April Fools!

Now that we are supposed to be “social distancing”, let’s talk about an event that does not go against our 10 person maximum activities or any lockdown requirements. Whether you are in favor or against social distancing, it is happening around us. While a lot of people in our world have had to modify birthday parties, postpone weddings, and cancel other events and trips, there are still a few events that can take place right now! These events can also occupy your time during self isolation!

What fun events can you plan that involve 10 people or less and allow 6-feet between people you might ask? That’s simple, a play date with your dog! Please do this, but let’s talk about an actual event … we will get into play dates with our dogs later on. Let’s start with the next event in line … April Fools’ Day! Although it may feel like the world is currently playing one big joke on us, we can still play pranks on our friends and family that we are surrounded by … these pranks might even lighten the mood! Do you know the history behind April Fools’ Day? If not, you can read more about it here.

How about we start by pointing out a few basic rules for April Fool’s Day:

• Choose the appropriate audience for your prank
• Safety is always a priority
• Have fun!
• Keep the audience’s feelings in mind the entire time

First off, choose your audience. This could be family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers (if your business is still running day-to-day operations in person). There are pranks that I would choose for my family that I would definitely not choose for the workplace, and there are pranks I would choose for my friends that I would not choose for my family. This is why this is my first rule for April Fools’ Day pranks.

My second rule is safety. I never plan a prank for anyone that would put my audience or my own safety at risk. Pranks are supposed to be harmless and fun. If they are not safe, they are not fun for anyone! Which brings us to my next rule, have fun! Especially during this time in the world, it is so important to have fun, and it is even better if the person you are playing a prank on is having fun as well. That leads us into my last rule of keeping your audience’s feelings in mind. Pranks can really hurt people’s feelings if they are mean or hurtful. It is always important to ensure that the prank you are planning is going to give your audience a good chuckle or at least a smile! Now that we have the basic rules down, let’s plan some pranks!

I am going to give you a list of pranks, but I am not going to suggest an audience for you … hopefully you will be able to do that!

• Put lotion on the doorknob on the inside of the bathroom or room – it will be impossible to get the door open until someone realizes what has happened.
• Draw and cut out eyes for all of the items in the fridge – this will be a funny one for kids!
• Spill your nail polish onto wax paper and wait for it to dry, then peel it off and place it on someone’s bed sheets or the carpet – it will definitely freak someone out!
• Split a deck of cards into a couple piles and place them on top of someones bedroom fan – they will go everywhere when they turn their fan on!
• Cake pops … but instead of frosting cake, frost brussel sprouts and get ready to laugh!
• Replace hand sanitizer with clear Elemers Glue (the 2 oz bottle is probably the best size for this prank) … this prank might be a little cruel at this time!
• Draw a spider on your toilet paper or place a plastic spider on your toilet paper … another possibly cruel prank for the world right now! This would also be funny to do under a lamp shade – when they turn the lamp on, they might freak out!
• Make a piece of gum out of play-doh and wrap it up in a gum wrapper. When your friend asks you for a piece of gum, hand them the fake piece!
• Make “brownies” for the office … cut out the letter “e” from brown construction paper and place them in the brownie tin and watch the disappointment on everyone’s face!
• Replace the cream filling in oreos with toothpaste … gross, but funny!
• Put vegetables in a doughnut box and watch your family or coworkers get excited for doughnuts only to be disappointed when they see it is actually vegetables!
• Give someone a “thinking of you card” and fill the inside with glitter … they will have a glitter mess when they open the card!
• Mix M&Ms, Skittles, and Reece’s Pieces all in one bowl … watch as people grab a handful of three completely different candies!
• Scrape out someone’s deodorant, replace with cream cheese, mold it with your finger to look like deodorant, and get ready to laugh! (I recommend buying whoever you play this trick on another stick of deodorant so they aren’t too upset!)
• My favorite prank is pictured below! I think this prank will be approved any time of the year, not just April Fools’ Day! If you have car chalk, write the following phrase on the back of your friend’s car “Please honk and wave – she doesn’t know this is here!”. Another funny phrase you could put on the car is “Please honk and say ‘Hey *friend’s name*!’ – she doesn’t know this is here”. It will be a great prank, even after they see the writing!

