Celebrate Winter: Birdie Party

As winter approaches, it becomes harder for our feathered friends to find their food.  Why not help them?  Kids love to make things - and these things you won't have to throw away when little eyes aren't looking because you have no more space left.  I mean, Not. Even. One. More. Inch. For. Craft. Projects.

Yes, I have a 6 year old girl :)

This idea could easily be adapted to a family night activity, or a winter birthday party, or even just a no-reason-to-party party. 

Items needed for making bird seed treats:  Bird seed, peanut butter, popcorn, cranberries, dried fruit, bread, bagels, ribbon, pinecones, needle & string, etc.

How cute are these bird seed wreaths?!?

Very easy tutorial here

This is also very simple, this is just a pine cone, peanut butter and bird seed!  source

Why not make homemade "ornaments" to hang on your trees outside?  Too cute!  So simple - it is made from bread, peanut butter, and bird seed! 
The how-to

String popcorn, peanuts and cranberries for a special birdie treat!

If you make a lot of treats, you could decorate a whole tree outside!  Could be the best decorated Christmas tree ever!  At least the birds would think so :)

Or you can hang a few outside your window, where you can bird watch easily.

If you want to tie this into a Birdie Birthday Party, the decorations would be key:



Think birds, bird houses, bird cages, fun colors, branches. 

Yes, branches. 

Very fun!  And another branch!  From this blog

The kids could take home their bird treats as a party favor.

Sometimes the simplest ideas really are the cutest and most fun!  



Tis the Season

Thanksgiving is behind us and that means it is the Christmas season!  For the next month, the advertisers will go crazy trying to get us into the spirit of the season.  The one area the advertisers always get me is what I refer to as The Perfect Little Party.

I want one.

I need one.

I've got to have one!

The Perfect Little Party.  Where you wear the perfect little dress, eat the perfect little food on beautiful little plates, have the perfect glass of wine, and there are no children running around screaming.  Adults only.  Beautiful Christmas music playing in the background, maybe even real-live music. Gorgeous Christmas decorations on a ridiculously-tall Christmas tree.  Now that is my happy place!

It is a dream for me because we are not lucky enough to be invited to parties like this.  We do not work for fancy-pants companies and do not have fancy-pants friends.  But for one day.  One day.  I would LOVE to go to The Perfect Little Party. 

Look, it's Joe and me!  Okay, it's not - but it could be us at the Perfect Little Party! :)

I'll pick this one, please!

Look how happy all of our friends are at the child-less party!

Okay, I don't know these people.  Is it terrible I'm making up friends now?!?!

I don't know, can you eat this ice cream under the bulb?!  I want to!!

Why yes, thank you, I'll sit at these pretty chairs when my dancin' feet get tired!

And yes, I want to eat lobster off of these cute little spoons!

And whatever these are, too.  I'm a sucker for little food on little plates!

Yes, please.

If you insist!

I'll just sit back and enjoy the view for awhile!

Maybe one of these years I'll host The Perfect Little Party.  Maybe one of these years I'll be invited to one.  Hey - if you have any extra tickets (do you need tickets for such a thing?!?)  and you think I could go incognito to your fancy party, let me know.  I'll be there.  With my beautiful red dress and my handsome husband.  I'll be sure to wear my dancing shoes and be on my best behavior!

40th Birthday: Through the Decades

Planning a birthday party for an adult is more difficult for me than planning for a child's birthday party.  I still want the party to be interactive and playful - but sometimes adults are so, well - adults.  It is especially hard planning parties for my husband because he 1) doesn't like surprises and 2) doesn't like to be the center of attention.  Believe me, I found that out the hard way when I planned a surprise 30th birthday party for him.  Let's just say I'll never do that again!

So for his 40th, I still wanted to celebrate him, but I had to do it gracefully.  I only invited immediate family - no surprises!- and I kept things low key.  I went with a "Through the Decades" theme.  I took each decade since he was born and displayed personal momentos, photos, and decade-specific items.

Since we had it at home, I was short on space.  Instead of using one long display table, I used exisiting furniture plus a card table. 

The 70's - His old teddy bear, some of his old matchbox cars, tie-dyed shirt, elementary school photos, mood rings, pet rocks, a disco ball, and "The 1970's Fun Facts" (that I created after researching online).

