When it comes to Mother's Day, all mom really wants to do is relax. Really. Brunch is nice, dinner is nice -- but relaxing is better. From sleeping late to lounging around the house to relaxing with a cup of coffee, a stress-free day is the best gift she can receive. So help mom celebrate this year with some traditional Mother's Day activities, plus a few new ideas:

• Breakfast in bed is still the best way to surprise mom on Mother's Day. And it really doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, lopsided pancakes and fresh-squeezed orange juice with a lingering seed or two is preferable when it's prepared by her children. But give this year's breakfast in bed a twist -- attach a bunch of balloons to a very long ribbon with a note on the end that says "pull for a smile". Place the note on her breakfast tray and let the balloon end of the ribbon trail out into the hallway, out of sight. When she pulls the ribbon and the balloons bob into the room, there will be smiles on everyone's faces.

• Take the children out for the afternoon and leave mom to herself. Leave her with specific instructions that she is to do NO housework, NO yardwork -- NO WORK of any kind. She should just enjoy her time alone. In the meantime, take the kids to a pottery painting place to create a special container for mom (we suggest an ice cream bowl). Bring a digital camera to photograph the work in progress, as you will have to come back in a few days to pick it up. Then return with the photos and a pint of her favorite ice cream (but don't make her wait for her bowl before she can eat it).

• A warm bath with scented candles and a daisy or two in the water will do the trick that evening. (Daisies are the friendliest flower we know.) Stock a basket with some favorite magazines, a great book, or some crossword puzzles. Leave a note or two inside with lots of X's and O's from the kids. Then be sure to steer clear of the hallway outside the bath so she doesn't feel the need to hop out and help with anything.

That's it. What every mom wishes for -- the gift of relaxation. (We get a little wishful ourselves just thinking about it.)

Graduation Day is fast approaching and you'd prefer that your graduating senior be safe and sound with you rather than out driving from party to party that evening. Here at Celebration Style we know that the best way to ensure a safe evening is to let your graduate host a party of his or her own. And while it may seem frightening to some parents to have 20 or so eighteen-year-olds descend on the family room or backyard, a few basic ideas from us will help you keep this party from getting out of hand:

First of all, provide plenty of great food and yummy beverages. Small appetizers that are easy to nibble work best, and a soda fountain or frozen-drink bar is always a hit. A great party planner can provide you with some fabulous ideas to wow even the most jaded teen palates.

Secondly, remember that planned activities are the key to keeping this age group occupied at a party. But only the graduate knows what will be a hit for his or her friends, so be sure that you collaborate in the planning. The guest of honor can veto anything that appears too childish, and supply you with some much-needed information about the talents and interests of his or her invited guests.

Read on for a few of our best graduation party-tested activities:

• DO THE LIMBO
For an active, extroverted group, this is a sure-fire way to have fun. But it can fall flat at a party where the guests are more introverted, so decide carefully. You can purchase a limbo set at a party store or create your own. Be sure to provide appropriate Caribbean-inspired music.

• HAVE AN AWARDS CEREMONY
Collaborate with your guest of honor on the funniest, most heartfelt, or silliest awards that could be given to all of the party guests. Print simple certificates from your computer or purchase an assortment of ribbons or small trophies. Have your graduate act as emcee in presenting the awards. You might even provide sashes or crowns and a "runway" for the award-winners to proudly walk down (think Miss America pageant without the cheesy waving).

• HIRE A FORTUNE TELLER
Actually, it doesn't have to be a real fortune teller. Anyone with a flair for the dramatic will do. Give him or her hints about the intended futures of the party guests or let your fortune teller wing it. Be sure to provide a crystal ball for gazing. (Our most recent "fortune teller", Esmerelda, actually got a few fortunes right on the mark without any coaching from us -- the party guests were eerily impressed.)

• CREATE AN ADDRESS BOOK
This isn't a time-consuming activity, but it will be well-appreciated by your graduate long after the graduation party has ended. Purchase a new address book and provide a table with a chair or two and several pens. Have each guest write in their current address and phone number, as well as the address and phone number of where they will be attending college or any place that they plan to move to in the near future. Present it to your graduate at the end of the party.

• HAVE AN AUCTION
Provide the guests with some fake money and auction off the graduate's no-longer-needed school supplies -- an old geometry book, a prize-winning science fair project, or a pair of pom-poms are great items to use. Seriously. But give the auction a twist by providing several worthwhile prizes attached to a few of the auctioned items. Include a secret note with each item to be auctioned that either says "Sorry, you're not a winner" or "You've won (insert name of prize here)". These secret prize certificates might actually create a bidding war for your son's old gym uniform -- you never know.

