Jacob chose the theme for his fourth birthday party soon after his third. He LOVED having a party for his birthday, and after his third birthday train party, he was on cloud nine. He told everyone …
Our dinosaur-obsessed little boy turned three back in June and I can hardly believe how fast 3 years has flown by. Weren't we just bringing him home from the NICU and only sleeping for an hour or so at a time? It certainly feels that way. At some point after his Wild Things 2nd Birthday party I made a proclamation that I was going low-key next year. I was going to rent a room at one of those bounce places, get a cake, and call it a day. But a year later he was still intimidated by those big bounce places and I just couldn't imagine spending his birthday doing something he didn't love. So we started brainstorming what he DOES love. He loves dinosaurs. He loved hunting for eggs at Easter. He loves running around and playing with his friends. It seemed a no-brainer that we were going to be planning a dinosaur party. Thankfully our sweet friends let us throw the party in their home since our townhouse is much too small for all his little friends, and I was nervous about going the park pavilion route again since June weather is notoriously rainy. (Jacob was born on a rainy Tuesday and it's rained every June 10th since) While I wouldn't call the party low-key it was significantly scaled back from last year, which is really saying something since my party planning personality is decidedly "go big or go home." We didn't build any pineapple trees, so I'll call it a step in the right direction. Having the party at a private residence meant I was able to decorate the night before, and for the first time ever, we were actually ready when the party started. I had started my party planning with a few key details - a color scheme of navy, aqua, and coral; a dinosaur theme, two fun activities, and a simple menu. The table was the focal point of the party. I covered it in wrapping paper that I stamped using dinosaur foot prints in the party colors. I then lined the middle with dinosaurs wearing party hats and mini dinosaur eggs. At each place setting was a paper plate (with a dinosaur bite taken out of it), napkin, fork, dinosaur party hat, and a plastic mason jar with each kids name and a dinosaur on it. On the wall behind the table was a large banner I had made. I purchased a T-Rex watercolor painting off Etsy and then had it blown up to 4ft x 6ft on Vista Print. (search for coupon codes, I found one for 50% off!!) We draped a balloon swag across the top and side to tie in the party colors. These are a brand new product from Twigs and Twirls and it was so easy to put together! It comes with big and small balloons as well as balloon tape. You just blow up the balloons and then pop the bottom through a hold in the tape, alternating colors and sizes until you like how it looks. Then you can use the tape to hang it too! In the corner on a small table I set up two of Jacob's stuffed dinosaurs, in party hats of course, as well as a book (Tyrannosaurus Drip) for his guests to sign. This is a tradition I started back at his first birthday party and I plan to do it every year! It's so fun for us to look back and remember who was there and read the sweet messages they wrote. I decorated the table with two confetti balloons and his big "3" balloon. On the opposite wall we set up the buffet with Jacob's cake and some cookie favors. The table also held some big dinosaur eggs, paper mache dinosaurs, confetti balloons, a three-rex banner, and our letter board. The large eggs on the buffet started out as paper mache eggs that I grabbed around Easter time. The small ones on the table were wooden eggs. I spray painted all of them white and then used a tooth brush to splatter on paint in our color scheme to make them look dinosaur-ish. The cake was a simple white cake with fresh strawberry filling from Publix. I added three aqua candles to the middle, then made a ring of small dinosaurs around the outside. We also had cupcakes on hand for the kids, each with a plastic dinosaur on top. The cookies were made for us by a local baker and I was so impressed with how well they matched our custom invitation from Spruce and Willow. We planned a super simple menu: plus provided stromboli, pasta salad, fruit salad, and mixed salad for the adults. Along with some pre-historic punch. (We used this recipe HERE) The first activity we planned was a dinosaur egg hunt. My mom made these amazing backpacks (from the pattern HERE) and each kid got one. The backpacks doubled as a favor (along with their personalized cups and the cookies) and also as a bag for collecting their dinosaur eggs. I used dinosaur eggs from Oriental Trading as well as regular easter eggs filled with candy spread out all over the yard. There were over 200 eggs for the 7 kids, so everyone got a good bag full. I also spread out dinosaur figurines for them to find, and each kid got to take home a couple. The second