How to Host a Valentine’s Day Party?

Hosting a Valentine’s Day party can actually be pretty versatile. All you really need is to create a warm, loving atmosphere that makes your guests feel welcome and loved. It can be a couples’ party, or it can just be a fun time with a group of friends. Here are some ideas on how to make your Valentine’s party a time to remember.

Pick a Time

If you are going for a romantic love type of theme, an evening time would set the right mood. For a friendship party, you could do brunch or a late afternoon party. If you are having children, early afternoon might work best. The key is to choose a time that fits the schedule and lifestyle of the majority of your guests.

Choose the Menu

There are all sorts of ideas for Valentine’s Day food. Here are some ideas based on party themes and types.

* Couples’ party – Food at a couples’ party can be romantic and share-able, like kabobs and/or fondue. Fruits like cherries, raspberries and strawberries can be dipped in chocolate for a lovely dessert.

* Friends’ party – A buffet is a great way to welcome friends. You can decorate the buffet table with all sorts of Valentine themes, such as candy hearts and cinnamon candy scattered around on a white tablecloth, or muffin papers filled with assorted treats tucked among the food dishes.

-Children’s party * Kids love just about any excuse for a party, and Valentine’s is no exception! Have a trinket as a favor for each child, or a goodie bag with a few candies and toys. Cupcakes frosted in pink, white, red, or purple are pretty and festive, and you can decorate the tops with hearts. Arrange the cupcakes in a big heart on a cloth or platter. For healthier fare, cut watermelon, whole wheat bread, deli meats, and cheese slices into heart shapes.

Invitations

Now that you know your time, place, and basic theme, you can send out invitations. It’s fun to make your own, or you can just buy ready-made ones at the store. You can also do e-invitations, which are gaining popularity. Try to choose invitations that reflect the overall feel of the party.

Decorate

Now to decorate!

* Couples’ party – Votive candles, rose petals, strings of pearls, and flowers make romantic decorations. A single tulip, rosebud, or carnation makes a lovely, simple statement on a dining table, end table, or windowsill. Lighting should be low.

* Friends’ party – For this party, you can combine the favor with the decorations. Have several bouquets of flowers around such as tulips, and let everyone take one home as a gift. Use tulle on your mirrors or wall art to create swags and bows. Have you ever cut paper dolls? Use that technique to make long paper chains of hearts to hang in front of windows or from chandeliers.

* Children’s party – Go for fun with this one. Bring out the stuffed animals and arrange them so they look like they’re having a tea party. Balloons are always fun for kids; tie bunches of red, purple, white, and pink ones in bunches around the room (tie them to the stuffed animals’ “paws” for a really fun effect). Make paper heart garlands using construction paper and string, and let your kids do some window decorations with dry erase markers, cut-out hearts, or store-bought stick-ons.

How Yoga Can Help Before, During and After Birth

Yoga is said to have originated in ancient India. It is a series of postures, exercises, and stretching that is designed to harmonize and unify body, mind, and spirit. Applied before, during, and after birth, Yoga may help moms have an easier go of labor, birth, and post-partum recovery. Here are some ways Yoga can help moms-to-be.

Relaxation

Being able to stay calm, relaxed, and centered can help during labor, and Yoga teaches how to align the body with these mental states. Muscle looseness and flexibility is also a part of Yoga that can enhance labor.

Baby’s Position

Certain Yoga postures may help align the baby properly in the mother’s uterus and, later, in the pelvis. These postures may also prevent the baby from changing out of the right position, such as moving into a breech position. Some practitioners advocate Yoga for preventing and even correcting wrongly-positioned babies.

Mom’s Position

What position the mother is in during labor makes a big difference in her experience and the success of the outcome. Yoga positions are said to facilitate birth and help move the baby down the birth canal with minimal injury.

Meditative Focus

Yoga involves meditation (although it does not have to), which can help a mom keep herself calm and centered during labor. Resisting the urge to give in to fear is important for a healthy birth experience, and Yoga meditation can help that.

Back Pain

Many women experience a lot of pain in their backs during pregnancy and labor. Yoga exercises specifically stretch and loosen the back muscles while also strengthening them. This can go a long way in making the mom feel more comfortable during pregnancy and labor.

Breath Control

An interesting cross-over between Yoga and certain prepared childbirth methods is breath control. Being able to focus on breathing and “centering” yourself can prove to be quite an asset during labor.

Post-Partum Recovery

For some women, the post-partum period can be very rough. For others, it’s not a big problem. Regardless, Yoga can help speed recovery and enhance much-needed energy during the post-partum time. Certain poses and exercises can really help bring muscles back into tone and shape, but in a gentle way. Experts agree that checking with your doctor is a good idea before doing Yoga within the first six weeks of delivery.

The Whole Person

What many women really like about prenatal and post-partum Yoga is the whole-person approach involved. Pregnancy and birth also involve the whole person, so Yoga seems like a natural part of the process. Yoga can help with the emotional as well as the physical adjustments associated with pregnancy, labor and birth.

How Vitamin D Can Positively Affect Your Mood

There’s a reason why some healthcare professionals give their patients Vitamin D supplements in the fall and winter – it’s been shown that a lack of Vitamin D plays a role in SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Other studies point to Vitamin D’s role in cognitive and mood problems in older adults, and studies on overweight people showed a positive effect on mood when Vitamin D was supplemented.

Because the body makes Vitamin D through exposure to sunlight, experts believe that the lower levels of sunlight in fall and winter may contribute to lower levels of Vitamin D, and hence depression.

There have been many cases of people experiencing a much-needed mood boost by consuming even more Vitamin D than the US RDA recommends (which is 200 IU). Most sources agree that 2000 IU is the safe limit of supplemented Vitamin D, although your body can synthesize much, much more than that in just a few minutes of sun exposure, sources point out.

So how do you get more Vitamin D in your diet? Supplements are an option, but many people prefer to get vitamins through foods. Here are some foods that are rich in Vitamin D.

* Oatmeal – It’s nice that a cold-weather breakfast cereal – which you might instinctively reach for when the weather turns colder – provides around 188 IU of Vitamin D per serving.

* Soy Milk – Try adding some soy milk to your oatmeal – it has about 200 IU per cup, with some brands and varieties containing more.

* Salmon – Have you ever wondered how people in far northern climates, where the sun doesn’t even shine for months in the winter, get enough Vitamin D? Their diets are rich in fatty seafood. Research supports the positive effect of fish oil on mood, and fish oil contains Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, so getting it through a (healthy) fat-rich source makes sense. Sources note that wild-caught salmon is best. (Other fish with Vitamin D include cod, herring, sardines and trout.)

* Mushrooms – Canned or fresh, mushrooms are a good source of Vitamin D, with almost 170 IU per 1-cup serving. White mushrooms and shitake, even dried, are considered the highest in Vitamin D.

* Eggs – One egg has about 20 IU of Vitamin D. Organic, free-range eggs may be higher in this vitamin than conventional eggs.

* Fortified Foods – While it’s not a natural form of Vitamin D, you can find significant amounts of this vitamin in enriched breakfast cereals and fortified cow’s milk.

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