One of the things I've been doing is saving a lot of my decor from our parties (I would seriously love a whole craft area or party planning area in my house one day) to make it easier for the next one. I'm not talking about hoarding the trinkets or plastic table clothes or anything, but things in general that I know I could use again. For example, little nugget's first birthday was nautical themed. Do those fishing nets look familiar? Ah ha, see what I did there ;)
Anyway, he wanted a nice shark party which did make it a little tougher to find plates and napkins that didn't have a vicious looking shark on them that also didn't cost an arm and a leg. So instead, I decided to play up on the blue colors and ocean tones to keep it more simple.
I took off on Friday and of course it was a beautiful day but by the end of it clouds were rolling in and they were calling for a 100% chance of rain the next day. I felt like at one point I was just walking around in circles because I didn't know if I should be setting things up outside, inside, if we could pull off a shark/water type party indoors—basically my head was all over the place. If you caught my insta stories then you saw my little panic and I can't thank you all enough for the sweet messages and words of encouragement. Some of you even sent me pictures and party game ideas, you seriously are amazing and it meant so much.
We were woken up on Saturday to the sound of thunder and Coaty barking so I knew there was no chance we could pull this off outside. By 8:30am A and I were at Party City and Michael's picking up extra party goodies and figuring out a craft for the kids to do inside.
We set everything up inside and in that moment it really made me realize how important counter space is. We have a breakfast bar that extends where we have three high stools under it and if it wasn't for that, I'm not sure we would have made it work. Now of course some people are probably thinking well, you could have just rented a place or had it somewhere else. And yes, we could have, but in all honestly, I find kid parties at other facilities so rushed and not as personable. I won't never say never because we did have A's third birthday at a kid's museum, but that might have been enough for me. The price you pay and the structure they set up with getting the kids in and out, I don't know, I just don't think it's for me. I like having more of a handle on things and adding some personal touches. Like these adorable tent cards and bottle labels that my friend Becky from Paperie Off Park made that were perfect for making it feel more personalized.
I did feel really bad because all little nugget wanted to do was bounce in his bounce house with his friends and do water balloons. He did get a chance to bounce around when the rain let up for a few minutes so he was one happy little shark and it all worked out.
When the kids came in from outside we had a craft and a few games set up for them. They all got to win some extra prizes to take with them. Earlier before guests arrived we left A in charge of opening the prize bags and putting them all in a basket. What we failed to realize was that he also snuck in some left over candy into the mix. At one point I saw one of the father's calling his son over who had his cheeks stuffed with chocolate that he found at the bottom of the prize basket. I had to laugh and apologize because I had no clue A put them in there or that his son was scouting out the sweets.
The best part about the whole day was seeing how happy little nugget was and really all of the kids. They didn't care about the decor, if the food was top notch, if it rained or was the most sunny day around. What they cared about was being with each other and creating memories. And maybe cupcakes. It was a nice reminder to all of us that even though we may have things planned out in our heads, sometimes there are things in life you just can't control. The weather would be one of them. It really is the little things in life that can mean the most and create the best memories.
The next morning was his actual birthday. Seriously, you guys, he's three. I'm still trying to figure out how this happened. It seems like it went by even faster with him and I'm hoping it doesn't feel that way with our next little guy too. He got to enjoy some homemade pancakes with sprinkles before we went to church and also opened the gifts we got him. The sky did clear for the afternoon so we headed out to go peach picking. Hopefully I'll be able to share more about that tomorrow.
I took off on Friday and of course it was a beautiful day but by the end of it clouds were rolling in and they were calling for a 100% chance of rain the next day. I felt like at one point I was just walking around in circles because I didn't know if I should be setting things up outside, inside, if we could pull off a shark/water type party indoors—basically my head was all over the place. If you caught my insta stories then you saw my little panic and I can't thank you all enough for the sweet messages and words of encouragement. Some of you even sent me pictures and party game ideas, you seriously are amazing and it meant so much.
We set everything up inside and in that moment it really made me realize how important counter space is. We have a breakfast bar that extends where we have three high stools under it and if it wasn't for that, I'm not sure we would have made it work. Now of course some people are probably thinking well, you could have just rented a place or had it somewhere else. And yes, we could have, but in all honestly, I find kid parties at other facilities so rushed and not as personable. I won't never say never because we did have A's third birthday at a kid's museum, but that might have been enough for me. The price you pay and the structure they set up with getting the kids in and out, I don't know, I just don't think it's for me. I like having more of a handle on things and adding some personal touches. Like these adorable tent cards and bottle labels that my friend Becky from Paperie Off Park made that were perfect for making it feel more personalized.
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