Quick Taco Bell bean & cheese burrito via the drive-thru amongst volunteering in Elliott’s class, picking up fresh flowers for Holden’s teacher, stopping for stamps, dropping bills at the post office, picking up Holden, buzzing through Mickey D’s for Holden’s hamburguesa con queso {lunch in the car!}, dropping off paperwork, grabbing a gallon of milk and an avocado before getting in the valet line to pick up Elliott.
Temps are up there today so it’s perfect margarita drinking weather, but those will have to wait until tomorrow evening…..
Hope your day has been filled with chips n salsa and something festive to wash it all down!
As a young girl, whenever we visited Old Town’s Bazaar Del Mundo, I remember stepping foot into a little bakery and walking out with a warm churro, bathed in cinnamon sugar and wrapped in white paper.
I remember that and the toy store, Gepetto’s.
As I got older, my memories switched to margaritas and pozole with fresh flour tortillas from Old Town Mexican Café.
I think I {may} be on the verge of quite possibly becoming addicted to spray paint{ing}.
It is the quickest, easiest, cheapest way to transform almost anything.
It all started when I spray painted the glass candle holders to make some little candy/snack dishes for Elliott’s upcoming party as seen again here…
I love them and they have perked up our mantel for Spring. I had visions of jelly beans in the little one and daffodils in the big one and haven’t gotten around to picking up either.
{btw, the color is krylon [pumpkin orange]}
Then, this past weekend we went to Lowe’s and I picked up another can of instant happiness and got busy yesterday morning…
{color is valspar [exotic sea]}
Keeping with the nature, outdoorsy theme of Elliott’s party, I have been collecting pine cones and branches on my Tuesday/Thursday morning hikes. Elliott even spotted a couple nice sturdy, long twigs down in San Diego last week.
I think they will add an organic, yet chic {and not to mention inexpensive} look to the outdoor festivities.
The aqua twigs will be fun on the mantel through summer, too. They also take on sort of a beachy feel.
Twigs and branches like these would be gorgeous during the holidays in silver or gold…oh man, I am already thinking about Christmas!
If you need some spunk or pop of color in your casa or backyard, grab a can of spray paint, shake, press with your index finger and watch the transformation take place.
And oh how I love the sound of the ball clanking around inside the can when you shake it!
While killing some time in Kohl’s last week, I found some 49¢ inspiration for Holden’s 5th birthday party…yes, the one that is 11 months away.
There were some cute felt flags with a {circus} theme. They were 90% off! Five of them remained and that was a sign for me that I had to pick them up and use them as a springboard for H’s half-decade celebration.
I love all the bright, bold colors.
So, yes, I am psycho when it comes to planning parties ~ now it’s official if it wasn’t already.
I think a Circus/Carnival theme will be so fun to put together.
And I promise it will be {classy}…no scary clowns or carny material will be on the guest list!
Spent some more time on Polyvore to get inspired for Elliott’s {Outdoorsy/Nature Girl} party in May…
Lots of clear glass containers filled with all sorts of goodness from gummy caterpillars to froggy yo-yos to Arnold Palmers.
Loving the turquoise & orange combo.
The {wedding} sign will obviously read something more like {Party this way!} or {A Woodsy Welcome!}. I just loved the organic, handmade feel of it.
Spray painted pine cones. Pin The Fairy on The Flower. Live owls.
Getting excited with a couple other goodies up my sleeve that I will share soon!
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Do you munch on Luna bars? I love them for mornings when it’s a little too hectic to prepare steel cut oats or pull the blender out for a smoothie. My faves are Lemon Zest and Chocolate Peppermint Stick, BUT…..there is a new kid on the block and she is swiftly taking the lead…
Chocolate. Dipped. Coconut.
In case you haven’t noticed, I am coocoo for coconut!
If you also adore this fruit and in need of an occasional quick breakfast or snack, you must pick a couple of these up.
We’re getting closer and closer to putting together the perfect, budget-friendly birthday party…let’s chat about what we’re going to do at the party and what our friends will take home with them.
Part 5 ~ Activites & Favors
I think it’s important to keep the party flowing so that the guests don’t get bored. A good length for a party is 2 hours when the kids are 5 and under, I think. Having some simple games or crafts that go with the theme is fun and gives the little ones something to take home to remember the party. For preschoolers, just some coloring pages {that can be downloaded from the internet} and fat crayons displayed in a small tin bucket is enough. Pin the _________ on the _________ is a good old-fashioned party game. Grab some poster board and freehand a picture. Cut out the part that the kids will {pin on}. Use a bandana as a blindfold, spin them around and see who gets the closest. The older kids think this is fun! We have a small game of rubber horseshoes that I picked up at Home Goods for Elliott’s 2nd Western themed party. The little cowboys and cowgirls had a great time tossing! Bubble machines always provide hours of fun for the younger party goers, too!
