Princess Birthday Party

My niece Lauren is turning 4 years old in July, and she wants a Princess birthday party. As much as I cringe at the thought of all things “Disney Princess” it is what she desperately wants, and so she shall have it!

My sister is the one with questions this time, so I am going to do my best to give party planning advice. I know, Missy, that you are worried about space in your home for a party – if your guest list is 10-12 girls I really think you’ll be okay. Remove all extraneous furniture (maybe the coffee table? the leather club chair and side table), put away most of the toys and I think you will be fine. You could use your dining room table for eating and crafts if you wanted to, just cover the table with plastic (tape underneath) use a table cloth that you don’t really care that much about, and cover the chairs in a plastic/towel combination (tape underneath).

Invitation
Your local scrapbooking store or craft supply store has a ton of 12x12 patterned papers to choose from that would make excellent invitations. Choose a few sheets of patterned paper preferably something pink and sparkly with maybe even a crown, and a matching/coordinating sheet of 8 ½ x 11 plain colored paper. I would choose something that is NOT cardstock because you are going to put this through your printer at home. For my sample here I chose a more dusty pink palette, but I would even go more sparkly if you can find it. To make the princess theme more noticeable, I’ve done some clever wording of the party details. When assembling your invitation, make sure that your patterned paper is slightly smaller than your envelope, and your plain color paper is then smaller still. You could even add a little bit of jewel stickers or (a tiny bit goes a long way) glitter to the front.

Decorations
Stay simple, and yet mature. I would do small pink flowers in small containers, either vases or drinking glasses, and then wrap the container in pink tulle or ribbon. Yards of tulle or ribbon can be purchased at outlet stores or downtown (L.A.) at the mart very inexpensively and can be reused at future parties (baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties). You can drape furniture, chairs, windows, doorways and the “tablescape” (the food and cake table) with tulle. Shades of pink paper goods, pink (paper or tulle) table runners with glittery jewels sprinkled over them, tiaras as centerpieces.

Activity
You have so many choices here! Do you want to do a craft? Do you want a performer/storyteller? Why don’t you start with setting up a dress up area. Beg, borrow and steal dress up stuff from your sisters and friends, and create an area where the girls can choose a variety of clothing and accessories and try them on in front of a mirror. I used an old full length mirror from the back of my closet door and just leaned it against the wall next to the dress up chest. Even though the girls came dressed in very fancy party clothes, every single one of them put things on top of what they were wearing.

If you want to do a craft, I would suggest magic wands. You can buy kits from places like Oriental Trading company, or you can simply use plain cardboard or cardstock glued to a skewer/dowel. Supply the girls with ribbon, jewels, paint and glue (I would avoid glitter like the plague) and they will be in heaven.

You could even play a game – make sure you have prizes enough for each girl to “win” one. My favorite game at this age is “Freeze Dance”, easy and fun for all. Gather the girls to one central area and play music for a few seconds, when you stop the music all the girls must freeze where they are, if one moves she is called out to get her prize. And continue until all have won their prize.

Cake
I know you are not going to make the cake, and that is absolutely normal. I am the crazy mom who insists on making a ridiculous cake every year. So here is my suggestion: get a bundt cake from Creative Cakery or a 9 inch round cake from the bakery, and you purchase a tiara and wand (paper, plastic or real, just so long as they are glittery and sparkly) and put them on top of the cake. It will look spectacular!

Party Favors
Instead of cellophane party favor bags why not get some organza draw string bags from Fabric Barn. They are super cheap and you can fill them with stickers, rings, tattoos, pens and journals, bubbles or hair accessories.


Let me know how the party turns out! And as always, shoot me an email if you need any more advice :)

"Green" Baby Shower

Knowing that I had given more than a few showers in my time, my mom friend Mary asked me today if I had any ideas for a baby shower she is putting together. The mom-to-be is very into living “green” and wanted that to be the theme for the shower. The party colors would not be your typical shades of pink or blue, but green and white.

