August 21 marks the 2010 Woodward Dream Cruise. What started out as a small fundraiser for a soccer field evolved into the world’s largest one-day automotive event that draws in 1.5 million people from around the world, including New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

The event started, in August 1995, as a tribute to the 50s and 60s and Woodward Avenue, America’s first highway. Everybody went to Woodward Avenue and supported the local establishments located along the highway mostly because these were the places to see and be seen. These were Ted’s, Totem Pole and the Varsity, Hollywood, Wigwam and Suzie Q’s and Big Boy.

These were the drive-in restaurants that everybody went to show off their muscle cars, convertibles with their over-sized cars, open tops and custom-painted flames. If you wanted to show off your car, make sure you’re at one of these establishments and everybody will see you.

Woodward Avenue became so influential that the Big Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) used the highway to test their prototypes. Some of these cars included the Mustang GT, Chevy Camaro and Dodge Charger. The Woodward Dream Cruise continues to operate for free through the help of its corporate sponsors. Visit the Auto Showroom, which features exhibitors that include auto dealers, car clubs and auto accessories shops.

Woodward Dream Cruise will take place on Saturday, August 21, 2010, between 9am and 9pm through the 16-mile stretch of Woodward Avenue in Southeast Michigan. It continues to be a family-friendly, alcohol-free event with police department nearby on foot, horse and vehicle to ensure the safety of the people attending the event. If you’re coming from out-of-state, be sure to book your hotel early.

If you can’t make it to Hawaii this summer then bring the Luau home this summer with a fun summer party! Its so easy and fun, all you need to host a luau style party is a yard, tiki decor, chilled cocktails,  summer music, and, of course, friends.  Read on for the essential luau party blueprint plans.

1- Decor and Music

Think kitschy with palm trees, tikis, flowers, and paper lanterns. You can set the scene with a few bamboo torches and faux palm trees. Keep the decor minimal and add a little bit color. If you can afford it, buy real flowers (like orchids) and place them in a clear vase for a centerpiece.  If not, then decorate the area with faux flowers or flower garlands.   Have fun with decorating but don’t overdo it!

Next up is the music! You can buy summer or beach party music on compact discs at any party shop, or you can download a bunch of great songs and put them on your iPod, which you can connect to a speaker set to amplify the music. You can find these iPod accessories at the iStore.

2- Food and Drinks

A summer party isn’t complete without margaritas or some other frozen drink.  Since a full bar costs to much, select one (or two) drinks to serve at the party. All you need is several drink mixes,  a frozen drink maker to and plastic margarita glasses. Keep the food choices just as simple: chips, fresh cut veggies, salsa, guacamole, and ranch dressing. You could also stop by the deli and pick up sandwiches and pasta salad for a  light meal. Don’t forget to serve popsicles or ice cream for dessert!

3- Party Fun

Keep the people entertained with games like bocce ball, ring toss, or volleyball.  If you’ve got young children, set up a small play pool for them to splash in  and cool off.  Remember there is no need to buy a lot of games and toys to entertain everyone, because almost everyone will be too busy catching up with their friends.

It’s true, summer babies grow into kids who never get to take a birthday cake to school or wear a paper crown in class. And there are a lot of these kids — last time they checked, August was the month with the highest number of births.

But a summer birthday has lots of advantages. You can point these out to your summer baby, and keep them in mind when you’re planning the party.

• There’s no really big holiday like Christmas to take attention away from your birthday.
• You can invite real friends, not just anyone at school who might be hurt if they were left out. Some schools don’t even let students give out invitations at school, unless there’s one for everyone.
• If you can’t track down some of your friends, or they’re on vacation — fewer guests mean more money to spend on each. You may be able to do something you thought was too expensive.
• Outdoor activities are possible (though you’d better still have a plan for rain). These take off a lot of the pressure to make sure everyone’s having fun all the time. Plus, you can go ahead and get wet.
• Nobody’s parents or teachers end up mad at you for cutting into homework time with your party.
• You won’t have to put away your presents to write a book report.

In some ways, summer can be the best time of year to have your birthday. So, this year, let’s sit back (in the shade, of course) and enjoy it.

Summer may be a season to you, but to your kids it’s a more like a holiday.  This year, why not take the time to join your kids celebrate the 3 months of fun in the sun? Designate a plan to do something with the family at least once every week (or every two weeks if you’re time crunched) . Read below for ideas!

Go Do Something

As desirable as it may seem, staying holed up in front of the television does not make for a memorable summer.  Next time they ask to go see a movie or to play at an amusement park, say yes and join them! If you’re having a hard time staying cool, why not go for a swim at the beach or local waterpark?   If you want to give your kids something to learn about, you might want to spend a few of your weekends at a museum, aquarium, or zoo.  The point is you need to get out and live a little!

