We're big on parties around here and are always looking for an excuse to throw one. And what better excuse could there be than April Fool's Day? The day lends itself to high jinks and hilarity and that, of course, makes for a great kid's party.

Here are our ideas for a fun -- and funny -- April Fool's Day party. Feel free to share your own!

Invitations

• What could be more appropriate on a day devoted to practical jokes and hoaxes than a wacky costume party? Invite your guests to arrive wearing their most outrageous outfits. This could be a costume, a mismatched outfit or even inside-out attire.
• To make the invitations special, print them backwards and cut them up into puzzle pieces that must be assembled before reading.

Decorations

• Greet your guests with orange cones and "wet cement" signs at the front door.
• Inside, think beyond balloons and streamers. Hang "wet paint" signs on the walls, an "out of order" sign above the toilet and string caution tape everywhere. Look around your house and turn things upside down and backwards. Create odd centerpieces out of random items.
• Turn on some Christmas music!
• Some strategically placed whoopie cushions and fake dog poo are sure to make them laugh, while scattered rubber snakes, bugs and rats will keep them on their toes.

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How often do you hope to do something special for a holiday, but the busy whirlwind that is life takes over, and next thing you know, the holiday has come, or passed, and you're none the wiser?

Today might already be the original green day -- St. Patrick's Day -- but that doesn't mean you can't perform a last-minute green-up if you haven't already. The clothes, of course, are easy. Throw on something green. Done; piece of cake! But what about the food?

You could go to a bar, but if there's going to be an overflowing madhouse at the pub on any day of the year, this would be the one. That leaves celebrating in the comfort of your own home, or at a friend's place. Luckily, it's a piece of cake to turn things green for the holiday.

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You might celebrate St. Patrick's Day by singing "Danny Boy" or raising a glass of green beer to your mouth or sitting down to a dinner of corned beef and cabbage. But this year, I honored it with the whirr of a razor buzzing around my head.

The patron saint of my holiday is a cartoon leprechaun named Lucky, the mascot of the St. Baldrick's Foundation. Begun in 2000 on a St. Patrick's Day bet, St. Baldrick's has raised $50.5 million in the past decade to fund research for children's cancer treatment and to raise awareness of a disease that strikes an American child every three and a half minutes.

Head shaving events -- where volunteers are sponsored to go bald for cancer -- are the foundation's primary fundraiser, according to Foundation spokesperson Sara McCarthy. The parties are thrown by volunteers across the country to bring folks in the community who care about kids and cancer together to pony up their ponytails while friends and family plunk down money "on their heads" that will help St. Baldrick's fund grants for scientists searching for the cure for childhood cancer.

In the past decade, 130,000 people have plopped down in a chair at a St. Baldrick's event in the past 10 years and said so long to their hair to raise money to fight children's cancer. I'm proud to count myself among those 130,000 brave -- and bald -- souls. Since 2006, I've had my head shaved at four St. Baldrick's fundraisers, starting a year after the birth of my daughter.

My child has been blessed with good health, but time after time in the community newspaper business, I was forced to write articles about fundraisers for local children with cancer. And sometimes a year later, sometimes two years, I would sit down to write that same child's obituary. Each one tore away another piece of my resolve, until the journalistic code -- don't get involved in the story -- was no more.

I shaved first because I had to do something; I shave now because I've found joy in an unlikely place. In baldness, I've found the beauty of feeling like I have power over childhood cancer. I suppose it comes down to this: I'm Jeanne Sager, and I'm a mom, and I'm addicted to shaving my head to fight childhood cancer.

And fortunately, I'm not the only one.

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Moving to a new home in a new city can be an exciting time. But for a child, saying goodbye to friends and leaving behind all that is familiar can be traumatic and stressful. Parents can do a lot to ease the pain by remaining upbeat, involving the kids as much as possible in the move and, most importantly, being available to talk about the feelings that are bound to arise when making such a big change.

While nothing a parent can do will completely take the sting out of moving, a sure-fire way to ramp up the excitement is to throw a great party. A goodbye party done right celebrates the future while acknowledging what is being left behind. Here are some ideas for throwing a memorable going away party for your child.

Invitations: Whether your make your own invitations or purchase store-bought ones, make it clear that it is a going away party and that gifts are not required. Instead, ask your guests to decorate an empty moving box for your child to use when packing his things.

Theme: When considering a theme, look no further than your destination. Big or small, most places are known for something. If you're moving to Texas, think about a cowboy theme. New York? Broadway and big apples. If you can't come up with something about your new home that lends itself to a theme, go with a simple moving theme using boxes, packing supplies and other moving-related items to decorate the party space.

Food: Simple food is always best at a kid's party. If you are moving somewhere that is known for a particular cuisine, try to include that on the menu. And since it's not a party without a cake, make or order one that fits your theme.

Activities: Rather than traditional games, plan activities that let your childs' friends create some portable memories. Place an address book and a pen at the entrance to the party space so your guests can write down their information. Make sure the book includes a space for birth dates and email addresses. A going away party may very well be the last time your child sees many of her friends; take time to make lasting memories with scrapbooks. On a table, set out loose sheets of large scrapbooking paper, pens, stickers and other embellishments and ask each guest to make a memory page for your child. Before they get started, have them glue or tape a smaller piece of scrapbooking paper to the page and instruct them to leave it blank. Once your are in your new home, your child can read the special messages while attaching photos of the friends who created the pages. And finally, get out the video camera and have each child take turns sharing a special memory about your child. Party Favors: Party favors aren't necessary, but a goody bag provides an opportunity to send your guests home with a little memento of their friend. Include a small photo of your child in an inexpensive frame along with a hand-written note. To encourage your child's friends to keep in touch, purchase a supply of postcards featuring the city you are leaving and address them to your new home. Add a stamp and include one in each goody bag. Your child will be delighted to receive these in the mail once you've settled into your new home.