After reading a bit about an eco-baby shower given for Sheryl Crow, I was inspired…this is what I would do:

Invitation

• Choose recycled paper or a “plantable” invitation made with handmade paper embedded with seeds
• Let people know that it is okay, in fact preferable, that their gift is gently used
• Encourage guests to wrap their gifts not in paper or a disposable gift bag but a receiving blanket or nursery themed fabrics

Food

• Buy local and buy organic!
• Use real plates/glasses/flatware instead of paper – even if they are mismatched

Decorations

• Purchase a bolt or at least several yards of white tulle – it is quite inexpensive and can be reused as décor for almost any party (drape it over entranceways, use it as a layer of table cloth, tie it in bows around chair backs, tie it around flower vases – it will soften the look of the party perfect for a baby shower, wedding shower or even birthday party)
• Stay away from traditional paper decorations
• Collect glass baby food jars and use as tea lights
• Choose new or heirloom baby toys as centerpieces
• Use greenery from your own backyard as floral arrangements

Activity

• Have each guest decorate a baby onsie or baby bib made of organic cotton, with organic or soy based paints

Party Favors

• Plant little individual terra cotta herbs/plants for the guests to bring home (use them on the tables as part of the décor!)
• Bake muffins and wrap them in a kitchen towel instead of a paper/plastic bag

Let me know how the shower turns out! And as always, shoot me an email if you need any more advice :)

"Under the Sea" Birthday Party

While remodeling our home, we were living with my husband’s parents. I only bring this up because it made it difficult to figure out logistics of a children’s birthday party. Should we have the party at a local park? Should we postpone it until summer? Should we choose a Gymboree/MyGym type place instead?

Before I could spend another sleepless night considering my options, I made a decision. Inspired yet again by Martha, for my daughter’s second birthday we decided on an “Under the Sea” theme. PHEW!

Theme
Yes, my daughter’s new favorite movie (don’t judge me, at least we skipped the first scene) was “Finding Nemo”, but according to my self imposed plan of no character birthdays I had to find a loophole. In the now defunct Martha Stewart Baby magazine they published a template for a fish cake from a sheet cake – which by now I’m sure you can tell I love the concept.

Invitations


Target is a wonderful place to find blank invitations to send through your own personal printer. I found a package of fairly generic solid color invites, and I had a vision. In addition to printing the party information on the invite, I also added some simple squiggly lines to represent seaweed, and “stick” drawings of fish and other sea life. If you don’t have the software to do the artwork on your computer, just freehand it after the fact. I have the multicolor pack of Sharpie markers – they would work perfect for a minimalist illustration project like this. Oh, and you can add the same style artwork to your envelope (there are some guidelines from the USPS that you should follow so as to not interfere with mailing your cute invitations).

Decorations


At my local party supply store, they have rolls of colored butcher paper, for about 25 cents per foot. I bought orange, blue, yellow and green and used fish templates I made by downloading some cartoon fish coloring book pages. I also freehanded about 6 dozen little tiny fish, you can stack paper about 5 pieces deep and cut a bunch at the same time (super cute for a school of fish). Again, I asked my friend Cindy to come over and cut fish shapes all night. In the end, it was so worth it to have a (cheap) dramatic seascape that encircled the entire family room. (TRICK: use blue painters tape to adhere decorations to your walls – it won’t peel off the drywall paper)



The fish shapes were also used on the food and cake table. I bought a dark blue plastic table cloth (you can use any shade of blue, or a fabric one that you already own) and composed an underwater scene using the cut out fish and by adding some squiggly lines cut from the green paper to look like seaweed. You can put the snacks and cake right on top of the paper fish - not to worry, when food gets spilt all over your scene just toss it all in the recycle bin when the party is over. (OPTION: scotch tape paper fish to the windowpanes – inside and or out and scotch tape is really easy to remove)

Round out your “look” with paper plates and napkins in several shades of blue. I try to use clear cutlery and clear cups so that I can use the leftovers for the next party.

Activity


This was my favorite part of the party. I’m sure most of you have heard of this game, we called it “Gone Fishing”. You’ll need a bed sheet, some string or twine, wooden dowels, clothespins, a few helpers and some little prizes (toys, packages of crackers, bubbles etc). We took an old blue striped sheet, and taped our paper fish to it. We then used some string to hang the sheet between two trees – make sure there is adequate space behind and in front of the sheet for people to play this fishing game.

Cut lengths of wooden dowel – one for each child (can be almost any diameter and does not need to be longer than a couple feet) and tie a 3ft. length of string to it. Affix the clothespin to the other end of the string, and write the child’s name on it. All the children can do this activity at the same time, they just throw their “hook” over the top of the sheet and wait for a “bite”.