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Photo credit: Macy Cate Williams

There are so many pranks that you can pull off, especially if you are participating in self-isolation! If you would like more prank ideas that are designated for younger kids, check out this website! Your kids are going to remember this time in self-isolation, so why not make it extra fun for them?! It would even be fun for you to encourage them to prank you back! Just make sure that you share the prank rules with them as well!

With all this being said, I just want you all to know that I have enjoyed writing blogs for everyone! Unfortunately, I will no longer be able to post blogs … April Fools! I will keep sharing all of my event and planning ideas with you!

If you have any successful April Fools’ Day pranks to share, please leave them in a comment below or email them to me at samanthalynnsamuelson@gmail.com. I would love to see how everyone’s pranks turn out!

Talk to you later!

Samantha

Staying Sane During Self-Isolation

As most of you know, we are going through a global pandemic right now — the spread of the Coronavirus. For some people, this means they are quarantined to their house from anywhere between 14 to 30 days without much social interaction. Those of us that are not quarantined to our houses are still urged to practice social distancing of 10 people or less. This can be a very stressful time for people, and it does not make it easier when people are stuck at home all day … trust me, I am on day 7 and I myself am going crazy!

How do you get through these next few weeks and stay sane while doing so? Some of us are at work, school, and other activities more that we are at our own house most of the time, but now we are supposed to strictly stay at home. A lot of people are panicking because of the global pandemic, but a lot others are panicking because staying home with our roommates or families for a few weeks seems stressful … some people are panicking for both reasons. I am going to help you come up with a few ways for you and your friends or family to get through this crazy time!

I think the most important thing to do, is to remind yourself of a few key realities. When you start to think “I am stuck at home”, replace that thought with “I get to be SAFE in my home and spend time with my family/friends”. When you start to get paranoid and think “I am going to get sick”, replace it with the mindset of “I will self-isolate and wash my hands, this will significantly decrease my chances of getting sick”. If you find yourself thinking “I will run out of items at home during self-isolation”, reassure yourself with “I have prepared for this and I will use my items wisely – I have everything I need for now”. Replace “everything is shutting down, I am panicking” with “The most important places, such as medical centers, pharmacies, and grocery stores remain open”. Lastly, if you find yourself worrying about all of the uncertainty, remind yourself “I cannot control the situation around me, but I can control my actions: breath work, calling loved ones, getting enough sleep and proper nutrition, prayer, and doing activities I love at home – these action will all help during this time”.

If you are worried about running out of activities to keep you and your family busy during self-isolation, well that’s where I come in! I am going to give you ideas for activities to stay sane while you are safe in your home either by yourself, with family, or with friends. During this time, it is important that you do not set yourself up for failure – such as giving yourself strict daily schedules that you may not be able to stand by. Do not beat yourself up if you sleep in an extra hour, take a midday nap, or don’t get through all your daily chores. Be nice to yourself and others during this insane time, everyone will be thankful for kindness!

Activities for one

• Movie day
• Start a new show on Netflix
• Reread your favorite novel
• Go through old scrapbooks, photo albums, and yearbooks
• Daily journal entry – you can find a list of random topics here
• Go through and get rid of clothes that you don’t wear anymore
• Try new recipes from a cookbook you’ve been wanting to make
• Daily play dates with your dog … treasure this time!
• Write letters to loved ones that live far away
• Enjoy a home spa day
• At home workouts
• Yoga
• Spring cleaning – here is one of my previous blogs to help you get started!

Activities for two or more

• Movie marathon
• Start a new series together on Netflix
• Board game day
• Plant flowers in the yard
• Have a baking competition
• Card night
• Go through old pictures together and point out your favorite ones that tell stories
• Come up with a play and post a video on social media for your friends to enjoy
• Have a painting contest and post pictures for your friends to vote for the best painting
• Group Spring cleaning – get the job done faster together!

