Gnomeo and Juliet, what a fun play on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, is a new movie about to hit the big screen.  It’s all about Gnomeo and his sweetheart, Juliet.  As with the original story, these gnomes find that their love is destined for trouble given the neighboring feud between the red and blue hat gnomes.  Alas, this is a garden adventure of a lifetime for these gnomes.  What a fun movie for the kids and a fun party to spice up a typical garden party theme.  I always thought those gnomes would make darling characters and, no doubt, this movie is ready to take you for a ride.

1. Send out red hat and blue hat Gnome Invitations, inviting your party guests to have a Gnome Good Time! Use red and blue heavy card stock cut out into hat shapes with the party details on one side.  Have the birthday child decorate the gnome hats.

2. The colors are blue and red all over the party area, including balloons, streamers, and tableware.  Of course, this is the perfect party to host outdoors in your own gnome garden! Make sure to have gnomes decorating the garden area too.

3. When the children arrive, have red and blue felt hats set out for the kids to decorate and wear during the party.  Make sure there are equal numbers of blue and red hats so you can later the divide the kids into teams.

4. Play Hide and Seek the Gnome.  Simply hide your gnomes and give the kids a minute to find them.

5. Lawnmower Races.  Set out two child lawnmowers and divide the kids into two teams based on their hats.  Have the kids race their lawnmowers from one end and back again until all team members have completed a turn.  First team done wins!

6. Set up a series of Gnome obstacles for the kids to do in the yard.  Cartwheels, jumping jacks, jump rope, somersaults, etc. would all be fun and have the kids act like gnomes as they complete their obstacles.

7. Play Follow The Gnome, just like Follow the Leader.

8. Set up a Gnome Buffet for the kids to enjoy.  Fill white cones full of red and blue treats: berries with whipped cream, flavored popcorn, and blue and red nacho chips.  Red and blue flavored juices and punch would be a great choice for Gnome juice.  Finally, serve cupcakes frosted red and blue for a feuding gnome treat!

9. For your party favor, send them home with their Gnome hats and miniature gnome statues too.

10. Gnomeo and Juliet would make a great movie birthday outing with a few friends too.  I still suggest wearing gnome hats to the theater for added fun!

Havaianas sandals are a Brazilian-based company known for comfort, fun and style. These punchy sandals have jolts of color, which make them fashionably hip with a hint of the beach lifestyle. With a variety of colors for men and women, Havaianas sandals can be seen from the streets to the red carpet. Now, the kids can wear Havaianas too! Your youngster will be the boss of the beach in T-Rex sandals from Havaianas Kids. These stylish flip flops are rocking a sweet dinosaur print and the flexible sole makes them perfect for throwing into a beach bag before a family outing. There are styles for boys and girls now on Zappos.com.

For the pre-teen set, Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to host a fun sleepover party, especially for girls. If you don’t mind staying up all night to bond, this is the perfect Valentine’s gathering for you!  Alternatively, if you have a young child that would also like to have a slumber party, but you may think she is too young, incorporate these ideas into a “faux” slumber party that takes place during the early evening and the kids can go home afterwards.

For a fabulously sweet slumber party, check out these ideas:

Given that you have the entire night (or even if it a faux slumber party) make Valentine’s Day decorations at your party. Purchase balloons, red and pink construction paper, glitter glue, markers, pipe cleaners, and cotton balls. Your guests can create valentines, blow up balloons, and make paper chains and cupids to decorate your home.

Play a game of Valentine Charades.

Make up a romantic story, or a fairytale story for young children. Provide writing supplies and have the kids write a number-one-best-selling romantic tale. Have everyone decide on the heroine’s name and then write it on a piece of paper. Fold the paper over and pass it to the first writer. She will think up the name for the hero. Continue to pass the paper along, and ask each guest to take on a different plot point, such as how the boy and girl meet, their first words, what happened next, what action happened to pull them apart, what heroic action took place to bring them together again, what their best friends think, etc. Make sure to have each guest fold the paper down after she has written her part. After the story is done, open the entire piece of paper and read it aloud!

