Spring Birthday Party Ideas

We are just a few days away from Cami's seventh (SEVENTH!!) birthday so I've got birthday parties on my brain. Even though we aren't doing a big party for Cam this year, I love to virtually shop around for party ideas and celebratory inspiration. We've also been waiting for spring for a looooong time this year and while it's warmed up and things have started to bloom, it's been grey and rainy all week in D.C. So I've been particularly drawn to parties with pops of color. I pulled together by favorites below -- many are elaborate and over the top, which is personally how I often like to party. But even if you don't go crazy, there are some super cute ideas here to pull from. Party on!!

1 Tropical Tutti Frutti Party / this is right up Cam's alley. She thinks most things sugary are "too sweet" and often asks for fruit instead (I know, how can she be my child!?).

2 Neon Party / this particular party wasn't for a birthday, but I just love how they've used neon colors. Cam is obsessed with neon this season, but so many of the parties out there go 80s day glow. I love this take on the color palette.

3 Geometric Unicorn Party / Cami would take just about any unicorn birthday party, but I love the geometric angle of this one.

4 Stinky Cheese Party / so maybe no one would go to this except for my kids, but Kane loves stinky cheese more than sweets. The stinkier, the better. Now that I know you can make a candle out of cheese, I just might have to throw him a party all about it.

5 Pizza Party / I think this super fun cake completely updates the ol' standby pizza party. Sign me up.

6 Modern Minecraft Party / pretty much every elementary-aged kid is obsessed with Minecraft, including mine. This modern version makes me happy. Plus, free printables.

7 Watermelon Party / even if your kiddo doesn't heart all the fruits like Cam, everyone loves sweet watermelon.

8 Star Wars Party / Star Wars never goes out of style and this updated bash would be perfect way to amp kids up for the new release later this year.

9 Watercolor Party / the kids could totally help make this backdrop for an art party.

10 Bright Confetti Party / need I say more?

Holiday Kiddie Mocktail

Our kids love to celebrate the holidays with us and I feel like I get stuck on repeat making the same kiddie mocktail for every occasion. Not this year. I'm scooping up a festive float that is sweet, bubbly, and all kinds of party. Whether you're looking for a drink your kids can clink for Christmas or New Year's Eve, head over to Honest to Nod to see what we're serving this year.

Creative Ideas for the Kids Holiday Table

I actually loved being at the kids table for holiday meals. We got sparkling grape juice in miniature wine goblets and tried to eat as many marshmallows off the sweet potatoes without eating any actual vegetables. But maybe that's just me. Our kids like being where the action is with the grownups, but when our big table is full, they too get sent over to the kids table. So I thought I'd come up with a few fun ways to keep them entertained and happy about it. Head over to the International Arrivals blog to see what I've got cooking—including a free holiday color-in placemat to download! 

Dia de los Muertos Party Inspiration!

I have been trying for year, YEARS, to get my kids to have a Dia de los Muertos party (remember our mono prints?!). Or at least dress as a sugar skull for Halloween. I never get any takers. But I keep rounding ideas up in hopes they'll bite one year, so I figured I'd share them!

1. I'd leave papel de picado up all year long and this set of skulls is perfect for Dia de los Muertos.

2. I came across this table runner a few years ago and haven't been able to get it out of my head. Now who wants to make one for me?!

3. I usually like to make my own arts and craft projects, but OTC is a great place to find projects for a large group of kids and I love this little tissue paper craft.

4. Sugar skulls AND edible confetti!?

5. The kids love horchata and bubble tea, so I have to think this combo would be a winner!

6. A honeycombed wall is such an easy way to brighten up the party.

7. I tend to second-guess photo booths, but the kids always seem to LOVE them. Set one up fast with these great props!

8. I don't think it's a party without striped straws and I think Cam would love to make some tissue paper flowers to add!

9. I think it would be super fun to make some of these cinnamon cookies and let the kiddos decorate them with edible decorating pens.

Olympics Viewing Party!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Olympics. It's something about all those young hopes and dreams, perseverance, hard work. It's incredibly impressive and drives our household into Olympic obsession every time they roll around. Joel and I actually went to the last Olympic summer games in London and we originally planned on attending Rio this year with our whole family. Alas, we are not. BUT we will be watching the Opening Ceremony tomorrow night with fanfare and you can too! Even if you didn't plan ahead (like us), you can pull together an easy fun evening with these ideas. Go for it.