Activities for the kiddos

• Craft day – find some creative kids crafts here
• Teach them the basics of cooking their favorite meals
• Have a karaoke contest
• Have them write a play and then act it out with them
• Play Bingo
• Teach them a new board game
• Read their favorite book with them
• Show them your favorite childhood cartoons
• Go through their rooms with them and have them make a charity pile
• Reorganize rooms
• Create cards for senior citizens for when self-isolation is over
• Play “store” where kids earn Monopoly money to buy extra snacks and treats for the day (see picture below)

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Photo Credit: Old Salt Farm

As you can see, there are a lot of activities that you can participate in while being in self-isolation in your home. Do not think of this as a negative time, think of this as a time to either spend with your loved ones or to get that self-care time you are always longing for. I know that being alone is quite dreadful for a lot of extroverts – if this is you, try to think of only positive things. Don’t forget, phones still work … so do not forget to use it to call friends and loved ones that you are not isolated with.

If you have any other ideas to stay busy while in self-isolation, please comment below – I would love to hear some other activities that I did not think to mention!

Talk to you later!

Samantha

Pack Like A Pro

Let’s be honest … packing is one of the most painful parts of taking a trip for most people. Packing takes up so much time and energy! So, I am going to take one of the most dreadful events and turn it into one of the easiest pre-travel events! You can use these packing tips for road trips, plane trips, for a three-day trip, or even a two-week trip!

Start with a packing list. The first and one of the most important steps is to make a list. I do not pack a single thing until I have made a complete list of every single item I am going to need for a trip. I am not kidding … even something as small as “Chapstick” goes on my pre-packing list. This is the only way to ensure that you pack everything you are going to think you need. Also, I start my packing list two weeks ahead of time. I do this because then I can keep adding to it to throughout a few weeks to make sure I have thought of everything. I put a symbol (*) next to the items I will be wearing on the plane or in the car on a road trip to make sure that I have them ready, but don’t accidently pack them in my bag

Lay out the items to pack before hand. When I have made sure that all of the necessary items are on my list, I start preparing to pack. I make sure that the night or day I want to pack, I start my laundry that morning. I do this because then I do not have to hang all of my clothes up just to take them off of the hangers when I need to pack them … it’s killing two birds with one stone. I dump all of the clean clothes from the dryer to my bed and separate the ones I need from the ones that will need to be put away. I then lay out every single thing that is on my list either on my floor or my bed. I do not check the items off my list when I lay them out … I check items off of my list when they go into my suitcase or backpack. (Another tip is to take that list with you to use it to ensure you bring each item home with you as well.)

I laid out two weeks of clothes for my upcoming Australia trip.

I also laid out all of the small things that fit into my personal item.

Use luggage cubes! These will save your life! Okay … maybe they won’t save your life, but they will make it possible to stay organized and add more items to your suitcase. You can buy inexpensive storage cubes on Amazon. The ones I bought came with 6 different cubes and bags, but sometimes you can find deals on larger quantities of cubes and bags.

Roll your clothes. I cannot stress this tip enough. Not only does rolling your clothes allow you to pack a lot more clothing items, but it also ensures that you clothes will not be wrinkly when you take them out of your suitcase. If you have a few items that are prone to wrinkle no matter what, I suggest taking travel size Downy Wrinkle Releaser in your carry on. You don’t want to have to spend your vacation ironing wrinkly clothes!

By using luggage cubes and rolling my clothes, all two week’s worth of clothes fit into one carry on bag … it’s like magic!

Try to do laundry at your destination. If you plan to stay in an Airbnb, a lot of the times you have access to a washer and dryer. I know, you’re probably thinking “Samantha … no one wants to do laundry while on vacation”. Trust me, I know and I don’t want to either, but it can save you from having to bring another suitcase. If you’re flying, taking another suitcase full of clothes can be quite pricy! I would rather save the money and take only one suitcase, and spend that money on something to do while on vacation!

