Your child’s Bar Mitzvah is all about family, friends, spirituality and celebration.  Basically, your planning their biggest birthday party to date and quite possibly ever…so, where does one start with such an overwhelming task?  Keep reading.

Working with a Pro ~ Consider hiring a professional event planner to turn ideas into reality.  A great planner can offer theme ideas, design inspiration, entertainment suggestions, catering ideas, etc and most importantly negotiate with vendors.  The planner takes away the stress and worries, keeping things running on time and on budget.

Balancing Act ~ Every parent wants the best for their child and wants to throw an amazing Bar Mitzvah.  But your ideas of amazing aren’t always exactly the same as what your child thinks is amazing…that’s a problem.  Its all about compromise and this is a perfect area of expertise where an event planner comes in handy.  The planner can listen to both sides and help sort things out so everyone is happy.

Wish List vs Guest List ~ Chances are you are going to want to invite all of your family and friends and then some more friends and distant relatives…the guest list can sometimes get out of hand.  First things first, make a ‘Wishlist’, anyone and everyone you could possibly invite, then start trimming the list down to fit your budget and venue size.

Strike a Pose ~ Book your photographer well in advance.  Good event photographers can book up a year in advance.  Meet with a few photographers to compare styles, costs and personalities.  Yes, personalities…the photographer is going to be with you and your family for hours taking personal photos and you want to feel comfortable and relaxed around them.

Hey DJ, Get this Party Started! ~ One of the most important ingredients to any great party is the music.  A great DJ knows how to keep the energy going, read the guests, get them engaged, keep their attention and overall, be a great entertainer.  Spend some time with your DJ discussing the playlists, songs you like, those you don’t and even what games and prizes you want your guests to enjoy.

It’s a party, lets have some fun!

Turkey is generally the centerpiece of everyone’s Thanksgiving meal.  The ultimate goal is to prepare it so it will be tender and succulent with the meat practically falling off the bone. There are several ways to cook a moist juicy bird.

When I look back at past Thanksgiving meals with my family, I think about having to cover the turkey with so much gravy because its dry. Fortunately, there are delicious ingredients that can assist this from occurring.

Below are ATE great recipes to cook your T-Bird…

1. Martha Stewart’s roast turkey
2. Brined, herb roast turkey
3. Adobo tukey with red-chili gravy
4. Citrus marinated turkey
5. Chili-roasted turkey with chorizo-corn bread stuffing
6. Smoked turkey with barbecue gravy
7. Porcini mushroom turkey with mushroom gravy
8. Miso-rubbed turkey with turkey gravy

What are some of your favorite turkeys for Thanksgiving?

*Links courtesy of www.huffingtonpost.com/food