 1 / printable world flags 2 / Olympic bingo 3 / easy Olympic cookies  

4 / DIY laurel headbands 5 / printable diving lady straws

Weekend Makes

We're kicking of fall entertaining season this weekend and gearing up for three dinner parties in three weeks. These are no kiddos invited meals, but that won't stop mine from getting in on the prep and decor. What can I say -- they like to party. So it's celebratory makes this week -- for the parents, but in which the kids can partake.

1 / a super simple metallic garland 2 / these are so cute and my guys would love attaching the rosemary for me 3 / I'd love to send dinner guests home with these cute fall treats 4 /  the kids have been asking me about my candle making supplies, but this DIY is probably an easier place to start 5 / love these apple votive holders. plus, ombre!

Summer Pool Party Ideas!

Growing up, I always loathed the fact that my own birthday was in summer -- I felt like because we were out of school, I didn't get quite the same fanfare as I wanted. People were on vacation, friendships dwindled, and it was just too darn hot out. Now, neither of my kiddos have summer birthdays and I SO wish they did. It seems so much easier to have a fab pool party instead of trying to coordinate indoor parties during the school year. Perhaps I can persuade one of them to celebrate their spring or fall birthday in the summer heat next year .... I'm thinking one of these super fun (and a bit random) pool party ideas might do the trick!

1 Cam would flip for a flamingo pool party / 2 is there anything more random and fabulous than a soft pretzel party!? / 3 we are all watermelon-obsessed this summer and this is such an awesome graphic party! / 4 August is the perfect month for a "Dog Days of Summer" party / 5 both of my kiddos were serious surfers all summer long -- a perfect pool party idea!

Project 52 -- Week 18

These two party animals are prepping for Cam's ping pong party this weekend. It's incredibly low key ... for us. But they can't not do anything. So they got busy making personalized ping pong balls, obviously. Love 'em.

Kiddo Oscar Party

It's almost Oscars time!!! This Sunday, the 87th Academy Awards will roll out that red carpet for one of Hollywood's biggest nights. I'm most looking forward to the fashion, particularly given that the last movie I saw in a theater was definitely a kiddo flick. Our kids also love to catch the red carpet and even though they don't get to stay up late enough to see who actually won (I don't even stay up for the whole thing), they are keenly aware of the animated feature film nominations. So I'm hoping to make the pre-show fun for them with a few special touches! In case you want to get caught up before this weekend, check out a full list of Oscar-nominated flicks for families right here.

1 / Studio DIY's annual ballot and fab packaging.

2 / A fun sparkly bar for the littles.

3 / We're definitely going to re-use our Meri Meri party props from New Years to get fancy. 

4 / Love a popcorn bar. 

5 / I would love for someone to make us these cookies! 

New Year's Eve Party Animals!

Since we love to celebrate for no reason at all, it probably won't come as a surprise to you that we are all big fans of celebrating New Year's Eve. And nothing says New Year's Eve more than black + gold and glittering confetti. So I was in love with The Land of Nod's Meri Meri New Year's Eve party collection the moment I saw it. It's sophisticated, but still fun and would work equally well for a grown-up party as it did for my little party animals. Our early celebration is up over at Honest to Nod today -- go check it out!

Spooky Halloween Treats

Our kids are in the stage where they looooove Halloween, but still don't like to be scared. Actually, I don't like to be scared. I still cannot understand why people voluntarily watch horror movies or subject themselves to haunted houses. I went to a haunted house once. I punched the first person who jumped out to scare me. Needless to say, we are heavy on the spook factor for the holiday, but stay away from scary. And that's one of the reasons I love our Jack O'Lantern macarons! Granted, those are still on the cutesy side. And our Pumpkin Pie Gelato Parfaits were delish, but in no way scary (until you run out, then things get scary. I promise). So I started looking for treat ideas to bump up the spook a bit and pulled together my favorite finds. I think those spooky ice cubes in a sweet cider are going to be a must make!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

It's Tailgate Time!

