Want to serve something really special to your gal pals but don’t have a lot of time? Check out this video by Celebrations.com expert Andrea Correale as she shows you how to prepare Sauteed Ginger Shrimp. Wow: Our mouths are watering, and we’re confident we can actually whip up this dish at our next girls night in! Thanks to our girlfriends at Celebrations.com for sharing this great home entertaining tip!

Tis’ the season for giving, but finding a gift for the girlfriend who has everything is challenging, especially if you are trying to stay within a holiday budget. But with a little creativity this holiday season, you can solve that dilemma by handcrafting your own unique, heartfelt gift. Let GirlfriendCelebrations guide you with a few easy-to-do ideas to make your own. We’re positive you’ll find something for everyone on your list. Click the links to find the how-to!

For the foodie girlfriend:

Chocolate Truffles, Pecan Clusters, Chocolate covered pretzels or Oreo truffles –  What girl doesn’t appreciate a yummy, melt-in-your-mouth indulgence? Place  chocolates in individual candy or small cupcake liners, arrange in a box, garnish with  a beautiful bow. Voila’ Beautifully wrapped chocolates prepared with your own two  hands and a giving heart.

Cookies in a jar - all the ingredients for a delightful girls night in, to make when she needs it the most.

Spiced Pecans or Candied Pecans – give to the girlfriend who enjoys the nuttier side of  life, a tasty snack that she  won’t want to share.

For the fashion-forward girlfriend:

Doodle noodle scarf, Fringe Scarf, strip scarf, Circular scarf, Ruffled Scarf,  or Frilly  scarf – accessories are a fashionista’s best friend.

Dip dyed t-shirt – a chic, stylish re-crafted shirt she is sure to love.

For the pampered girlfriend:

Bath fizzies, Body scrub, Bath salts, Lavendar sleep pouches, Rose dusting powder,  or Winter lip balm, - a gift  of luxury  is always welcomed.

For the entertaining girlfriend:

Decoupage platter , or Cupcake stand – a beautiful gift any girlfriend would love to show off at her next girls night  in.

Doily tablecloth – perfect for the entertaining hostess of elegant dinner parties.

Etched glasses – a thirst quenching way for the hostess with the mostest to share a bevy of cocktails in style.

For the gardening girlfriend:

Clay pot bird bath – painted simply, this can be a great tool for enhancing garden space or attracting birds to watch.

For the busy girlfriend:

Message board – an eye catching way to showcase cherished photos or important notes with beauty.

For the sentimental girlfriend:

Fleece tied blanket – a unique way to give the gift of coziness and warmth, perfect for cuddling up with a book on chilly days.

For the girlfriend who makes life a whole lot better:

Girlfriend Celebrations gift shop – when you don’t have time to make your own gift, but you need to share just how special her friendship is to you. The GirlfriendCelebrations shop is filled with all kinds of apparel to show that you care. (mugs, messenger bag, aprons, magnets, t-shirts, ornaments.) 

With a little creativity, we are positive you can create a charming gift for a special girlfriend. Leave a comment: We’d love to hear about the favorite handmade gifts you have given or received over the years. Read the rest of this entry »

As busy women with hectic calendars, we are always looking for ways to make more time for play in our days. With this in mind, Peapod, the online grocery shopping and delivery service, invited the Girlfriends-In-Chief and some fellow bloggers on a warehouse tour to show us how they could make our lives easier with the click of a mouse. As busy wives and moms, we were all quick to see how Peapod could help de-stress our domestic lives.

But what really put the icing on the cake was how Peapod’s delivery service can make entertaining easier: Helping a girlfriend take out the frazzle of eleventh- hour shopping and put the dazzle back in a last-minute soiree. Yes! What we learned can help us—and you— delete one more obstacle to having a fabulous girls night. Read on to see what we learned about their food quality and offerings for entertaining. And, see the end of this post for a great offer from Peapod that will save you $20 on your next grocery order.

