Pams Party & Practical Tips: party themes

Showing posts with label party themes. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Girl Birthday Party Themes

This week is a busy one for me away from the computer. It is recital week for my youngest daughter with rehearsals, banquet and the actual recital and ballet production. It is also the last week of the semester for my oldest daughter's online classes. She was a bit off pace this semester, so this week has been busy with Algebra 2, Brit Lit, Economics and Physics.. I now know why I did not want to take Physics in high school. It is hard! I am helping her work on her Physics problems that even I do not understand. I will be glad when this semester is over, and I do not need to worry about it again until my son takes it. (in a year!) Since I do not have time to finish any new projects this week, and we are in planning stages for Kara's latest birthday party, we thought it would be fun to revisit some of her favorite parties from the past.

What's the New Party Theme?

You may be wondering why I did not announce a new party theme this week.. I had plans to, but my schedule outside of the blog was just a bit too busy this week. I still have one more Scarecrow post to share, and I think you will really enjoy it. The theme that I had planned will work very well for October too, so I decided to postpone it for a week or two. I have do have a special theme planned for next week, and having a few days to plan ahead will help me keep on schedule next week..

I also have a few fun projects in the works, so I hope to catch up on those this week too,so I can share them with you.

Are you wondering what the new theme will be? I don't want to announce it just yet, but I will give you a sneak peek...

Does this picture look familiar? Next week's party theme should be a yummy good time!

Our Art Themed Slumber Party

This past weekend we threw Kara an Art themed slumber party. Three of her closest friends were able to come. There would have been a couple more girls, but unfortunately they were out of town and were unable to attend. Sometimes it is hard to have your birthday near a holiday when everyone goes on vacation.

I had placed most of the art supplies for the party on the special party station table that I made from our old changing table. (You can see how I made it here.)

On the top shelf I placed some of the rainbow color treats we had made. There was rainbow rock candy, and fruity pebble paintbrushes. I also had jars of rainbow colored candy. (there will be another post later this week about our rainbow treats and decor)

On the lower shelves I had stored all of the art supplies and crafts that we were going to need during the party. There were markers, colored pencils, paintbrushes and paints. I also bought a canvas multipack, and a friendship bracelet kit for the girls to use if they wished.

We had planned on cooking out on the grill, but when we tried to start it up it would not light. (it's a gas grill) We had to go with plan B, which was to cook the hotdogs and hamburgers on the stove. We also snacked on pizza pasta salad, a special fruit salsa with lime chips, and rainbow fruit with orange cream dip. (pictured) I will be sharing a couple of those recipes soon.

After eating we had some fun using the photo frames I found on clearance at Michaels. In the picture above, the girls posed as if they were portraits on the wall.

In this picture they were trapped inside the frames. They had so much fun coming up with all the creative pictures.

You might have seen this picture of the frames hanging in the tree on my Dare to Share Link Up post. It was their idea, and I just love how it turned out.

I love this photo that the girls came up with too!

After we were done taking pictures, it was time for the graffiti cake that Kara designed. I frosted the cake with all white frosting, and then she sprayed it with Wilton Color Mist. She had wanted to make it tie dye, but I did not have all of the supplies. When she saw the spray, she liked that idea better.

One of the items we sent home in their goody bags were flip flops that the girls embellished with fabric scraps

They did spend some time during the party painting.

We also took a lot more photos inside in front of the rainbow backdrop. It ended up being a late night for everyone. I know it was a least 2 a.m. when I went to bed, and the girls were still wide awake. It is kind of funny to call an overnight party a slumber party, because it is rare to get much sleep.

I will be linking up our Art Themed Party on these wonderful linky parties HERE.

We are Party Prepping!

We made a giant mess!

I know I have been kind of quiet the last few days on the blog. Even though I have not been posting much, I have been busy behind the scenes. Our Art themed party is in a few days. I thought I would get give you a glimpse of a few things we have been working on. A few days ago we started a

project that I hope will be done in time. We made a very colorful mess in the kitchen.. We are still not 100% sure this project will work out, but it is looking good so far.

We went to the grand opening our of Michaels store when it moved to a new location last weekend. It is now so much bigger and brighter. I found a few of these beauties on clearance. They will have a special use at the party.

I hope to make something really cool with these dollar store items, if I don't run out of time.

I also plan on doing something really cool with this. I would have already started it, but it has been way too hot outside to work on it.

I will be doing something with the gallon of Oops paint from Home Depot. Any guesses to what it could be?

We sorted out a lot of the supplies I have been accumulating the last few months. There are just a few things I still need to pick up this week.

In addition to preparing for the party, and getting ready for grandma's visit, we have also been interviewing Orthodontists. Someone really needs braces, and now is the perfect time to get them. We are still thinking things over, but hopefully we will start the process soon.

Now I must get back to work.

Party of the Week- Circus

I have been thinking about adding a series featuring a Party of the Week for awhile. When I saw Lauren's Circus party on Tutu and Tea Parties for her 3 yr old daughter, I knew it was time to get started.

The birthday girl looks adorable in her clown wig!

Clown cupcakes that are perfect for a circus party

They had several carnival games that were a big hit with the kids.

There was even a photo booth with a lot of great circus props. This picture is so much fun!

