After much discussion of party theme options, along with hours of browsing online and looking through catalogs we decided on a CARNIVAL theme party!
So off I went... eeeerrrrr't.... put on the brakes! My husband asks me to set a budget before I start making plans! A budget? This is always the tough part for me, although I should be used to it by now, I have NEVER planned an event without a budget to date. So, a budget it was, whew. I was going to have to become very resourceful and fast...
I set out to find the best deals, "On the planet, In this town and Known to man." Only to discover that no matter how I tried I could not avoid the biggest cost... the jumpy house. To make this carnival party a hit for a group of 25, 6 year olds, I couldn't have just any jumpy either, I had to go BIG! Fortunately we had the room in our back yard to pull it off, so I ordered the COMBO, with slide and basketball hoop!
I had to convince my husband to go for renting the hot dog cooker, it wasn't cheap, but it was cool and it cooked 56 dogs at once! The snow cone machine was the birthday girls choice. It was the only request she had besides the pinata, which we got for cheap. Since I was ordering multiple items the order came with three tables and 25 chairs for cheap! I was thrilled!
I planned and set up myself, a game booth, with ring toss, football toss, etc... where the kids could win tickets that would be cashed in later for prizes. Letting the child with the most tickets choose first and then down the line and so on.... it worked well. I made a photo board and hung it in a doorway, where the kids could pose for pictures, they had fun with that. I homemade my creamy cheese cupcakes instead of cake to keep it simple and fun. I saved a plate of cupcakes for the birthday girl to frost later when the party was over... unfortunately, I've been eating them all week.
Small touches like the adorable, and I mean adorable little popcorn boxes that I found at the craft store and a candy buffet full of colorful licorice and gummies I put together, really made the party extra special. One of the greatest joys of the day ended up being when the kids decided to make a wish and let a balloon go carrying with it their wish... I got tears in my eyes as I imagined the dreams and wishes I had when I was 6 years old!
I really enjoy this part of being a mom. I have always loved planning parties to make other people feel special and now when it is for my own daughter it's like giving her what I never had. That is every mother's dream for their children. So having a successful party like this is my way of living the dream!
What kind of parties have you dreamed about? What dreams do you have for your life? Ah, that is my question for you, and for myself!
Live your dream, love your life... monixo
