Reasons to Celebrate in October

There are plenty of reasons to celebrate this October other than Halloween. Here are some great reasons to celebrate this month and be sure to check out our Party Calendar for reasons to party every month.

October is National Chili Month. Celebrate with a chili potluck dinner. Each guest can bring their own favorite chili recipe. You could even turn it into a competition! A chili party makes a great family get-together, block party or church event.

Decorate for your chili party with our awesome fiesta decorations. A chili pepper garland will look awesome around your tables or the edge of the party room. Add chili pepper mylar balloons to red and green balloon bouquets for a really festive look. An inflatable chili pepper makes a fun accent too. Top off your tables with chili pepper confetti.

Sturdy crockery is a great option for serving the food at this type of party, but for appetizers and other snacks we have a cool Fiesta Tableware Ensemble, perfect for matching your chili theme.

We have great favors for a chili party too! Pass out blinking chili pepper pins, chili pepper bracelets or chili pepper beads to guests!

Here’s our favorite chili recipe. It’s great served over Frito’s corn chips!

Ingredients:

1 lb Lean Ground Beef
½ lb Whole Hog Sausage
2 cans Tomato Sauce
1 small can Tomato Paste
1 large Onion
1 large Green Bell Pepper
2 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
2 cans Red Kidney Beans

Brown meats in skillet until well done. Drain grease. Mince onions and peppers (may use food processor).

Mix all ingredients and cook. Mixture will cook fast (about 15 minutes) or you can cook in a crock-pot in 4-12 hours.

Makes 8 servings.

Note: If milder chili is preferred, cut chili powder and black pepper in half.

All during October, people enjoy hosting their own spin-offs of the original Oktoberfest in Germany. Check out our Oktoberfest Tips for tons of ideas to host your Oktoberfest party. If you have German heritage, this is an especially great idea!

A personalized Oktoberfest standee makes a great entrance piece to any Oktoberfest celebration. Add some beer stein cutouts and Oktoberfest whirls to the walls and ceiling for a 3D effect.

Beer mug candles make great favors!

October 20, 22007 is Sweetest Day, a day to celebrate anyone in your life who is sweet! Sweetest Day is celebrated similarly to Valentine’s Day but without the romantic overtones. Take the day as an opportunity to thank and pamper someone special in your life or host a party to celebrate your best friends, family or coworkers!

Surprise your sweet with a bouquet of flowers, Valentine’s balloons or candy hearts candles. Decorate for a party with lots of die-cut hearts, silk rose petals and a great personalized banner letting everyone know just how much you care.

There are plenty of reasons to celebrate this October! Let us know why you’re hosting parties!

More reasons to celebrate:
National Roller Skating Month * Columbus Day *1- World Vegetarian Day * 2- Ghandi’s Birthday * 4- National Golf Day * 4- National Taco Day * 6- German-American Day (Oktoberfest!) * 6- Mad Hatter Day * 8- Native Americans’ Day * 8- Great Chicago Fire Day * 11- It’s My Party Day * 13- Take your Teddy Bear to Work Day * 14- National Dessert Day * 16- National Boss Day * 20- Sweetest Day * 21- Sunday School Appreciation Day * 22- United Nations Day * 23- National Nut Day * 29- Bring your Jack-o-Lantern to Work Day * 30- National Candy Corn Day * 31- Halloween * 31- National Magic Day *

Ein Prosit! Oktoberfest Invitations

Oktoberfest is a popular German tradition that has become an increasingly more popular fall party theme all over the world. The real Oktoberfest is held each year in the beginning of October in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It lasts for two weeks and hosts around six million people each year.

You can host your own Oktoberfest party, whether it’s a small family get-together, a block party, or a huge festival. ShindigZ has tons of Oktoberfest tips to get you started.

Once you’ve decided to host an Oktoberfest party, decide on your guest list and send out invitations. Be sure to encourage guests to come dressed in traditional German costumes or fun party clothes.

Get creative with your invitations! Make invitations in the shape of beer steins, fall leaves, yodeler hats, or German flags. The possibilities are limitless.

Our favorite invitation idea is to write your party information on a small or medium roll piece of paper. Roll it up and place it in paper stein centerpieces. Hand deliver your invitations to each guest for a personal touch and a favor that will help them anticipate the party!

Check out all of our Oktoberfest tips and let us know about your Oktoberfest party ideas!

Oktoberfest Decorations for a Festive Fall Festival

Oktoberfest is known for its festive tents and atmosphere. When you create your own Oktoberfest party, you’ll want to have plenty of decorations to set the scene.

Create vibrant backdrops with gossamer swags and curtains in fall colors or the traditional blue and white.

Add some Oktoberfest spirit all over with our cutouts. Place Oktoberfest food cutouts around your buffet tables and Oktoberfest cutouts around the rest of your festival.

Use our fall leaf garland and Oktoberfest banners to accent your decorations with a festive fall mood.

Edge your tables with Oktoberfest tape.

For a festive entrance, set up personalized Oktoberfest standee. It’s perfect for taking pictures with. Guests will love the accordion player and you can add your own wording!

Add another dimension to your decorating by hanging stein swirls from the ceiling or a jointed Oktoberfest pull down cutout. You can even create festive walkways with cobblestone decorating paper.

Go all out in your decorations with an Oktoberfest Decorating Kit. It includes tons of decorations for you to add all the accents to your Oktoberfest celebration.

Don’t forget to decorate yourself with Oktoberfest party apparel.

If you have Oktoberfest traditions we want to hear about them!

Get in the German Spirit with Oktoberfest Activities

You don’t have to have many activities at your Oktoberfest party. Enjoying the festive German food and good beer is enough, but if you want to have some entertainment check out our ideas.

Dress up in traditional Oktoberfest clothing. Men wear lederhosen–short leather pants with suspenders. Women wear dirndls with elaborate embroidery and a white blouse underneath. Oktoberfest party apparel is a fun alternative too.

Find DVDs, books, or an experienced dancer to teach you how to waltz and polka dance!

Have a beer keg race. Get two kegs—empty or full—and see who can roll them from point A to point B the fastest. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds!

Set up games for kids to play. You can let them play whatever they want or sell tickets for them to use to play the games. Some fun carnival games include:

• A beanbag toss
• A milk-bottle toss. Set up milk bottles in a pyramid shape and let kids knock them over with softballs.
• Bozo game. This one is trickier than it looks and was made famous by the TV clown. Kids should try to toss a ping-pong ball into one of several small jars. The smaller the mouth of the jar, the harder it will be. Ping-pong balls will bounce out of jars too!
• Gone fishin’. Kids toss a fishing line with a clothespin attached over a cardboard barrier. ON the other side, volunteers clip a prize to the line and toss it back. This is a fun game for little kids.
• Duck pond. Write numbers on the bottom of rubber ducks and float them in a wading pool. Kids pick up the ducks and win prizes according to the number they pick.
• Lollypop Tree. Stick suckers into a board with small holes cut in it. Color the tips of the sticks in different colors. Kids pick suckers and keep them, plus a prize depending on the color they pulled.
• Football toss. Kids take turns trying to throw a football through a tire.
• Cake walk.

Stock up on penny candy and small prizes for your carnival games.

Tell us about your Oktoberfest traditions!