If you're still wary of hosting a graduation party for a bunch of (probably) hard-to-please young adults, give us a call. Celebration Style will help you plan a fantastic send-off for your graduate. (We'll even stick around to act as chaperones.)

Your daughter dreams of the day when she can have her first slumber party -- and you have nightmares about toting frantically sobbing little girls home to their parents at 2am.

Maybe she's ready to have five of her closest friends spend the night, but you're not so sure. In fact, your daughter's friends may not be so sure either. Realistically, the majority of kids under five have never spent a full night away from their parents' home (except maybe with grandma). So do you really want the experimental first time to be at YOUR house? Here at Celebration Style, our solution has always been to go ahead and invite them over to enjoy all of the elements of a slumber party -- without the "slumber".

Here's a rundown of our favorite ideas:

• Make your invitations clear that this will be a "slumber" party that ends at 10pm (or whenever you think your group of little ones will be ready to head home and sack out). Tell them to come in their pajamas and to bring a sleeping bag and pillow, but make it clear that everyone will be going home to sleep soundly in their own beds.

• Post a "No Boys Allowed" sign on the front door, and stick to it. That means no dads or brothers at all.

• Assemble the usual slumber party accoutrements -- a couple of games, some pizza, a great movie, and lots of snacks (don't forget the popcorn for movie-watching).

• Create autographed pillowcases. Purchase inexpensive white pillowcases and fabric markers. Set them up on a table with each girl's name next to one of the pillowcases. This will be her pillowcase to take home at the end of the night. Have every girl draw a picture or write her name on EVERY pillowcase (let them do this throughout the evening so that they have plenty of time to dedicate to every pillowcase). By the end of the party, the pillowcases become great little autographed sleeping accessories to take home as mementos.

• Set up a temporary beauty shop where the girls can do each other's hair, apply kiddie nail polish, or get a facial from you (mud masks are an unbelievably wild success -- watching them trying not to smile and "crack" their faces is always a highlight). Be sure to have the camera ready for some great makeover shots.

• Send them home with a sack breakfast of doughnuts and a juice box to enjoy in the morning.

Girls at this age need plenty of supervision, but try to make yourself unobtrusive and let the girls create their own fun. The best part of a slumber party, after all, has always been the private, one-on-one time with your friends. (We know you remember that!)

You don't have to be a wine expert to hold a wine tasting, and no expertise at all is probably preferable in our take on wine tastings. This party is designed to help you and your friends find wines to suit your own tastes, and it's unbelievably simple.

There are two ways to accomplish this party, either as a round-robin party hosting, with several tastings held at different homes in a series of weeks or months, or at one big bash. Read on for the specifics.

• ONE BIG BASH: Assign each couple or group of 2-3 friends a category of wine -- Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet, etc. Choose wines that you think everyone wants or needs to learn more about. Then send each couple/group a bit of information on their category of wine (easily gleaned from the Internet, of course) -- just a simple primer about where it's usually made and what the flavors may consist of. Each couple or group should then purchase 3-4 different bottles of their category of wine and bring them to the party. (You can assign an exact number of bottles per category of wine, or set a total price limit per category, but be sure that at least two brands of each wine category are provided.) From there, it's a simple party set-up -- plenty of wine glasses and a "tasting station" for each type of wine. Provide paper cups for everyone to spit out the wine so that no one gets too light-headed, and some crackers to cleanse your palates in between wines, and that's it.

• ROUND-ROBIN WINE TASTING: To have a round-robin wine tasting series of parties, simply have each couple or group of friends hold their own wine tasting party instead. Each party would focus on only one category of wine, with every guest bringing one bottle of that type of wine. For instance, you could start this month with a Chardonnay tasting, and next month another couple can hold a Cabernet tasting, and so on. The round-robin wine tasting allows for more bottles of each type of wine to be sampled. (But you must have a willing group of participants ready to join you as party hosts.)

The goal of this wine tasting is not to find the "best" wines, but simply to help everyone develop a sense of which wines and/or brands he or she prefers. In the end, personal preference is the final indicator, and this is a way to help establish those preferences without several wasted eight- or nine-dollar glasse of wine at your favorite restaurant. And if you have a lot of fun in the process, well -- that's the idea.