The 80's - His varsity jacket, high school photos, baseball cards, rubiks cubes, pacman, jelly bracelets, trivial pursuit, and "The 1980's Fun Facts".

The 90's - College stuff, VHS tape, floppy disc, CD, Snapple, blue m&m's (both which came out in the 90's, who knew??), flannel shirt, our wedding photo, "The 1990's Fun Facts".

The 00's - Newspaper stock reports, DVDs, tattoos, cell phone texts, sudoku, a croc (shoe), pictures of our kids, "The 2000's Fun Facts".

Close up of the Fun Facts.

 Of course I had to throw in some 40 things!  We also had balloons with 40 on them.

And the 40 cake I made.  The kids wanted their dad to wear a birthday crown.  And yes - he was a good sport!

Overall, a good party for a guy who doesn't like surprises or doesn't like to be the center of attention.  I still surprised him with the details - he had no idea what I was up to (and was quite nervous!) - but when he came home and I had everything decorated he actually said, "Wow.  Good job, I love it!" 

Score one for me :)

Tea Party

I think having a Tea Party Birthday Party for a little girl would be so sweet.  Think pink, white, little foods, real teacups, flowers, white gloves, hats....  The thought is making me all giggly inside!  Wait, I mean the thought is making me feel all sophisticated inside!

That's the beauty of having a party like this, the girls can be giggly and act grown up at the same time :)

Tea Party Birthday Party Invitations:

Make sure the girls know to come dressed up!

There are a ton of ideas online, but I love this one!  Super cute!!  source

Tea Party Birthday Party Favors:
You could provide white gloves, party hats, stings of play pearls, and/or feather boas.  How fun is that?!?

Think craft store, dollar store, party stores, Oriental Trading, etc. for these kind of things. 

Tea Party Birthday Party Decorations:
This party needs real linens, no plastic tablecloths at this party!  Real flowers.  Real china.  Real plates.  Real silverware.  Mismatched pieces are fine, it will add to the charm of the party.

Oh my goodness, invite me please!!

I love balloons, but no balloons at this party.  You can still create a festive atmosphere, but think outside the balloon-box. 

Martha makes it easy!  source

Tea Party Birthday Party Food:
Think little.  Tea sandwiches.  Bite-sized fruit.  Cheese and crackers. Displayed on tall plates.  Chocolate covered pretzels. Small candies. In small bowls or on small plates.

Gorgeous.  Really, food tastes better when it is displayed nicely!! 

 Cut the crusts off the bread, even if it is just peanut butter and jelly!

Don't you want to eat this whole plate of candy just because it looks so cute?!?

Cupcakes are so easy to make and can be so super-cute.  The key is to get a big tip for your icing bag.  Here is an easy tutorial on icing cupcakes.  Leave a bit of the cupcake showing for that added "professional" touch.

Buy sugar flower toppers at your local cake or candy store.  Keep it simple!

And of course, don't forget the tea!   You might also want to have apple juice on hand (in a tea pot too!) for your non-tea-drinkers.

Tea Party Birthday Party Games:
Little girls cannot sit and eat little foods and drink tea for a couple hours!  You'll need to fill your party time with some games.  Try to keep the games sophisticated, though.  (No running or getting crazy, this is a tea party afterall!!)

Idea #1 - Drop the Sugar Cube
Give each girl a spoon and a sugar cube.  Have them stand above a tea pot or tea cup.  Holding the spoon by their nose, try to have them drop the cube into the cup.  (You might want to use a plastic cup here!)

Idea #2 - Pass the Sugar Cube
Give each girl a spoon.  Have them line up in 2 lines.  Ask them to put the spoons in their mouths and then place the sugar cube on the girl's spoon who starts each line.  They must pass the sugar cube to the end of the line, spoon by spoon.  No hands!  First team to pass the sugar cube the entire line wins.

Idea #3 - Tea Painting
Have different colored tea bags (herbal teas are sometimes different colors, raspberry is pink, for example) and paper.  The girls can only use tea bags and water to create their masterpieces.

