Scavenger Hunts - How to Find Fun Ideas For a Photo Scavenger Hunt

Photo scavenger hunts can be a great way to get party-goers actively involved in having fun. If you are planning a party for teens or adults, there are many possibilities for coming up with some neat ideas for photos you will have your scavenger hunt participants taking.

If you've never participated in a photo scavenger hunt before, let me explain how it works. Unlike most scavenger hunts where you bring back physical things that you've had to find, with a photo hunt, you just have to bring back a picture. Nowadays, most people will have a digital camera, even if it is just on their phone, so it makes the game easy for everyone to play.

This can change the traditional scavenger hunt game quite a bit. For example, you don't have to send your groups out to photograph different objects they need to find. You can instead have them photograph themselves doing different tasks.

For a bit of retro fun, set each group up with a single Polaroid camera. Since Polaroid film is a bit expensive, you can make thriftiness part of the game, and it will also help keep the game short and fun. Make one of the rules that only a single packet of Polaroid film can be used by each group. So that would be 10 totals photo.

Planning the Photo Scavenger Hunt List

This is where the fun comes in. You should feel free to mix things up a bit. Make a list of tasks that can be done indoors and then some that can be done outdoors. Be sure to pick a couple of challenging locations too. And naturally, most of the stuff on your list should probably be a bit silly. Or if you are having a bachelorette party, you could try for a little risque.

If you find yourself stumped for ideas, think about the kinds of games you played as a kid that were physical and that would probably be pretty funny (and possibly embarrassing!) to do as an adult.

Here's a short list:

Charades
Statues
Pillow Fights
Light as a Feather

Then you task your party-goers with specific instructions based on these games. They go out and play them and bring back photographic proof! For example, have them prove that the party levitation trick (Light as a feather) actually works. Or tell everyone to go out and play Statues as specific types of statues (comic book characters, American presidents, etc). Or have everyone come up with a phrase for charades and then each person has to be photographed doing a different word in the phrase.

I think now you probably have a good idea of what kinds of silly things you can come up with for your friends to do on a photo scavenger hunt, but you can always get more great ideas from my compilation of scavenger hunt lists. There should be enough there to really help get your own creativity flowing.

Jennifer Connolly is a freelance writer who loves to plan parties when she's not busy working.

10 Fun Photo Christmas Card Ideas For Your Family Holiday Greeting

What are you going to do to make this year's photo Christmas cards really stand out?  You don't have to fall back on the same old ideas this holiday.  Here are ten suggestions to help you make this season's family greeting the best one yet.

1. Try a different spin on a traditional theme.  This fall take a picture of the kids with a pumpkin snowman.  Just stack three pumpkins, graduating in size with the biggest on the bottom and their stems removed.  Paint a face on the top pumpkin, carve a small hole to hold the carrot nose, then put a Santa hat or wool cap on top and add a scarf.  If you live near the beach, you can make a sand snowman instead.

2. Transform an ordinary photo Christmas card into a religious one by adding your favorite Bible verse. Look for a company that will let you create your own personalized message, instead of just sticking with the text shown on the sample.

3. Nothing is cuter than a holiday greeting that contains a photo of an adorable animal in a seasonal setting.  The easiest way to achieve this look yourself is to take a picture of your sleeping dog or cat on top a sheet of wrapping paper or under the tree.  Add the caption, "peace on earth" and wait for the "aaaahs".

4. Create a four seasons look with a multi photo Christmas card that has space for four photos.  Then choose pictures of your kids from the past year during the winter, spring, summer and fall. Personalize it with the words, "thinking of you at Christmas...and all year, too!"

5. Is your little one a budding artist?  He or she can help you to create a really unique holiday greeting.  Ask him to draw a picture of the family with crayons. Then, it's your turn to cut out the faces of each family member from snapshots and glue them to the top of the crayon bodies. Take a close up photo of the masterpiece for this year's card.

6. Are you famous for your holiday baking? If you're always being asked for the recipe for one of your seasonal goodies, you can turn that into a fun photo Christmas card.  Write out the directions on a pretty recipe card, then clip a family photo onto the card, perhaps of the kids baking cookies. Be careful not to cover any of the instructions with that picture. You might want to add the words, "wishing you a sweet Christmas".

7. For impact, try black and white with a touch of color.  Your favorite photo with the kids in Santa hats can be changed into an artistic black and white picture with just the Santa hats in red.  Most online photo Christmas card companies will do this for you at no extra charge.

