Patty Sachs’ Instant and
Digital Photo Party Ideas
Patty Sachs, Author and Celebration Expert,
Tips for Adding Pizzazz to Your Party with the Instant Photo Souvenirs --
With a Fuji Instax or digital instant camera, you can add a variety of fun and festive touches to your party. In addition to capturing the highlights of your special event, you also can plan games, decorations, gifts and favors with souvenir pictures.
For a picture-perfect party, consider some of these ideas for using instant photos. They can add a special touch to your celebration from the moment your guests receive their invitations, to long after the party is over, when only memories… and photos remain.
Invitation Ideas
· Photo Invitation - Send an instant photo of the guest(s)-of-honor holding a large sign that contains the invitation information. This is an exceptionally clever way to invite guests to your celebration.
· Mystery Party Invitation - Send an instant photo as the first clue with an invitation for a mystery party.
Party Starters - When Guests Arrive
· Seating Cards - Take a photo of each arriving guest and place it as a seating assignment on the dining table.
· Photo Bulletin Board - Number and post photos of each arriving guest on a “party mixer” bulletin board. Challenge guests to show their “know-who” by matching the guest names with the photo numbers. Give the winner a festive party prize.
· Surprise Party Fun - Take instant photos of surprise party before the guest-of-honor arrives to “surprise” the honored guest one more time.
Activities during the Party
· Fuji Instax Scavenger Hunt - Send guests in teams, armed with instant cameras and a list of “locations and situations” to photograph. This activity is guaranteed to make a lasting impression on guests of all ages.
· Children’s Party Photo Fun - Take instant or digital photos of kids cozying up to a costumed character or playing a party game at a children’s party. Send the photos home in a frame hand-decorated by the kids themselves.
· Family Reunion Roadmap – Tack instant photos of family members on a large map of the United States to show the distances they have roamed from their original home town. Connect the photos with color-coded strings to represent family ties.
Party Mementos
· Souvenir Photos - Take instant photos of guests to keep, especially at costumed and dress-up events. These photo sessions make a popular party activity, and the keepsake photos are a truly appreciated take-home gift.
· Instant Photo Booth - Create a custom photo setting with a banner or backdrop for taking instant photos that follow your party’s theme. Present the take home photos to guests in a personalized frame.
· Magnets - Add a small strip of self-adhesive magnetic material to the back of a Fuji Instax photo to create a fun fridge or file cabinet magnet.
Post-Party Photos
· Host Appreciation Gift - Be a “picture perfect” guest and take instant photos of memorable party moments to present to the host as a token of appreciation.
· Thank You Note Photos - Take a photo of your guest-of-honor holding each party gift to send along with thank you notes. This is a thoughtful way to acknowledge gifts.
· Baby’s First Instant Photo Album - Create an album of instant photos taken of guests at a baby’s first birthday party. In days to come, the child can study the clearly labeled photos and will learn to put names with faces.
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Capture Holiday Highlights in an Instant
Holiday gatherings are loaded with photo opportunities from documenting traditions or trends to measuring the growth of the family and its members. Pick a pack of Fuji Instax film and capture the festivity of the season.
Easter Egg-sposures
Take Fuji Instax of kids cozying up to a costumed character or taking part in activity like the Egg Hunt or Bonnet Fashion Show. Send the treasured photos home in frames hand-decorated by the guests themselves.
Mom and Dad’s Day Pose-ies
A crafty celebration! Spray paint a sturdy tree branch (about 4 feet tall) and arrange securely in a heavy pot. As the guest of honor’s offspring arrive, take a Fuji Instax of each to mount on paper flower cutouts and hang on a blooming “family tree.”
Grad-itudes for Gifts
When the gifts for pre-school or advanced degree graduates are not opened at the party here’s a very personal way to acknowledge them. Tuck a “guest of honor holding gift” Fuji Instax in with each thank you note.
4th of July Juried Show
Form small teams to compete in a Fuji Instax photo contest. Mix adults and children and give each group a time limit on camera access. Appoint a panel of judges to award the most creative photo entrants prize ribbons--red, white and blue, of course!
