We've partnered with the best party stores in the biz to help you find exactly what you need in a few quick clicks!

We've even organized the supplies in the ways you like to search:

• For the grab-and-go type: We've hand-selected new and noteworthy items, as well as seasonal supplies, for all of your upcoming events. Click-click-done. Now check this off your list!
• For inspiration seekers: Browse through our extensive collection of party supplies and favors to spark new ideas — we've grouped them by occasion, theme and color to make it easier for you.
• For busy moms looking for that extra-special touch: Matching Evite invitations and party supplies for your kids' party theme! You'll save time searching for the right invitation and tie the whole party together.

We hope you'll like the store. Check it out regularly — we're adding new stuff all the time.

it's mad, i tell you. mad!

Mad scientist parties are one of my favorite kids' party themes. Not only do they offer an endless amount of activity and decoration options, but they also let you sneak in a little learning and give kids some new ways to get messy.

To find out how to plan a bash worthy of Mr. Wizard without blowing up your budget, we talked to party-planning whiz Brenda of the Party Planning Mom blog, who created a mad scientist extravaganza for her lucky birthday boy.

There were lab coats, magnifying glasses and experiment stations where each kid got to make Mentos-in-soda geysers, towers constructed using marshmallows and toothpicks, lava lamps and more.

Here are Brenda's tips for hosting your own mad scientist party:

• Try all of the planned experiments a few days before the party. This way you know that you have all of the correct components, that it will be simple to execute, and that it will be a success. One of the experiments I planned for our party was an "Edible Volcano" (a foaming homemade candy using citric acid, baking soda & powdered sugar). In theory, this sounded like a cool experiment, but my kids hated the taste of it! No matter how I tweaked the recipe, I couldn't get it to taste quite right. So, I knew not to do that one at the party.
• The best advice I can give is to pre-mix components for each guest before the party. At each experiment station, I had plastic containers with lids (4 for $1 from the dollar store) labeled with each boy's name containing ingredients for that experiment. For example, at the Slimed station, there was a container for each guest with the glue solution and another with the Borax solution. Everything was pre-measured and the boys just had to mix the 2 solutions together to make slime.
• I made self-stick computer labels with the guests' names and labeled everything. It made it so much easier to keep track of which experiment belonged to which child.  Each guest also had a handled bag to put all of their experiments into.
• Get helpers. Before the party, I enlisted the help of my husband, parents and a couple of friends to help run the experiments. I had simple instructions at each station so that no matter what adult helped out, they would be able to lead the experiment.

You'll find more photos and great tips from Brenda's mad scientist party on her blog.

here's to the birthday girls and boys

Like this design? Create an Evite invitation with this image.

Ladies (ladies ladies) aaaaaand gentlemen (gentlemen gentlemen), prepare to be dazzled by our omgsocute kids' birthday invitations!

We're adding new invitations each week that are sure to please all of your favorite little ballerinas, princesses and cowboys.

Looking for an invitation that matches the party activities? Sure! Check out our invites featuring everything from an amusement park to the zoo. Bounce house? Got it. Laser tag? Check.

Or would you prefer a more classic kids' birthday image? Okay, how about cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes and balloons, balloons, balloons?

color me impressed

Do you know what you're looking at? No, it's not candy; it's crayons! Even better, it's beautiful, new crayons you can make from your old, broken crayons. Magic!

Instructables, one of our favorite websites, has an easy 10-step guide (with photos) to turning your old crayons into supercute new art supplies — and great gifts for baby showers and kids' goodie bags!

Learn how to remake your crayons. According to the creator, Instructables member SomArtMama, making these crayons is easy, yet a bit time-consuming, and all you need are wax crayons, aluminum cans, wooden sticks, a large pan and candy molds (which is how you get these great shapes).

Note: Be sure to keep these crayons away from younger children, who may be tempted to eat them. Honestly, I'm a bit tempted to take a nibble myelf.

what's new, pussycat?

Guess who just had a birthday? Hello Kitty, our favorite mouthless feline, turned 34 on November 1. 34! This pretty little kitty has been a part of countless celebrations throughout the years.

Here's how to add some of her cat class to your party:

• Piiiiiiink decorations. Party America has plenty of Kitty-themed party goods.
• Cut pink and red ribbons into bows for guests to put in their hair. (Left side, please.)
• A Kitty-faced birthday cake looks and tastes sweet. Here are instructions on how to make a variety of Kitty cakes.
• For party favors, get cute kitty merch from Sanrio, including pens, pencils, memo pads and stickers.
• If you have money to burn, deck yourself out in jewelry and watches designed by Kimora Lee Simmons for Hello Kitty. We're talking diamonds, people. Kitty's one fancy cat.

To really be the cat's meow at your party, pepper these fun Kitty facts into your party banter:

• Her full name is Kitty White, and she lives in London with her parents and twin sister, Mimmy.
• Mimmy wears a bow above her right ear, rather than her left, so people can tell her and Kitty apart.
• Kitty has a pet ... cat named Charmmy Kitty. A cat with a pet cat. Odd, yes, but just go with it. Charmmy looks a bit more feline than Kitty, so it works. As for the name, Charmmy wears the key to Kitty's jewelry box as a charm around her neck. A smart move, especially if Kitty has indulged in Kimora's collection of jewelry bearing her image.
• Kitty weighs the same as three apples. (So do I!)