Behind the sheet, I had my husband and my friend Cindy work the fish “hooks” – they had individual bags with each child’s name on it and when that child’s hook came over the sheet from the other side, they would hook a prize and tug the line. The child on the other side of the sheet would pull it back over and, believe me, be in awe. I had wrapped every prize so that, first of all, the clothespin hook had something to grab onto, and secondly don’t kids love to unwrap stuff?

I also gave each child a personalized loot bag to keep track of their fish. You can use anything from a cellophane treat bag to a regular brown paper lunch sack with a wave shaped scalloped top edge – be sure to put their name on it!

Cake
I just love making the cake. The anticipation, the planning, the mistakes.

Using the fish template from Martha Stewart Baby, I baked a regular 9x12 sheet cake, placed the pattern on top and cut carefully. (see pattern details). You can use some white frosting in a can (colored orange), frosting in a tube (in a contrasting color) to outline the face and fins. I also added some detail work with a pastry bag and star tip using white frosting, but you could use almost anything (or leave it off completely). Try using decorative sugars or sprinkles to add detail or use a different color of the frosting in a tube (some of them now have more than one tip).

This is a super easy cake... here are a few tips:

• use boxed cake - it always turns out right
• use frosting in a can if you want to, it's easy and it tastes good
• what are you going to put the cake on? cut a piece of cardboard and cover it with colored paper, or purchase a ready made cake board of plastic or cardboard
• tuck 2 inch strips of paper towel or wax paper slightly under all the edges of the cake to keep the frosting off of the base board
• if you plan on writing on the cake, leave enough space for it – or write your message on the cake board
• remember to purchase candles!
• make cupcakes too - the kids actually prefer them to a piece of cake (and you'll be sure to have enough dessert to go around)

What a great (and super cute) party, the kids had SUCH a good time! Look at what you can do, by using original themes, creative thinking, spending as little as possible and making it look homemade - even if it isn't!

“Under the Sea” Birthday Party shopping list

Target

• Blank invitations with envelopes
• Party favors – bags of crackers, little bubbles, sand toys, etc.
• wooden clothespins
  

Party Supply Store

• party favor bags – cellophane or paper
• colored paper – blues, green, orange, yellow etc.
• plates - multiple shades of blue
• napkins - multiple shades of blue
• plastic cutlery - clear, leftovers can be used at your next party
• plastic cups - clear, leftovers can be used at your next party
• something to put the cake on - cake board of cardboard or plastic

Hardware Store

• wooden dowels - one for every child, the length only needs to be a couple of feet
• twine or string - you'll need about 3 ft. per dowel
• blue painters tape
  

Grocery Store

• cake mix - find some on sale and buy 4 boxes, you'll need enough for cupcakes too - remember, these have a long shelf life and buying extra will save you if/when you make a mistake (trust me) OPTION FOR A BIG PARTY: make the fish a double layer cake
• 3 cans of white frosting - (extra is always a good idea) for the fish and cupcakes
• food coloring – orange, for fish (you certainly don’t have to have an orange fish, it can be pink or lavender or anything at all!)
• colored sugar or sprinkles (optional for fish scale details)
• frosting in a tube (contrasting color to the fish body) - to trace the features of the fish face, you can also use a pastry bag with a tip or I've seen icing syringes or plastic kits right there in the baking aisle at the market
• make sure you have eggs and oil for the cake
• EASY OPTION FOR THE CAKE - buy a plain, no frosting, 9x12 sheet cake from the grocery bakery and while you are at it get a dozen cupcakes as well.
• Go the extra mile and make your own frosting… here is a recipe for buttercream frosting, yum!

My Very First "Piece of Cake"

In getting ready for my 3 year old son's birthday party this weekend, I fondly remembered planning a 1st birthday party for my now 6 year old daughter.

Even back in 2003, I was adamant that I would not buy a prepackaged "kit" of birthday supplies. No Dora, no Thomas and NO princesses! Once I had announced this plan to my friends I couldn't then go back on my word, even after I figured out how difficult I was making it for myself. Oh, the pressures of your very first child's first birthday party!

Theme
So, I decided on a "Jungle" theme - mostly because my daughter's favorite book was "Goodnight Gorilla" and she loved saying the word giraffe. I asked my friend Cindy to help with some illustrations of cute little jungle animals, very appropriate for a 1st birthday party, (although, cheap stock photo would have worked just as well, try Big Stock Photo) and just printed the invitations on my color printer.

