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!

At GirlfriendCelebrations, we know you want ways to make entertaining easier so you can enjoy getting together with your girlfriends more often. That’s why we’re excited to share what we learned at the Home for the Holidays event hosted by 1-800-BASKETS and its family of companies, including 1-800-FLOWERS, WineTasting.com, Fannie May Candies, Cheryl’s, The Popcorn Factory, and Celebrations.com.  The event featured celebrity event planner Shawn Rabideau of Celebrations.com. Shawn has appeared on on the Bravo TV’s reality series Bethenny Getting Married?, ABC’s Good Morning America and the Style Network’s Whose Wedding is it Anyway? In addition, he has contributed to many national television shows including  The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, and The View.

What we really enjoyed about this event—aside from learning how to make a top-notch gift basket—was getting entertaining tips that help you make an impact when entertaining, without spending a fortune or needing special skills. Here are just a few:

Dashing Displays: Instead of buying new serving pieces for the holidays, focus on using—and reusing—pieces you already have for serving food in a more visually pleasing way. For example, display desserts on a “cake stand” made with plates and inverted rocks glasses. Or, use martini glasses to serve popcorn (or nuts) and suddenly these “ordinary” treats look a lot more special.

One Great Cocktail: Mixing up a signature cocktail for your girls night can make things a whole lot easier while giving your party a more festive air. Shawn shared his recipe for the Cranberry Mimosa Twist, pictured above. Find the recipe for this delicious sparkler right here.

Gracious Gift Baskets: At holiday time, many of us receive gift baskets, but we don’t know quite what to do with them. Well, girlfriends, those baskets are meant to be used! If you receive a gift basket from a friend, or even order one for yourself, be sure to display the contents. When arranged in small glass dishes on a pretty tray, for example, the contents of a goodie basket become an impressive offering at your holiday party. The basket itself can be reused in many ways, including lining it with plastic to make a decorative wine chiller.

Fun with Food: Shawn also showed us how he arranged Cheryl’s delicious buttercream frosted cookies into an adorable and edible wreath (pictured above), using only a few toothpicks to hold it together. This is something ANY of our girlfriends could do, and it makes a delicious and pretty adornment for your food table. He also assembled some other Cheryl’s treats into a cute, pink and brown holiday tree, also pictured, that definitely says “girls night” to us.

Tabletop Tips: Having a dinner party? Try using a beautiful votive candleholder to anchor your placecards. Simply tie the placecard to it with ribbon. Then, guests can take them home as party favors – double duty! If you don’t have matching silver or glassware, don’t panic! Just mix it up, Shawn says. “Don’t get nervous. Relax and let your creativity flow.” We’d like to echo his sentiment. Your girlfriends really don’t care about your tableware, and if they do, maybe you need new friends!

Leave a comment: How are you planning to celebrate with your girlfriends this holiday season? Do you have any tips for making entertaining easier?

SPECIAL OFFER: For a limited time, save 15% at 1-800-FLOWERS, 1-800-BASKETS, WineTasting.com, Cheryl’s Cookies, and the Popcorn Factory with code “SHAWN.” To save 15% with Fannie May Candies, use code “1225″.

Disclosure: 1-800-Baskets invited us to participate in this Home for the Holidays event. We each received a gift basket, cookies, popcorn tin, box of candy, votive holder and bottle of wine. This blog post was not requested.

Hey girlfriends, we just had to share the recipe for an easy but festive cocktail we tried the other day at a very special event hosted by the 1-800-FLOWERS family of companies. This Cranberry Mimosa Twist from celebrity event planner Shawn Rabideau of Celebrations.com (read more about him in our next post) would be perfect for a girlfriend holiday brunch or a toast at your holiday girls night.

Shawn Rabideau's Cranberry Mimosa Twist

Cranberry Mimosa Twist

2 parts Champagne

1.5 part orange juice

1.5 parts cranberry juice

Heavy splash of vodka

Makes 1 cocktail

Cranberry Mimosa Twist (Non-Alcoholic)

1 part club soda

1 part Seven-Up or Sprite

1.5 parts orange juice

1.5 parts cranberry juice

Makes 1 cocktail

What’s your favorite holiday cocktail? Share your ideas in the comments!

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.

Perky Produce

Look Who Greeted Us!

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.

Entertaining Essentials

Order Picks

If you’d like to read some of our blogger girlfriends’ take on the tour and see some more pictures, you can check them out here:

West of the Loop – Emily

Peanut Butter In My Hair – Melissa

Disclosure:  We were invited to tour the Peapod warehouse and given a goodie bag which included a tee shirt, thermal mug, gift card, and produce. We were not asked to write this post, nor were we compensated for doing so. As always, the opinions expressed are strictly our own. GirlfriendCelebrations belongs to the Peapod affiliate program, which means if you click a Peapod ad on our site and make a purchase, we may be compensated.