I swore I would never do this, but we finally caved and rented a bounce house for Elliott’s 4th birthday. It had a basketball hoop inside so that added a new dimension for the older kids. I bought several small balls at the dollar store and threw them inside. Little Tikes makes a small jump house, too, that I borrowed from a friend. These are great because they fit in the garage if rain or cold weather decides to come to the party!
If you have a pirate party, you can do a treasure hunt and have small trinkets waiting in a treasure chest for the partygoers at the end of the hunt. If your little rockstar or girly girl is having a spa party, pick up a few fun nail polishes and have them soak their piggies in little plastic wash bins from the dollar store and do quick pedis. {you could embellish some inexpensive flip flops for them to put on after they’re all polished and those could be the favors. But we’ll get to favors in a minute.}
Bake some sugar cookies and have the kids frost and sprinkle them. Or do the same with cupcakes…this can be both an activity to fill time and their birthday treat! Put frosting and sprinkles in little bowls around the table and give each child a knife and let them go to town {remind them to not lick the knife until they’re done frosting ~ no double dipping! ;-)}
Pick up some pizza dough at your local pizzeria or even Trader Joe’s and separate it out into individual size balls. Let the kids roll out their dough, add sauce and toppings and watch it bake in the oven. Again, this will give them a little cooking lesson AND also be their lunch.
The Dollar Tree has some foam door hangers that are really cute. Pick up some {puffy paint} or foam stickers, Elmers glue and some glitter or glitter glue and have them create a personalized sign for their bedroom door.
If your fiesta is in the warmer months, pick up a slip and slide and you can be guaranteed lots of laughs, giggles and screams of delight. If you’re having a Hawaiian inspired luau, teach the little {keikis} to hula or have a contest to see who can hula hoop the longest.
I would say that one or two quick games and/or crafts is sufficient. You don’t want to pack too much into the party! Again, if you Google it, chances are that you can find oodles of ideas for games and activites to suite your theme.
I have found, too, that opening the gifts with all the guests there is overwhelming and can get out of control. I prefer to wait until all the guest have gone, take a breath and then tackle the gift pile. It makes it much easier to write down who gave what for the thank yous!
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Last but definitely not least are the favors or goodie bags…
I LOVE putting together the favors. I wish I could send every kid home with an awesome schwag bag, but the budget steps in and brings me back down to reality! I like to pick up little things here and there when I see them on sale or clearance. Generally, I like to keep the favors useful…like a little t-shirt or hat. I keep my eyes peeled for clearance rack goodness at Target or Children’s Place. I’ve been known to give little swimsuits as favors, too! Hey, when they’re $2.48 at Target and they’re adorable, why not?
In the past I’ve gotten small colorful paper shopping bags at either Wal-mart or Michael’s, printed labels, stuffed them and had them serve as part of the decor!
I always include a little note to thank the guests for coming in the goodie bag.
Candy leis are the perfect favor for your luau party.
If you’re having a wide range of ages and both girls and boys attending your party, you may just want to skip goodie bags and do a {candy bar} instead. What kid wouldn’t love to select their own mixture of confections and take it home to enjoy for days {or weeks} after the party. Get some toothbrushes and tie a {thanks for coming} note around them to go with their sweet treats.
To save time and money on the bags, just display the trinkets in a glass vase or jar and have the guests take one as they leave.
Again, if you do a craft, that can easily serve as the party favor, too! If you have lots of balloons, tie one around their wrists as they walk out the door. Because a red balloon is a sure sign of a good time!
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This is the final part of Flip Flop Fiestas…I hope you’ve enjoyed reading. I could look at party & wedding blogs all day! I love to pull inspiration from different places and see what I come up with. Get a composition book or journal and jot down ideas as you see them. If you see some cute decorations or favors somewhere and aren’t quite ready to buy them, scribble down the store so you can check back down the road ~ who knows, your items may even be on clearance. {insert *happy dance* here!}
I was just kind of off today…we all wore green, but that was about it.
We received an invite to the neighbor’s for shepard’s pie and green beer and I just sort of dropped all plans to do anything here at home! Shame on me. The kids had a fun time at school and I had a good early morning walk and found a few {pots of gold} on my errand running! Oh, the little leprechaun DID turn out toilet water green ~ that was a hit!
