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4 Crucial Things To Organize Before You Throw The Garden Party Of The Year

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One of the most exciting things you can ever do is throw a garden party for all your friends. It gives you the chance to invite people you don’t get to spend quality time with. Everyone can come together and have a huge celebration. The garden is the obvious place to have it because you don’t want your home destroyed, but at the same time you are never more than 10 meters away from the comfort of your castle. Have a party somewhere else and it doesn’t feel the same. It might be great, but it just won’t feel the same.

The only thing you need to remember is that it has to be well-planned. You can’t just expect everyone to come around and stand about in your garden. If you want it to be amazing there’s some things you need to do and they might need to be done well in advance. You don’t want to run around at the last minute when you should be getting ready to burst open a cold bottle of beer. Grab your pen and paper so you can write these down and get on them straight away. Just don’t be surprised if you’re asked to host a lot more parties in the future.

Book a tent

This one is the most important out of the lot. You definitely can’t expect all your guests to stand outside when it’s raining. Who knows when there will be a downpour at this time of year? If you have a tent erected somewhere in the garden it means you have somewhere to sit if the worst happens. It’s also a good idea to keep the food undercover. If your garden is big it saves you running backwards and forwards to the kitchen all the time. Once you book one they will come and put it up for you before your party starts.

Hire a big barbeque

This is going to depend on how many people will be at the party. If there’s only a few people you might get away with using a small barbecue you have lying around, but if there’s lots of people you don’t want them to go hungry. That’s why you should have a big barbecue and there will always be plenty of food sizzling away. If you wanted to be really fancy you could even hire someone to come out and cook everything for you. Find out the costs and see if it fits into your budget.

Have lots of lighting

People need to see what they’re doing. It’s nice to look someone in the eye when you’re talking to them instead of staring into the pitch black. You have many options to choose from. If there’s lots of trees lying around in your garden you can hang lights from them. There’s also the solar powered LED ones that you can stick into the ground. Just make sure they’ve been set-up for a few days so you know they are working, plus it gives them a chance to absorb some sunlight. Apparently solar powered lights need this. Who knew?

Make sure everything is safe

The final thing you have to do is to make sure everything is safe. There’s also inviting people and buying alcohol, but I’m sure you can manage that. How can you make sure everything is safe? Well start by clearing the garden so people don’t trip up on anything. If you have a swimming pool you should have a rope around it. The last thing you need is someone falling into the water and no-one seeing what happened. Make sure all electrical cables are tucked away and covered. Make sure you do these four things then you can worry about the entertainment.

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David Hall is a home improvement expert and knows how to organize parties properly. If you too are planning to throw a party then do visit www.portablesheltersonline.com for more information.

You’ve Got Casters — Why Not Roll On Them?

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It’s better to ride than walk, some would say, and despite the lack of interest in gaining the benefit of physical exertion that the statement implies, there is a bit of wisdom there that can be used when you’re dealing with extremely weighty object that you might need to move from time to time, and you don’t happen to own a crane or a fork lift, and yet you have to find a reasonable way to get the grand piano from one room to another, or to rearrange the sofa and a bunch of easy chairs that are beginning to clutter the room to which they are assigned, and you know that if you make a few minor adjustments you can begin to clear pathways through that packed room that are sorely needed and that the room will suddenly appear to be fully pulled together again and a lot more useable for any number of family activities that you could be employing it for.

Taking a Different Approach

So don’t break your back lifting lots of heavy stuff that will only result in some strained muscles and herniated discs, which will put you out of commission for an indefinite amount of time, and will certainly not help in the speedy resolution to your cluttered room problem. You can take a much different approach to the problem and simply order furnishings that come equipped with caster wheels, which will certainly make you life a great deal easier.

Once you have the bulk of your heavy furnishings up on wheels it will suddenly free you to try different furniture arrangements that you might not have bothered with before because the effort it would have taken to move things around, and then rearrange them if the plan that you were testing didn’t work out, made it all seem like and exercise in futility.