activity was a piñata I had made and stuffed with all kinds of goodies from Oriental Trading: mini puzzles, bath squirts, sunglasses, bubbles, tattoos, candy, finger puppets, etc. all dinosaur themed. I made the piñata using the cardboard method (see tutorial HERE) and used painters tape to secure it, since I didn't want it to be TOO sturdy. I then covered it in tissue paper fringe attached with a glue stick. The kids gave it their best go, but it ended up taking several adults to break it open! For the rest of the party, the kids did what they like to do best - play and eat cake! This was the first year that Jacob really "got it" that this party was for him. He loved when everyone sang to him, and blew out the candles as best he could. (he needed a little bit of help!) It was such a fun party and because we were able to do so much the night before i was able to relax and enjoy it, isn't that always the goal? Little buddy had so much fun playing and celebrating with his friends, and as predicted, cried when it was all over and time to go home for a nap. I couldn't have asked for a better party or better friends to celebrate with us! Thank you to all our friends and family for loving on our little boy and helping him celebrate THREE. Momma is all partied out and not thinking about his next party for at least 10 more months! Supplies Invitation // c/o Willow & Spruce Kraft Wrapping Paper, Wooden Eggs, Paper Mache Dinos & Dino Foam Stamps // Target Navy Paper Plates, Coral Napkins, Aqua Silverware // Target Plastic Mason Jars // Target Patterned straws, Balloons, & Confetti // c/o Twigs & Twirls Dinosaur Party Hats // Corrinerelly (Etsy) Dinosaur Painting // Custom Prints Your Way (Etsy) Cake Candles // Cranky Cakes Shop (Etsy) Mini Dinosaur Figurines // Amazon Tyrannosaurus Drip Book // Amazon Pinata Filler & Egg Hunt Eggs // c/o Oriental Trading Backpack Pattern // Lark Crafts Pinata Tutorial // The Sweetest Occasion Cake & Cupcakes // Publix Custom Cookies // Sweetly Done by Candi Plastic Dinosaurs & Paper Mache Eggs // Michaels Here's an image to pin!
We had the best time celebrating our fun boy turning 7!! It was all about the reptiles this year. I always have fun planning parties. We l...
Summer is here and watermelon is in season! I'm not sure about your household, but I think we go through a watermelon a week...easily. While they aren't the funnest things to cut up, I am willing to make the sacrifice because of their natural sweet deliciousness. After a lot of practice, I have become quite
Our dinosaur-obsessed little boy turned three back in June and I can hardly believe how fast 3 years has flown by. Weren't we just bringing him home from the NICU and only sleeping for an hour or so at a time? It certainly feels that way. At some point after his Wild Things 2nd Birthday party I made a proclamation that I was going low-key next year. I was going to rent a room at one of those bounce places, get a cake, and call it a day. But a year later he was still intimidated by those big bounce places and I just couldn't imagine spending his birthday doing something he didn't love. So we started brainstorming what he DOES love. He loves dinosaurs. He loved hunting for eggs at Easter. He loves running around and playing with his friends. It seemed a no-brainer that we were going to be planning a dinosaur party. Thankfully our sweet friends let us throw the party in their home since our townhouse is much too small for all his little friends, and I was nervous about going the park pavilion route again since June weather is notoriously rainy. (Jacob was born on a rainy Tuesday and it's rained every June 10th since) While I wouldn't call the party low-key it was significantly scaled back from last year, which is really saying something since my party planning personality is decidedly "go big or go home." We didn't build any pineapple trees, so I'll call it a step in the right direction. Having the party at a private residence meant I was able to decorate the night before, and for the first time ever, we were actually ready when the party started. I had started my party planning with a few key details - a color scheme of navy, aqua, and coral; a dinosaur theme, two fun activities, and a simple menu. The table was the focal point of the party. I covered it in wrapping paper that I stamped using dinosaur foot prints in the party colors. I then lined the middle with dinosaurs wearing party hats and mini dinosaur eggs. At each place setting was a paper plate (with a dinosaur bite taken out of it), napkin, fork, dinosaur party hat, and a plastic mason jar with each kids name and a dinosaur on it. On the wall behind the table was a large banner I had made. I purchased a T-Rex watercolor painting off Etsy and then had it blown up to 4ft x 6ft on Vista Print. (search for coupon codes, I found one for 50% off!!) We draped a balloon swag across the top and side to tie in the party colors. These are a brand new product from Twigs and Twirls and it was