Anderson turned 4 | Dinosaur Party

Anderson wanted a dinosaur party this year (so much easier than the monster truck, kitty cat, and rainbow theme he chose last year!). I searched around on-line to gather some ideas, but nothing quite fit the bill. Most everything I found was either too scary, too cartoony, or just plain ugly. There was, however, no shortage of over-the-top parties that included dinosaur bone excavations, real paleontologists, and lava-flowing volcano cakes. And while I sincerely hope that one day Anderson is lucky enough to attend such a party thrown by a clearly much more dedicated mother than I, all he got was a total down-home, homemade little party with actual party games for a few classmates on a Monday afternoon after school. It's all about keeping expectations low, right?

I kept it all very simple and kept the budget at around $30 total by using what I already had. Most importantly, I only focused on details that Anderson would care about and cut a number of things from my "maybe" list. Needless to say, the fossilized baby dinosaurs in homemade dirt eggs did not make the cut. Yet, miraculously, the dozen hand-made miniature dinosaur egg piñatas filled with plastic dinos and candy did manage to get finished. It's all about priorities, you know. These were so not necessary, but so cute. I would cover my kitchen floor in liquid starch all over again for those little paper-mache balls. I cut out a giant dinosaur for the mirror in the entry which came down only yesterday, nearly a month later, because, well, "I loooove him, mommy!!!" and I changed out the pictures in the frames to be more dino-friendly. Yep, still there. I also used a cardboard box I had lying around (leftover from the giant 50 I made for the anniversary party) and cut it into a flying pterodactyl which, by the way, was pretty spectacular (even if I did forget to give him an eyeball) and took a total of maybe 10 minutes to complete. I got the idea from the super cute party here. Because the party was at 2:00 I served only cake, dinosaur footprint cookies, and drinks.

I made a pin the arm on the T-Rex game and we also had a stegosaurus/triceratops hybrid piñata. I found some dinosaur cut-outs and, at the last minute, threw together a little craft table with whatever supplies I had in the closet. My boys have zero patience for such things, but apparently girls love crafts and anything with sequins. Other than that, the activities consisted of the boys running around in dinosaur tails (which I made as Christmas gifts for the boys following this tutorial) and wrestling each other to the ground.

It was a fun afternoon and I am so happy that I kept the party small by limiting it to only Anderson's classmates. With only about 12 kids total (including siblings) Anderson was able to play with everyone and have a genuinely good (and not overwhelming) time. It also allowed me time to just sit and get to know the moms of the kids in his class which I had never been able to do.

Party Success.

Getting ready

Trying my hardest not to let procrastination take over as I plan for Anderson's little after-school party next week. But it's sooo hard.

Sometimes the details are worth the effort

 

Fifty years together is a long time and a couple of weeks back I was honored to help my parents celebrate what is, in this day and age, nothing short of a miraculous feat. The party was the most fun I've ever planned, no doubt because of how deeply personal it was, right down to the fact that we held it in my brother's back yard. Everythign we designed, we designed for them and with the help of some amazing friends (thank you, Natalie and Jihan!) and very crafty family members we pulled off what was a simple yet elegant party for just under 100 guests. I am still in awe that the giant 50 my sister and I made out of coffee filters, card board, spray paint and glitter was the show stealer. Thank God no one peeked behind to see the massive amounts of duct tape involved. Too funny. There were speeches, a wall of hand-written memories sent in by guests, a slide show and more than a few partculary fabulous dance moves. It was a most perfect night full of love, music, and memories and one that neither my parents nor my family will soon forget.

 

 

 

all photos by Natalie Moser: Natalie Moser Photography

balloons: Geronimo

inspiration for the 50: found here, via pinterest

inspiration for the photo garlands: Angela Hardison

flowers and flower boxes: DIY

 

 

 

Baby Beck turned one!

We had a little party for Baby Beck to celebrate his first year. We have been trying to keep things simple around here so we had a small family party and kept the decorations easy and minimal. There was no theme other than to celebrate our baby boy. The weather wasn't very nice and at the last minute we decided to do everything in the house. The great thing about turning one is that you have no idea what is going on and, unlike your older brother, do not have overly specific requests for cakes and decor. It was a happy afternoon for a happy little one year old.