Using boxes of conversation hearts, have the group make the longest sentence possible using the words on the candies.

Play your favorite music and dance! If you have a Karaoke machine or know someone who does, this would be a great time to use it.

Enjoy giving each other manicures, pedicures, and facials – make sure to use pink and red polish.

Have a pair of spiky high heels on hand, and have the kids set up an obstacle course that they must walk around and through with the high heels on.  Make sure this is supervised so no one gets hurt.

Play Musical Sleeping Bags, as you play Musical Chairs. The kid left outside of a sleeping bag is “out.”

Watch fun movies related to Valentine’s Day. Let the kids choose, as long as you agree as the host parent! Serve popcorn with a variety of toppings. Cinnamon and sugar would be yummy for this holiday.

Make mini heart-shaped pizzas for dinner. Have the kids cut readymade pizza dough into the shape of a heart, place their favorite toppings on it, and bake.

Enjoy a full evening of chocolate, with chocolate fondue, chocolate dipped pretzels, hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, and small boxes of chocolates.

In the morning, enjoy a batch of heart-shaped pancakes served with strawberry syrup and a cup of fruit on the side.

Send the guests home with pink and red lip-gloss, nail polish, hand soap, facial scrub, chocolates, and bubble bath placed into a small, red, personalized pail.

Do green beans want to go to the party in your tummy? Do you know that no one wants to be left out? Break it down, and just dance with the whole gang from Yo Gabba Gabba! Get your youngster a fresh pair of Vans Classic Slip-Ons with his/her favorite character. The word on the street is these shoes will be available for adults later this year too, so be patient parents. Check out the video below of Plex skating it up with pro skaters Bucky Lasek and Christian Hosoi skating to the iconic “Freedom of Choice” by Devo (the video is a throwback to Devo’s original video for the song):

Finding fashionable and functional diaper bags can be a tough task for fashionista mothers, but Timi and Leslie makes sleek diaper bags inspired by vintage shapes and fabrics. The baby bags as they are called come in all sorts of fabrics from vintage looking prints to basketball leather. There was a need for a hip yet functional diaper bag, Timi and Leslie baby bags were the pioneers to fill this void. 

Leslie’s latest diaper bag collection is chic and sophisticated, using fun fabrics with vintage-inspired prints, and a small shoulder-strap. The ladylike shapes hark back to a more elegant time when ladies didn’t lug 10-pound sacks filled with life’s many necessities around every day, but still have Newton’s signature whimsical touches. 

The Timi and Leslie Diaper Bags Hannah is a glamorous synthetic leather diaper bag that holds several bottles, diapers, a snack and even has room for a few of mommy’s things. The matching accessory clutch, bottle thermos, changing pad and stroller straps look so fashion friendly that no one would even think you are carrying a diaper bag.  To see the full line of Timi and Leslie diaper bags, head over to Zappos.com.

The Green Hormet is about to come to the big screen this January.  It’s a perfect movie outing for school-aged boys who are interested in regular guys using their talents to become super heroes and defeat the bad guys. The Black Beauty car looks uber cool too.  This movie would not only make a great movie outing, but a fun party theme too.  Keep these Green Hornet party ideas in mind to bring this theme together.

Send a Green Hornet Invitation.  Create a paper Black Beauty car using heavy black card stock.  On the reverse side, cut out green paper that can be placed directly on Black Beauty and write your party details on the Green Hornet side.  Use language calling your party guests, Kato, and inviting them to help fight crime with The Green Hornet:

Think about this, Kato. We’ve been completely wasting our potential. This city needs our help. We could be heroes! We will *pose* as villains to get close to the bad guys. That way, no one will suspect we’re really the good guys. Will you come with me on this adventure?

Of course, your Green Hornet decorations should be green and black. Use these colors for balloons, streamers, and tableware.  Additionally, hang Black Beauty cars with fishing line from the ceiling of the party room and above the party table too.