so easy to put together! It comes with big and small balloons as well as balloon tape. You just blow up the balloons and then pop the bottom through a hold in the tape, alternating colors and sizes until you like how it looks. Then you can use the tape to hang it too! In the corner on a small table I set up two of Jacob's stuffed dinosaurs, in party hats of course, as well as a book (Tyrannosaurus Drip) for his guests to sign. This is a tradition I started back at his first birthday party and I plan to do it every year! It's so fun for us to look back and remember who was there and read the sweet messages they wrote. I decorated the table with two confetti balloons and his big "3" balloon. On the opposite wall we set up the buffet with Jacob's cake and some cookie favors. The table also held some big dinosaur eggs, paper mache dinosaurs, confetti balloons, a three-rex banner, and our letter board. The large eggs on the buffet started out as paper mache eggs that I grabbed around Easter time. The small ones on the table were wooden eggs. I spray painted all of them white and then used a tooth brush to splatter on paint in our color scheme to make them look dinosaur-ish. The cake was a simple white cake with fresh strawberry filling from Publix. I added three aqua candles to the middle, then made a ring of small dinosaurs around the outside. We also had cupcakes on hand for the kids, each with a plastic dinosaur on top. The cookies were made for us by a local baker and I was so impressed with how well they matched our custom invitation from Spruce and Willow. We planned a super simple menu: plus provided stromboli, pasta salad, fruit salad, and mixed salad for the adults. Along with some pre-historic punch. (We used this recipe HERE) The first activity we planned was a dinosaur egg hunt. My mom made these amazing backpacks (from the pattern HERE) and each kid got one. The backpacks doubled as a favor (along with their personalized cups and the cookies) and also as a bag for collecting their dinosaur eggs. I used dinosaur eggs from Oriental Trading as well as regular easter eggs filled with candy spread out all over the yard. There were over 200 eggs for the 7 kids, so everyone got a good bag full. I also spread out dinosaur figurines for them to find, and each kid got to take home a couple. The second activity was a piñata I had made and stuffed with all kinds of goodies from Oriental Trading: mini puzzles, bath squirts, sunglasses, bubbles, tattoos, candy, finger puppets, etc. all dinosaur themed. I made the piñata using the cardboard method (see tutorial HERE) and used painters tape to secure it, since I didn't want it to be TOO sturdy. I then covered it in tissue paper fringe attached with a glue stick. The kids gave it their best go, but it ended up taking several adults to break it open! For the rest of the party, the kids did what they like to do best - play and eat cake! This was the first year that Jacob really "got it" that this party was for him. He loved when everyone sang to him, and blew out the candles as best he could. (he needed a little bit of help!) It was such a fun party and because we were able to do so much the night before i was able to relax and enjoy it, isn't that always the goal? Little buddy had so much fun playing and celebrating with his friends, and as predicted, cried when it was all over and time to go home for a nap. I couldn't have asked for a better party or better friends to celebrate with us! Thank you to all our friends and family for loving on our little boy and helping him celebrate THREE. Momma is all partied out and not thinking about his next party for at least 10 more months! Supplies Invitation // c/o Willow & Spruce Kraft Wrapping Paper, Wooden Eggs, Paper Mache Dinos & Dino Foam Stamps // Target Navy Paper Plates, Coral Napkins, Aqua Silverware // Target Plastic Mason Jars // Target Patterned straws, Balloons, & Confetti // c/o Twigs & Twirls Dinosaur Party Hats // Corrinerelly (Etsy) Dinosaur Painting // Custom Prints Your Way (Etsy) Cake Candles // Cranky Cakes Shop (Etsy) Mini Dinosaur Figurines // Amazon Tyrannosaurus Drip Book // Amazon Pinata Filler & Egg Hunt Eggs // c/o Oriental Trading Backpack Pattern // Lark Crafts Pinata Tutorial // The Sweetest Occasion Cake & Cupcakes // Publix Custom Cookies // Sweetly Done by Candi Plastic Dinosaurs & Paper Mache Eggs // Michaels Here's an image to pin!
A personal blog for bored family members
Juliette and I recently had the pleasure of attending her cousin Jacob’s first birthday party. This entailed several plane rides, sleeping in the dreaded pack ‘n play and being away fr…
Construction themed birthday party ideas and inspiration for food, party favors, activities, and decor... plus construction party printables!
Sarah from Crackers Art cleverly styled and made all the printables for her son's Scienterific Party. If you want a set of these super printables head on over to her store. Professor Hugo looked like he had a great time.
