Birthday: Minecraft Party

As the kids get older, cool parties are harder to come by!  The best place to be inspired is in the birthday boy or girls' hobbies and interests. My creative sister recently planned a fun party for her son that I just had to share... "Carter's 12th birthday was an easy decision.  He's totally into Minecraft this year and it was such an easy theme to work with.  Everything in the game is pixelated, very retro video game style.  So I decided to go with anything square and work from there.  I was able to find some great downloads for all the blocks and character/creatures so I spent quite a bit of time cutting and folding!  I think overall, they really pulled the theme together."

I'd have to agree! Minecraft is all the rage these days with tweens and teens and there are lots of free resources out there to help with the details.  Minecraft is a game which allows players to build anything and everything out of 3D textured cubes.  Crystal did a fabulous job pulling the party together with lots of thoughtful creativity and small touches here and there.

Click here for the Minecraft birthday banner.

The weather was beautiful, so they took the party outside!  This is a great way to expand your space when your at-home living space isn't ideal for a big gathering.  There are likely all sorts of parks and greenspaces you can take advantage of in your neighborhood.

One of my favorite ideas with any party is including the food as part of the theme and decor.  It's an easy way to add to the theme.  Crystal used the food tags to tie in the theme - notice the pictures are each made of small 3D cubes!  The food itself was based on the food that the main character, Steve, eats/cooks in the game.  Even the cake was the same as the one in the game!

Want to create your own food labels?  Look at this great font option!

Here are some of those fabulous printouts that Crystal found!

 Every party needs a favor!  Favors are not only a fun way to keep with a theme but it also extends the party for the guests!  Whether is keeping the guests busy in the car or for days to come, favors are a special way to say thank you for coming.  Crystal used bright green ("Creeper" colored) bags filled with a rubics cube, square wooden puzzles and green taffy.  Crystal and her hubby found the taffy a few weeks before the party on a weekend away - when you're planning a party, it's never too early to start picking up small things and planning ahead.

Activities are also harder to come by for older kids, but I loved the creativity of the games Crystal chose.  The first game, Creeper Tag, is a Minecraft version of capture the flag.  Simple instructions and will probably cause everyone to break a sweat on a warm day!

 The other game was Minecraft Bingo.  This spin off the classic was a hit and turned out to be a highlight for Crystal.  "My favorite part of the party was the Minecraft bingo.  It was great to see young and old enjoying a game together.  Carter's great grandmother had a blast with it, and so did Carter!"

Have you thought about creating a bingo party game for your own theme?  What a simple, fun idea!

Thank you, Crystal, for sharing your party creativity!

Glow Party: Black Light Bowling

Last fall, I helped plan a Sweet 16 Glow Party for a friend and loved how it all came together!  This spring, we took a simpler route for a black light "Level Up" party at our church.  We rented out the bowling alley and invited the outgoing 8th graders and all the high schools from our church to attend.  It was a great way for the 8th grade students to start making that big transition to high school - and the party was great!  Good food (pizza, of course) and lots of glow!  We handed out glow bracelets, but also asked the students to wear white and neon.  The party started when the lights in the bowling alley were switched on and the music started blasting.  So fun!

The planning for this party was super simple (basically reserving the space and inviting the kids).  But regardless of how much time you spend on a party, it can still be a blast for everyone!  Sometimes hosting a party outside of your home is the best way to tackle a theme (and lots of people).  When you start planning your party, be sure to think about the different options you have in your area.  Can you gather at a park?  Or in a bowling alley?  Maybe a local putt-putt course?  

Bring your inspiration to a location or have your location be your inspiration - and be creative!

Inspiration

Where will you find your next party inspiration?  

Although I don't have all the plans or all the ideas ready, these dinosaur eggs are inspiring!

Seeing these, I instantly want to plan a dinosaur party or party playdate and embark on a dinosaur egg hunt!  Thank you, Debbie at Wants and Wishes, for offering the inspiration for my next dinosaur party!  More details to come!

Birthday Party: Chef & Baking Party

This party has recently been featured on Kara's Party Ideas!

This little man loves to be in the kitchen!  Every time he hears the timer buzz, he runs for the kitchen to check whatever is cookin' in the oven.  So, a chef party was perfect for his 2nd birthday!  We were so lucky to not only help plan this fun party, but celebrate at it, too!