In case you haven't heard, March 20th is the day when the stars align for lovers everywhere -- literally, it's the vernal equinox, the best possible day to get down on one knee and pop the question ... or something like that. In other words, it's Proposal Day, a holiday created by John Michael O'Loughlin as a chance to get all those procrastinators in long-term relationships to go ahead and take the plunge. Or maybe it's just written in the stars.

So, does it actually work? Are you more likely to get a yes if you propose on Proposal Day? To answer this question, I went to the founder himself, John O'Loughlin. According to data that O'Loughlin has collected over the years, Proposal Day has been a resounding success.

How did Proposal Day come to be? "Decades ago," O'Loughlin told Holidash, "one of my cousins had been in a very long-term relationship with a man, and all of us in the family were wondering when he'd pop the question to her... Well, sir, my cousin waited in vain for years before moving on with her life. And, it seemed to me, that there are some who really need to have it spelled out for them..." And so O'Loughlin marked off a day for hesitant suitors to make the commitment.

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A little bird told us it's National Birdfeeding Month. How about some DIY? - Naturally Educational

Don't turn green with envy at these cooks' skills; take their recipes and make St. Pat's a blast. - Daily Buzz

Are cupcake candles a cruel trick or a sweet treat for someone's birthday? - Epicute

Lenten sacrifices could be good for your waistline -- is chocolate off the menu? - That's Fit

Bring out the Bailey's -- St. Patrick's has it's own pot de creme. - YumSugar

When a holiday goes to the dogs. You don't need an Irish wolfhound to celebrate this week. - PawNation

Are you ready to welcome spring with a warm embrace? Let's give the season a brightly colored, cheery, floral nudge, with a Spring Look Giveaway!

This ShopTheLook.net spring accessory prize collection is filled with the freshest, prettiest, most fun spring-trend earrings, bracelets and hair pieces you need for a new season, including:

• Gem Gem Hoop Earrings -- Shiny gold hoop with interconnected multi-colored gems.
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• Fancy Floral Earrings -- like flowers for your ears!
• Indie Beau Necklace -- a fresh twist on seedbeads in spring's must-have metallic
• Poppy Bobby -- if you're going to wear flowers in your hair, hot pink poppy bobby pins are the way to go!
• Weekender Necklace -- a perfect mix of casual and glam with faceted gems, cut out hearts and beads
• Ooh La La Hoop -- these dangling lavender disks on a silver hoop will make you say it... Ooh La La!
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Enter Now!
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• One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
• One winner will receive: a spring accessories prize collection from ShopTheLook.net (value: $108)
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
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Did you celebrate Panic Day by running around like a loon last week? Yell "Hoodie Hoo" at noon on Feb. 20? You have Tom Roy to thank.

The Lebanon, Pa. resident is the creator of more than 80 holidays, each one wackier than the last. It started 23 years ago with Northern Hemisphere Hoodie Hoo Day, slated exactly one month before the spring equinox. On Feb. 20 at noon local time, Roy says you should "go outdoors and yell 'Hoodie-Hoo' to chase winter and make ready for spring, one month away."

So who's he to tell you what to do? Roy happens to have had his 80-some holidays printed in Chase's Calendar of Events, the book he was reading 23 years ago to create content for a show at the radio station where he was employed.

"I saw where it said submit your own holidays, and I said wow, I didn't you know you could do that," Roy tells Holidash. So he looked at the calendar in his office and started thinking.

"It was February, and I thought what's going through everyone's head right now? Cabin Fever," Roy continues. "So I looked at the start of spring and counted back one month."

That explains the date. But Hoodie Hoo? "I think it's something Gomer Pyle used to say," Roy confesses. "It just came to me."

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The urge to get to know your food source just got festive. Folks are turning their party planning over to their local butcher -- and making him their entertainment for the evening.

The term "butcher party" was coined in San Francisco, where David Budworth, who also goes by Dave the Butcher, has been throwing events for the past year that bring people together to watch him do his job. Literally.

Set up on a table in the front of a room, Budworth pulls out his knives and starts breaking down a side of beef or a pre-slaughtered goat while the partygoers shoot him questions on the process.

With each question -- from "What kind of knives do you use?" to "How does one get to be a butcher?" -- Budworth says he's reintroducing people to the concept of visiting their local butcher to buy fresh cut meat rather than stopping into the superstore for a slab of days old meat in plastic wrap.

"People are so removed from butchery," Budworth explains. "In Europe it's like being a mailman; it's no big deal. But here people don't know their butcher."

Helping to revive the art form is the national drive to know exactly where our food comes from. In the wake of box office successes for movies such as "Food, Inc.," book sales for "The Omnivore's Dilemma," federal initiatives pushing "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food," and even more grassroots efforts like the Eat Local Challenge, the numbers of people buying fresh meat or even coming together to purchase an entire side of beef -- which is then split among the families -- has grown significantly.

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Your good friend is getting married and with the cost of airfare, new threads and travel expenses, you have minimal cash left over for a gift. Why not surprise the couple with a sweet and sentimental (read: inexpensive!) gift? Check out three of our favorite options.



A set of placemats for them to plan their next getaway to Europe -- all from the comfort of their dinner table!
$14 via Velocity Art & Design.


A parking meter timer may seem like a lame gift, but for the city-bound couple, this could be the savior of their relationship.
$6.50 via Amazon.



Oh, look. Their first gig poster, dedicated to... themselves! Sweet.
$25 via Roll & Tumble Press.

Happy shopping!