In honor of Star Wars day on 5/4 (“May the 4th be with you”) we have decided to feature the Solar System as our first Theme of the Week. What is the Solar System? The Solar System is everything th…
Have you heard of or seen the kids show PJ Masks? If you are looking at this post, you have. You have probably seen one too many episodes of the show as you try to entertain your child!! None-the-less, this is a cute show and many children are asking
An Exciting Reptile Birthday Party Theme! Happy Birthday!! Usually we like to keep it simple on birthdays… by cooknbake
Is it for PARTIES? Is it FREE? Is it CUTE? Has QUALITY? It´s HERE! Oh My Fiesta!
Kids will love sipping on this drink in the summer! Great idea for birthday parties, St. Patrick's Day and Halloween, too! Gummy worms are frozen in a punch mixture and emerge from the ice as the drink is enjoyed! So much fun!
Build a droid with this fun star wars party printable. Making an R2 or BB droid is an easy star wars party activity, or fun any time.
Wow! We had BabyBoy's 6th birthday party yesterday and it was a blast! The weather was not so hot...it poured down rain for the first hour or so and sprinkled the rest of the time. Of course, the sun did make an appearance...just as all the parents were coming to pick their kids up! I had tons of fun planning this party. BabyBoy originally wanted a Lego Indiana Jones party. I finally managed to convince him that 14 boys sitting around a table fighting over legos for two hours might not be that much fun. So, we planned a super fun afternoon filled with action. I dug through the cobwebs of my old stationery stash and made these invitations: Front Back Basically, I took an image I got from googling "Indiana Jones" and copied and pasted it into the stationery program that I use. I stretched it to fit the size card I wanted to make. I added the text box using the Fedora Font. I then printed these out and burned the edges and glued them to a cardstock backing. For the reverse side, I used scrapbooking paper that looked like an old map. I printed the text onto the paper, burned the edges again, and taped them to the other side of the cardstock. They were really very easy to make and ended up looking pretty cool! Our friend Andrew agreed to dress up as Indiana Jones for the party. I knew he would be perfect. He's a "semi-retired" high school principal who is now a stay at home Dad to Jack, 8, and twins Alice and Clara, 4. He's totally creative and over the top and he loves to get into characters and mess around with the kids. We went to Disney with them a couple years ago and I swear he had more fun than the kids. As the children arrived (running inside to avoid the freaking monsoon that was outside) we sent them to the basement. They hung out there watching the first Indiana Jones movie while we waited for Andrew and his wife Christy and their kids. And waited, and waited. It was really only about 15 minutes but it seemed like a lifetime with 12 little boys, one hyper ass little girl (that would be my sweet BabyGirl) and four grandparents trying to corral them all. Finally, Andrew arrived. And he didn't disappoint! I started the Indiana Jones theme song on the boombox and he came bounding down the basement steps with whip in hand. It was hilarious. He explained to the kids that Belloq, his nemesis, had stolen his treasure and he needed their help to get it back. If they were successful in their search for the treasure, they would get to share it with him. He passed out the first clue to the kids: I then passed out some little shoulder satchels that I found at the Dollar Tree. Each child got a bag to put their clues in and to fill with treasure at the end. We headed to the Mummy Gallery (also known as the garage) and wrapped the kids up like mummies. It was so funny. They did require a lot of grown up help, so this might be an activity for older kids. Inside their toilet paper rolls they found their next clue: They headed out to the Snake Pit (our playset draped in fisherman's netting with snakes and clues scattered about) There they found their next clue: They headed out to Crocodile Creek (a babypool filled with water and random dirt and reeds. We put the clues inside ziploc bags and weighed them down with river rocks. We also had some rubber crocs and turtles in the water). I had kind of expected the kids to reach INTO the pool but as it turns out they all just jumped right in! They fished through the water to find their next clue: They headed over to a table we had set up with Chilled Monkey Brains (cold jello), Beetle Guts (cold spaghetti) and Eyeball Soup (grapes). They had to reach their hands into the boxes and feel around for clues. Too funny. They all loved the jello. I should say, they loved flinging that jello at one another. The girls were totally grossed out. Inside the boxes of "food" they found their last clue: They headed to the Airport Hangar (the garage) to find the treasure. Andrew (Indy) had helped them all throughout the treasure hunt and was there with the treasure. He did this elaborate skit about booby traps and spirits and then finally unveiled the treasure box. It was a big wooden box that I use in the basement to store my workout