Unleash Your Creativity

If you want to stay home this summer, do something creative and fun.  Surf the web for fun websites like Martha Stewart and Family Fun for ideas including crafts, games, activities, and even party plans!

Volunteer Together

If your children are old enough, you might want to sign up for a family volunteer project.  Check with your children to find out if they’re interested (you don’t want to make them do a project they’re not passionate about), and check your own schedule.   You don’t even have to go abroad, you can volunteer a few hours every week at a local animal shelter or senior center.

Planning a party and want to do something decoratively different? If you are tired of streamers and cardboard banners hanging on your party room walls, consider taking decorating up a notch with helium balloons. With just a modicum of effort, balloons can transform a room like few other decorations can.

Balloon bouquets are always nice, and they are simple to make. For a chic, stylish look, go for muted tones, metallics or pearlized balloons; bold colors and jewel tones add a more festive feel. You can spice up a plain bouquet with embellishments like curling ribbon, markers or paints, and silk flowers.

For the more creatively ambitious, try balloon sculpting – building decorations out of balloons tied to string, wire, pvc or each other. A good piece to begin with is a simple arch. You will need enough helium balloons to cover your arch at 8-12″ intervals. Measure a length of fishing line or string that is about three times the height of the arch you want. For example, if you want an arch to frame a 7 foot door, cut a 21 foot line.

Tie a weight to one end of the line and place it on a chair. Across the room, tie the other end to another chair or a door handle. Make a light fist around the string just above the weight to mark the place where you tie your first balloon. Stretch and tie the knotted end of the balloon in that spot. Use your hand to measure again and tie on the next one. Repeat this across the room until you reach the end, then tie on another weight so that the starting and ending balloons are equidistant. Place the weights on the floor where the arch will be. The closer the weights, the higher and narrower the arch.

I have made giant balloon arches, pillars, flowers, even a life-size golfer! Let your creativity soar to new heights with helium balloons.

It isn’t a well-known holiday. It isn’t in most people’s top ten, or twenty, holidays a year. But it ranks up there behind only Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Valentine’s Day as my fifth favorite holiday.

I am talking about Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), which is a real holiday that takes place on the first Saturday of May each year. Unlike Christmas, which requires both the giving and the receiving, FCBD involves only receiving.  It isn’t’ like a “Buy one get one” kind of free.  The comics are actually free for the taking.  Not all the comics in the store, mind you, but a nice selection none the less.

The helpful hint here is that you can take the kids to your local comic shop, let them grab comics to their hearts content, and leave without dropping a nickel.  The kids will be thanking you for bringing them for this special treat, even though it didn’t cost you a thing, AND you’re getting the kids to read.  That’s a rare win-win-win scenario for you.

You do not have to be a regular customer of the store.  You don’t have to buy anything.  You can just show up once a year and pick up a variety of comics for free.

If you’re bringing younger children, you might want to do a little bit of research ahead of time.  There are some comics that are terrific tools for introducing children to the love of reading.  There are also some comics that are wildly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 35.  In most cases you can tell by a quick glance at the cover, but not always.  Just keep your eyes open and you’ll be fine.

So, head to your local comic shop on May 1st this year, pick up some comics for the kids, and maybe a couple for yourself.  Even if you hate them, you can throw them out and nothing is lost.  If you love them, you may have found a new hobby.  More importantly, if your kids love them, you’ll be encouraging them to read, which is the doorway to imagination.

Now that Valentine’s Day, Lunar New Year, Mardi Gras, and even Presidents’ Day have gone by in a flash, it suddenly seems like a long time till the next excuse for a party.

Why wait? There are going to be days, good and bad, when you feel you need a celebration. Be ready for them – stash some party supplies in a drawer or box and pull them out when the time comes.

Good things to have in it:

• A colorful paper tablecloth and napkins. These are really cheap just after a holiday.
• Paper or foam plates, matching the tablecloth, or at least in bright colors. Just throw them out when you’re done. The earth will forgive you this once.
• Disposable cutlery and plastic wine glasses, even if you’re not having wine.
• Food that will keep, takes no prep, and still seems kind of fancy: Artichoke hearts, croutons, canned shrimp, pudding cups in your favorite flavors, jars of olives.
• Any entrée you can microwave or “just add boiling water” to. This is only if you’re ambitious enough to serve a meal. (You could keep frozen dinners around for the same purpose, but food in the fridge tends to get eaten for everyday meals.)
• Soft drink mixes (I’ll leave the hard stuff up to your taste).
• Decorations – candles, artificial flowers, or something else for a centerpiece.

