Party Planning: Make a List and Check It Twice

You are cordially invited...to see the madness that goes into planning Grace's birthday parties. 

I will be the first to admit, I take party planning seriously.  The creativity involved in throwing a themed party feeds my soul.  I thrive on creating details that will make the party truly one of a kind.

After Grace picks a theme, I scour Pinterest for inspiration and start writing out lists.   

My list includes the following:

1. The guest list.  We generally include all the girls from Grace's class, a small selection of friends not in her class and anyone that invited her to their birthday party.  This year, including Grace, we invited 14 girls. 
2. Games/Activities.  I try and make sure all games/activities echo the theme of the party.  Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration.  Some themes are easier to find games to go along with where others may stretch your creativity. 
3. Prizes. When considering games, decide if you'll have prizes for winners. Some of our games resulted in prizes where others did not.  If you opt to give prizes, you may want to bring along additional prizes to take into account if there is a tie for first place. Though prizes are not necessary, if you do give out prizes, kids take the competition seriously, you don't want to find yourself with a shortage of prizes and a disappointed guest.
4. Time Frame. With 2 hours to fill, I like to  A.) Conservatively estimate how long things will take, i.e. how long will each game last, how long for snacks/dessert. This helps me determine if I have planned enough things to do for 2 hours. and B.) Consider the order of events.  What game works best when the girls arrive.  When shifting from game to game, will the girls need to go from sitting at a table to a different location?  Does the order of events flow and make sense? 
5. Time Fillers. Hopefully your party goes off without a hitch...and if it does, you are a better party planner than I am! I always build in time fillers in case a game/activity doesn't go as planned, I have more time than I expected OR guests look like they need to be entertained. My time fillers will include: extra games, maybe games that ended up on the b-list, a coloring sheet or opening presents. 
6. Food. Personally, I prefer to arrange Grace's parties so they do not include a meal.  Last year, I broke this rule and quickly realized in additional to considering allergies, kids can be selective in what they will eat.  I've vowed, now, to only serve desserts and snacks.  Food is an excellent way to continue reinforcing the theme of your party.
7. Party Favors. Party favors generally are loved by kids and hated by parents.  This year, in consideration of the parents, we gave out consumable {delicious} party favors.  Though, one of my favorite party favors Grace has taken home from a party was rock candy and a geode from a rock climbing party. Consider the theme when deciding on your party favors they can be such a fun way to send your guests home.

Then, the best part of writing out your list, marking off each task you've accomplished. Is there anything more gratifying?

Feel free to RSVP to see more details of Grace's party unfold over the next few days.

Can you guess what theme Grace chose?

In the Blink of an Eye

In the blink of an eye.

Sometimes in life you take a moment, look around, and realize so much has changed, literally, in the blink of an eye.

While Wearing Heels, a blog I started when my sweet little girl was 4, fell to the way side as I tried to embrace the moments of motherhood.  Though I desperately miss the creativity While Wearing Heels brought me and the friendships it led me to making, I have enjoyed watching this little girl grow up, in what feels like the blink of an eye.

I swear, it was just yesterday, this sweet girl was four years old, twirling around in princess dresses.  Now, this little girl is nine years old.  9!  She's still twirling around but I'm aware, in what will feel like the blink of an eye, she'll be before me twirling around in her graduation gown or her wedding dress.

For now, though, I'll enjoy this 9 year old twirling around in this very moment.

Fairy Garden Birthday Party

I blinked and this sweet girl turned 7.  SEVEN!

And, the tradition of taking birthday pictures on our front steps continues (to learn more about this tradition, click here).

This year, Grace wanted to have a fairy garden themed birthday party hence the 'have a Fairy happy birthday' front stairs.  Another year, another memorable picture.

This year, instead of obsessing about the weather, worrying that if it rained, I'd be hosting 13 little girls in my house...we decided to have the party at a local nursery.  Rain or shine, 13 little girls would celebrate Grace's birthday...not in my house!

You can take the party out of the girl's house but you can't take the planning out of the girl's heart. SO...even though the party wasn't at our house, I could not forget about all the little details that make a party special.

Centerpieces were all DIY and included some of our newly planted flowers. My husband teased me that I'm one of the only people that would bring my own flowers to a nursery.

Each plant had a bit of fairy whimsy (borrowed from Grace's own fairy gardens).

The tables were covered in vintage linens.

 

 Pink stained glass butterflies (made by my father in law) completed each table setting.

Grace loves being the center of attention but is generally too quiet to actually command attention.  Being that it was her birthday, it seemed only fitting that all attention should be on her.  As a result, I decided to have all the girls play a 'how well do you know Grace' game.

The game included 20 questions like; What color is Grace's room? (yellow)  What animal is on Grace's backpack?  (peacock)  What is Grace's favorite color? (mint green) What does Grace want to be when she grows up?  (be a vet) What is Grace's favorite animal? (pig)  What is the name of Grace's dog? (Riley)

The competitive nature came out in the girls, each one seriously contemplating their answers, wanting to prove they knew Grace the best.

Where I typically DIY all aspects of Grace's party, I couldn't resist ordering these edible butterflies.