Enjoying the Freedom

Once you get all of your heavy stuff on furniture casters, watch out, because the freedom that it will suddenly give you might turn out to be habit inducing, so don’t be surprised if you find that it’s four in the morning and you’ve suddenly snapped awake with a new idea for a floor plan, and you just can’t wait until dawn to try it out, so you’ve hobbled downstairs and are moving things around and getting into the spirit of the whole furniture rearrangement craze that you have mentally signed onto, and your spouse suddenly appears at the top of the stairs and asks you what you’re doing, and you have to explain that it’s all about the casters, and how they have not only changed the complexion of your living room, but have become a life-changing revelation to you, and that you plan to pursue the possibilities that casters allow as your life’s work.

If this happens to you, do not be surprised – just go with it.

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Eric Blair writes about office furniture types and various way of making a workplace more productive with the use of ball casters from CoolCasters and other useful appliances.

Extreme Home Decorating Ideas for This Holiday Season

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Ah, the joys of driving through your neighborhood around the holidays “oooh”ing and “ahhh”ing over the lights and joyous decorations that you see as you pass by each house. It’s a beautiful sight to see – so joyous and warm and inviting – it really is the epitome of the holiday spirit.

But there’s always an inner battle between your household and your neighbors between who can have the best holiday decorations each year, and it’s a battle that you just might win if you take some of these extreme home decorating ideas for this holiday season.

A Walk-In Gingerbread House

At Halloween, there are haunted houses. During the holidays, why not set up a walk-through gingerbread house in your yard?

Your house will be the attraction of the neighborhood, especially among the kids, if you set up a house that’s decorated from top to bottom in twinkling lights and fresh green wreaths. Inside, set up a display similar to those you see in malls when Santa visits – put in a big throne and have someone manning the Santa station at all times so kids can come visit and sit on his lap to tell him what they want for Christmas.

Make sure you decorate with lots of over-sized decorations. Think about a regular gingerbread house with all of the candy canes and gumdrops and pretty decor and replicate those same decorations on a much larger scale for a wildly successful walk-in holiday gingerbread house!

Santa and Sleigh on the Roof

No holiday house is complete until it’s decorated with a life size Santa sitting in a huge sleigh atop the roof of the house. And don’t forget the reindeer, too! Nine giant reindeer, including Rudolph, of course, make for a complete Santa scene that looks as real as can be.

For added effect, rig up some heavy-duty wiring into a nearby tree next to your house. Install the first few reindeer in the pack so that they look like they are lifting off up and away into the sky by securing them to the anchored wire. The neighborhood kids will love the illusion, and you’ll revel in knowing that no one else in your neighborhood thought of the idea before you!

A Singing Choir of Angels

Fortunately for you, this scene is fairly easy to pull of thanks to modern technology. All you really have to do is buy a few huge lit choir angels and place them in your yard. You can even buy ones that are attached to motors so that they move, or you can always install your own motors to customize the movement of your angels.

Then, all of you have to do is play some music around the display that goes with the movement of your angels, and you have yourself a giant singing choir of angels. Choose songs that are more hymnal than the classic holiday jingles, but be sure to mix those in here and there, too.

A Huge Christmas Tree

Nothing says the holidays like a giant Christmas tree in your yard that’s decked out in lights, ribbons and garland galore.

Choose the largest tree in your yard, or even bring in one from another location (we’re talking huge Christmas trees, like along the lines of the Rockefeller Plaza tree) and bring in the fire department with their huge ladders to help you get the lights strung all the way to the top of the tree. Don’t forget a large lit-up star on top of the tree to complete your holiday yard, and be sure to add the little details, too, like the ribbons and garland!

Your yard will be sure to be a hit with these extreme holiday decoration ideas – but remember to be creative, be original and don’t be afraid to go over the top!

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Ann Michaels is a freelance writer who loves preparing for Christmas. Her favorite day of the year is when she gets to bring out her life size Santa displays and start setting up her yard for the holidays!

How To Make An In-Home Bar, Your Friends Will Never Leave!

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Staying in is the new going out; and what better way to make sure that yours is the house people choose to stay in then to create your very own in-home bar. The question is where to start and what items should you add to ensure that your friends never want to leave. Jukeboxes, cocktail table arcade games, TVs and memorabilia are always good things to consider.