It’s Cold in There

Our tour guide, Tony Stallone, Peapod’s Produce Guru, helped to put all our apprehensions about grocery stores of the 21st century to rest. Being skeptical yet savvy consumers, we initially thought that one would have to physically go to a store to get the freshest produce. But Tony was convincingly quick to point out that in order for Peapod’s service to succeed, the produce has to be better than the produce you would pick for yourself.  Simply put, if you were to pick bad cherries, you would only have yourself to blame. If Peapod were to send you bad cherries, it would not only be the pits for you but for them as well because as a consumer, you’re going to complain. Peapod’s produce goes through a careful inspection process. The fruits and vegetables are not only hand-selected but they are also tasted to ensure a positive experience for the customer. After touring the many different temperature zones in the warehouse (which, it seemed to us, were cool, chilly, cold, colder and freezing—because Peapod takes pride in never breaking the chain of coldness the entire time the food is in their warehouse) and walking among the peppers and apples (each have their own temperature-and humidity-controlled zone, by the way), we were sold on the quality of Peapod’s produce. The fruit in their warehouse looks much better than the room-temperature fruit selection we see at our local Jewel or Ultra. We won’t think twice when it comes to ordering a fruit tray or appetizers from Peapod for our next girls night.

Just a side note, the Produce Guru has his own blog about *drumroll please* produce which you can find here. He is very knowledgeable when it comes to selecting and storing produce: even grandma would be impressed. Here are a few of the tips he shared with us en toure.

• Strawberries – Inspect the entire box of strawberries, don’t be afraid to turn the box over. The strawberries on the bottom and sides of the box will go bad first. Look especially at the shoulders of the strawberries, that’s where bruising occurs first.  Strawberries will last longer if kept at a colder temperature.
• Apples – Refrigerate them. Keep them cold or they will go mealy.
• Avocado – If the button pops off the end easily Makes, it is ripe.
• Guacomole Dip – To store dip overnight without it turning black, place a plain piece of saran wrap over the dip and gently press down until all of the air is out of dip. Keeping the air from coming in contact with the dip will ensure it stays green.

• Read the rest of this entry »

With winter in full force, don’t let the idea of six more weeks of snowy cold give you the blues! Warm some hearts today by planning a charitable card party for your girlfriends. Sharing fun times and memories with the ones closest to your heart is a great way to stir up one’s soul in the still of winter. Girlfriend Celebrations has planned a unique way for you to show appreciation to friends who are loved, provide inspiration for charitable giving, and celebrate the life you cherish with your girlfriends. In honor of February’s American Heart month or March’s American Red Cross month, why not host a unique charitable hearts party for your next girl’s night in and spread some love. Read the rest of this entry »

Girlfriends, looking for something different to do for your February Girls Night? Try a Lunar New Year Celebration to gather with your girlfriends in the spirit of new beginning, good fortune, and colorful festivity. This girls night is certain to liven up your winter routine!

Read the rest of this entry »

Happy New Year, Girlfriends! It’s time to reflect on the year that’s been and claim the year to come. Instead of running into your year, stop, reflect, give some real and wise thought to 2010 and move forward with focus, intention and heart. Get your Girltalk…Taking it Deeper™ group together and use this January discussion guide by Christine Arylo to take your year in the best possible direction. To download a printable PDF of this month’s discussion guide, click here. To learn more about starting your own Girltalk group (it’s totally free and you’ll receive the discussion guide each month), click here.

Be Real. Every year, it’s the same old drill, isn’t it? We start off with the best intentions, with gusto, resolved to reach our goals and make this ‘the’ year. But by February that gusto has been drained down by the overwhelm, pressure and realities of day-to-day life. Come October, we’re wondering where the year went, and not feeling quite as successful as we had hoped we would when the year started. And then without warning, it’s Thanksgiving, then December and a flurry of presents and parties. Before we know it, January 1 has arrived, and with it the immense pressure to make this ‘the’ year.

If you are a Type A person, you likely go into New-Year’s-resolution and goal-setting mode. If you are the Type B variety, you’re likely more relaxed and avoid serious goal-setting, stepping into the new year with faith that it will all work out. The truth is that neither of these strategies work. Type A or Type B, these approaches are insane. They keep you doing the same thing year after year expecting different results, which by definition is insanity.

Be Wise. This year, instead of running from the holidays into the New Year without really stopping to decide where you want to go before you take off full force to get there, dare to take a pause! Dare to avoid the three biggest mistakes people make when approaching their new year, and instead take the wiser path. Which ones have you fallen into? And what is the deeper wisdom?