Secure your liquid items. This is a very important step in the pre-packing process. Nothing is worse that getting to your destination and opening your luggage to find that your liquids leaked over all of your clothes and items. Here is how you prevent this from happening: unscrew the lids to your liquid bottles, take either plastic wrap from the kitchen or a sandwich bag and place it over the open part of the bottle, and screw the lid back on. This will prevent your liquids from leaking out of their bottles!

Leave your medications in the proper bottles. Do not take all of your pills out of the bottles they came in if you are traveling by plane. It is best to leave them in their bottles incase TSA has any questions. I know it is a pain while on vacation to keep track of all of your medications. What I do is take a pill case with me. When I arrive at my destination, I separate my pills into the SMTWTFS case and put the bottles away. This way I can still keep track of all of my daily vitamins and medications without having to keep track of the bottles everyday.

Use up empty space. You can fill empty space in your suitcase with little things to maximize your space. For example, stuff your socks into your shoes. Shoes take up a lot of space in your luggage, so if you can fill them with little things (pill bottles, socks, toiletry items, etc.) , you will have more room in the end!

Wear your bulky and heavy items on the plane. If you are running out of room in your suitcase, try taking the items that are taking up the most room to see if it is something you can wear on the plane. If I am going somewhere that I will need a rain jacket or winter coat, I always plan to wear it on the plane to free up space in my suitcase because you can always take these items off once you are on the plane to store under the seat in front of you.

Hopefully these tips help you and make your next packing experience easier! If you have any other packing tips or tricks, please leave them in the comment section!

Talk to you later!

Samantha

Bring on the Madness … March Madness!

March is my favorite month! Not because we are phasing out of Winter and not because of Spring Break. I love March because of two words … March Madness. There are 67 mens college basketball games that go on once the tournament starts. Every basketball fan counts down the days until March Madness starts. Some will even tell you that they prefer March Madness over the NBA finals!

You’re probably wondering why I am writing a blog about March Madness in my Events and Holiday Blog … well, March Madness is one crazy event! Another reason I am blogging about the March Madness Tournament is because I love basketball! If you’ve read my “About Me” page, you know this already. Just a side note, my favorite basketball teams are Nevada Wolfpack (college) and the Boston Celtics (NBA)!

Unfortunately, Nevada will not be in the March Madness Tournament this year, but they have been the previous three years. Even though my team will not be in the tournament, I could not be more excited for this time of year. It is very common for people to throw watch parties and even have a bracket competition. I am going to help you throw the perfect March Madness watch party that all of your friends are going to want an invitation to!

Selection Sunday is March 15th this year. As soon as the teams are chosen for the tournament, send out brackets to all of your friends to fill out! You can charge money for the brackets that the winner will receive at the very end or you can just do it for free. I do both! I have friends that want to play for money (usually $3 a bracket) and I have friends that would rather do it just for the fun! I really enjoy both ways. You can put a limit on how many brackets a person can fill out, but you can also let them fill out as many as they would like to. You can find blank brackets here.

If you’ve been reading my prior blogs, you know the drill … let’s start with food! I would go with an orange food theme, for obvious reasons. You can also add in food that is the color of the two teams playing. I feel like most times, there is a team in the championship games that is either blue or red. These are two really easy colors for foods. I will give you a few ideas for color coordinated foods:

Orange:

• Cheetos
• Carrots
• Oranges
• Cheddar Cheese
• Gatorade
• Sunny-D
• Jell-o
• Orange dyed cupcakes/frosting

Blue:

• Doritos
• Blue berries
• Cotton Candy
• Jell-o
• Gummy Bears
• Gatorade
• Blue dyed cupcakes/frosting

Red:

• Doritos
• Licorice
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Tomatoes
• Swedish Fish
• Cinnamon Bears
• Watermelon
• Gatorade
• Red dyed cupcakes/frosting

