Kimberly Schlegel Whitman: popcorn bar

My sister and I love to get our little ones together. The tots are only five weeks apart so planning fun playdates is a blast! When she suggested that we have a little slumber party as a Valentine's Day celebration, she said that she would provide the PJs if I could come up with a project to keep them busy!

I settled on a simple popcorn bar that would satisfy their need for sweets, my love of savory and keep them busy with something fun to create (that doesn't create a mess!) I set out a big bowl of buttered popcorn, a bunch of brown paper lunch sacks decorated with paper doily hearts and a few little dishes full of candy on a table in Kari's room.

Before the cartoons started, we changed into our darling new jammies from Charmajesty. Can you handle how cute they are? (My sister is the US Ambassador for the brand so you can check out her blog for a discount code or email her at kari@jojomommy.com to order!)

Then I helped the little ones each fill a bag with popcorn.

They added the toppings they wanted to the bag before I rolled up the tops and let them have fun shaking them to mix the toppings and the popcorn together! Click here to check out this precious video of them shaking it up!

I put out all sorts of red and white candies, m and ms, red hots, conversation hearts, shredded coconut, chocolate chips and peanuts (my favorite mix!)

When they were done with the mix, I rolled down the top and we settled in for some screen time!

The cartoons were followed by a pillow fight but, don't worry, they made up after battle with big hugs.

so Kari and I hugged it out too!

Good Morning! TGIF! Are you excited about the long weekend? If you have plans for entertaining this Memorial Weekend, I hope you had a chance to catch me this morning when I shared my tips with Savannah Guthrie on TODAY.

Watch the full video here!

Keep it clean and put a small basket of Wheat Germ or Moss in a basket to catch the drippings from your drink dispenser. We added flags to give it a patriotic look. The Drink Dispenser is from Sur la Table and the Glass Dryer Rack is from Farm Housewares.

Invest in serving pieces that can go from the kitchen to the table. I love the paddle from Chef Tim Love's collection for Sur la Table. The rubs are amazing too!

Set the table using your favorite red, white and blue pieces. I love John Robshaw's block print linens and this blue and white pattern took on a patriotic feel when we added a red plate.

The centerpieces were made by my talented and crafty friend Katherine. She had them at her home and I asked her to loan them to me for the segment. Aren't they brilliant! They are simply old glass soda bottles and jam jars that she painted white. She had yellow flowers in them but I used red gerbera daisies to keep with our red, white and blue theme.

Set up a popcorn bar for your guests. It is a fun treat for adults and kids alike! Simply stack brown paper sacks full of plain popcorn and let your guests add condiments. We had red and blue M&Ms, parmesan, bacon bits, various salts and pepper, and cranberries. The three-tiered basket if from Southern Living's collection for Ballard Design and it can be used tiered or as separate baskets. Brilliant! I stamped the brown paper sacks to give them a bit of style and I labeled the condiments with ribbons and signs made by The Left Handed Calligrapher.

Add mood lighting in style with BHLDN's three blue and white lanterns. I love the way they mix patterns!

Keep the kids entertained with a paper tablecloth and a centerpiece made with Crayola Colored Sand and red, white and blue crayons. So easy!

Don't forget the music! I didn't get to the Rukus in the segment but I am crazy about it! It is solar powered and you can connect your music to it by bluetooth or USB. I think everyone needs one for summer!

Speaking of music, I snagged a picture with artist, Pitbull, before he performed his new song off of the Men in Black III soundtrack.