I asked Lauren what she would like to share about her party, and this is what she said:

For my daughter's 3rd birthday she chose to have a Circus party! I had so much fun planning this party and lots of ideas came from Pinterest. Everyone had a blast, even though it rained for the last half of the party. I think everyone's fave was the photo booth but all the kids loved the games too! You can check it all out on my blog Tutus & Tea Parties. {Don't mind the out of place basketball cupcake birthday girl's request}.

You will definitely need to stop by her blog, and check out all of her photos and see more of her great circus party ideas. This one looks like too much fun to miss!!

If you would like to be a featured party of the week, I would love to hear from you. The information for submissions is on the new Be Featured page.

Garden Party

The party we had been planning for Operation Birthday had finally arrived. We went with a Garden Party/Spring Chick theme. The idea behind the chicks was that this was a milestone birthday, and my friend is STILL a spring chick. It was much more uplifting than an Over the Hill type of theme.

We decorated the night before the party. The green table cover needed some extra color so I used paper streamers to make an accent. You can see how I made it here. I placed my two topiaries on each end of the table. You can how to make them here I had planned on painting flowers on a vase I got at the thrift store, but ran out of time. It was a pretty pink color which matched the colors, so I still used it in the center of the table.

We added the flower pot favors , filled with spring colored jellybeans.

I used the idea I saw by A Glimpse Inside to make flower garland.

We hung paper lanterns and some more flowers over the bar where the food was located.

The menu was light

Homemade Chicken Salad

Pasta Salad

Tortillas with fruit salsa

and Spring Chick cupcakes

To remember who attended this special birthday we made a singing frame.

We included her invitation (the girls), and embellished the with flowers and colorful "chick" letters.

During the party, all of the guests signed the matting and now R has a memento that she can hang up.

Somehow I missed taking a picture of the Spa station. We had two rocking chairs and a rolling cart. On the rolling cart we had a parafin bath where guests could dip their hands in was. We also had a foot massager where guests could enjoy relaxing their feet. The spa station was a HUGE hit with the guests.

This was the perfect party for a great friend.. Happy Birthday R!!

Horse/Western Party

Disclosure: This post has affiliate links to the items used for this party, and other horse/western party ideas.

A few years ago my daughter was really into horses. She had a ton of My Little Ponies as many little girls do. About six months before her birthday, I was so excited to find the Fur Real pony on sale for 50% off after Christmas. Luckily we were at grandmas house at the time, and she was willing to keep it hidden at her house until Kara's summer birthday. Knowing that she was going to get the pony for her birthday, I talked her into a horse/western themed party. I scheduled her party for 2 weeks after her actual birthday, because we were going to be on vacation in Branson, Mo for the big day. She was shocked and thrilled to come back to the cabin one day and find Butterscotch waiting for her.

When everyone arrived for the party, we gave out cowgirl/cowboy hats, bandanas and sheriff badges from Oriental Trading. Each child then had the chance to pose with Butterscotch the pony. I had made a cardboard corral out of a large piece of cardboard, but we had to keep the pony and corral inside due to high winds and the threat of rain.

I don't have many pictures of the decorations from the actual party. I wish I did, but at the time of this party I had no idea I was going to have a party idea blog. =) I know I found checkered tablecloths at the dollar store that I used on the main table and in the craft area. I also used streamers, balloons and horse banners as decor. At the end of the post, I am linking some items similar to what we used.

We played several horse/western themed games. In this picture my older daughter is showing how to run the pony race. We had two horse sticks, and used them to run relay races. The girls loved trotting around the yard, and it was a good way to get some energy out.

In this picture we are panning for gold in the sandbox. I found a couple bags of gold coins, and hid them in the sand. Each child took turns panning for gold, and then they were able to keep their coins. While we did not have a Trading Post at my daughter's party, I really like the idea from Special Interest Day where the kids exchanged the gold they found for treats. This would be a good activity for this type of party because the kids would enjoy choosing their own prizes.

We also played a game called lasso the pony. I made a pony head out of foam board and paint.

To make the lasso, I wrapped a dollar store hula hoop with rope. Once they got the lasso moving they tried to catch the wild pony.

YeeHaw! Look at that lasso go!

I do not have any pictures of the craft we made that day, but I know we made one even though I can not remember it. A great craft for a horse/western party is for kids to design their own paper bag vest. Crayola has a tutorial on their website here.

Oriental Trading had this really fun paper plate horse craft kit. It is no longer in stock, but would probably be pretty easy to recreate with paper plates and craft foam.

Other craft ideas could be to decorate horseshoes, pony coloring sheets or paper bag puppets

I made her cowgirl boot cake by cutting a sheet cake using a template I drew myself. I know M & Ms and candles have an interesting look to them, but that is what happens when you allow a 6 yr old to decorate her own cake.

I also do not have pictures of the other food we ate, but I know we served BBQ meatballs, mini pizzas, chips, and baby carrots. We also had pony punch (Hawaiian punch).

S'mores would be another great option for this type of party.

After opening presents the kids took home goody bags filled with horse stickers, horse themed candy, horse finger puppets, and their gold coins. They also kept their cowgirl/cowboy hats, bandanas and sheriff badges.

Kara still has her Butterscotch pony and loves it to this day.

Here are more horse themed items that you may like for your Horse/Western party.