The Toll Men

Ballet Birthday Party Ideas

As a professional dance teacher I love hosting either in home
ballet parties or studio parties. I bring special dance costumes
for each child to wear during the party. We sing some
songs,learn a few dance steps and perform a dance.

Here are just a few simple ideas to have an enchanting ballet
party.

1. Call up your local dance studio. Most studio’s will rent out
their space with a teacher. This is ideal for those that want a
party without all the hassle and clean up afterwards.

2. If you prefer to have a party at your house, think about
hiring a professional dance teacher to provide entertainment.
Children really love the idea of having a ‘real’ ballerina come
to their party all dressed up.

3. Want to do the party yourself? Make tutu invitations. You can
use pastel colored card stock. Take a small piece of lace and
glue it on the front to look like a tutu.

4. Have each child come dressed in a ballet outfit or costume
(could be from Halloween) of their choice.

5. Think about doing a craft during the party. A favorite craft
of mine is making tiara’s. You can do this using pipe cleaners.
I found some great deals on foam tiara’s at my craft store as
well. The kids can put glitter and sparkles on them. Do this
activity in the beginning to allow the tiara’s time to dry. It
makes a great party favor.

Game Ideas:

1. Pin the Crown on the Ballerina. I like to draw a ballerina on
a big piece of poster board. I found some gold colored poster
board at a local craft store and used that to cut out crowns.

2. Freeze Dance. I play this game a lot during the end of my
dance classes. Have all the children dance as music is playing.
They can dance however they would like, but when the music
stops, they must freeze. Whoever is seen moving,is out and gets
to sit down. The last person standing wins a small prize.

3. Be a Star. All of the children sit down and pretend to be the
audience. One by one each child takes turns dancing in front of
the audience. A small artifical bouqet of flowers, or flowing
scarf can also be used as a prop to dance with. When each child
is done dancing, she curtsey’s to the audience and passes the
flower/scarf to the next person to dance.

Disney soundtracks are great to use during ballet parties.

Author Kat Saveal

Kat Saveal is married and the mother of 3 young daughters. She
is a professional dance instructor with Southlake Dance Academy
in Southlake, Texas www.southlakedanceacademy.com. She is also
to Co-Owner of The Cue Zone www.thecuezone.com

What is the most important aspect of getting your finances in
order? In past articles I’ve written about how important
discipline, organization and sacrifice are to solving your money
problems, but this all comes later.

For years I would write my bills down, figure my income and
subtract the bills from my paycheck to see what was left. It was
a real good start but by payday it was either forgotten or
something would happen to mess it up.

It finally dawned on me that the way I was going about this
wasn’t going to work. I needed a different plan. Something that
would make me understand the problem and help me come up with a
solution.

What I came up with was a little surprising, at least to me. I
had been trying to solve my problems without being willing to
make some major changes that needed to be made. I really wasn’t
serious about fixing the problem.

After several years of counseling a lot of people about their
finances, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is what keeps
many people from overcoming their financial woes. There are
exceptions of course. In some cases there isn’t much that can be
done short of bankruptcy.

Before you sit down and try to develop a budget or decide what
your future plans are, you need to decide if you are willing to
follow it through to the end. If you aren’t, you will be just
spinning your wheels. Here are few questions you need to ask
yourself:

~~Are you willing to do without the joys of what those credit
cards can buy? ~~Are you willing to have your family sacrifice
as much as you do? ~~Can you make the hard decisions that will
be necessary?

Remember, this is only the first step, however, this is
absolutely the most important. If you can’t cross this hurdle
then going to the next step is futile.

On the brighter site, if you are determined to get your finances
in order, the rest is relatively simple. You first have to
decide what it is that you want. Set your long and short term
goals. Do you want to retire early, buy a house, send the kids
to college? Will you need a new car in the near future? This
will take money and it is absolutely necessary that you start
saving as early as possible for these goals.

You next step is to set up a simple and workable budget. For
many people living on a budget is like serving a life sentence
in a maximum security prison. It doesn’t have to be that way.
The worst thing you can do is develop a budget that takes hours
every day to manage.

While you are developing your budget you need to look for every
way possible to cut corners but you have to be realistic. If you
try to budget $400 a month for groceries then you need to make
sure that you can make it on $400. If you can’t then you have to
set aside more.

Being organized is also an important aspect of money management.
Assign one member of the family to manage the budget and bill
paying. Setup your files so that you can quickly lay your hands
on the bills, receipts, contracts, etc.

Deciding you have the willingness to get control of your money,
setting your goals and developing a budget will all take an
enormous amount of discipline to carry it out. I believe that if
everybody applied the same discipline to their finances that
they use to get up in the morning, go to work, take care of the
kids and all of the other things we have to do everyday, money
management wouldn’t be such a struggle for some people.

Today, you don’t have to do this alone. The internet has
thousands of web sites that are designed to help. Most of them
won’t cost you a cent. However, it is going to be up to you to
decide if you are ready.

Most of us are swamped with bills like credit cards and auto loans, so we’re turning to debt consolidation services to help us regain control of our finances. And it’s a good idea, since some debt consolidation services can also help you lower your interest rates and monthly payments. But there are some unscrupulous folks out there, and that means you need to watch out for scammers when you’re looking for a Debt Consolidation Service online. Here are three warning signs of a disreputable company:

Large, outrageous fees

Some companies charge $100 just for reviewing your account, often disguised as a “credit analysis.” Others offer an “educational program” consisting of mostly free forms, letters and information gathered from Internet websites. The cost for this “education”? It can be as high as $1,500! Be wary of any company that pushes for up-front payment before you receive any type of service or materials.

Unbelievable promises

“Your monthly payment will be half of what you’re currently paying!” “We’ll get your interest rate slashed to zero percent!” “You’ll be paying less in just two weeks!” These types of exaggerated promises are designed to lure you in, and they’re rarely true. No one can work miracles, and they certainly can’t work them in just two weeks. Expect it to take at least a month–and probably longer–before you see the effects of debt consolidation on your finances.

They make first contact

Any company that sends out SPAM, cold calls your home, or sends you junk mail is fishing for a fee. Chances are they only want your money, and once they get it they’ll offer very little in terms of services. Most reputable companies will wait for you to contact them.

You can always double check a Debt Counseling Service with the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been filed against the company. You might also consider asking family and friends if they have any experience with the service.

Carrie Reeder is the owner of http://www.abcloanguide.com, an informational website about various types of loans online.

View our Recommended Debt Consolidation Companies Online.

Also, view her recommended low rate home equity loan lenders online.