Take a well deserved break and plan a spa party for you and your friends! Choose one friend’s house as the children’s party or husband/significant other party. Let them have a game night or afternoon; a scaled down version of my Let the Games Begin blog entry.  Then choose another location for the spa. You can choose a friend’s home if you are a do it yourself group, or you can go to a professional spa. But for the purpose of this blog let’s plan a do it yourself spa party.

Food and beverage is the key to any successful event. Give you and your friends a break from the kitchen and call your local catering company or favorite restaurant. Ask them to plan a menu and prepare it for pick up. For those readers in the Richmond area call Morgan at Grooving Gourmets or Whitney at Champagne Taste Catering. Two of my favorite catering companies in the area! Not only do they create great food but they are active in the community, which I feel is an important quality when choosing vendors.

For beverages make some spa water with your choice of sliced citrus fruits, farmers’ market fresh berries or fresh sliced cucumbers. Mix your “flavors” of choice in large pitchers with some sparkling water and ice. Another fun idea is to make an infused vodka or rum to mix with the spa water. To create the infused vodka or rum, pour your liquor of choice in a jar which has a lid, add your fruit of choice and allow the mixture to marinate for about a week. Be creative… mango vodka with berry spa water sounds super yummy!

Now for the spa services. One option is to call the local beauty and massage therapy schools to inquire if any of their students need practicum experience. A second option would be to visit a local salon and ask if they have an apprentice program with stylists that need practicum experience. A third option would be to contact your local Mary Kay, Avon or Arbonne representative and ask if they would do a demonstration of products. The last very do it yourself idea is to ask your guests to bring their favorite product and share their most tried and true beauty secrets.