Fall is football season in our house and our kids LOVE it. It's really sweet to hear them ask Joel "is it football time, yet?" and to hear the Eagles fight song belted out over and over again. I also happen to love the game -- watching it, playing it, and partying with it. We love to take our kids to live sports games and the pre-game tailgating events, but we haven't yet felt comfortable that they are old enough for the not-always-family-friendly event that is live NFL football (although I've taken the kids to high school games and they loved it). So I'd love to bring some of that same spirit and goodies into our home for game time watching. Here's what I'm loving for a kid-friendly tailgate at home!

1 / my kids can eat their weight in peanuts. I'm still working on a less messy way to eat them at home, but when I do, I think these DIY bags would be so cute.

2 / gold foam fingers!?! Cam would be all over these.

3 / as they've inherited my love to decorate for any occasion, I think our kids would love to make these cute football lanterns.

4 / this football bingo was made especially for the Super Bowl, but I love the idea of using pictures and numbers for a kid-friendly game.

5 / I'd use these free football sheets from The Celebration Shoppe to make fun placemats for the kids, who love to nosh while watching the game.

6 / Frito Pie. It's a must.

7 / An edible pennant garland. Love.

8 / I think these DIY duct tape football mason jars would be super fun. Plus, I love a flagged striped straw.

9 / after peanuts, popcorn is the kids' next favorite game time snack. These football themed popcorn boxes make it even better.

Back to School! Breakfast

Happy back-to-school day!!! (well for us anyway). We were all so excited to get back that we had a little celebration last week. Head on over to Honest to Nod today to check out our back to school! breakfast and our hilarious interview answers.

ps .... and head over to A Feteful Life for your own free printable interview!

Disclosure: The Land of Nod provided us with Meri Meri partyware and a growth chart in exchange for this post. No other compensation was provided and all opinions herein are our own.

Miscellaneous Madness: Kids Book Club!

As we told you last week, we recently hosted our first kids book club with a bunch of good buddies and had a blast -- and even some actual discussion of the book we read: Magic Treehouse's "Lincoln at Last." Summer Bucket List -- check. Head over to Honest to Nod to get the full scoop!

Artworks: DIY Mini Piñatas!

Yesterday, we crafted one of our most favorite summer bucket list items yet: mini piñatas. Mom loved them because they used up some of the party supplies taking over our house. We loved them because we got to eat gummy bunnies, which mom pretty much considers candy and dispenses sparingly. Win-win.

We basically followed One Charming Party's tutorial, subbing some of the party supplies we already had on hand. The first one took a bit of finagling, but once you get the hang of it, they come right together. They'd be so, so cute for a birthday party or in red, white + blue at a July 4th BBQ as a "firecracker" piñata. Happy Summer Bucket listing, everyone!

To make our mini piñatas, pull together :
- paper party cups (we used polka dot because that's what we had -- white or another solid colors would give you a more professional look, if you're going for that);
- fringed streamers (we had some pre-fringed leftover garland from another party, so we used that. if we were doing it from scratch, mom would likely cut the streamer in half lengthwise first. it's easier to layer shorter fringed pieces);
- cardstock, cut into 2" circles and hole-punched twice (see photos below);
- string or twine;
- glue;
- a hammer and small nail;
- 5" square or circle of tissue paper; and
- treats! 

1. Having a parent help you, make two small holes in the bottom of the cup with your hammer and nail. Loop a small strand of string through the two holes, tying the ends together inside the bottom of the cup. 

2. Fill cup with treats. Take a 2 foot-long piece of string and loop it through the 2" cardstock circle, and tie string flush against it. Place cardstock on top of your treats, with string ends tailing out the top. 

3. Make small hole in middle of 5" square/circle of tissue paper. Run the ends of cardstock-tied string through it and out the top of the cup. Place a small amount of glue around outside top of cup, fold tissue paper over the sides, gluing down as you go. Let dry for a few minutes.

4. Glue fringe on in layers, starting from the tissue paper covered end of the cup. The more you overlap the fringe, the more coverage you'll get. We could only be patient enough for 3-4 layers. What can we say? We wanted the gummies! 

5. When it's party time, tie piñatas up or have a friend hold one. Gently pull on bottom string and ENJOY!!!

{you can re-use the pinatas by adding more treats, replacing cardstock circle, and taping up the bottom tissue paper a bit}