Yellow:

• Macaroni & Cheese
• Lemon Loaf
• Cheese
• Bannans
• Corn
• Pineapplef
• Peppers
• Popcorn
• Gatorade
• Lemonade
• Yellow dyed cupcakes/frosting

Look at these delicious and cute basketball themed appetizers! Photo credit: Beth

You can also serve basketball themed food! You can go to this website for many basketball themed foods to serve at your party that all of your friends are going to love! You can draw the basketball lines on almost anything, and it will go with your basketball theme! You can get edible markers in the baking section of most grocery stores!

Now, how about we decorate this party! If you are hosting a party and your favorite team is not in the championship, I suggest an orange and basketball theme. If your favorite team is playing, obviously you should go all out and decorate in their team color and mascot. If you are neutral of who is playing, you can always decorate with both team colors. You need basketballs everywhere (real or paper), hoops, a chalkboard for game plays, whistles, jerseys (real or paper), a March Madness banner, team names, miscellaneous basketball puns, etc.

Don’t forget that the March Madness championship game is April 6, 2020 … you still have time to prepare! You now have all the necessary tools to throw the best March Madness Championship game party! Just remember to send out the bracket to your friends (either a paper copy or you can download the March Madness app and have your friends complete a bracket through that), pick a theme – orange/basketball or team colors, base your food off of the theme you chose, and then decorate according to your theme!

Share your party pictures with me via the comment section or directly to my email samanthalynnsamuelson@gmail.com.

Talk to you later!

Samantha

Spring Cleaning Guide

It’s almost that time of year! Such a bitter sweet time … sweet because it is starting to look and feel like Spring outside, but a little bitter because we need to get that Spring cleaning done! Hopefully I can help you get through this dreaded event a little easier than normal! Did you know that there is a history behind spring cleaning? You can read all about it here.

Let’s get started! What I like to do is separate my cleaning list by rooms … I live by checkoff lists! My goal is to get my cleaning done in one weekend because if I start deep cleaning and then stop, I will not start again for quite a while. I separate my cleaning into the following: kitchen/dining room, bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and miscellaneous. Personally, I do one category at a time and do not start another category until I am completely finished with the previous category.

What order of the categories should you go in? That is a tricky question. I usually start with the most cluttered or dirtiest room. I then choose the easiest category and go back and forth using that system. I usually leave the “miscellaneous” category for last because I sometimes add items to that list that involve each of the rooms. Before you can start cleaning, it’s a good idea to gather all of your cleaning supplies in one place for easy access.

Annie provides a list of all the products you should have before starting your spring cleaning!

Kitchen/Dining Room

• Clean out and sort items in drawers
• Clean out and wipe the inside and outside of refrigerator
• Run cleaning cycle on dishwasher
• Dust above cabinets
• Wipe down cabinets
• Sort and organize cabinets and pantry (throw out expired food)
• Sweep and mop kitchen
• Wipe down kitchen table, chairs, and barstools
• Sweep and mop dining room
• Wipe down inside and outside of trash can

Bathrooms

• Replace toothbrushes
• Replace loofas
• Replace air fresheners
• Sort and organize drawers/cabinets
• Scrub inside and outside of toilet
• Wipe down mirrors and counters
• Wipe down tub and shower
• Wash shower curtains
• Sweep and mop floors

Living Rooms

• Clean out TV stand drawers and cabinets
• Dust all furniture and decor
• Clean couch and chair cushions
• Wash any throw pillows

Bedrooms

• Wash bedding, pillows, and blankets
• Sort and organize clothes (a good time to start a donation box)
• Dust all furniture and decor
• Vacuum floor (including under the bed)
• Rotate mattress
• Sort and organize children’s toys

Miscellaneous

• Wipe down all baseboards
• Wash all curtains/ wipe down blinds
• Wipe down doors
• Wash windows and sills
• Check smoke alarm batteries
• Change air filters
• Dust any light fixtures
• Wash any rugs or mats
• Go through coat closet
• Wash all blankets
• Shampoo carpets
• Dust ceiling corners

Now that we have a few lists, write them down. I always put my lists on paper to keep me accountable! I like getting all of my spring cleaning done within one weekend, two at most, but I know that people have busy schedules and that is not always possible. If you need to split up your spring cleaning into multiple weekends, I suggest that you complete your cleaning in categories rather than complete a couple items from each list every time. For more Spring cleaning tips, click here!

