Tag Archives: party

Halloween Birthday Party

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So I had promised low-key party this year. However, my daughter made a plea that I could not resist.

“What if we just have a Halloween Birthday Party at the house.”

An innocent statement. I thought we have lots of Halloween decorations already and I am already making your costume. How hard can it be? (Insert echoed voice and ominous music here)

As always we started with the best invitations by Nickel Design.

And we were off.

My little one made my heart swell this year by asking to be a villain. I was so proud, so I set off to find the perfect version. I found a few ideas on Pinterest. I said I can do this with no pattern and off we went to the fabric store we went, for the first time. Now how much tulle could this take, I mean really. Thirty-two yards! Thirty-two yards! So three trips to the store later and more glitter in the house than I care to mention. We had the perfect Queen of Hearts costume.

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She loved the costume so much. I was equally proud of it. The absolute best part was half way through the party when she promptly told me she was done wearing the skirt and proceeded to take it off and walk off. Yeah!

I needed fun but not scary food ideas for this year. Here are a few I went with. Amazing food cards by Nickel Design.

The Hummus Octopus was very scary.
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Banana GhostsDSC_0024

Orange Pumpkins –  a note on these. The peeling takes some time for all these little clementines and the meticulously cut bell peppers for stems. I was lucky enough this year to have a team of devoted Grandma’s helping.
DSC_0022 Mummy Pigs in a blanket complete with mustard eyes.DSC_0032

Fresh fruit for colorDSC_0026 KettleCorn fresh from the farmers market.DSC_0025 The World’s Best Sugar Cookies. I was very proud of the spider webs. I took white frosting and thinned it in the microwave for a few seconds. I dipped the cookies into the frosting and while they were still wet took black frosting and made a spiral on the cookies. Then take a toothpick and drag it out from the center.

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I may have gone a bit over-board with the cupcakes. I couldn’t decide if I liked the pumpkins or the owls more so I went with both.
DSC_0127DSC_0122 DSC_0121As favors I tried my hand at Carmel Apples.

DSC_0017And as the last person left the house this year I fell onto the couch and looked at my husband and said we were not doing this again.

Then my daughter came up and told me, “I was the bestest mom there ever was and this was the best party ever because she got to spend time with her friends and family.”

Resolve failing. See you again next year.

Epic Lego Party

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My family and I had the opportunity to go to one of those birthday parties recently where you just stand back and say, “WOW, what the hell am I doing with my time?”

You make recognize the work from previous posts as a very talented friend of mine. So when she invited us to a party for her boys I stood back in amazement, as did every other parent in the room.

Treat boxes for over 50 kids.
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Custom water bottle labels.DSC_1974

Yes, she did individually wrap each of the 50 juice boxes she had as Lego bricks. I didn’t pay this much attention to detail for my wedding.DSC_1976

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Custom signs with lego holder for the food.
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She made yes say it with me MADE chocolate Lego mini-figs and flag for each homemade cupcake she did. The children of course really appreciated the detail as they were cramming them in their mouths.DSC_1978

If the cupcakes were not enough she made marshmallow pops in the shape of the mini-figs heads.DSC_1981

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Each of the activities had custom-made signs. Just like the parties that you throw for your kids, right?DSC_1990

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As we left and my daughter lovingly appreciated the detailed treat boxes, and by that I mean tore it open in the car. She revealed that she got handmade chocolate Lego bricks and a handmade and packaged necklaces. They were amazing favors!


 DSC_2003Needless to say she had made MORE of her 24 useable hours than I can ever imagine. The important part was that her boys were thrilled with the party and it was artfully done. Congrats for an amazing party.

Train Birthday Party

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I love a party.

I love to plan them.

I love to make lists for them.

I love throwing them.

So when the opportunity came to help plan my nephew’s 2nd birthday I jumped at the chance. A party, time with my sister, and a trip to Texas, yes please. What does every two year old boy want for a party? Choo-Choo Trains.

Things you will need:

  1. Fantastic Invitations
  2. Festive Decorations
  3. Yummy Food
  4. Treats, Treats, Treats!
These invitations are done by Nickel Design. The are easily customizable and really set the tone for the party.

Nickel Design also designed these sets of labels. They add a lot of WOW and personalization to the party without a lot of extra work.

We used the color pallet of red, blue and white that was used for the invitations throughout the party. We also tried to keep the decorations simple and clean with lots of balloons.

We set up train sets all over the house for the kids to play with. We also had several ride on trains for entertainment because lets be honest it is hot in Texas.

For the food I always find it best to go with things that are bite size, fun and you do well. Party day is not the day to try new things.

I always like to do a dish two ways. These are pigs in a blanket two ways: one with a simple hot dog and one with a gourmet sausage. I wrap them in puff pastry to ‘class’ them up a bit.

I also made pizza balls. These were a HUGE hit with the kids at the party. There were a take on a recipe I found from Industrious Justice. I did find that the clean up was much easier if you baked them on a cookie sheet instead of the muffin tins.

Spring Rolls. They are beautiful when plated and best of all can be made in advance. I have made no less than a thousand of these for baby showers, birthday parties and dinners. Trust me, when I tell you they will never disappoint. You can add almost any combinations of veggies and/or seafood (grilled shrimp are my favorite).

Recipe

  • Rice Paper Wrappers
  • Shredded Carrots
  • Julienned Bell Peppers
  • Julienned English Cucumber
  • Thin sliced Red Onion
  • Cilantro Leaves
  • Julienned Mint
  • Grated Ginger (I use a microplane so it is more like a paste)
  1. Place the wrappers in warm water to make them pliable
  2. Place Cilantro leaves down first (this will make for a nice first layer as you will see it when wrapped up)
  3. I spread a small amount of the ginger on the wrapper
  4. Then layer the carrots, bell pepper, cucumber and mint
  5. Wrap them up like a burrito
  6. If not serving immediately place them under a damp paper towel in the fridge.
  7. Cut on the diagonal and plate.
You serve with a dipping sauce. I did a  Peanut Sauce and a Thai Chile Sauce.

Sweets, Sweets, Sweets.

I love favors that are small and edible. These cake pops fit the bill perfectly. They were done by a amazing friend who owns Bite of Cake. The cake pops were loved by parents and kids alike.

We also made sugar cookies with my mom’s never fail, always turns out just right sugar cookie recipe. Per usual they were amazing. To frost them this time we used something new, Wilton’s Color Flow Mix. We simply outlined the cookies and then used the color flow to flood the cookies. It worked great and after a few minute they all settled to a nice even coat.

What party would be complete without the world’s most perfect food, the cupcake. I did a simple swirl and topped them with another personalized touch.

And a good time was had by all.