Decorations
Next I had to decide on decorations. I just happened to have a ton of leftover green, brown and maroon construction paper, I found leaf and animal silhouette templates online and my friend Cindy and I went to town! Animals and leaves covered every horizontal surface, the ceiling and some windows too. I chose 3 shades of green streamers from Alin Party Supply and hung them from every chandelier and tent canopy.

Keeping with this Jungle theme, I found green striped cellophane party favor bags and tied them with animal print ribbon, made sugar cookies in animal shapes (although I could have just bought animal crackers) and make cupcakes with a little iced leaf on top. Our house was really small, so for comfortable seating I rented three round tables and covered them with forest green table cloths, and topped them with the paper animal and leaf cutouts. I also purchased plates, napkins and cups in 3 shades of green to match.

Activity
I knew there needed to be some kind of activity to entertain the children, and I had not yet heard of bounce houses or rent-a-character. I did not have any experience throwing a kids party before, so I just went with what I knew...crayons and paper. A child height table and chairs with a long piece of white butcher paper plus a few boxes of crayons and markers kept those multi-age kids busy for longer than you would expect.

Cake
And now for the piece de resistance! The moment you have all been waiting for... the cake. While looking at my latest issue of Martha Stewart Baby, they had several options for children's birthday cakes. To my great surprise, there was a giraffe! Everything was right there in black and white - a template and everything. All I had to do was make a regular 9x12 sheet cake, the cut out between the legs became the neck, cut off a slope for the back and it becomes the head and tail pieces (see pattern details). White frosting in a can (colored yellowish), frosting in a tube (in a contrasting color) to outline the legs, feet and face, plus some chocolate jimme sprinkles for the spots and you look like a STAR pastry chef!

Honestly, anyone can make this cake... here are a few tips:

• use boxed cake - it always turns out right

• use frosting in a can if you want to, it's easy and it tastes good

• what are you going to put the cake on? cut a piece of cardboard and cover it with foil, or purchase a ready made cake board of plastic or cardboard

• push 2 inch strips of paper towel or wax paper slightly under all the edges of the cake to keep the frosting off of the base board

• if you plan on writing on the cake, leave enough space for it

• remember to purchase candles!

• make cupcakes too - the kids actually prefer them to a piece of cake (and you'll be sure to have enough dessert to go around)

All in all, it was a very successful party, AND I didn't have to resort
to any franchise characters. This first party set the stage
for our family's birthday party plan... original themes,
creative thinking, spend as little as possible
and make it look homemade - even if it isn't!

"Jungle" Birthday Party shopping list

Michael's, Joann's or any online Craft Store

• paper to print invites on - or just use whatever you have at home
  
• envelopes
• green, brown, maroon construction paper
• animal print ribbon - to tie the party favor bags and for misc use on the food table
• crayons and markers - unless you already have some at home? you certainly don't need to buy new especially because kids are really hard on them
  

Party Supply Store

• paper streamers - multiple shades of green
• plates - multiple shades of green
• napkins - multiple shades of green
• plastic cutlery - clear, leftovers can be used at your next party
• plastic cups - clear, leftovers can be used at your next party
• cellophane party favor bags - look for some with green stripes or an animal print
• roll of butcher paper - can be brown kraft or white
• something to put the cake on - cake board of cardboard or plastic

Party Rental Store

• tables - do you need kid size as well as grown up?
• chairs - do you need kid size as well as grown up?
  
• green cloth table cloths

Grocery Store

• cake mix - find some on sale and buy 4 boxes, you'll need enough for cupcakes too - remember, these have a long shelf life and buying extra will save you if/when you make a mistake (trust me) OPTION FOR A BIG PARTY: make the giraffe a double layer cake
  
• 3 cans of white frosting - (extra is always a good idea) for the giraffe and cupcakes
  
• food coloring - yellow/orange for giraffe body
  
• chocolate jimmies
• frosting in a tube (brown and green) - to trace the features of the giraffe and for the leaf shapes on the cupcakes... you can also use a pastry bag with a tip or I've seen icing syringes or plastic kits right there in the baking aisle at the market
• make sure you have eggs and oil for the cake
• EASY OPTION FOR THE CAKE - buy a plain, no frosting, 9x12 sheet cake from the grocery bakery and while you are at it get a dozen cupcakes as well.