Category Archives: Kiddo Parties

Party Down :: Do the Robot!

Kiddo Parties, ,

Robots seem to be all the rage right now, although I think they are a classic childhood bit of brilliancy.  What kid hasn’t dreamed of owning a robot to do their chores and hang out with? Or as their best friend who can kick the bullies tushies! Two words–Iron Giant–amirite?

And it makes for a great party theme.  Check out Autumn Kimball’s quite brilliant take on the robot party theme for her gorgeous identical quadruplets that she posted on her blog, The Kimball Herd.

Not only did she make these genius robot cakes, but the stands as well. Each kiddo got to pick his own flavor cake.   How wonderful!

She also involved her dear boys in making the party decor–they boys made the pom poms.

Autumn also drew these robot posters for the kids to paint.  Lady, you are one talented mama!

Autumn shows that robots might be programmed the same way, but they are all individuals–just like her terrific “herd” or kiddos!

BTW, the cake stands are also available on her Etsy shop along with her terrific artwork including these AMAZING family portrait ornaments.

Real Life :: The Peach’s Second Birthday!

Kiddo Parties, Real Life : Dottie,

Well, my little Peach turned two.

And I had prepared a little party for her with five of her little friends. And she/we/everyone had a blast. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Because she looks like such a little Dutch girl, we thought that would be a fun theme for her party.  Believe it or not, there’s a ton of little Dutch girl stuff out there and it’s unique and darling just like our Peach. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on the party. No more than $75, but I was very crafty and bought items at estate sales to round out the whole theme.

I made wall hangings using vintage linens with embroidered Dutch girls on it.  I found a sweet little windmill as a centerpiece for the table. We even had those sweet little almond windmill cookies.  And tulips of course. I made additional cloth napkins using some leftover yellow gingham fabric I had. Oh and that nutty vintage Lazy Susan in the middle was for all of the toppings I made for the mac and cheese bar I had for food–sun dried tomatoes, duxelle, caramelized onions, bacon and blue cheese as toppings. (Note this idea was totally stolen from one of the parties at Alt…)

I made each of the girls who attended the party little Dutch hats tipped with lace and blue embroidery:

And I made goody bags sealed with vintage playing cards that featured a little Dutch scene:

I bought a pair of sweet (and inexpensive!) little porcelain Dutch boys and girls and I even found some little wooden shoes.

Of course I bought this great vintage apron with windmills and tulips for myself and some super cheap yellow wooden clogs, because honey, when I commit, I COMMIT!

Plus it would perfectly match the sweet little vintage gingham dress I had in my collection of dresses I bought for the Peach ages ago. Isn’t it adorable?

Except….she wouldn’t wear it. And woke up with a runny nose and no desire to take her needed two hour nap. So, instead she is wearing that orange pillowcase dress and her moose thermal pajama top from that morning. And orange crocs. And a desire to eat a cupcake. Which she did. With tremendous joy and gusto!

And she couldn’t be happier, which means I couldn’t be happier. Because really it’s about the birthday girl. It’s about having a good time and no matter how much I want to go Martha Stewart all over this party, I’m more interested in my little girl and my friends having a good time. And I think that happened. So the day was aces in my book.

Because the best parties leave wiggle room for reality and fun.  And trust me there was a lot of wiggle room and reality in this party.  For example:

  • I tripped and dropped on of whole thing of mac and cheese on the floor
  • I forgot to put out half the toppings for the mac and cheese
  • I couldn’t find birthday candles so I lit the closest two votive candles I had and called it a day
  • I forgot to put out the little coloring pages I printed out of wooden shoes, tulips and Dutch girls
  • I forgot to turn one of the burners off, so now my entire house and clothes and drapes smell of slightly burnt caramelized onions
  • Why yes, the Peach did pee in her pants halfway through the party
  • Not a single one of the girls wore those blasted Dutch hats–OK one sassy girl did, which was great
  • Heck yeah, there were crying kids—four meltdowns that I counted, but were patched up quite nicely with snuggles and cupcakes
  • Of course the kids ended up wearing the little Dutch shoes! I just wish I’d been smart enough to adds skids to the bottoms because they turned into ice skates on my wooden floors as the kids went sliding across them. Whoops!
  • The biggest hit of all were the 10 cent reduced price Mardi Gras beads that all the girls went mad for and turned into baby nun-chucks at times they way they were whipping them around
  • And of course the Peach threw up that night before passing out in bed from exhaustion.

But look at the kids! I loved getting a chance to spend time with my friends’ kids who are all just as amazing and wonderful as their parents.