videos. We had just turned it upside down and I taped some pictures of old travel stickers on it as well as the Property of Indiana Jones label. It looked really cool. We then lifted up the box to reveal a huge pot of candy. Of course, at that point all hell broke loose and the kids dove on top of the pot. We had to pry them off and dump the candy all over the floor. I had to drop the camera to break up the kids...thus no pictures of the candy. Oh, well. You've seen one wild swarm of sugar dependent kids diving carelessly for a pile of candy, you've seen them all. After the kids filled up their little sacks with candy we did the cake and ice cream thing. Andrew sung Happy Birthday to the tune of the Indiana Jones theme music, which we'd had playing all during the party. The cake was originally an Army cake from Ukrops. They have the best cakes. Unfortunately, they didn't have an Indiana Jones theme cake. So, I just ordered the Army cake, took off the plastic tank, and added BabyBoy's Indiana Jones truck dragging Indy behind it. Big hit. One of the most adorable parts of the party was BabyBoy's friend Brody. He actually thought Andrew was the REAL Indiana Jones. He stuck to him like glue throughout the entire party. Asked for his autograph (which he got on the back of a party plate) and asked "Indy" to tell him about some of his "adventwars". It was so, so adorable. And here we have the whole crew: The favor bags were pretty basic: Indiana Jones coloring books from the Dollar Tree, a plastic compass, a chinese yo yo made to look like an Indiana Jones whip and some plastic snakes. We had also given each kid a paper fedora at the beginning of the party. They were pretty flimsy, so if you're planning a party like this I would definitely forego the hats. Overall, it was a great party. Putting the clues together was not difficult; it took me about an hour the morning of and then my stepmom helped me roll them up and put them in the plastic bags, etc. The background of the clues was a graphic I found by googling "old maps". I just added a text box on top of it in a font that's part of an old scrapbooking program I have. BabyBoy got tons of neat gifts. I'm pretty sure his favorite is the Nintendo DS Lite that he got from my father in law and stepmother in law. He got the Lego Indiana Jones game and the Lego Star Wars game. He totally wasn't expecting it but had been begging for one for months. So far, he's cleaned his room, his sister's room and the playroom in an effort to earn "free time" on top of the one hour per day I've allowed him to play the thing. This is working out pretty well for me so far! I wonder if he'll do windows?
Tobin is a party planner after my own heart. Shortly after last year's Space party, he'd already decided that for his next birthday he wanted a "Knights and Dragons" party. It was an easy party to put together. We got back from Texas on Sunday 3/18 and I realized that the following Sunday was really our best/only option for his party. I didn't get much else done last week other than mountains of post-vacation laundry, cleaning the house, and getting things together for the party. But a party you can get ready for in one week? AWESOME. This was Tobin's first friend party - we've always just had family in the past. And this child takes friends SERIOUSLY. We managed to limit the guest list to 12 kids - we ended up with 10, including our own 2 littles and 2 cousins. But he wanted to invite every friend we saw, and each new friend he's met since the party. Sunday we met a family with an Ethiopian born daughter, and he played with them for about 30 minutes before Luke's soccer game, while I talked adoption with the mom. And Tobin said, "Can we invite Grace & Zelly to my birthday party?" Um, honey, we don't really know them, and your birthday party was last week.... When Tobin was a baby, I had a dragon costume for him and a knight costume for Luke for Halloween. Tobin wore Luke's old costume for the party. I had a super cute knight costume I got on clearance a few years back, thinking Tobin could wear it and our next baby could be the dragon. And then we didn't ever have another baby. That knight costume is now the perfect size for Micah, but he wasn't having any of that! We used toys and things we already had for decoration (like our awesome pop up tent thingy, which was the best purchase we made last year)... Kool-aid was made fancy by plastic goblets from the dollar store, and grapes and cheese cubes with little sword toothpicks were a hit. Each kid had a shield with a special knight/lady name. To make the shields, I traced the plastic shield we had (from Dollar Store) onto foam board a bunch of times, cut them out and spray painted them silver. I used duct tape to make handles on the back. I got the idea for the knight names at Family Fun, but rather than playing a game to assign names, I just decided ahead of time (so we wouldn't have to take time in the party to write names on the shields.) I had a bunch of stickers for the kids to decorate their shields - this is what they did as we waited for everyone to arrive. Luke and I also made a ton of balloon swords... Because knights need swords, but I've lived with boys