The Basics

Every good bar starts with the basics; you need drinks, somewhere to serve them and something to sit on while you enjoy them. While the liquid refreshment is the most important item in the bar- it is probably the last item you will add. Start with the bar and the seating. A good bar needs to be solid, at the right height to lean on and easy to clean. A varnished hardwood is the perfect material to choose and can be stained before varnishing to fit the decor of the room. How big of a bar you aim for depends greatly on the size of the room, whether you want a long bar or a corner set up, and how much room your other amenities are going to need. Bar stools need to fit in with the overall theme of your bar and more specifically be the right height for your bar or tables; there is nothing worse than not being able to reach your beer.

Making it individual

You have finished your bar seating, but, your in-home bar is a little flat and not very exciting; you need to personalize it. Decide on a theme; do you want sports, rustic, or disco themed bar? It’s good to hang memorabilia or pictures that relate to you theme; it will give it character and give your friends something to talk about over their drinks. It is also a good idea to make odd changes and then to see if your guests notice them; you can do this by updating sports cuttings or changing the color of the lighting over your bar area.

Music, television and games

Think carefully before you spend a fortune on items and consider the amount of space you have and the theme you have chosen. If you have decided on having a games bar then cocktail table arcade games and a pool or foosball table will be perfect. Adding a jukebox is an easy way to add atmosphere, which could also cause outbursts of out of tune singing late at night. If you are having a sport themed bar then a television that you can watch sports on with your friends is perfect.

And Finally

All that is left to do is make sure you are stocked with your friends’ favorite drinks; don’t forget something for the drivers, and invite your friends around for an amazing evening in with you, your new bar, and your cocktail table arcade games.

Chuck Stevens is a part of an elite team of writers who have contributed to hundreds of blogs and news sites. Follow him @chuckstevens12.

Five Cheap And Easy Ways To Increase Your Home’s Security

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If you love your home, and your own personal safety, beefing up your home security is always going to make sense. And though there are certainly many expensive solutions available, most people are surprised to learn just how much can be achieved with a little bit of DIY.

If you want a more secure home, you don’t need to call a security company. And you certainly don’t need to install an expensive surveillance system. All you need is a little bit of time and DIY know how. Here are five tips for turning your home into a fortress without raiding your savings.

Replace Your Locks

Lesson one when it comes to DIY home security is to beef up your locks. This can be done in three steps.

  • Install deadbolts on all of your exterior doors. When shopping for deadbolts, stick to those with three inch screws and strike plates that are at least a quarter of an inch thick.
  • Install pry proof locks on all of your windows. You might be surprised to learn just how easily most windows can be opened, even when locked.
  • Lock your mailbox. Very few homeowners bother to do this and that’s one of the reasons that identity theft is such a big problem. You wouldn’t hand your bank statement to a stranger, don’t leave your mailbox unlocked.

Increase Your Homes Visibility

If you’re home isn’t visible from the road, it’s significantly more likely to be targeted by a burgler. Unfortunately, the more privacy your home has, the easier it is for a burgler to break in unnoticed.

If there are any obstacles between your home and the road, ask yourself how you can get rid of them. Such obstacles are known to make houses an attractive choice for those looking to commit a burglary.

Light Things Up

Though day time burglaries certainly do happen, statistically your home is far more likely to be broken into during the hours of darkness. And one of the easiest ways to protect your home from such break ins is to light it up.

You should aim to install exterior lighting around all of your homes weakest points i.e. its doors and ground floor windows. To avoid ridiculously high energy bills, opt for lights that are controlled by a motion sensor.

Install a Fake Security Camera

Expensive surveillance systems are impressive, but did you know that a wooden box that looks like a camera can be just as effective? Burglars don’t like the look of security cameras and they rarely spend very much time inspecting those that they see.

A fake security camera made of nothing but wood and glass is therefore more than capable of acting  as a serious deterrent to anyone considering breaking into your home.

Install a DIY Alarm System

Finally, getting an alarm system professionally installed can work out pretty expensive but the same cannot be said for alarm systems that you install yourself. DIY alarm systems are widely available, surprisingly cheap and come complete with detailed instructions.

The best DIY alarm systems are typically the wireless variety. Wireless systems are not only easier to install, they are easier to both move around and expand at a later date.

Charles Anderson writes informative articles about creative interiors and unique home interior styles. To know more, visit snowplowstuff.com.

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