Idea #4 -Smile Maker Game
One girl at the table is the designated Smile Maker.  She must try to get the other girls to smile.  She can make silly faces or do whatever she can - but she cannot touch anyone else.  To make it harder, she cannot leave her seat either.  Take turns, allowing each girl to try being the Smile Maker.

Idea #5 - Tea Leaf Art
Break open a few tea bags and place the contents in dishes.  Draw a few ideas on paper (heart, smiley face, etc.).  Place the girls in groups of 2 and have them randomly choose the pre-drawn shapes.  They must re-create the picture in a cup of water, using the tea leaves and a spoon.

Idea #6 - Memory Game
Place items on a tray.  Include items like a tea bag, tea cup, spoon, sugar, milk, cookie, tea sandwich, glove, hat, flower, etc.  (The more crowded the tray, the better!)  Have the girls study the tray for 2 minutes, then either take it away or cover it with a cloth and have them write down as many items as they can remember in 2-3 minutes.  Use a timer!

Idea #7 - Decorate Your Own Hats
If you find plain hats, you can have the girls put their own ribbons, flowers, etc. on their hats.

Have fun and don't forget to invite me!  I want this party for my birthday!!

Super Hero Party

When my son was in kindergarten, he asked for a Super Hero Party for his 6th birthday.  It really was the perfect age for this party - their imaginations were perfect for it!  So we called all Super Heroes to Super Hero Headquarters, aka our church's basement. 

The Super Hero Party invitation: 

The Super Hero Party activities:  When everyone arrived, they had Super Hero capes waiting for them.  Yes, I made them - and no, they weren't hard.  They were all felt so there wasn't any fraying.  Using hot glue and more felt, I put the first letter of each child's name on the back. 

Before they were allowed to begin their Super Hero Training, they had their first mission:  to color their Super Hero Mask and a few coloring pages. 

Making the capes 3 different colors made it easy to break into teams at game time.

 Look how cute they look!

Some kids wore their masks the whole party!

The Super Hero Party Games (aka Super Hero Training):  We told the kids that in order to be Super Heroes, they had to go through training first. 

Game #1:  Spider Blast.  We made sure they had their Spiderman-powers. 

This was hysterical.  We got yarn and wrapped it around one kid's waist and then tossed it across the circle and wrapped it again...  on and on until all the kids were connected by the spider web.  Then we threw in 2 spiders (styrofoam balls painted black with black pipe cleaners and big wiggly eyes) and they all had to work together to get the spiders off the web.  They were laughing like crazy and jumping like mad!

Game #2:  Super Hero Obstacle Course.  We made sure they had their Superman powers.  Could they run faster than a speeding bullet?  Were they able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?  (Or could they jump over a Little People Bus??!!)  Could they crawl through a tunnel?  (Doesn't someone somewhere have that power?!)  Ahem.  Um, yes, they could! 

 That Super Hero is so fast, he's blurry!  :)

Game #3:  Super Heroes, Get the Bad Guys!  (Impressive name, I know.)  I printed out pictures of Bad Guys and they had to throw bean bags into the baskets to get 'em. 

Why does throwing things never get boring for kids?!?

Game #4:  Super Heroes Can See in the Dark!  (Another impressive name, huh?)  Pin the tail on the donkey, super hero form.

This seriously never gets boring with kids either, just make sure it matches the party theme.

And after all this serious Super Hero Training, the kids were ready to eat, right?  NO!  They were ready to fight Bad Guys!

And who were these Bad Guys all dressed in black? 

My "much too old for a kindergarten party" nephews, that's who. 

Get those Bad Guys, get 'em!  With what you ask?

Silly String! 

But wait!  Don't all Super Heroes need a little help fighting Bad Guys from.....

BATMAN??!! 

The kids swooned.  They thought he was real.  Not even my son knew it was his Pappy!

Instant celebrity, that Pappy.  Best money ever spent on a costume, I am telling you what!

Super Hero Party decorations:  Not much.  The focus was on the games and the new Super Heroes :)

 A few balloons, a Batman pinata and Super Hero cake.

Simple tabletops:  balloons and Super Hero confetti.



By party's end, was I exhausted?  YES!  Was it totally worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!!  Kids are only little once, enjoy times like this while you can.  If it means having a Super Hero party, then have it :)