Go Green With An Eco Friendly Barbecue By Acline Wyle

Barbecues are a huge symbol of the fun and freedom of summer. Barbecues are all about family, friends, and having a good time. They are also a great opportunity to go green and save money.

Green Up Your Barbecue

I think anybody would agree that the most important part of any barbecue is the grill. Grills come in many shapes, sizes, and forms, but not all of them are eco friendly. For example, charcoal, gas, and propane grills would not be considered energy efficient because when they burn, they release carbon monoxide and other volatile organic compounds into the air. This results in pollution and other effects that are harmful to the environment. Woodflame grills are an eco friendly alternative because they burn woodchips instead of charcoal or gasoline.

Another way to go green during a barbecue is by avoiding styrofoam and instead using paper plates and plastic cups. Styrofoam takes a staggering 500 years to decompose in a landfill, so you should use it as rarely as possble. Plastic cups are great because after they are used they can be rinsed out, recycled, and ultimately reused. You can take things a step further by buying plates and napkins that are made out of recycled paper because supporting the recycling industry is just as important as actually recycling.

You can also go green at a barbecue by using food products that are locally grown. Such foods can be found at a farmers' market or any other type of local marketplace. A big advantage of eating locally grown food is that it is usually organic and pesticide-free. Not only is this better for your health, it is also better for the environment because pesticides lead to greenhouse gases and global warming.

For more information about how you can go green and save money, please visit http://www.go-green-live-long.com Also make sure to visit http://www.eco-friendly-green-coupons.com for eco friendly discount coupons and savings

Entertaining Overnight House Guests - Made Easy By Mary Ahearn

I have truly enjoyed entertaining overnight house guests and since we live in Florida near a beautiful beach, we have guests who look forward to the change in scene and for some to get away from frigid weather up north. It is fun and enjoyable simply because of pre-planning and organization.

Below are some tips that work very well for entertaining overnight guests:

*Planning - put together a plan for meals to be served including breakfast, lunch and dinner far in advance to allow sufficient time to shop for groceries and have the right food on hand.

*Food Preparation - prepare most foods ahead, freeze or refrigerate.

*Breakfast - this meal tends to be more difficult to prepare in advance. Have on hand cereals, yogurts, protein powder to make smoothies, fresh fruit, eggs, bacon/sausage, pancake mix, frozen waffles. Preparing omelets and pancakes makes breakfast special and my guests enjoy watching this activity. Also, I have on hand a few additions so that my guests can personalize their omelet.

*Lunch - sandwiches are the quickest and easiest to prepare. Have on hand a variety of deli meats, tomatoes, dressings. Package salad mixes work well along with a variety of bottled dressings. Leftovers from dinner the night before also works well including fried chicken, cold sliced roast beef served over salad greens topped with dressing.

*Dinners - meals that can be made ahead include casseroles, tomato sauce, either with meat or marinara style, fried breaded chicken breast. I do the breading early in the day and refrigerate till ready to fry. Fry an hour before serving, and place in a warm oven. This gives you additional time to set the table, prepare a salad and visit with guests. I also prepare breaded veal cutlets and fry in extra virgin olive oil or bake until brown. An easy meal is serving the cutlets with lemon slices, a vegetable and a salad. Also, the cutlets can be served cold the next day in a sandwich.

*Morning Coffee - if you have an auto-timer coffee maker, prepare coffee the night before and set to the time guest awake. Have cups, sweetener, and cream set out for guests to help themselves until breakfast is prepared.

*Preparing the House -place an alarm clock in the bedroom. Have adequate hangers in the closet and provide drawer space. Find a space to store luggage.

*Bathroom - should be equipped with fresh soap at the sink and in the shower along with shampoo and conditioner. Have an extra supply of towels stored in a convenient place for guests to reach. Since traveling by air these days makes packing some toiletries difficult, have on hand in the guest bathroom small bottles of lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush, small size package of aspirin/ibuprofen, Band-Aids, even a spare hairdryer can come in handy. I also like to include a small package of TUMS, as it's easy to over indulge when on vacation and always have a few extra rolls of toilet tissue.