There were two main decorated areas for this party - the food tables and the activity table.  Notice the fun touch of photographs of M in the kitchen.  Mom is a photographer and photos play a huge part in the life of this family, so it was a perfect touch.  The activity table was pre-set up for baking when guests arrived.  This helped not only with stress for the hostess, but also added to the party theme and decor.

The food was part of the decor - but it was a simple, delicious menu.  Juice for the kiddos (wrapped in crepe paper to match the colors), lemonade for the adults (LOVE these paper straws) with muffins and fruit cups.  The party was in the morning, so light food was perfect.  Some simple touches were red cupcake wrappers, colored straws, chalkboard signage throughout, ribbon around the bottom of the cups and red forks.  A great tablescape and party is in the small things!

And check out this cake!  Brianna designed the cake to fit the theme and with a couple extra touches, it was the perfect centerpiece.  The Melissa and Doug fruit cutting set was a perfect touch to the cake (and it came from M's own play kitchen).

 There were two main activities throughout the party.  The first was making the cupcakes.  We divided the ingredients into four cups - flour, sugar, oil and soy milk.  (This party was 100% vegan!)  Mom and Dad combined some of the smaller ingredients into the bigger cups - for example, vinegar and vanilla were pre-mixed with the soy milk.  Yes, we used red solo cups!  Very inexpensive and with the small addition of the chalkboard tag, it fit in perfect!

 The kids mixed the ingredients and while the cupcakes were baking, they played with homemade kool-aid colored play-doh (which smelled delicious but tasted salty).

 Each guest was sent home with their homemade playdoh container, a spatula and an apron (handmade with love by Grandma)!  The Birthday Boy had a special chef's hat.

 Overall, this party was a huge success and so much fun - and that's the point, right?  The Birthday Boy was surrounded by people who love him and everyone had a great time.  The activities were a huge success - even for the littlest party guests (15 months or so).  Remember, a great party is in the small things - and in the good company!  This picture of Mom and M shows just that!

 Be Creative!

Photos provided by Neyssa Lee Photography.

Playdate Party: Monsters

Want to throw a party but don't have a good excuse?  Why not plan a playdate party?  It doesn't have to be extravagant.  Once you have a theme in mind, invite a handful of your child's friends to join you.  Playdate parties don't have to be filled with activity after activity - choose one craft or activity and serve a treat.  When you're finished with the craft, let the kids free play while the mommy's visit.

What inspired this monster party?  Leftover monster stuff from Halloween a couple years ago!  I also found an $8 bag of monster stuff at our local consignment store.  Add a few cupcakes (decorated with my daughter) and we had a party!

This banner came in the consignment store bag and I created the little monster boxes for my Halloween mantel decor a couple years ago.  I love getting two uses out of something I spent time creating! 

We served waters and juice boxes and I raided my daughters toy box for little monster stuffed animals.  A great party is in the small things!

My daughter helped decorate these cupcakes and we had leftover monster bags (from Oriental Trading) from Halloween.  Each bag had a sticker sheet, tattoo and pieces of candy.  I always try to have a small take home gift to say thank you for coming.  It's a nice touch and really doesn't need to be expensive.  Although the adults may remember the party details, often times the kids won't - but you can extend the party a little longer when they open their gift in the car or when they arrive home.

These fun hats were in the consignment store bag - but they were fun and perfect for the kiddos to wear!  The glasses/noses came from Oriental Trading - again, a Halloween leftover.  I asked the kids to take them home, too - cleaning up and cleaning out my leftovers!

The table was pre-set with the craft and activity.  We started by playing in our living room until all the guests arrived then moved to the dining room.  All of the decor and Monster-type activities were reserved to one room.  This helped with clean-up but also helped center the party on the craft and snack.  The monster magnet crafts were in the center (again, a Halloween leftover from Oriental Trading) and each child chose one.  I created an example of each so the moms could help without looking at instruction sheets.  Unfortunately, this craft did not include adhesive-backed pieces - so we used mini cupcake tins with a squeeze of glue and q-tips to apply it.  I prepared the glue minutes before guests arrive (the last thing on my to-do list) so it wouldn't dry out.