So, we’ve decided on a theme, delivered our invitations and thought about how we’re going to decorate…now we need to think about what we’re going to eat and drink!
Part 4 ~ Food & Drink
I love to cook & bake and put menus together so this MAY be my favorite part of party planning. I have learned to keep the food simple, but delicious. It’s better to serve less, great tasting food than to have oodles of store bought or less quality food in my opinion.
You can tailor the type of foods and how much you want to serve to the time of day your party will take place. I have been to a couple mid-morning parties where brunch-type food was served and it was fabulous. Quiche, fruit, bagels & cream cheese…this can also be a little more cost effective. Have a pajama party and serve pancakes or waffles. There is nothing wrong with having an early morning party and serving muffins, donuts, milk & coffee! Make the cake out of donuts like this one made out of Krispy Kremes:
Our parties are usually right around lunch time. In the past I have done lots of {make-your-own bars} at my kids’ parties…homemade sloppy joe’s, tacos and chili. I make a big pot of meat, set out the mini buns, tortillas and toppings and the guests help themselves. I always have at least one other side dish that can be made ahead of time. I served potato salad and baked beans with the sloppy joe’s, chips & guac with the tacos and cornbread muffins with the chili.
Have your party mid-afternoon and you just have to serve cake & ice cream. Or host a {Milk & Cookies} party around 2-3pm and just serve an assortment of homemade cookies and chocolate milk as an afternoon snack! {be sure and mention on the invite breifly what food will be served so the guests can plan accordingly}
Again, once I have a theme I go all out. I like to print up a menu and frame it so that the guests know what I’m serving up. Come up with clever names for your dishes, type them up, print out and place in a frame!
I like to have some kid-friendly options, too, obviously. I have found time after time that piggies in a blanket are a HIT! Partygoers of all ages LOVE these and they are so easy and cheap! Just take a package of hot dogs, cut them in half, roll them in crescent rolls and bake as directed on package. Serve with ketchup & mustard for dipping and you’re good to go! I never make enough of these….
Kids love picnic lunches. If you’re doing something at a park or the beach {or even at home}, pick up some of the frozen Smucker’s peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, some individual bags of chips, applesauces and a juice box to put together little picnic lunches in paper bags or take out containers that can be found at places like Smart & Final. Tie with a fun ribbon and serve.
You can doctor up a cheese and cracker platter by finding some small cookie cutters and cutting out pre-sliced cheese in shapes. Make some tea sandwiches, cut off the crusts and then cut into small triangles. They can be as simple as cream cheese and cucumber or tuna salad. Finger foods are great for parties since people prefer to graze while they mingle. I like to keep lots of small cocktail plates handy.
I’ve also just served heavy appetizers like dips and pasta salads. Artichoke dip is always a crowd pleaser ~ your guests will hit you up for the recipe on the way out! Everyone loves a 7-layer dip with refried beans, taco meat, tomatoes, green onions, sour cream, guacamole and cilantro {you can also add corn and/or olives}. Serve with tortilla chips of Fritos Scoops. Order some hot wings or make some potato skins for some fun pub-style eats.
And believe me, there is nothing wrong with having good ‘ol Costco pizzas and cesar salad in you mom’s garage and letting the kids run amok outside…we did that for Holden’s 2nd birthday!
Other options: fondue, spaghetti & garlic bread, catered Panda Express {did this for Elliott’s 1st!}, crock pot bbq pork for sliders on Hawaiian sweet rolls! All these are great for a crowd and perfect for leftovers…if there are any!
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You need something to wash down all this good food…
I always keep it simple for the kids with Capri Suns or juice boxes. Have a Sharpie handy to write names on the drinks.
Fill a glass pitcher with water, ice and lemon or lime slices for those who want to get their 8 glasses of H2O a day. 😉
Since the parents always stay for our parties at this point, I always have a signature cocktail. Make a batch of sangria or big pitcher of a pre-mixed drink like a martini or margarita and add ice when ready to serve {pre-mix martinis, but add to a martini shaker with ice just before serving}. Again, put on your creative hat and come up with a fun name for your {adult beverage}.
My mom bought us a glass beverage dispenser and it’s been the best gift ever. It gets pulled out every time we have a party or a crowd. Great for iced tea, lemonade, or punch. From TJ Maxx for under $20.
We always have the usual soda suspects of Diet Pepsi and it’s cousins, but it’s also fun to pick up some Izze sodas or some old-fashioned root beer. While you’re at it, pick up some hand crafted beers, too. Grab a couple big tubs from the dollar store, pack with ice and cradle your beverages to keep them cold.
