You turned a year sweeter last weekend. We celebrated with a lollipop party at your request.
I’m not sure which is my favorite part – you scolding Mason, Bailey plugging her ears, or the fact that none of your friends sing happy birthday at the same pace:
Party details and photos to come.
When Carson announced he’d like to have a Mixed Up Birthday Party I asked him what that meant to him: Tags in the front! An inside-out, backwards outfit a must for all attendees. My friends can wear their pajamas. And I’ll put my shoes on my head! Why not! And everyone will walk backwards. Mix up the holidays, Up is now Down, Back is now Front, Hello means Goodbye and anything goes!
The Invite:
When guests arrived they were instructed to walk around front:
Through the back gate, they turned around and made their entrance walking backwards:
I made lanyards with the kids’ names spelled backwards. Among my favs: Yeldah, Mail, Deer and Rekrap. Labels and Sharpies were provided for grownups to make their own, too.
After donning their new names the kids hammed it up for the camera. Using my Polaroid Instant Camera, we taped the shots up on black poster board and let the voting begin!
Most Colorful Award goes to Itram!
THE FOOD:
Using Christmas cookie cutters we made mini sandwiches – PB&J, cucumber & cream cheese, turkey & cheese. The rest was kept pretty simple – Pirates Booty, salads, veggies & fruit.
THE CAKE:
We went the ice cream cone cupcake route again, which turned out very fitting for the theme. Jason stepped it up, squeezing fresh oranges and lemons into the cream cheese frosting.
I loved that many of the parents got into the theme. We added a Silliest Family Award:
I put together one of my traditional silly scavenger hunts where the kids picked up prizes along the way. I’m all about kids party favors that can be consumed, used up or serve a purpose. Download the clues, props and prize ideas here.
Wacky Decorations and Additional Touches:
– Hung balloons upside down from the ceiling
– Trash Can: A laundry basket with the sign: DIRTY LAUNDRY – Please place your trash in here to wash.
– Changed out the lights with colored light bulbs.
– Candy in a Jar: Asked guests to guess the number of pieces and awarded the prize to whoever guessed the furthest away.
– Writing on the wall: I lined the hallway with old holiday wrapping paper, white side out, and let the kids write on the walls.
– Christmas stockings and lights.
This party was a hoot to plan and throw. I couldn’t have done it without Jason – he made all the food, the cupcakes and was a huge help with the decor.
Happy Birthday Nosrac, my wonderful wacky boy! You’re now officially a handful. High five! Thank you for turning my world upside down and making me proud to be your mom every day. Here’s to another silly and fun-filled year!
During the craziness of putting our house on the market, accepting an offer, house hunting, making an offer, running a half marathon and work deadlines an important milestone occurred. Our little girl turned two {pause button, please}.
We celebrated with an intimate family gathering in the backyard. She received a fancy new {pink!} bike from her Uncle E. That she can ride all by herself. And a crown she tolerated long enough for this photo opp. Happy Birthday my sweet, independent little firecracker.
My mom turned 70 over the weekend and we threw her a surprise party in the backyard! Her actual birthday landed on Memorial Day this year and we had invited her over for a casual family barbecue and celebration. But last week I called to tell her I had forgotten about other plans I made (not true) and could we change it to Sunday instead. This, combined with my being out of town for Mother’s Day prompted the response, “It’s not a big deal. We don’t need to do anything to celebrate.” Which made surrounding her with family, friends and lots of love all the more sweet.
I instructed everyone to huddle under the maple tree to await her arrival. It started raining but nobody complained:
Not sure which part is my favorite. Dropping her purse at the shock or when she starts to cry:
Followed by hugs all around:
Thanks to Google, I found a handful of quotes on growing older and hung them up around the party. This Bette Davis one was my favorite:
I put together a playlist of her favorite songs. Which basically involved raiding her CD collection of the You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle soundtracks. Carson’s new fav? Splish Splash by Bobby Darin:
My mom actually offered to bring along the cake her Bible study group gave her last week. As much as I would have loved to see her arrive at her own surprise party with a week old half eaten cake in hand, I told her I’d go through the trouble of throwing something together.
Helen Bernhard Bakery made a delicious white chocolate with fresh strawberry filling. And purple tulips, please:
Carson certainly enjoyed it:
Given her birthday fell on a holiday weekend, I was so happy many of her good friends were able to make it (and made the drive up from Eugene and Corvallis):
The only glitch involved the slideshow montage that didn’t happen. Apparently projectors and bright daylight don’t mix well. For your viewing pleasure:
Mom’s 70th Birthday Montage from Amy D on Vimeo.
Happy Birthday Mom! You certainly make 70 look fabulous. Here’s to growing old gracefully:
{ daily chatter }