*When Children Come To Visit - keeping children entertained is easy. Just be sure to have things like books, puzzles, crayons, paper, scissors, and Silly Putty. Also have a small variety of toys and a large basket to store the toys, making cleanup easy. Kids can sometimes be picky eaters, but most children enjoy chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, bagels, waffles, canned soups and fresh fruit.

I have found planning in advance has made my time with guests relaxing and gives me more time to spend visiting with them.

Mary Ahearn blogs about Family, Friends and Homemade Italian Recipes. View her cooking videos and delicious recipes at http://maryahearn.com

Where to Find Great Games By John Rosenberg

Sometimes you want to bring some new games to family game night so everyone can all learn together. But how do you find these games? Here are some tips for finding the best games.

1. Yard Sale

It is amazing what you can find from yard sales sometimes, any time I go to one I always find something I want. That's why it is always a good idea to stop whenever you see a yard sale sign. This doesn't only apply to board games but practically anything that might be good to find.

2. Search it

The search engines are the biggest information portal man has ever created. Going to your favorite search engine and typing in a key word like, "favorite board games" or "best games" will bring up a ton of different result which you might find useful, you never know.

3. Ask a Geek

Ah the power of geeks, you may be laughing but this is how I find new games. Whenever I want to know which games are new and of course Fun, I ask one of my geeky friends. Somehow they just know the right games, or they know a hole in the wall place that has a bounce of weird games I have never even heard of before.

4. Buy Traditional Games

If all else fails you can always go down to your local Wal-Mart and buy a game of scrabble. There is nothing wrong with that more traditional games are always fun. Of course if you are looking for newer games to play this probably will not be a good option.

For more on family games visit http://www.best-family-games.com

How Plan a Hawaiian Theme Party on a Small Budget By Jan Dering

Today's Question is: -

"How do I host the perfect Hawaiian theme party on a small budget?"

In credit crunch times, people do not stop having birthday parties, but our budgets get just a little bit tighter. So I'm going to show you how to have a great Hawaiian Theme party on a very small budget. I'll show you where you can cut costs, where no one will see.

Best if you have a small budget to host your Hawaiian theme party at home. This will cost your more time, but less money. As you do not have to pay for room hire.

If your home is a little small, you could move the party outside weather permitting. If you are worried about what the weather will do to your Hawaiian theme party if it rains, you could try asking around to find your local community centre or church hall. There will be a room charge, but it will be a very small one.

Whether you can spend a little or a lot there is always a budget to deal with.
When your budget is small. Work out where you wish to spend the money on, and where you can save it.
For example: - With the Hawaiian party theme, you do not have to spend a lot on decorations. You can make the buffet table your Hawaiian centrepiece. Decorate this with a Hawaiian party table centre or table runner and hey presto you have your party theme almost covered.

If you also ask your guests to come dressed up in a Hawaiian outfit. This also helps to carry the theme into other rooms, without much in the way of party decoration. This fancy dress approach adds colour to the room with you having too.

Bunting of the Multi-coloured variety is also a winner for decorating a large party space on a small budget. You can of course make your own Hawaiian party decorations, but a little word of warning here. Your decorations will not be flame resistant, most brought ones will be. So please take extra care around naked flames.

With the Hawaiian theme party decorations almost done, we can turn our attention to the food.
Hawaiian's use a lot of chicken, pork, pineapple and rice in their traditional recipes.

With the aid of a quick search on the inter-net you should be able to come up with a few great Hawaiian recipes for your buffet table. It would however be a little foolish to use all Hawaiian recipes. As there is always room on the buffet table for a few party buffet favourites. If you need to make a little party food go a long way. Pasta, potatoes & rice can help to bulk out your buffet.

I hope that has helped sort out your budget Hawaiian theme party for you.

For any party advice you know what to do.
Ask Jan........

Jan Dering is owner of http://www.partybirthdaydecorationsandsupplies.co.uk The sucessful theme party supplies website. Having run a party planning service in England for a number of years. She now passes that knowledge on to others.