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Now let’s talk about cake!
I have ordered expensive cakes, cheap cakes, cupcakes, cupcake cakes, ice cream cakes, done homemade cakes, you name it! I’ve made a cake AND had cupcakes, too! Make it easy…pick one and be happy with that. Make cupcakes and let the kids decorate them…did that, too! Cupcakes-in-a-jar are all the rage and something that I have not yet tried, but how fun are these?
If you want to make a theme cake, let Google do the work for you! There are tons of ideas and tutorials out there to help build the perfect cake. Be creative, but don’t get overwhelmed…if your cake doesn’t look so hot, it will still taste great. I learned this firsthand recently with Holden’s {caketastrophe}!
Have a milk & cookies party and you can totally forgo the cake and serve cuties like these:
For Elliott’s 4th birthday she had an Ice Cream Social. I just picked up those giant Costco cupcakes and cut them in quarters and the kids had fun making a mess…I mean making their own ice cream masterpieces!
{I picked up the soda fountain hats at Smart and Final and the kiddos decorated them}
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I think that’s it for food & drink! The key is to make the food SIMPLE, but DELICIOUS! Bottom line…try not to stress out…plan ahead, shop ahead and see what you can do a day or two beforehand. Believe me, I still need to work on this. The less scrambling around you do the day of the party, the more fun you’ll have!
Last, but not least…coming up tomorrow: Part 5: Activites & Favors
I love doing house parties, but those get redundant after awhile and it’s nice to try something new. As the kids get older, they’re more interested in heading {off site} to something that has a little more going on.
There are SO many places that you can throw a party…
Park, beach, community swimming pool or clubhouse, firehouse, ice skating rink, Build-A-Bear, paint a ceramic, gymnasium for a gymnastics party, jumpy house place, mini golf, cooking school, pumpkin patch for October birthdays, movie theater, mobile video game truck, Lego store, dance studio, zoo, nail salon, animal shelter to walk the dogs, skateboard park…the destinations are endless! Use your imagination. Call up to see if you can arrange something.
There is a state park near us that brings out live animals every Saturday afternoon. They have picnic tables and PLENTY of room for running and exploring. This is where Elliott’s party will be this year. They do not do anything other than show and talk about the animals…you have to get there early to get a spot and set-up. I thought this was a different venue and somewhere that would allow LOTS of people!
Now let’s talk about decor. I like to try and keep it simple and semi-homemade. Balloons are a must for me. They are relatively inexpensive and add a pop of color here and there. Plus, I don’t know a kid that will refuse to take a balloon home! Streamers are fun, but sometimes challenging to hang. I am in love with these ~ they are more substantial and can be draped and hung easier…and can be reused! Placing my order soon!
Pick two or three colors and carry them throughout the party. You don’t need to run out and grab the WHOLE section of {Yo Gabba Gabba} paraphernalia…just grab the plates and pull colors from that for the napkins, cups, balloons, etc. This will help everything look cohesive and coordinated without being too matchy matchy. I love these plates from Party City for Elliott’s {outdoorsy nature girl} party…I will probably just purchase these and then get the napkins and cups and other stuff at the dollar store.
Go through your house and see what you already have that you can use to decorate. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find and it will save you some dough!
Also, I like to have a little sign to welcome guests. For Holden’s 3rd birthday, I whipped this up with a piece of cardboard, some aluminum foil, Dollar Tree stickers and some post-Christmas tinsel:
Easy, peasy.
Lately buntings or banners are all the rage. Here is a quick and easy tutorial for a paper bunting. Once I get Elliott’s color scheme for her party, I’ll be picking up some scrapbook paper and making one of these! It’s darling with the old pages of a book, but we need a little more color for this party!
Tissue paper pom poms are a cinch to make with this tutorial.
I also like to display a few pictures of the birthday boy or girl over the years…pick up some frames at the dollar store and spray paint them with the party’s signature colors. You can even clip them onto a ribbon or twine with wooden clothes pins and create a bunting out of them over the mantel.
Flowers are also a nice way to add some color. The cake itself can be a focal point ~ display on a beautiful vintage cake stand or even on a tall cardboard box covered in fun wrapping paper to give it some height.
Roll plastic utensils in coordinating napkins and tie with a ribbon or raffia. Place in a basket or small metal bucket.
All these little things add bits of color and become {decorations}.
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Now that you’ve got the place all dolled up, let’s talk about what we’re going to eat!
