After an exciting weekend both our baby girls hit the sack early tonight, and I'm waiting for my hubby to get home from small group. What a perfect time to put in a little "Cosby Show," kick up my feet, and give you a look around our artsty partsy.
Hope you enjoy!
The activities...
a. We decorated a big easel at the front porch door welcoming all the little artists and directing them where to go. One of their favorite activities was decorating their own mini cakes. I made each one an artist "palette" from plastic plates and mini candy making cups. Food colored icing and sprinkles made for the paints.
b. H's uncle and fiance helped each two-and-up aged guest make their own candy bracelets... easy peasey with fruit loops and ribbon. The younger guests enjoyed activities like Color Wonder paint and markers, along with digging through balls for art supplies.
c. The warm weekend went wacky on me by pouring rain just as the party started, of course. Last minute Plan B kicked in... we hung paper with each child's first initial in the bathtub and let the kids spray paint in there. Just take spray bottles and fill them with washable tempera paint and lots of water.
d. Age old party favors like horns never get old among the 1-4 year old crowd! A buck a package from a local dollar store.
The decorations...
a. Reusable decor is my favorite and that which I'm willing to invest in. These lanterns get used all the time, and I picked them up at a Hobby Lobby end of the season clearance (from fifty to eighty cents each). The vinyl birthday banner from the top picture was a great find for only a buck... it has made an appearance at almost every party so far.
b. A roll of paper meant for coloring from Michael's made for easy tablecloths. With the 40% off coupon, this was also an easy splurge. In our neighborhood four of us have matching kiddo tables that we rotate for special events. Colorful trays in the middle of each one held crayons and snacks.
c. H and I had a ball making the "Staircase Exhibit." Many of our decorations came from the paper remnants and stash we have, and this was certainly no exception. We matted each piece of her artwork on black card stock and attached a title. Then we hung all of them along the stairwell banisters. It was great to see her so proud!
d. We used lots of around the home items like crayons. The centerpiece on the cake table was a big vase of them with simple monogrammed flags sticking out. We used left over sidewalk chalk and such everywhere. A big bag collected art supplies like this to donate to our nearby Children's Home. Each year we try to pick an organization we can give to in honor of the birthday girl.
Other details...
a. The favors were plastic pencil boxes filled with some artsy goodies. One of my favorite ways to party plan on a budget is to decide on the party's theme as far ahead of time as we can. This meant that back in the fall I got tons of these boxes on a mega-sale... a dime a piece! Any time we were out I quickly looked through clearance aisles to find the fillers. The Crayola candy canes came from an after Christmas sale.
b. Same goes for the food and paper products... the vibrant napkins were marked down from Michael's. We kept the menu simple according to the party girl's favorites... trail mix, baby carrots, and mini cakes. We had punch bowl cakes (recipes to come later), pretzels, popcorn, and a hot drink bar for the adults.
c and d. For the fun and cuteness of it, you just have the see the big three-year-old and her sister sporting their tie-dyed tees (& socks though not pictured!) Another 40% coupon for the kit!
A party like this has lots of advantages... interactive, affordable, and fun. Best of all, it allowed my daughter to be really active in both the planning and enjoying stages. That is one of my favorite parts!
Memories, oh memories... :)
~Katrina