When the party guests arrive, provide the kids with masks for the kids to wear during The Green Hornet party.  Additionally, paint Green Hornets on their faces.

For a Green Hornet craft, provide the kids with wood block cars that the kids can paint and decorate into their own Black Beauty cars.  These would be perfect to take home as a party favor.

Play Kato Tag.  Have the birthday child play Kato and set out to tag the others.

Provide the kids with green slime and have a slime-throwing contest among the party guests.

Divide the kids into two teams: The Green Hornets and the Kato(s). Set up a relay race where the kids must run to one end of the party area, and dress up as either The Green Hornet or as Kato and rush back and have the next child do the same.  First team done wins.

Black Beauty Race.  Provide the teams with two cars, any type will do, and have the kids race their Black Beauty cars.

When it comes to your Green Hornet party menu, think about the fast food scene where The Green Hornet and Kato try to order fast food and blow up the restaurant instead.  Serve up hamburgers and fries to your guests, along with fruit slices (a healthy treat), and green milkshakes (add in green food coloring!) Additionally, a batch of your favorite cupcakes, topped with green frosting and candies would also be thematic.

For your party favor, have the kids take home their masks and Black Beauty cars as a perfect party take away.

The days of pastel-colored diaper bags are done. Being a mom can be one of the most exuberant experiences of a woman’s life and your style doesn’t have to go down the drain with the diaper bag. Skip Hop is a New York City-based company whose only devotion is to make life easier on today's new generation of parents. They genuinely care about each and every mother and father in the world, and only hope to design extraordinary products that can accommodate everyone. They have a down-to-the-core, deep understanding of what parents today are going through because they have been through it, too. Skip Hop believes that you are just as stylish and empowered now, if not more, than you were before joining parenthood. There's nothing more exciting than becoming a parent and now there is a company on your side.

Skip Hop creates diaper bags, backpacks, and carry-all bags that are very versatile, multifunctional and organizing, but they still keep parents and their children looking stylish. Looking to take the family out for a nice dinner? The Skip Hop Studio Baby Bag is a hot commodity that can be matched with a little black dress. Made of polyester, PVC-free and eco-friendly materials, this beauty holds bottles or sippy cups, diapers, a changing pad, a bib and a blanket, but don't forget about the parents' keys, wallet and cell phone. For the errand-running mommy, the Skip Hop Versa Baby Bag is the ultimate cross-body bag for the fashion-forward mommy-on-the-go. 

Skip Hop not only has a wide selection of styles, but also a variety of colors and fabrics to suit any preference. Products include solid colors to patterns, mix and match, buckles or snap closure and fabrications made of easy-to-maintain fabrics such as soft cotton knit to plush velour. Remember, Skip Hop designs products with only you and your children in mind. They change for you, not the other way around.

It can be tough finding a shoe that not only fits your little girl properly, but also that she enjoys wearing. Dansko has been in the clogs business for two decades and their approach to the classic Danish clog is unmatched. Available in several different colors and materials, Dansko kids’ shoes have the same aesthetic, quality and design that Dansko adult shoes have. With Dansko, she’ll love the way they feel almost as much as she loves the way they look. 

The Dansko Kids Jada is a modern, stylish twist on the classic Dansko style. The high quality leather upper adds years to the clog’s life and she’ll love the heart-shaped buckle closure. The roomy Thermoplastic toe box provides durable reinforcement and toe protection while allowing toes to move comfortably. If she prefers slip-ons, the Jemma is the perfect complement to any outfit. The PVC inner frame provides stability and reduces torque and pronation.

For the classic Dansko look and an ideal mommy-and-me style, the Gitte Patent features high quality leather upper that follows the natural contours of the foot. It has a smooth, clean finish with the natural irregularities removed. It is the easiest leather to maintain, and can be wiped clean with soap and water.

Whether you are trying to find a matching pair to wear with your little girl, or you just want to give her a pair of clogs that she’ll adore – Dansko is the brand to turn to. Check out the full line of Dansko products on Zappos.com.