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Expert: Phyllis Cambria - PartyPlansPlus.com - 1/8/2004


Question
Help!   I am planning a 40th wedding anniversary party for my parents.  I live in Baltimore, and the party will be in Louisville, KY at my parents country club. I have the food and decorations under control.  I need ideas to entertain the guests and to keep the party alive!

Thanks for your help.
Andrea

Answer
Hi Andrea!
Please pass along my congrats to your folks! :)

Well, why not hire a DJ to play music from the '50s, '60s and '70s -- which is the music of their lives.

A slight-of-hand magician mingling with the crowd during the cocktail hour would be fun. Or you could hire a caricaturist to make drawings of the guests during the cocktail hour or a psychic.

The country club's event coordinator or catering director should be able to provide you with some recommendations.

You and your siblings or their grandchildren should also plan to make some toasts, read some tributes, and the like. Perhaps ask a few of their closest friends or their siblings to relate some humorous (but BRIEF)stories about them.

You can even have a custom song written for them that everyone can sing along to that includes all sorts of fun facts about them.  I did that for my dad's birthday recently and it was a huge hit.

You can find more about that at:
http://www.pattysachs.com/songs.htm

Hope that helps.  Have fun!  And please don't forget to rate me. :)

Phyllis Cambria
Co-author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party" and "The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Choosing a Caterer"  

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Phyllis Cambria - PartyPlansPlus.com

Expertise

After 20 years in the special event, party planning and wedding coordinating business, I have planned virtually every type of celebration. I`ve produced intimate dinners for two and festivals for 10,000. I`ve done fund-raisers, golf tournaments and galas for non-profit agencies; product launches, groundbreakings, dedications, open houses, company picnics, holiday parties and other corporate or event marketing events; festivals, fairs and award programs; and,for the social market, I`ve planned everything from birthdays to b`nai mitzvahs to banquets to baby and bridal showers.

Experience

I have worked for more than 20 years in the special events industry as an in-house event coordinator for a non-profit foundation and college, associate producer for an event company that specialized in producing fairs and festivals, an event planner for a company that produced corporate and social events, and am now the owner of my own company (with Patty Sachs) -- PartyPlansPlus.com -- which specializes in working with party hosts who prefer to do the job themselves but need expert guidance. I also am a frequent speaker for conventions, trade shows, and seminars specializing in giving advice on entertaining for business or social occasions and marketing.

Organizations
International Special Events Society

Publications
I am co-author, with Patty Sachs, of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party." I've also written articles on event planning for "Party and Paper Retailer," "Reunion Magazine," "Weddingpages.com," "WeddingOccasions.com" and other publications. My designs have been featured in "Special Events Magazine."

Awards and Honors
· Florida Festival and Events Association - Best Marketing Campaign
· International Association of Business Communicators - Public Relations Campaign
· International Festival and Events Association - Best New Event Promotion
· National Council Marketing and Public Relations - Promotional Campaign
· Special Events Magazine - Best Wedding on a Budget $25,000 or Less (coordinated while employed at the Florida Renaissance Festival)

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