We all had a great time!  I think the kids really enjoyed it and the moms enjoyed the company, too!  Again, it wasn't expensive - I used leftovers and spent no more than $15 on "extras" (the consignment store bag, cupcake mix/frosting and misc supplies).  It was the perfect way to spend a raining morning!

Inspired?  What will your next Playdate Party look like?

Be Creative!

1st Birthday: Super Hero Party

For this little man's first birthday, we wanted to keep it small, but fabulous!

I had the super hero party idea, but Creative Imaginations - Super Hero Collection paper was the real inspiration. It made the whole party click and come together.  I add a few small things here and there and BAM!  Party!

We had the party in the evening and served cupcakes and desserts.  I used the sticker sheets to create fun cupcake picks and the word blurb paper everywhere!  The colors were vintage super hero - reds, blues and yellows.  I used the large superhero emblem as my template to create a simple "Happy Birthday" banner (sorry, no picture!) and hung the colored streamers in the main rooms of the house.

We sent the cousins and friends home with little goodie bags with superhero coloring books, crayons and tattoos.  The adult guests also when home with a little snack.

The party was small, but special - our little guy was the center of the celebration and it was just big enough to make it special but small enough for it to be remembered.  First birthday parties can be tricky since the little ones won't remember them, but regardless of whether you go "all out" or keep it small, they are a great excuse to get friends and family together.

Be Creative!

Shower Sunday: Tinker Bell Bridal Shower

The best parties are based off personalized inspiration. For this bridal shower, the bride loved Tinker Bell!  So we went with it!

To help tie in with the overall theme, consider using a themed bag or wrapping your gift to match the decor!  It's an easy, small thing that makes the gift table pop!

Yum!  If you've never tried a candy bar for a party or shower, it's so fun and a simple, delicious favor for guests!  In addition to Tinker Bell, we used the colors of the wedding as our shower decor colors - so we purchased as many different kinds of candy in these colors as possible.  It makes my mouth water just looking at these pictures!

Ribbon is a super easy, inexpensive way to add color and character to party staples like drink containers.  This is an example of a small touch with a big impact.

We planned three simple shower games.  (1) Each guest was given a necklace to wear - if they were caught saying "wedding" or "ring", they had to forfeit their necklace.  The person with the most, received a small gift card.  (2) A spin off a traditional "words of wisdom" game, each guest took a jewel or pearl of wisdom.  We went around the circle and each guest offered their words and dropped the jewel into a container that was given to the bride as a keepsake jar for her wedding day.  She can later add petals from her bouquet, pieces from her invite and any other keepsake such as bird seed or a bubble jar.  (3) Finally, we played Disney scategories (sorry, no picture!) where the guests had to come up with alphabetical answers based on Disney themed questions.  As a small thing, we used Disney themed books as the boards guests wrote on.

Another small thing, that can make a big impact on the bride is to ask guests to fill out an envelop with their address to save the bride the time addressing thank you's herself.  It's simple, small and easy!

To tie the color in and add a vertical touch to the decorations, we hung ribbon and beads from the light fixtures and ceiling.  Small, inexpensive and classy!  And of course, we added Tinker Bell wherever we could.  We found a set of 6 Tinker Bell cupcake toppers and hand painted them ourselves to match the colors of the wedding as well as the bride (a brunette).  So fun!

We had a great time planning this shower and watching it come together!  The company was fabulous and the bride enjoyed herself and felt the love - which is what it's all about! 

When you're planning your next party, think about the small things that you can add to make a big impact with a tight budget.  And be creative!

Birthday Party: Call the Hogs!

For Tom's birthday party, we once again planned the party around a Razorback game.  For adult birthday parties, planning around a game or activity is a simple way to get people together for some food and fun while not making it a strange "celebrate me" party for the birthday guy.

The cupcakes were red velvet to match the Razorback colors and also happened to be a favorite of Tom's!  Perfect!  We created these football toothpicks using a sheet of football stickers.

 The food was simple and easy - tailgate, football style.  Although it was a little strange to eat pork while watching the Hogs, the ribs were delicious and the bean dip is a new favorite.

Our good friend, Neyssa, of Neyssa Lee Photography captured the party in pictures and snapped a shot of our family (although Eli was sleeping) in our Razorback gear.  Go Hogs!