8. Make a statement.  What makes your family tick?  Are you a bunch of beach bums, taking advantage of sun and surf every possible moment in the summer?  Then include photos in your holiday greeting of the kids playing in the waves and building sand castles.  Are you all sports enthusiasts? Then feature action shots of your children playing for their team.  Are you involved in animal rescue, active in politics, big on barbecues, busy selling homemade jewelry at craft shows, passionate about your faith? Find a way to work it into your pictures.  This year, instead of a posed portrait, give people a glimpse into your family dynamics.

9. Send a holiday greeting that takes a trip down memory lane.  For this idea, you will need to select Christmas cards that feature multiple photos.  Choose your current favorite family picture and then add one or more photos of the kids when they were younger for a then and now effect. You might want to ask the card company to change the older photos to black and white or make the current picture larger than the rest. Don't forget to add captions underneath indicating the year the photographs were taken.

10. If you're still looking for a fresh idea for this year's Christmas greeting, then it's time to browse. Start searching through the huge variety of designs in photo holiday cards online until you find one in particular that inspires you.  Maybe it's a candy cane motif and you'll think of posing the kids with comically oversized candy canes.  Or you'll fall in love with one that has a pale blue background with snowflakes, which might lead you to dress the family in shades of blue.  Many times, it's easier to pick out the card first, which will set the tone for the pictures you want to include.

This year you can have an amazing photo Christmas card that gets rave reviews from friends and relatives.  All it takes is a little inspiration and thought to make this season's greeting a one of a kind expression of your family.

Linda Kling, as the owner of http://www.photo-party-favors.com, has offered ideas to people planning celebrations since 1992. She recommends these unique photo Christmas cards. Visit her website for free printable Christmas gift tags, recipes, more.

Wedding Quotes - Ideas For Finding Just the Right Wording For Your Wedding

If you're planning a wedding, there's a good chance you're also looking for a great quote or two to include in your program, on personalized favors, or even in your vows. Here are six ideas for choosing the perfect quotation or saying to help you put your love into words.
1. Size matters. In what way will you be using the quote? If you're incorporating it into your vows, you can get away with reading a long poem or quotation. But if you're trying to add a saying to photo bookmarks or mint tins to give away at your reception, you'll have less room. In that case, it's best to go with something short, but meaningful. Here are some examples of sayings that would easily fit on invitations or wedding favors:
* This day I will marry my friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love.

* There is no remedy for love but to love more. - Henry David Thoreau

* Two hearts once joined in friendship, united now with love.

* To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, from this day forward...
2. Check the classics. You may be a very modern couple, but that doesn't mean you can't find inspiration from some quotes written a long time ago. Old quotation and poetry books, as well as websites can provide you with plenty of choices. Here are some samples:
* I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

* For you see, each day I love you more - Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow. - Rosemonde Gerard

* My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, both are infinite. - William Shakespeare

* Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

* There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends. - Homer
3. They're playing our song. You might have one particular love song that you view as being particularly meaningful to your relationship. If so, why not borrow a line or two from the lyrics? You could also use the words from the song you have chosen for your first dance at the reception. By the same token, you could also take a line from your favorite movie, TV show or novel.
4. Have a look at the good Book. You can find some great quotes about love that are appropriate for a wedding in the Bible. Here are some verses to consider:
* Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. -1 Corinthians 13:4-8
* Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. - Song of Solomon 8:7

* There are three things that last: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. - I Corinthians 13:13

* I found the one my heart loves. -Song of Solomon 3:4

* And the two shall become one. - Mark 10:8
5. Light may be right. You don't have to take a serious approach to choosing the best wedding quote for you. Check out some funny, cute or amusing sayings and see if you find what you like. Here are a few possibilities:
* Love - a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker.

* Love is what you've been through with somebody. - James Thurber

* We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.
6. Try your own words. Don't rule out writing your own wording. You can even borrow some of the ideas or phrases from quotations, but then rewrite them to make them more personal. You can also create a little saying that expresses your thanks to your guests. For instance, you might personalize wedding favors with, "thank you for sharing in the celebration of our love and commitment on our wedding day".
There are so many great wedding quotes available. Just decide how long or short the wording should be, then check the internet, quotation books, Scripture, songs, or even borrow a line from your favorite movie. With all these choices, you're sure to find just the right one for you.



Looking for more great wedding quotes? You can find them, plus wedding trivia, party recipes and free printables at Linda Kling's website www.photo-party-favors.com; as well as order personalized wedding favors, including photo mint tins, photo wedding bookmarks, magnets and much more.