If there are any items that were not on my list that you would like to add, leave a comment below! Happy Spring Cleaning!

Talk to you later!

Samantha

St. Patrick’s Day Party Ideas

Hello! With St. Patrick’s Day only 13 days away, we better start planning! This day is celebrated annually on March 17th which is the anniversary of St. Patrick’s death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this say as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years because it falls during the Christian season of Lent. St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated on March 17th, 1762 in the United States. You can find a lot of interesting facts about the holiday here.

Americans really enjoy celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! Some of the ways Americans celebrate include: eating Irish foods, drinking Irish drinks, listening to Irish music, have many parades around the U.S., dye rivers green, throw St. Patrick’s Day parties, wear the color green, and many other ways to celebrate. There are a lot of great sites online that help guide you to how to get ready for St. Patrick’s day, here is a website I found helpful to get you started!

If you’re throwing a St. Patrick’s Day party and need ideas, you came to the right place! The first step in planning your party: make sure a leprechaun would approve! This means either centering your theme around the color green or rainbow … or both!

Food

There are so many foods that can be served at a party that are green:

• Broccoli
• Snap peas
• Asparagus
• Green peppers
• Cucumbers
• Green beans
• Spinach dip
• Guacamole
• Green jell-o

The best part of food is you can always dye something green with food dye!

• Frosting
• Cakes
• Cookies
• Drinks
• Popcorn
• Pudding
• Pasta

If you’re going for a rainbow theme, the options are endless! My favorite idea that I have ever seen is a rainbow fruit plate!

Photo credit: sweets4ever

Doesn’t that rainbow plate just look so delicious?! You can make a rainbow out of many different food categories:

• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Cupcakes
• Cookies
• Candy
• Cereal
• Jell-O shots (for parties over 21 of course and my absolute favorite party food/drink)

Drinks!

For parties with guests under 21, there are a lot of options of what to serve them to drink! Like mentioned earlier, you can dye almost anything green… this makes it easy to dye punch, milk, hot chocolate, water … almost any think you can think of with the exception of soda because that might not pick up color as easy as the other liquids, but if you try it and it works please let me know!

For parties with guest 21 and older, you can never go wrong with an Irish beer or an Irish Cream liqueur. You can mix the liqueur with hot chocolate, coffee, and even milk! The most popular and easiest Irish beer to find is probably going to be Guinness. Guinness is a thicker and darker beer, so it is always a good idea to have other alcoholic drinks because Guinness is not for everyone! You can always serve green cocktails that everyone will love! There are endless drink recipes that can be made green.

Photo Credit: Marya

Decorations!

A party is not complete with out the final touch of decorations! For St. Patrick’s Day decorations, it needs to look like a leprechaun threw up everywhere! Green table clothes, gold place settings, a rainbow made of balloons (see below), paper clovers scattered everywhere, pots of gold coins on tables (the candy ones work great because then guests can eat them), rainbow decorations, literally anything green and/or rainbow!

I LOVE these decoration ideas! Photo Credit: CatchMyParty

Well, we’ve covered food, drinks, and decorations … the three key things for a perfect party! If you would like more specific food or drink ideas please send me an email at samanthalynn@gmail.com. If you throw a party or attend a fun party, comment some ideas that I may have missed! I will be in Australia this St. Patrick’s Day … if you would like to know how Australians celebrate and party on St. Patrick’s Day, send me an email and I will fill you in on all the details when I return!

Talk to you later!
Samantha