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[CallmeGoof]

Sorry all I know this is a little premature but I am a planner.

We are thinking of having a couples dinner at church for Valentine's Day. We want the teens to put this on as a fund raiser. I was wondering what others have done in their church for decorations, table centerpieces, devotionals, etc...

Thanks for the help!

Jen

[ta]

The last two years we have had a sweetheart banquet at Valentines. We charge $5.00 per person, we cut it pretty close last year, so we will probably raise the ticket price next year. We had steak, baked potato, salad, desert and drink. For centerpieces the first year, we are blessed to have a lady in our church that owns a flower shop and she made pretty carnation bud vases (which we also used as door prizes). Not wanting to burden her every time we have an event, last year I went to Dollar Tree and bought heart shaped gift bags and filled them with shiny shred? The stuff you put into gift baskets. They were really pretty and inexpensive. We used heart shaped balloons and red heart shaped doilies everywhere. Also white twinkle lights and tulle make a pretty decoration. We also used red candle stands I found at Trevors. Hope this helps.

[CallmeGoof]

Great suggestions!!! I love it. How much would you raise the ticket prices to the next time? Did you do any devotionals?

[ta]

Some have suggested $10.00 per person would not be too much. We bought our food through a restaraunt supplier here in our area who let us have it for his cost, so that helped. Several of the men in our church did the cooking. As for devotionals, yes we did have a devotional The first year one of our ladies talked about all the baggage we carry around in our marriages. Last year my husband, who is the pastor, read I Cor. 13 and talked a short time. We set up a pretty backdrop for couple pictures and have a special song or two. (Christian love songs) We always play the Newlywed Game which takes up most of the time. Another thing we do is vote on the "Most Romantic Man of the Year". One year I printed off the poem "How do I love thee, let me count the ways" which the "volunteers" read to their wife, and last year I had the men sing, yes sing, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to their wife. We only have 4 or 5 do this. Then the audience votes on the one they think is most romantic. The winner is given a certificate made on the computer with the date, etc. It is such fun.

[CallmeGoof]

Great ideas! How do you get the newlyweb game set up? How do you decide on the most romantic man of the year? These all sound wonderful to me.

[ta]

On the Newlywed Game we just set up chairs at the front of the room. We usually do 5 couples at a time. The wife leaves the room and we ask a series of questions to the husband who writes his answers on a card. You will need to provide the card and a pencil. The wife returns and we ask the same question and she gives the answer. If they match they get a point. The one with the most points at the end is the winner of the match. We then take the remaining couples and take the winner from each match for a final round. The one that wins then is the Winner. We usually play three times because of the number of couples we have.

On the Most Romantic Man, the audience applaudes each man after they have all finished and the one with the most applause wins.

[CallmeGoof]

Wow. That sounds like a blast. I think we will have to do this. Thanks for the ideas and I will be sure to try them!

[Nikki]

The Sweetheart Banquet is one of our favorite annual events! Our youth, too, have done this as a fundraiser for many years, and we currently charge $20/couple.

Our themes are on a 4-year rotation: Italian ~ Hawaiian Luau ~ City Lights ~ Western
Two of these themes are formal, two are more casual.

We always provide a picture backdrop for the couples to have their picture taken. We get the film developed in one-hour photo during the program so that the couples can take their souvenir home with them. We often give out door prizes, too...usually nice picture frames.

The decor obviously varies depending on the theme. Our youth perform a wonderful program each year, and my husband closes the evening with a devotional.

Next February is our Western theme, so we're eagerly anticipating a rootin'-tootin' good time!

Nikki
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Nikki
Wife to Jon, Mom of 3 beautiful boys (9,7, & 5)