Girlfriends, COMMENTS are closed due to spam. But we’d still love to hear from you! Just talk to us instead. xoxo

We had the opportunity to guest blog about entertaining shortcuts on the beautiful entertaining blog Second City Soiree last week and we wanted to give you a peek, girlfriends! Our girlfriend Jen does such a great job bringing you easy, chic entertaining tips as well as gorgeous photography. We were so flattered to be asked to be part of her guest blogger project!

“Are you known as a hostess with the mostess, or do you cringe at the thought of company? Some of us are more gifted than others in the entertaining department—but don’t let that stop you from having the girls over. At GirlfriendCelebrations, we think it’s better to have an imperfect party than not have one at all. We‘ve perfected the art of “shortcut” entertaining. So stop procrastinating and start planning your next girls night with these tips.”

Read the rest, including how to cheat on cleaning, and how to give a potluck pizzazz, on Second City Soiree.

Rachael Ray was on the cover of USA Weekend last week with party plans to celebrate spring. We love Rachael’s practical approach to entertaining, and in a lot of ways, her philosophy mirrors ours (even though we’re much more likely than she is to let Trader Joe’s do the cooking). Just like GirlfriendCelebrations, Rachael emphasizes keeping your get-togethers “easy, cost-effective, casual and fun.” Here are some of her tips that we especially agree with:

Invite by email, text or phone. Perfectionist expectations are the reason many girlfriends never invite friends over. While beautiful, cute, or inventive invitations are fun to have, they are not a deal-breaker. Do like Rachael and “just tell people to come over.”

Entertain earlier in the day. Having friends over for breakfast, brunch or lunch can be much cheaper than throwing  a dinner party. Plus, it’s refreshingly different!

Offer a signature cocktail. Mixing a big batch of just one cocktail is easier and cheaper than stocking a full bar—plus, it makes your party more special. We served up Pink Perfection cocktails at our e.l.f. Makeup Party and they were a big hit. We literally whipped them up without a recipe using vodka, strawberry lemonade (from Trader Joe’s), Sprite or club soda, and fresh strawberries.

Customize your playlist. Using music and your ipod, you can create a mood from “dance all night” to spa-like relaxation. It costs next to nothing, and you can even burn CDs for your girlfriends to take home as party favors. To get you started, see the Ultimate Girls Night Playlist created by our readers!

Here’s to a spring full of impromptu, fun, budget-friendly girlfriend get-togethers! For more great tips on food and more, check out the entire Rachel Ray USA Weekend article here.

(PLEASE NOTE- Interview was rescheduled due to technical difficulties.We’ll now be appearing Monday, 12/14 at 2:00 pm EST) Hey, girlfriends, we’ll be appearing live Monday, December 14 at 2:00 pm eastern with Debba Haupert of Girlfriendology on BlogTalkRadio! We’ll be talking about celebrating the holidays with your girlfriends, and you can even call in with questions. We’d love to hear from you! Listen live on the web at www.blogtalkradio.com/girlfriendology or, you can download the podcast and listen at your leisure. (We will post the link to the podcast when it’s available). Have a great weekend!

Do you believe, as we do, that Girlfriends Make Life Better™? Well, now you can proclaim it to the world with your t-shirt, water bottle, coffee mug, and more. Yes, our Girlfriendly Goodies Shop is finally open on CafePress! Three cute designs let girlfriends of all ages show their solidarity with their gal pals. Whether you like chilling with martinis, cozying up with a cup of coffee, or sharing an ice cream sundae with your best friends, you’ll find the right way to make a fashion statement.

You’ve been asking for t-shirts and we’re super excited to be bringing you so many great style options. From spaghetti tanks to fitted tees to organic cotton to baseball-style long-sleeved tees to hoodies, there’s a shirt to fit every body.

And, keep in mind, holiday gift-giving is just around the corner. With everything under $40, and most items under $30, you’re sure to find a girl-friendly gift or two.

So, click on over to www.cafepress.com/girlfriendceleb and take a look. Let us know if you like what you see. We really do like to hear from you!

Whether it’s Girls Night Out or Girls Night In, you’ve got to have music. A few months ago, we went looking for the best songs for girls night: The songs that make you want to celebrate with your girlfriends; songs with girl power! Well, the girlfriends have spoken and Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun is the BEST song for Girls Night Out! That’s according to our little poll: “What is the Best Girls Night Song of all Time?”

Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive came in second, followed by All the Single Ladies (Beyonce) and We are Family (Sister Sledge). The Judds’ Girls Night Out even garnered a couple of votes (even though we only put it in the poll because of the title). Some poll responders suggested So What by Pink, It’s Raining Men, and the 1970s classic I am Woman. There were so many great suggestions that we decided to create the Ultimate Girls Night Playlist! We’ve put all the songs in  the right-hand column under “Girlfriends Greatest Hits”. Check it out, and you’ll be able to hear snippets of all the songs. You can also download them from amazon to make your own playlist for your next girls night! Here in no particular order, are some of the songs that made the cut. Please leave your favorite girls night songs in the comments, and we’ll keep adding to the playlist!

1.

I Will Survive (Album Version)
Gloria Gaynor

2.

Girls Night Out
The Judds

3.

Count On Me
Jess Furman

The “BFF” song

4.

Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Beyonce

5.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Cyndi Lauper

6.

We Are Family
Sister Sledge

7.

Independence Day
Martina McBride

8.

Beautiful
Christina Aguilera

9.

Dancing Queen
Abba

10.

Just A Girl
No Doubt

11.

I Am Woman (2006 Digital Remaster)
Helen Reddy

12.

So What [Clean]
P!nk

13.

It’s Raining Men
Weather Girls

14.

Respect
Aretha Franklin

Are you looking for party planning advice? At GirlfriendCelebrations, we often receive requests from girlfriends who need party planning tips and ideas to help create a memorable girls night. Recently, our girlfriend Renea didn’t want to gamble on creating a memorable 60th birthday party for her mom, so she wrote to us for party favor advice. Renea is planning a night at a casino for the birthday girl and ten others. She is on a budget, yet wants to be creative and loves crafts. We think Renea’s need for frugal party favors is shared by many of our readers; so we put on our party hats and came up with these budget-friendly favor ideas. The ones we’re suggesting match Renea’s casino theme, but you can adapt them to many kinds of Girlfriend Celebrations! Photo via flickr.

Pick something useful

Being frugal with party favors doesn’t simply mean buying something cheap. Inexpensive favors can be had by the dozens, but—let’s be honest—no one wants a cheap piece of junk. Favors that are merely cheap tzotchkes are going to end up in the trash. Instead, select useful or reusable items that your guests will want to keep. That way, you will all have a reminder of your fabulous girlfriend celebration! Here are our recommendations for fun and frugal keepsakes:

The Group T-Shirt

Decorate T-shirts for everyone to wear. This makes it easier to spot someone in your group—ideal for a crowded environment like a casino. You can easily decorate with fabric markers, fabric paint, iron-on transfers, buttons, beads, rhinestones. Best of all, this party favor that can be worn again and again with memories of a heartwarming night out with the girls. Personalize the T-shirts for each individual girlfriend or, here is an example that might be done for all:

On the front of the T-shirt write:

“Hip Hip Hooray!

        It’s 

     Sarah’s 

      60th

    Birthday!” 

On the back of the T-shirt iron-on a fun picture of the birthday girl. If you like, add some other fun details, such as the date of the trip, or stuff about your girlfriend: “a.k.a honey, mom, nana and chatterbox. Last seen with eleven rowdy women ready to gamble the night away!” or “If you see this woman, take a minute to wish Sarah A Very Happy Birthday!”

The Souvenir Cup

The old college standby still works: Instead of wrapping or gift-bagging each t-shirt, try rolling them up and placing in a decorated plastic cup.  Decorate the cups with your message, such as “Hip Hip Hooray, I’m here for Sarah’s 60th birthday.” Be sure to put each guest’s name on her cup. Decorate with drawings of dice , dollar signs, cards, etc. This would be a fun keepsake for each guest to put her chips or tokens in. You might even get a different color cup for each guest or use the birthday girl’s favorite color.  Tie colorful ribbons around the cup for a festive touch. Try adding a novelty such as this inexpensive crystal dice keychain to hang from the ribbon as a whimsical charm. 

If t-shirts are out of the question, simply fill the decorated plastic cup with chocolates, munchies and colorful beaded necklaces found at any party store. The  birthday guests are sure to appreciate their own simple snacks in a hotel room. The colorful necklaces can be worn in the casino will help to identify someone easily in a crowd.   

“Charm”ing Solutions

If you have wine drinkers in your party, create wine charms for your guests to keep and use at their next soiree. You can easily find casino- related charms at a craft store to be substituted into these simple wine charm instructions. 

Or, a “charming” brooch makes for an eye-catching party favor. Create this unique party favor with personal touches to adorn the beautiful birthday guests. Here is a project sheet with complete instructions for a brooch. Remember to substitute casino-related charms in place of the butterflies for a fun birthday memory.  

Renea, any of these crafty party favors are sure to make your guests smile. We hope you like them. Have a great celebration with your mom and her gal pals! Girlfriends! Can you add any other frugal party favor ideas? Please leave them in the comments. And if you’d like some personalized party planning advice, email us!