Theme parties are great fun for you and your guests - who never know quite what to expect. A theme party is easier to plan. Once you have a theme, the party practically takes care of itself. Here are some Theme Possibilities sent in by our chapters:

Photo Scavenger Hunt! Divide guests into groups and give each an instant camera. (You may want to ask guests to bring their own.) Send out each team with a list of places they must have their picture taken. (Example: police station, cemetery, grocery store, movie theater, or on a city bus.) All group members must be in each picture, so they'll have to enlist the help of strangers.

IMPORTANT: Set a time limit and run through the course beforehand to make sure it can be completed in the time allowed.

Crazy Bridge! Use real playing cards to make the invitations and nametags. Set up card tables with four to a table, and two to a team. The team that loses moves clockwise to the next table, and one of the members on the winning team moves to the chair on her right, thus having a new partner. This is a great way for everyone to meet each other.

Greek and Italian Progressive Dinner! Have members dress in Greek and Italian peasant or mythological garb. Decorate houses with balloons and streamers in the appropriate national colors. Offer Greek and Italian appetizers at the first home, soups at the next, main courses at the third, and desserts at the fourth. Top off with a tasting of Greek and Italian wine!

Pizza Building and Beer Tasting! Both husbands and wives can attend this festivity! Prepare the basic pizza crusts with sauce. Have everyone bring different toppings to build the pizzas. Then set out a variety of beers in plain paper cups, and have each person guess the correct brands. The best taster wins a prize.

Romper Room! Flash back to your childhood days with this party! Send invitations on primary school printing paper and seal with a sticker. Encourage your guests to wear "play clothes." Prepare a "Children's Buffet" serving peanut butter and jelly and cheese and bologna sandwiches, chips, finger Jell-O, cupcakes, etc. Games can include musical chairs and children's board games.

Silly Fashion Show! Open with a wine and cheese reception. Then divide guests and members into teams. Fill bags with clothes and accessories that characterize certain types of women. (Example: the career woman, fitness buff, elegant lady, etc.) Each team chooses a number and receives the bag that corresponds to that number. One member of the team dons the clothing items and the rest of the team writes a commentary to go with her costume.

Couch Potato! Cut potato shapes out of paper sacks for the invitations and nametags. For dinner, have a potato bar. Party favors can be covers for the TV Guide. Activities can include a potato decorating contest and TV trivia games.

Cruise Party! Include mock "tickets" in the invitations. Decorate the house to look like a cruise ship with lifesavers, beach balls, streamers, and fish decorations. Encourage guests to come in cruise attire. Serve the "passengers" cocktails and horsd'oeuvres. Hold a mock sailboat race in a kiddie pool.

Breakfast at Wimbledon! Start with a grass green tablecloth and a tennis racquet or basket filled with tennis balls for your centerpiece. Serve strawberries and cream - the famous breakfast at the annual Wimbledon Championship!

Garden Party! Serve a large bowl of homegrown or fresh salad greens and veggies. Use miniature gardening tools (rake and shovel) to serve and a watering can for pouring the dressing. Serve Chicken Pot Pie in clay flowerpots. (Rub pots with oil, line with aluminum foil, add pie filling, top with pastry and bake.)

Good Old Days Birthday Party! Cover tables with white butcher paper and give guests crayons for coloring and doodling on the table cover. Centerpiece: An array of candy, confetti, rubber snakes, baseball cards and marbles in a baseball mitt or gumball machine-new high-top sneakers with helium balloons tied to the laces. Serve miniature hot dogs and hamburgers and finger sandwiches cut into shapes. Decorate the cake with brightly colored finger puppets. Play your favorite old games-musical chairs, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, etc.

Night of Classics! Shape invitations (and name tags) like music notes. Ask each guest to bring a recording and brief background on a favorite composer. Guests take turns sharing their favorite music.

Pasta Potpourri! Prepare one kind of pasta and several different sauces. To set the mood: Cover the table with a red and white checked tablecloth ... place candles under large graters (a beautiful effect)... play Italian music.

Rainbow Pot Luck! Each guest is assigned a particular color and requested to bring a dish of that color and to dress "Appropriately!" Examples: "red" may bring spaghetti; "yellow" may bring corn, etc. Decorate with brightly colored balloons and ribbons. Use multi-colored plates, utensils and cups!

Summer-In-Winter! Decorate with tropical travel posters and paper palm trees. Give each guest a lei upon arrival. Turn up the heat so that guests can wear shorts. Serve exotic fruits. Barbecue on the grill outside. Use large seashells for small dishes. Serve dessert in halved coconuts.

Tailgate Party! Pull your car up close to the house and fill the trunk with picnic baskets stuffed with picnic utensils. (Use a variety of utensils, napkins, etc., to make each setting different). Then let each guest retrieve a bundle and set his/her own place at the table. Place a miniature locker in the center. Make football-shaped place cards and invitations. Later, kick back and enjoy the game on TV!

Tea Tasting! Ask each guest to bring two varieties of tea and a teapot. Serve tea in demitasse cups so that guests can taste only a small amount of tea at one time. Be sure to have a large bowl on the table for leftover tea as guests move on to the next flavor. Provide paper and pen for personal comments and to jot down new favorites.

Time Flies! This theme works well for New Year's Eve, anniversary or birthday celebrations. Make napkin rings from inexpensive wristwatches. Around the table, place slips of paper recounting special events (with dates) that relate to the honoree ... or, for New Year's Eve with special news events and events form the past year that relate to your guests. Decorate a cake to look like a clock.

Western Party! Use bandannas for napkins. Big wooden clothespins double as napkin rings and place card holders, or write the name right on the pin. For a centerpiece, use a small rocking horse or an agate coffeepot filled with wild flowers. Make a tablecloth out of burlap. If you have them, pewter or spatterware plates are a good compliment. Serve a barbecue dish as the main entree, perhaps with wagon wheel pasta. Ask guests to wear denim.