Party Planning
I'm great with themes. Give me a theme and I can create a project, party or class about it. Here are some of my favorites I've blogged about for your enjoyment and a chance to benefit from my efforts. No need to reinvent the wheel!
SPECIAL OCCASION PARTIES
*Sibling (Baby) Shower
*Baptism
*First Communion
*Jesse Tea Party (Advent)
*All Hallows Eve Party
You are invited to "Be Not Afraid." A Catholic Celebration of the Eve of All Saints Day. Invitations request saintly or modest costumes, bring a fall dish to share, and bring an idea for pumpkin carving.
On the door was the poster above with a poem about Halloween and how we need not fear ghosts and goblins - because even they must bow to Jesus who conquered death! The invitation features artwork of Lazarus rising from the dead and poetry about Soul Cakes, the old traditional treat begged for at the doors of neighbors.
We had soul cakes (plain and powdered mini donuts) as well as SOS suckers for "Save Our Souls." These were covered in coffee filters, wrapped with silver pipe cleaners bent into wings and halos.
Inside decorations were very traditional orange and black. Vases had spiders made from black pipe cleaners. A Tombstone made of cardboard was displayed with names of loved ones who had passed, with a special section for the unborn.
Fun crafts included door hangers and picking out pumpkins to carve! Many prolife and Christian pumpkin patterns are available online.
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY TRADITION
*Read about our birthday traditions here...
*Butterfly Tea Party [for Mikayla's 6th]
After a rough financial summer, Mikayla decided her party would not only be to entertain her friends in style, but all gifts were to be Food Donations to the local food shelter. The guests participated with glee.
Decorations were very purple, sparkly and butterflies all over. The centerpiece is a foam rectangle covered in wrapping paper. Tissue paper butterflies are tied to wood skewers and stuck in the foam. A decorated can holds crayons. Each guest got a bag with a balloon, mini nail polishes and other treats. Each place setting had a paper doily, a plastic tea cup, and matching plates.
For a craft, we made tissue paper butterflies using a pencil end, tissue paper squares and glue. For lunch we had chicken salad sandwiches cut out as butterflies, deli spirals, fruit, and hot cider in a teapot instead of tea.
*1920-30s Birthday / Mother's Day [for my Grandma's 80th]
Everything was vintage for a day. The music was swinging, the candy was retro, pictures of my grandma were everywhere, and everyone was dressed for the Cocktail Party! I even made posters like magazine covers of those days, featuring pictures of my Grandmother when she was young.
Here's the guys shakin up the martinis, and us gals prepping the kitchen for a classy luncheon with vintage dishes.
*Princess Party [For Sabrina and Mikayla age 3]
The girls got the royal treatment, everyone arriving dressed in style. A special display of photos for everyone to see.
Cupcakes are a traditional pink frosting and the toppers are Disney Princess characters printed from online and cut and taped to sucker sticks (found in the cake & candy decorating isle).
The Table is decorated with a party store tablecloth and party bags in many colors cut to look like castles. Each bag has a different character exiting the castle door and a tag that reads "I am a princess, because my Father is the King of Kings." Crowns printed to decorate and wear are from PrintPicnic.com
Princess themed decor and prizes are easy to come by at any store. To add to your fun, consider a white paper table cloth to draw on. Maybe use the fancy dishes for the meal. For guest gifts: ring pops, plastic necklaces, and plastic crowns.
*Embroidery Birthday Party [for Mikayla age 8]
A tea party was a nice idea, but what kind of traditional ladies craft would we make? How about learning embroidery!? It was a little challenging to help all the girls myself, but they really enjoyed it. You can find my Catholic Saint patterns on my Modest Mommies blog.
DISNEY MANIA PARTIES
*Countdown to Disney World Adventure
Read all about how to make this fun poster to count down the days until your Disney Vacation. With each section completed, celebrate! We celebrated with cake, movies, character pancakes, and planning our pit stops and Disney World hotspots.
*Cars Birthday
When a boy likes cars as much as mine, you have to put time in the details. Since the Disney Cars 2 movie was coming to the theatre, we decided to give invitations as a VIP Pit Pass to join us for the movie and after party (pizza). My son hand delivered them himself. I had to do a little graphic design work to get the logo to have his name. The theme was another easy pick, and gift purchases were just as obvious!
*Toys (Disney's Toy Story)
Most of these decorations and coloring sheets I found at the party store and DisneyFamily.com. Gifts can include a new pack of crayons and a few green plastic army men.
The main cake was a layered small cake, rounded edges, then frosted as a planet. The cupcake idea I found online, using Mentos mints for eyes, black gel for pupils and mouth, green gumdrops cut for ears, and green taffy shaped for the alien antenna. This was the best center piece!
Games included pin the tail on "Bullseye" the horse and playtime in the sandbox.
*Space (Disney's Wall-E) [for Stanley Age 5]
Decorate tables in dark blue with star confetti. Consider a night time party. I framed some pictures from the movie. The cake was frosted blue, with some darker blue food coloring drops on top swirled in. I used marshmallow cereal with a outer space theme for sprinkles along with yellow sprinkles. The Coloring Book - print coloring pages from online and staple or bind groupings. I made a cover that said "So Many New Adventures Await You! Happy 5th Birthday Stanley!"
Wall-E and Eve Sandwiches were a simple PB & J cut into characters - recognizable for my kids :) They still ask for Walle Sandwiches!
Wall-E glasses and game printables available online.
Using window markers, I freehand drew him a birthday card on our Patio Door. It looked wonderful with the night sky behind it.