Tag Archives: mad men party

Party Favors for Bachlorette/Bachelor, Weddings and Adult Birthday Parties—DIY “Hangover Kits” with Free Printable

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Dont deny it, as kids one of the best things about parties was the party favor we got to take home at the end.

When we first decided on a Mad Men themed charity dinner, we knew we needed to pass out “thank you” favors for all the guests who donated. We had a prize raffle drawing, but needed a little “fun”  adult favor to show our appreciation.

Surfing pinterest for an upcoming Bachlorette party I discovered “hangover kits” were a  neat way to round out a long weekend. A scaled down, mini version would be perfect for our Mad Men party.  

As promised here is the little How-to for these adult party favors. As well as the free (and customizable) printables so you can recreate them for your event.

Firstly all the items were bought on Amazon and/or at our local grocery store.

The kit includes Advil, a packet of instant coffee, some life saver breath mints, and a box of matches with the label “At times like this what would Don Draper do?”

People asked me why matches? Well for one, they were just so fun to customize, and perfect for our Mad Men themed party. The second, (I will try to explain this as delicately as possible), did your old school grandpa ever tell you there is a box of matches in the bathroom?😉( a hold over from the depression and WWII, but still an effective technique) Just say’in, and just in case…

Either way customizing match boxes is one of the easiest projects for your themed party. Just print, cut and stick. Theses labels print perfectly on the Avery address labels 5162

Here is the free matchbox printable: MAD MEN Labels Don Draper

You will need to cut them to the size of your match boxes. However I just used my cricut straight cut, peeled them from the backing and stuck them on the match boxes.

  

The second printable for the favor bag, you will be able to customize your name and event, but these are also printed on Avery 5162 labels.  No cutting necessary but you may need to ensure your favor bags are large enough for these labels. (I had extra bags leftover from my wedding or I’d provide more details, but they can be purchased at most craft stores)

Here is the Hangover Kit Printable (minus our initials and events info)

  

Then we just packed them all full of “goodies” and were passed out at the party. You can also customize the favor goodies, such as attaching them to mini water bottles, adding starbucks gift cards, including cold packs and/or cheap sunglasses etc. (Anything that might help a hungover friend the next day😉)

 However for our little shindig these were perfect. Easy, simple, and budget friendly, we were glad to provide our friends with a little laugh and a big thank you. Hope your next adult event is amazing! Happy Sunday everyone!

“Mad” for a Cure…Hosting a Mad Men Party and Private Charity Dinner! 

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This post has been pulling on my heart strings for the past week. I will admit there were tears, and definitely deep gratitude to our amazing friends and family. Five years ago we made a promise, during one of the hardest times of our lives, to pay it forward. We didn’t know how we would do it, but we just would. 

Four months ago I reminded the hubs of our “karmic” promise of paying it forward and asked him what we should do? Surprisingly my very private, anti-party, husband came up with the idea of hosting a charity dinner…[Gasp] Did the world just turn upside down?!...Not really, he called my love for party planning, my “evil super power“, and that it should be used for good deeds.

Challenge accepted! 😉

Hence our Mad Men Charity Dinner came to be!

We used our “secret” five year wedding anniversary as an excuse to party.

 As “gifts” we asked friends and family to donate to two of our favorite charities: The Leukemia Lymphoma Society and the SAMFund. Most are familiar with LLS, but very few know of the SAMFund, it’s one of the very few direct grant charities for cancer patients/survivors; financially assisting those with medical debt, medication expenses, utilities, etc. (Because getting to “cancer free”, isn’t free.) 

This is where our friends and family were amazing (and I tear up)…Just from our little “shindig” and, those who couldn’t attend, we raised $3000.00 of direct and indirect donations! (The post office clerk thought I was probably insane when I mailed all the checks this week…Mascara running down my cheeks and “ugly crying” from tears of gratitude) 

Now let me stop with the mushy stuff (or the water works will start all over again) and let’s get on to the fun party details, Mad Men decor and a little harmless “debauchery”, circa 1960s…





Thrift store entrance signs and  gold flamingos on the lawn. A “must” for any Mad Men party (found pink flamingos at Ross and spray painted all of them with Rustoleums gold metallic paint) 

First off, to those following our little blog, know I’m a Midcentury addict and lover of vinyl records. Any excuse to bring out my collection of vintage serving and barware, or play some records is my “bag” baby😉





We offered a sparkling gin punch, all the fixings for Manhattans, Mai Tais, Martinis and Lemon drops. Tony Bennett, and Brazil 66 played in the background. 



Beer, wine, sparkling apple cider, coke in bottles, and water were all outside. To  keep tummies from rumbling we filled two large jars full of peanuts and Chex mix. Our guests could fill paper trays and serve themselves snacks. 







Decorating was sooo much fun! I found tons of vintage ads, put them in dollar store frames and displayed them around each table. I scored a 1960s Betty Crocker “Dinner for Two” cookbook at a garage sale, for our guests to sign. ï»¿ï»¿

 As a way to say thank you to our guests we had a raffle drawing. For every dollar donated guests received a raffle ticket for a chance to win prizes. Also everyone received “gag” thank you gifts/party favors ~Hangover Kits (we’ll have the free printables and details for the kits next blog post)





“Dinner” started as heavy on the appetizers; cheese plate, dips, and small bites. We were sure to stay true to the era and included, Swedish meatballs, a molded dip, relish trays, stuffed celery with pimentos, deviled eggs, rolled salami bites, Hawaiian rolls, ham, wedge salads, etc. By 9pm as our family tradition, we had pizzas delivered to help absorb the alcohol😉





Dessert was cupcakes I decorated with gummies rolled and skewered into “martini olives” and bubble gum cigarettes “stubbed out” with chocolate sprinkles



We offered bubble gum cigarettes displayed throughout the house, along with my collection of vintage books, magazines and vinyl records. 





I resurrected a 1960s Polaroid land camera. We found film and I was able to snap a few photos before the sun went down. 



Little brother hamming it up for the camera “Don Draper” style 😉



The party was mainly outside, (and where most of the fun happened). Thank  goodness for perfect weather, since our little house was at max capacity. However we tried not to disappoint by decorating the backyard. ï»¿





My friend who owns a thrift store lent us some vintage lamps which we used for accents and just to add ambience.



We created centerpieces from thrift store cocktail shakers, and green mums. 

 Now onto my favorite part…Our guests! One of my best friends has the most darling Etsy shop Lenore Loves where she sells hand made party and event items. She loaned us some fabulous photo booth props for the event and the swanky pictures speak for themselves!





Oh and the pics get even better…We have the most glamorous friends and family…





Seriously this is one of my favorite pictures of the night…





We are so, so, so thankful to our guests and all the generous giving! We hoped to provide them one outstanding party and a little inspiration to others. Maybe host your own charity event and “Party” Forward for a good cause?

When our houses are small or maybe not fully renovated, we are sometimes intimidated to host parties. Yet with a little kitsch, a whole lot of inspiration and good guests your party is bound to be a success! Happy Sunday everyone!