If you're doing a theme type party, use things having to do with that. When my daughter was small, we did a safari party and they all wore "jungle" hats and had a scavenger hunt looking for animals you would find on safari. My DH came up with clever clues so they would have to guess what they were looking for. The kids had a blast.

Hi Rita, Southern Manitoba is on what was the bottom of large Lake Agassiz, centuries (millenia?) ago, so is quite flat and several rivers flow into the area. The area has developed some world-class systems of coping with floods - ran an expensive diversion around Winnipeg, the capital, where the Red River, coming up from Fargo, ND, joins downtown with the Assiniboine, coming in from Brandon, in the west, where the flood is bad, now. When they built that large diversion channel, about 40 years ago, I think, there was substantial criticism, but they've been thankful, several times since. To send some water to you, we'd have to haul it overland to drop into Lake Superior, then send it down through the Great Lakes. Or send it upstream down the Red River, then overland to the Mississippi, and upstream through one of the tributaries of the Mississippi, which wouldn't get it very close to you, I expect. So it looks like quite project. And no fishy stories included, either! At least your fish are large enough that the crows that caught some smaller ones in another member's backyard pool would have a hard time dealing with them - maybe the heron that was also a culprit would find them too hard to handle! I hope that you're keeping your lines on the back porch far enough under the roof that a high wind doesn't blow the rain in and wet your lines. Hope you're having a satisfying season. ole joyful

Fill them with spice mixes. Like chicken soup mix, or cinnamon and sugar, or Garlic salt and a big loaf of good bread. Maybe some really good jams or homemade jellys or seasoned butters. Use some colored sharpies to decorate. Fill with M&M's or nuts or something. If you know someone who likes lip gloss make them some lip gloss and fill a tiny cup. Fill it with bath salt or bubble bath. Wrap it with really nice wash cloths. What a fun way to get cash. Fill with bills folded to fit.I filled some puffes of cloth and stuffing with really good bath powder tied them with ribbons and set them in fancy bowls as party favors. Tons of stuff ya can do with glasses. Let us know what works for you.

headboard would be neat. if you have a load of cooking utensils, you could use them as a peg board for those, a la julia child. or hang scarves, costume jewelry? the 'shutters' sound great too! decisions, decisions!!