long enough to know that I wasn't handing out anything remotely sword-like in a crowd of kids. I can't even give my kids chopsticks because they use them for a sword fight! I found a couple of places that explained how to make balloon swords, but this one was the best. In case you want to make some yourself - I thought Luke & I could blow up the balloons. For these long balloons, we found an air pump to be totally necessary. Not because we got light headed (which is what I expected), but because we were physically incapable of blowing the balloons up at all by ourselves. After the sword fighting demolished most of the balloons, we headed to the back yard for our Dragon Egg hunt. I spray painted about 24 cheapo easter eggs with the same silver paint I used on the shields, then filled those along with every other egg we had. Luke loved hiding them for me, and we hid a few in easy places on the deck for our youngest knights (the rest were more challenging - Tobin continued to find eggs in the back yard for a week.) After everyone had eggs in their bags, we broke out the cupcakes. I love having cupcakes at a kid party. Luke's first party (that I was in charge of - the year he turned 6) was a pirate party. I was an overachiever back then, and made him the awesome pirate ship cake from the Family Fun site. Then I watched him blow all over it, only to have him announce just as the door shut on the last friend, "My throat hurts." Yep. He blew strep throat all over that cake. Anyway: CUPCAKES! Besides wanting to invite friends, Tobin's only other request for this party was a pinata. I was a little worried about this, since we just had a week to find one. But they had an awesome dragon pinata at the local party store - and this is what set our color scheme for the party. After we were finished with treats, we lined the kids up on the deck and let them go at it (I was happy to have a set up where it seemed like no one would get whacked with the bat...although the successful batter did throw the bat at the end, so watch for that.) We only made it halfway down the line before Mr. Dragon got busted wide open. Thankfully, Tobin DID get a turn at bat. I hadn't even thought about what would happen if the birthday boy didn't get a turn to swing... I did reserve some of the candy - it wouldn't all fit in the dragon anyway - and after the kids finished with the pinata, I dumped more candy in their bags, making sure everyone went home with a good amount. After the candy had all been snatched up, we had "jousting games." I just set up games we already had - a kickball croquet set and some other yard games. I also set up the bubble machine my parents bought for the boys while we were in Texas. I always thought those things were a racket ("back in my day, we just blew bubbles like normal people!"), but with young kids constantly spilling bubble juice everywhere? A bubble machine is a GREAT idea. It was a fun party treat too, the kids loved it. I planned the party for an hour and a half, and the kids had 20ish minutes to play at the end of the time. Easy peasy. And suitable for boy and girl guests, which is good since we have girl cousins and several of T's closest friends are girls. Yay for knights and dragons!! (I took pictures of T with each of his guests as they left...hence no pics with the cousins, since they stayed for dinner.) If you are thinking of throwing a Knight party yourself, check out my pinterest birthday board, I have lots of fun ideas pinned - some of them WAY too elaborate or expensive for me, but still super cute.
DIY dinosaur birthday invitations. Make these unique dinosaur egg invites with a printable box and template.
We've definitely been feeling a little frazzled here between the hot and humid weather, a sick toddler, and several days cooped up in the ho...
Need some Bikini Bottom inspiration for your SpongeBob SquarePants party? Transform your space into Jellyfish Fields with these totally awesome paper-bowl jellyfish! (Difficulty Level: Medium) What You’ll Need Paper bowl Glue stick Light pink crepe streamers, cut into seven 6-inch strips and four 12-inch strips Pink marker Pink plastic tablecloth, cut into five 2×12-inch strips […]
Looking to construct a rugged and boyish birthday party in the near future? If so, you have got to see this awesome Construction Birthday Party submitted and styled by Tania Srdanovic of Tania’s Design Studio! Construction Birthday Party Complete with construction-inspired sweets, decor and stationery, this parties tool-box is packed full of goodies! So, fasten your tool belt and jump on it! Some of my favorite ideas + elements from this fun-filled joint birthday celebration include: Construction barrier sweet labels and name cards The cutest construction themed cakes Hard hat + tool belt favors Really cute construction-inspired sugar cookies A fun road banner running up the center of the kid's dining table A peg board dessert table backdrop Utensil set labeled as "tools" Construction cone party hats "Wet Paint" Rice Krispie Treat paint brushed Cupcakes topped with construction-inspired toppers + wrappers Stop Light fruit kabobs And more!
Learn how to make this Dinosaur Punch and here all your dino pals ROAR!