Yup! A whole slew of cuteness in girlie kiddo form! And rum punch and other cocktails for adults certainly didn’t harm the party either.

And here’s the one piccie I got with my girl. Blurry, but I think you can see how happy and content I am with the whole party.

Happy birthday my little Peach, I hope you had fun!  And next year we’ll do a Princess Pokemon Tank Engine Elmo party. I promise!

PS: I’m EXHAUSTED!

A Super Duper Super Girl Birthday Party.

Kiddo Parties, , ,

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SUPER PARTY! In honor of the Peach’s birthday party I wanted to share with you this utterly adorable party from the fantastic blog The Tortoise and The Hare. When Little Miss Ellie turned 6, her mama whipped up the BEST party ever! I love that it’s creative, fun and quirky while still having cute girlie touches. Presenting, The Super Girl Super Party!

Can we discuss the most amazing cape ever? Pom poms? Seriously? I love it!!




Seriously, how cute and clever is this party?? I’m hooked. I leave you with our glorious birthday girl, standing guard, ready to right wrongs and fighting for fabulous parties for alllllllll!

See the rest of the party here on the Tortoise and the Hare!

Party Down :: Cool Party Favors.

Kiddo Parties

As we are closing in on the Peach’s birthday, I wanted to take a look at one of the most popular and fun parts of children’s parties.  Friends, it is all about the goody bag/party favors.  It’s always nice to have a fun giveaway that fitsyour “theme”.  I know, I know… sometimes goody bags can be a little bit of gilding the lily, but I think it is quite sweet to give kids a little bit of the party to take home with them.  Even if it is just a cookie or a train engine, it can be a wonderful reminder months or every years after the party.  I still use and have some party favors believe it or not!

I rounded up a few of my favorites to share with you. I hope they inspire you as much as they did me!

I love the idea of using paper bags. They are inexpensive and can offer creative types a great canvas for kiddo awesomeness. Like this adorable owl we found from Rock Paper Scissors via Ohdeedoh.

Mighty Girl, Maggie Mason took a simple gift and charmed the pants off of it by wrapping the sidewalk chalk in wax paper and making it look too good to eat!

I’m very impressed with this wonderfully graphic and very fun nod Batman party favor bag from Just Jenn Rants & Raves.

I love the idea of giving away bubbles with personalized labels for summer birthday parties. The yellow is so happy and will be played with until the bottle is empty!

Coloring books make great party favors.  And I’m particularly loving these terrific Little Red Riding Hood color book.  That graphic is genius in its simplicity and beauty, no?

Now, these little suitcases are perfect for travel parties.  This party favor is better than some of the gifts I’ve given in the past! Unbelievable adorable.  From Little Frills via those party perfectionists, Hip Hip Hooray! And the Tinker Toy use is genius too!  Hey, they have the same Lady Baltimore red suitcase I have for the Peach!

I’m going to be putting together the party favor bags tonight–all fun simple stuff–nothing too fancy or expensive. I’m thinking paper bag for mine.

My goal with this party is to spend no more than $75 on everything. So far so good.  Food is basic–mac & cheese and I spent $25 on the goody bag stuff, and also bought $20 of used stuff that I’m refashioning for the party. And the Peach is wearing an outfit I bought used that I found in her closet. all that and a few five dollar bunches of flowers and I think we are good to go!

I must admit, I had grand schemes in place that have been simplified down a lot due to lack of time. But I’m OK with that–it’s a party–I just want the Peach to have fun with her friends! I’ve been plugging away at little crafty projects every night after the Peach goes down.  But then sometimes I get nervous and overwhelmed–what if no one comes? What if all the kids have meltdowns? What if blah blah blah.  Eh-just gotta roll with it. Which what parenting is all about anyway, right?

Wish me luck!

Party Down :: A Birdie Birthday!

Kiddo Parties

You know I love Mari from Small for Big something fierce, but I’m utterly head over heels for her sweet little girlie who just turned two in January.

Now Mari is one of the more clever gals I know, so I knew Miss Birdie’s birthday bash was gonna be great.

And friends, it did not disappoint!

There are so many things to love! But I must admit, I think the cake is my favorite.  It is exactly what a birthday cake should be in my mind. I love it!

Those banners and the lovely paper puffs that look somewhere between clouds and flowers.

And then there is the brilliant party favor.  Oh, that gorgeous tin and such fun goodies inside to boot!

Thanks so much for sharing,  Mari! And happy birthday to Miss Birdie!