Y’all, I’m kind of having a moment. My child is turning TWO YEARS OLD. In FOUR DAYS. I got an email from Babycenter today that said “Your PRESCHOOLER” and I almost vommed. Or cried. Or something that was not exactly like happy but was not exactly like sad either.
I am so incredibly freaked out and saddened by this. He’s certainly not a little baby anymore. He’s getting so big, so fast. SO FAST.
::sigh::
I love him.
And because I love him, I want to throw him an awesome party he won’t remember. Because I think birthdays should be special days for those celebrating.
So? Here’s what I’ve got planned so far.
We’re doing a Zoo-themed party because Joshua loves animals. Giraffes, monkeys, “hoppos.” You name it. He loves it.
The lovely Brooke at Graham Cracker Designs designed his invites for us and then designed some cupcake toppers too. I just have to print and cut them out and put the cute-y things on some sticks for his cupcakes!
They are totally adorable. Here’s a (blurry, screen-capped) sneak peak!
I’ll just print them on some card stock, use a 2″ circle punch to punch them out, Elmer’s tape them to some sticks and top some cupcakes. Bam!
And then there’s this awesome banner I want to make. Only I’m thinking I’ll be making mine with paper. Because it’ll be cheaper than fabric (unless someone wants to tackle this for me out of fabric. I’m looking at you, MAMA ^_^).
I really love this one from BlueMoon Studios on Etsy.
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Isn’t this adorable? It would add such a nice touch to the mantle, I think! Or the food table. Or both! Ahh! I love it. Blair just did something like this in her playroom/loft area and put the idea in my head!
I’ve also been wanting to try my hand at the tissue poms on the Martha Stewart Wedding website. I think they’re fantastic. And they look cheap and easy to make. I have most of the stuff I’d need at home already and tissue paper isn’t terribly expensive.
I also want to make a cupcake stand using the tutorial Jill at Baby Rabies put up a while ago.
So that’s what I’ve got as far as decor goes.
For food, I’m planning on doing assorted animal shaped cookies and crackers, some sweet and some savory. (The child lives on Goldfish crackers. How can I not have those at his party?) And probably some chicken nuggets or fruits and veggies. Though PB&J sammies were suggested, which sounds fantastic.
And, of course, cupcakes.
Drinks are my issue. I have an assorted age of children attending. Do I do juice boxes? Joshua only sort of knows how to drink from them. He’d much rather play with the straw, which means the juice spills all over the floor and someone gets stabbed in the eyeball.
I”d like to have (reusable, eco-friendly! WOOT!) cups the kids can take home as part of their favors but that gets pricey (not woot) and sometimes Mamas forget the sippies. It happens. So I want to be prepared.
Is it weird that my biggest dilemma is how to get beverages into toddlers and not on my floor? Does that just scream “Mama” or what? (Considering party fouls used to consist of hoping the hunch punch didn’t make it to the carpet? Yeah, we’ve come a long way, baby…or maybe we haven’t since the worry is still the same but the contents of the cup are different. 0_0 )
What do y’all think so far? Cute? Ridiculous? Over-thinking things? All of the above?
Juice boxes are a win for kids of all ages. And you can just have some bottled water for adults. That looks awesome!
If you buy actual boxes, you teach the kids to hold the juice “by its wings”. You pull the little side tabs up (the ones at the top/sides) and voila! Juice box wings so they don’t squish the crap outta the juice.
Oooh, I like that! I bought sippy cups and wrote their names on them so I’m not creating so much trash, but I like that idea!
It looks like it’s shaping up to be a fun party!
I agree that the drinks do pose an issue. Can you do a variety of things… like juice boxes for those who can drink out of them, a special birthday cup for your son, and then you can get cheaper plastic cups (no tops) as party favors?
That’s definitely an idea! Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE this party idea! I wish Eddie could be there…but he did send a little something for J to open…I hope it gets there by his bday!
Also? You could make PBJ sammies and use animal cookie cutters to cut shapes…then you still have animals! 🙂
I have thought about the PBJ sammie animals. Totally considering it.
And I wish Eddie could be here, too. That would be awesome.
First – I love your party theme! My son is turning 2 on March 30th so I’m now in that oh-my-god-I’ve-forgotten-everything-scramble mode. Even better? My son chose Yo Gabba Gabba as the birthday theme. Cute, but IMPOSSIBLE to find stuff!
I agree with Jackie about the drinks. I’d do juice boxes for older kids and some sort of reusable sippy cup for the younger ones. Good luck with it all, it looks like fun!!
I feel for you. I really do. YGG is incredibly hard to find!
Love the theme & your ideas! Can’t wait to see how it works out. Happy birthday to your TWO year old!
LALALALLALAALALLA!!!!!
AHHH! I can’t believe he’s going to be two!
I love that you said that youre throwing a party for him that he won’t remember 😉
The poms in my. Opinion are not cheap. My girlfriend got them for her bridal shower and they weren’t as puffy as the photo…plus they don’t de-fluff soyou can’t really store them…ya know for a cheapy like me who would want to reuse things 😉
They are the lowest on my list of priorities, but I want to give them a shot. IDK if they’ll look right or stupid or what, but I figure if I have some tissue paper laying around here, I can give it a shot.
And he totally won’t remember it!
Dollar stores usually have some kind of cheap, small drinking glass type stuff for kids. You either could go with cups without lids or even maybe a water bottle style bottle that they could use? Looks really cute. And waay better than anything my little darling will ever get. I fail at producing cute projects ha.
We did Take-n-Toss straw cups. I got 10 cups for $6 at Target!
Your party stuff is so cute. I’ve made the paper flower things before and it’s super easy. If you ever decide to make them go to papermart.com. They sell tissue paper in bulk for super cheap!
Those paper pom things were the Devil. I quit.
As a party attendee, and as the mom throwing the party the following weekend, I’d just like to say that you put me to shame.
You got an evite, not a cute invitation :(.
B is having a Yo Gabba Gabba party. I bought the plates and a (I mean it, ONE) balloon. That might be the extent of decorations.
Except I have to decorate the cake. And by decorate, I mean attach some figurine character things.
Food? Food. Probably not much. I haven’t thought about it, except I know that B likes peanut butter and honey sandwiches and goldfish for snack, and since it’s mid-afternoon, that’s probably all we’ll have. And I can’t cut them out in the shape of DJ Lance Rock. And drinks? Feel free to grab a sippy out of my kid cabinet because I guarantee I won’t remember to buy any!
I wish that I had a creative/decorative/inspired bone in my body, but I just don’t. I’m going to start hiring you to do my kids’ parties…ya know, when they have actual parties, as opposed to you guys and our parents. I’m thinking that’s coming next year for J, so be prepared. You’re hired.
Seriously, you’re amazing!
(I will bring a sippy for B. I’m part of the solution.)
I will SO plan some parties! I love to plan parties.
And I got the girls (and Sawyer) their own special cups, so no worries!