Our dinosaur-obsessed little boy turned three back in June and I can hardly believe how fast 3 years has flown by. Weren't we just bringing him home from the NICU and only sleeping for an hour or so at a time? It certainly feels that way. At some point after his Wild Things 2nd Birthday party I made a proclamation that I was going low-key next year. I was going to rent a room at one of those bounce places, get a cake, and call it a day. But a year later he was still intimidated by those big bounce places and I just couldn't imagine spending his birthday doing something he didn't love. So we started brainstorming what he DOES love. He loves dinosaurs. He loved hunting for eggs at Easter. He loves running around and playing with his friends. It seemed a no-brainer that we were going to be planning a dinosaur party. Thankfully our sweet friends let us throw the party in their home since our townhouse is much too small for all his little friends, and I was nervous about going the park pavilion route again since June weather is notoriously rainy. (Jacob was born on a rainy Tuesday and it's rained every June 10th since) While I wouldn't call the party low-key it was significantly scaled back from last year, which is really saying something since my party planning personality is decidedly "go big or go home." We didn't build any pineapple trees, so I'll call it a step in the right direction. Having the party at a private residence meant I was able to decorate the night before, and for the first time ever, we were actually ready when the party started. I had started my party planning with a few key details - a color scheme of navy, aqua, and coral; a dinosaur theme, two fun activities, and a simple menu. The table was the focal point of the party. I covered it in wrapping paper that I stamped using dinosaur foot prints in the party colors. I then lined the middle with dinosaurs wearing party hats and mini dinosaur eggs. At each place setting was a paper plate (with a dinosaur bite taken out of it), napkin, fork, dinosaur party hat, and a plastic mason jar with each kids name and a dinosaur on it. On the wall behind the table was a large banner I had made. I purchased a T-Rex watercolor painting off Etsy and then had it blown up to 4ft x 6ft on Vista Print. (search for coupon codes, I found one for 50% off!!) We draped a balloon swag across the top and side to tie in the party colors. These are a brand new product from Twigs and Twirls and it was so easy to put together! It comes with big and small balloons as well as balloon tape. You just blow up the balloons and then pop the bottom through a hold in the tape, alternating colors and sizes until you like how it looks. Then you can use the tape to hang it too! In the corner on a small table I set up two of Jacob's stuffed dinosaurs, in party hats of course, as well as a book (Tyrannosaurus Drip) for his guests to sign. This is a tradition I started back at his first birthday party and I plan to do it every year! It's so fun for us to look back and remember who was there and read the sweet messages they wrote. I decorated the table with two confetti balloons and his big "3" balloon. On the opposite wall we set up the buffet with Jacob's cake and some cookie favors. The table also held some big dinosaur eggs, paper mache dinosaurs, confetti balloons, a three-rex banner, and our letter board. The large eggs on the buffet started out as paper mache eggs that I grabbed around Easter time. The small ones on the table were wooden eggs. I spray painted all of them white and then used a tooth brush to splatter on paint in our color scheme to make them look dinosaur-ish. The cake was a simple white cake with fresh strawberry filling from Publix. I added three aqua candles to the middle, then made a ring of small dinosaurs around the outside. We also had cupcakes on hand for the kids, each with a plastic dinosaur on top. The cookies were made for us by a local baker and I was so impressed with how well they matched our custom invitation from Spruce and Willow. We planned a super simple menu: plus provided stromboli, pasta salad, fruit salad, and mixed salad for the adults. Along with some pre-historic punch. (We used this recipe HERE) The first activity we planned was a dinosaur egg hunt. My mom made these amazing backpacks (from the pattern HERE) and each kid got one. The backpacks doubled as a favor (along with their personalized cups and the cookies) and also as a bag for collecting their dinosaur eggs. I used dinosaur eggs from Oriental Trading as well as regular easter eggs filled with candy spread out all over the yard. There were over 200 eggs for the 7 kids, so everyone got a good bag full. I also spread out dinosaur figurines for them to find, and each kid got to take home a couple. The second activity was a piñata I had made and stuffed with all kinds of goodies from Oriental Trading: mini puzzles, bath squirts, sunglasses, bubbles, tattoos, candy, finger puppets, etc. all dinosaur themed. I made the piñata using the cardboard method (see tutorial HERE) and used painters tape to secure it, since I didn't want it to be TOO sturdy. I then covered it in tissue paper fringe attached with a glue stick. The kids gave it their best go, but it ended up taking several adults to break it open! For the rest of the party, the kids did what they like to do best - play and eat cake! This was the first year that Jacob really "got it" that this party was for him. He loved when everyone sang to him, and blew out the candles as best he could. (he needed a little bit of help!) It was such a fun party and because we were able to do so much the night before i was able to relax and enjoy it, isn't that always the goal? Little buddy had so much fun playing and celebrating with his friends, and as predicted, cried when it was all over and time to go home for a nap. I couldn't have asked for a better party or better friends to celebrate with us! Thank you to all our friends and family for loving on our little boy and helping him celebrate THREE. Momma is all partied out and not thinking about his next party for at least 10 more months! Supplies Invitation // c/o Willow & Spruce Kraft Wrapping Paper, Wooden Eggs, Paper Mache Dinos & Dino Foam Stamps // Target Navy Paper Plates, Coral Napkins, Aqua Silverware // Target Plastic Mason Jars // Target Patterned straws, Balloons, & Confetti // c/o Twigs & Twirls Dinosaur Party Hats // Corrinerelly (Etsy) Dinosaur Painting // Custom Prints Your Way (Etsy) Cake Candles // Cranky Cakes Shop (Etsy) Mini Dinosaur Figurines // Amazon Tyrannosaurus Drip Book // Amazon Pinata Filler & Egg Hunt Eggs // c/o Oriental Trading Backpack Pattern // Lark Crafts Pinata Tutorial // The Sweetest Occasion Cake & Cupcakes // Publix Custom Cookies // Sweetly Done by Candi Plastic Dinosaurs & Paper Mache Eggs // Michaels Here's an image to pin!