Family Reunion Roadmap
Tack Fuji Instax of individual family units on a large map of the United States to show the distances they have roamed from their original home town. Connect photos with color coded strings to represent family ties.
Halloween Hint Hunt
Take an extreme close-up Fuji Instax photo of a small detail of each arriving guest’s costume or make-up. Post the photos on the Clue Central board for inspection by the hint hunters. As guests mix and mingle, they compete to match names with photo numbers on the contest drawing entry form.
Fuji Instax Holiday Place Cards
Greet guests by taking a Fuji Instax of each to be placed on the Thanksgiving dinner table to indicate seating arrangement. If children are seated at a separate table, affix their photos to helium balloons that are attached to chair backs. File this year’s photos in an album to be brought out and enjoyed again next year.
North Pole Parent Fuji Instax
Liven up your holiday party by taking Fuji Instax of moms and dads sitting on Santa’s lap. In addition to providing fun and frolic for the “big” kids, they make a perfect “what did you bring me?” giggle gift for their kiddies.
Create a Party Page On-line
Great Instant or Digital shots of your party guests and their activities can be scanned and added to a Party Recap Web page. This is a great way to share party highlights with folks who could not be present. You can add a guest book for visitors to add their message for all others to read. This is very easy to do and in most places free.
Pouf! There’s A Party (Creating an Instant Party!)
And With Fuji Instax or Digital Photos there’s Proof! Of A Party
The more we celebrate the healthier we are! Don’t limit your merrymaking to big occasions when there are hundreds of important and significant times to acknowledge? Frequent festivities—that’s the mission. The activity of congratulating, commemorating, and adulating builds self-esteem in individuals and enhances relationships. However, the average person suffers from “party anxiety” and needs help accepting the role of host.
“Party preparedness” insures that even the most apprehensive persons succeed at hosting spur-of-the-moment celebrations. Your cause to celebrate may be:
· A milestone like a birthday, an engagement, or an anniversary.
· an achievement like “winning the game,” “getting a raise” or “getting the contract.”
· a whimsical excuse like “National Goof-off Day” or “finally got rid of last kitten.”
Regardless of the reason for or size of the event, your Party Kit will be so complete that it will require that you just add guests.
Collect up the ingredients and throw a party to produce your party kit—the perfect way to kick off your new instant party philosophy Gather your group of either family, friends, neighbors or work associates, provide supplies and direction, pool their talents and enthusiasm and POUF! Your punchy Party Kit is bursting to answer any call to celebrate. It should contain:
Basics to buy…
· Fuji Instax or Digital camera with plenty of film
· Video cam loaded to capture the action
· Generic greeting cards and gift wrapping supplies
· Inexpensive "Hooray for You" gifts
· Decorative blank award certificates and small trophies
· Customizable banner of paper or plastic
· Celebration motif flag or yard sign
· Computer program “What Happened The Day You Were Born”
· Balloons and small helium tank available at discount and party stores
· Boom box with party music tapes
· Quick and easy-to-play games
· Glass/plastic punch bowl, cups and beverage supplies
For the crafty……
· Royal crown/hat, place mat, plate, cup, mug or goblet for honored guest (s)
· brightly colored, generic "celebration" motif table cloth, napkins, serving ware (reusable or disposable)
· Festive napkin rings, place cards and name tags
· Party hats, streamers, confetti, festive party decor such as centerpieces, posters, candles, and lights.
Ready Refreshments…
· Quickie cake mixes, frozen cakes and desserts
· Cake decorating supplies, candles and sparklers
· Soft drinks, juices and mixes
· a chilled bottle of champagne and/or sparkling cider
· Discount coupons for eat-outs or deliver-ins
The kind and complimentary gestures and words shared at these less-than-milestone events are the best gifts we can give to each other. Don’t Wait…Celebrate! It’s good for you.
About Patty Sachs (bio here)
Patty Sachs, celebration expert and author of ten party guides, including Pick A Party: The Big Book of Themes and Occasions, its companion The Pick A Party Cookbook, and most recently, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Throwing a Great Party, and The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Choosing a Caterer (with Phyllis Cambria.) You’ll find dozens of total theme party plans at their site: http://www.partyplansplus.com. E-Mail: [email protected]
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