Nobody’s going to mistake this for a formal occasion, or mistake you for Martha Stewart, but if you’ve brightened the day for your family or friends with these festive touches, the party’s a success.

For those of us who work, we’re just leaving the best time of year in our rearview mirror. In the last three months, we’ve had time off for Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Martin Luther King Day. Good times. And now… depression. Now we begin the long four month stretch between MLK and Memorial Day with nothing.Don’t get me wrong, there are some good holidays in that stretch – Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Super Bowl Sunday, Easter – but nothing that nets you a day off from work.

But don’t despair – there are some holidays in that stretch that you can celebrate at work. February 5th is Wear Red Day, not to be confused with White Shirt Day, which falls on the 11th of February. Both of those can be celebrated at the office, without the need for time off. If you celebrate National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day on March 24, please be sure to stop by my office to share.

You can ditch your pen and celebrate Pencil Day by writing with lead on March 30th. Enjoy your work a little bit more than usual on National Fun at Work Day April 1st. National Deep Dish Pizza Day (April 5th) is a good day to invite a co-worker out to lunch. National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day and Administrative Professionals Day both fall on April 21st, which is especially convenient if your favorite administrative professional happens to like chocolate covered cashews. April 22nd is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day as well as National Jelly Bean Day. That’s a recipe for a fun work day if ever there was one.

So things are not so bad. You may not have a day off coming, but there’s a lot to celebrate in the coming months. Not all holidays are suitable for enjoying at work, however. Some holidays, like Beer Day (March 1st), Napping Day (March 15th – the Monday after Daylight Savings time begins), and National Goof-Off Day (March 23rd) probably are best observed outside of working hours.

This year, Valentine’s Day won’t be the only celebration on February 14th – that also happens to be the date of the Lunar New Year. It’s observed in many Asian countries and some Western cities – like mine – but it’s probably best known as Chinese New Year.

I’ve learned a thing or two about it over the years I’ve lived here.

A special dinner is a large part of the celebration. It’s made up of foods that either symbolize good things to come (like uncut noodles, for long life) or have names that sound like encouraging words (like fish, similar to the word for “surplus”).

Red is the color of the season. It’s used in decorations and gifts; some people even paint the trim on their houses red for good luck. Red greeting cards, with elaborate decorations, slots to hold money, and matching envelopes, appear in the stores at this time of year. These are used by married couples to give gifts of money to children and single adults.

Making a fresh start is also part of Lunar New Year. Many people feel the urge to clean their houses thoroughly to sweep away all the bad luck of last year, though that can be hard when you live in a Western country with no time off for the holiday.

Each year is named for an animal, according to the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. This will be the Year of the Tiger.

How do you say “Happy New Year” in Cantonese? Actually, you don’t. You say, “Gung hay fat choy” (I’ve seen this spelled different ways), which means, more or less, “Congratulations and prosperity”.

So, if you’d rather ignore Valentine’s Day this year, you have a fallback holiday. If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, maybe you’d like to add a Chinese touch to it.

Hosting a New Year’s party? Have you figured out what to do or are you still struggling for a theme? Here are some ideas and tips for your party.

Period Party

Decide on a decade or a particular period in history. You can choose the 60s, the 20s, the 18th Century or even futuristic. If you decide to go with decades from the past, be sure to do lots of research to have the right decorations, food and refreshments. Make it a costume party, too, so people do get involved. And if they don’t dress up, tell them they have to sing or take off their clothes that don’t match the theme.

Color Party

Decide on a color theme, and use it for your entire party. Decorate the place using only the colors. Serve food and drinks that use only these colors. Invitations and party favors also should use the colors selected. Have the guests come wearing only these colors. It is best to select only two colors to make it stand out more.

Mardi Gras

The ultimate party experience, your guests will be transported to another world. Provide masks, beads and spicy Cajun cuisine. Use Mardi Gras to decorate invitations and include their masks when sending them. Hang feather boas and beads all over the place. Add swirls and garlands on the ceiling. Have costume contests to encourage everyone to wear a costume.

Fiesta

Add chili pepper lights and fiesta garlands everywhere in the place as decorations. Add inflatable cactus plants and tropical plants in corners all over. Serve Mexican finger food and drinks. Play only Mexican fiesta music. Give out maracas or noisemakers for party favors. Don’t forget to add a pinata in the middle of the room.

There’s still a lot of ideas out there. But no matter what you decide, be sure to do your research to make it very authentic.