Best Lego Birthday Party Ideas {Free Printables}. Lego decorations, games, and activities for a kids birthday party. Boy birthday or girl birthday.
Throw a kids' birthday party with these awesome LEGO party ideas for themes, decorations, activities, food, favors, and lots of printables.
This little guy just turned 3. He's so big. He has his hair long in this picture, but we cut it later that day and now he looks even more grown up. Sigh. This little guy also like Nacho Libre. For a good couple months he watched at least a part of that movie...every. single. day. I'm not joking. So, here's our Nacho Libre party. As always, our party budget was $100. We did go a little over this time, though, coming in at $106.22. We had lots of extras, though, because we had quite a few who RSVP'd but then didn't show up. So....here it is: Party/Play Favors (TOTAL: $26.02): Capes ($6): I made these capes out of an old drape! I already had thread and velcro for the closures, so I simply had to buy 3 rolls of gold ribbon ($2 each). They were super simple to whip up! Below is my daughter, Ellie, modeling her outfit: Masks ($3): Masks were a bit more tricky to make. I made a template on paper, and then traced it onto felt. I stitched the two pieces together, and cut out the holes (that took a while). Then I sewed elastic or ribbon to the sides. This was hard to get a perfect fit. I'm not sure how the "fit" aspect of these could be improved upon. Nonetheless, the kids still wore them. I bought felt for this project, but I already had the elastic/ribbons/thread. Necklaces ($4.95): I bought a 12 pack of these necklaces from Amazon for just $4.95. The Nacho Libre quote reads, "My mother was a Scandinavian nun and my father was a Mexican priest." Maracas ($12.07): I think these little maracas are SO cute. I also bought these on Amazon for about $1 a piece. The Nacho Libre quote card on this one reads, "I am singing at de party!" Party Fun-Pinata (TOTAL: $22): Piñata & Candy ($22): What's a Nacho Libre party without a parrot piñata? Food & Drink (TOTAL: $58.20): Mexican Soda ($6.75): Do you know how badly I wanted some Mexican soda at his party?! And let me tell you, the pineapple flavor was AMAZING. Corn on the Cob & Toast & Watermelon ($10.25): Corn is not yet in season here, so it was a little ridiculous on the cost-side of things, but I HAD to have it so we could use this quote: "Get that corn outta my face!" See? Important. And of course we needed some good old toast, "Good toast." And watermelon, though there's no great quote for it :) Nacho's AKA "The Lord's Cheeps" ($25.20): It's odd that the words aren't showing up on the card above, but it reads, "de Lord's Cheeps". We had nachos for food (nacho cheese, chili, sour cream, salsa, lettuce). Cupcakes ($8): I used 2 boxed cake mixes this time (gasp!), 2 tubs of frosting, sprinkles, and red & blue cupcake liners. Easy! Supplies ($8): We bought paper cups, napkins, forks, a big bowl, and plates. We had Nacho Libre playing in the living room during the party (FYI-it's on Netflix). Grand Total: $106.22 Overall, Aaron loved his little party, which is all that matters!
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If youre planning a WWE-themed birthday party, printable WWE birthday invitations are a convenient and fun option. With these invitations, you can easily customize and personalize them with your childs name, age, and party details.
Roar! Does your child love dinosaurs? Here is a list of 20 fun activities for little dinosaur lovers we hope you'll enjoy!