These realistic butterflies were placed on top of each homemade cupcake.

The butterflies were almost too beautiful to eat.   

 Almost.

Other snacks included flower shaped watermelon.  A nice balance to those sugary cupcakes.

When snacks were finished, the fairies stood in a row...

and they began to create their own fairy gardens.

The fairy gardens included a fairy, birdhouse, chair, 3 plants and a pebble road.

When the gardens were complete, I sprinkled fairy dust (aka glitter) into each little girls' palm.  They each thought of a wish and then blew the fairy dust over their fairy gardens.

By the look on this little fairy's face, I'd say her wish came true.

My wish.  Well, my wish is that this sweet little girl stay little for as long as possible.  I don't want to blink and find that she's headed off to college.

In the end, I'm just happy because I do think she had a 'fairy' happy birthday.

Now to start planning next year's party :)

To see details from Grace's 6th birthday, click here.

Bunny Themed Punch Box

Pinatas, with all their stick wielding fun, have been a popular party pass time.  'A Casarella, though, is doing her best to take down pinatas and replace them with punch boxes and she isn't even using a stick to do it.  Her tutorial for making your own punch punch has gone viral and I can see why. 

Instead of getting a bunny shaped pinata, and subjecting said bunny pinata with a lashing, we decided to make a bunny themed punch pox for Grace's Bunny Themed Birthday Party.

I decided to share just a few tips for making your own punch box (for the full tutorial, you'll have to visit 'a Casarella).

Finding a thick box is the key, it makes it easier to cut your holes and cover.  I found my boxes at Aldi, the thick cardboard boxes their produce comes in AND, I painted it white, with regular household paint.

To personalize the outside of your punch box, incorporate your theme.  Since Grace's party was a bunny theme, I cut out some 2 inch bunny silhouettes and grabbed double sided tape...

And I gently placed them centered in the punch box hole.

Though I used bunnies, the possibilities are endless to personalize the punch box but even plain, it still makes for a fun party game.

 

The kids, well, they certainly liked being encouraged to 'punch' something and retrieve a prize. 

*I filled the punch box with prizes I found at Goodwill.  Right after Easter, Goodwill got in a shipment of new Target brand Easter toys (stuffed animals and crafts).  I was able to find a prize for each punch box hole for  .50 cents, spending $6 total on prizes. 

This is our second year of opting to go pinatas-less and I suspected, though I haven't started to plan for next year's party yet, that we'll have a punch box for Grace's 6th birthday as well. 

Grace's circus themed birthday party.

For a more detailed tutorial on how to make your own punch box, visit the very talented Elena at 'A Casarella.  

Carrot Popcorn Holders

When throwing a bunny themed birthday party, carrots are a necessity, right?

Well, maybe not actual carrots. 

To make your carrots, gather the following supplies:  orange and green paper, scissors, tape and chop sticks. 

Cut out a cone shape out of your orange paper and a carrot stem topper out of the green paper.  Using tape, secure the cone closed.  Tape the bottom of the carrot stem into the orange cone.

Clip the tip of the cone making a hole slightly smaller than the width of the chop stick.  Insert the chop stick into the cone and pull it out through the bottom of the cone.  Tape the bottom of the cone closed, securing the chop stick into place.

Then, if you happen to be a blogger, you fill the carrot holders with popcorn and you take pictures.  If you happen to be a blogger that has a dog, well...beware, your photo shoot may be interrupted. 

If you aren't worried about taking pictures, just fill your cones with popcorn and enjoy.

They are the perfect addition to any bunny themed birthday party or Easter!

I Survived 5

It's official.  Grace turned 5.

We celebrated.  (Don't worry, you'll get your post party invitation in a few days.)

And, then came the aftermath of the celebration.

The mess.

After completing nearly everything on my list, for the big celebration...

I was exhausted.  When all was said and done, this momma decided to celebrate that I survived.

 

And, then we decided we needed to escape. 

So, we packed up and went to Wisconsin...for an entire week. 

 

The entire family escaped for the adventure.

And, now we are home. 

Did you miss me?  Because I missed you!

Magical Birthdays

I may or may not had mentioned to my husband that my birthday, which was December 12th, needed to be magical.  It was a once in a lifetime kind of birthday, after all, 12-12-12.  I was partially joking AND I originally had no intention of doing a 'birthday' post BUT...

Magically {and blog worthy} is exactly what he delivered.

Throughout the day, I stumbled upon groupings, hidden around our house, that contained 12 items and a funny note.

12 gold coins.

12 Barbies.

12 pink paper clips.

12 pink lizards.

12 rubber ducks.

12 erasers.

12 ninjas.

And 12 tiaras with a note that read:  Your Prince shall come (at 12:12 today) to take you to the ball.

My prince did arrive at 12:12 to take me to the ball...aka Grace's winter ballet recital.

And, in every sense of the word, my birthday truly did feel magical.

And, this man, I am certain is happy that once in a lifetime birthdays truly do only come once in a lifetime. 

Though, 12-12-13 sounds kind of magical too.  Don't you agree?