Mistake #1: Not stopping to reflect on the year that has passed. Going from one year into the next, without stopping to recognize all that has happened, is like living your life like a mountain climber, arriving at the mountain top of each year, but not stopping to take in the view that you worked so hard to achieve. Instead, you just take a quick breath, and keep pushing up the next mountain, the next year, without celebrating my successes or learning from your failures. No wonder you are exhausted. No surprise that you don’t feel like you really accomplished what you wanted; all you could see was the next mountain.

Wise Truth: In order to grow, we must stop, celebrate, reflect and learn at the end of every cycle.

Mistake #2:   Pressuring yourself to have your entire year mapped out by the first week of January. Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to our winner Sarah D.! Contest is now closed, but read on for GREAT New Year’s Eve party ideas. What are you doing New  Year’s Eve? No plans, you say? Well, we bet you have some gal pals in the same boat. Why not invite them over for an easy appetizer party and ring in the New Year together? With a little help from our friends at The Pampered Chef and their you can easily make an elegant appetizer buffet for your girlfriends to enjoy. We’re giving away this cocktail shaker and ice bucket to a lucky girlfriend to help you have a successful girls night in. But we’ll have to hurry to get it to you by New Years Eve, so this contest will end Sunday, December 27. Read on for party ideas and contest details. Read the rest of this entry »

The change of seasons and chillier temperatures are enough to make you want to curl up indoors with a good book. But wait! Why not celebrate the season with your girlfriends? Yes, plan your own outdoor Patio Crawl. Savor some fresh Autumn brews and bites, and catch up with your buddies. What could be better? It’s reason enough to start planning right now! Read on, legal-drinking-age girlfriends: GirlfriendCelebrations has the how-to for an outdoor brewfest you and your girlfriends will remember.

Setting and Setup

First, decide who in your circle of friends will be among the hostesses of the patio crawl. The key ingredient to a successful crawl is a group of patios or decks within walking distance of each other. And take note: Even apartment dwellers can get in on the action. A huge deck/patio isn’t necessary—just one that’s big enough for a few people to go outside to enjoy some cool air and warm conversation.

The number of patio stops is up to you. A good number to start with is five. Plan on 30-45 minutes at each patio/deck.

It’s nice to print out an itinerary for each of the guests. This can be handed out at the first patio and will serve as a guide on where to go during the night.  Be sure to include the time you move on to each stop and specifically where each stop will be. You may also want to include the beers that will be served and a place to rate them from one to five. The list of beers can be a handy keepsake just in case your guests fall in love with some of the choices and want to purchase them later.

Invitations

It seems we are all becoming frugal consumers of late. So, conserve money for the party by sending simple invitations. Buying a simple invitation from a retail store such as Target or Goody’s is an inexpensive option. It doesn’t have to be fancy; sometimes the wording can say it all. If, however, most of your group is computer-savvy, Evite is the perfect tool for the frugal hostess. Your invitation might read something like this: Read the rest of this entry »

Winter wardrobes are getting pretty stale right about now. We need to freshen up our style, girlfriends! How about dressing up your next girls night with a fashion theme? We know money’s tight, but fear not, recessionistas—here’s a roundup of fashionably frugal, sensibly stylish parties you can whip up for your next girls night in. And if you don’t have your next girls night on the calendar, use one of these ideas as your excuse. Spring *is* coming, and we all want to look our best. Right, ladies? photo by miss_rogue via flickr

Go “Unshopping”

Gather the girlfriends and hit the mall—not to buy, but for window shopping and trying on. Isaac Mizrahi, in his book How to Have Style, recommends the “just looking” trip. He says to focus on the things you don’t have in your closet, or styles you don’t usually wear – e.g. if you are afraid of accessories, try on loads of belts, scarves and jewelry. “If there is anything you feel you cannot live without,” Mizrahi says, “put it on hold. Go home. If when you wake up the next morning it’s the first thing that pops into your head, buy it.” With your gal pals in tow, you will get truthful opinions on what looks good. Remember to bring your digital camera so you can record some of your favorites (plus, the hat department might make for some fun girlfriend pictures!). Read the rest of this entry »