The birthday party (part 2)

So yesterday I shared some tips that really helped me with planning and executing Carson's party. One thing I forgot to mention was how important it is to solicit help where you may need it. For instance, I asked our parents to help in areas that I was lacking: we only eat ketchup, mustard and mayo on our burgers and dogs, so I asked my M-I-L to bring a condiment platter with things the rest of the world eats (e.g. lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, onions, relish, etc.); we don't eat coleslaw, but my dad and step-mom make excellent slaw, so they brought that; and I had lots of fun ideas for decorating, but not the best execution plan, so I asked my mom -the organization queen- to come and help me setup.

Now for pictures and their sites of inspiration.

This cupcake stand I made courtesy of a tutorial on a blog called Simple Bliss. The cupcakes and smash cake were my idea for keeping it "baseball" themed. 

 These banners were hand-made, thanks to ideas gathered from Beth Kruse's blog. In fact, inspiration for most of the decorations came from her blog.

I designed the baseballs in Microsoft Word (please excuse the fact that my laces are wrong, I didn't catch that til everything was printed and cut out.) The gloves started out as scalloped edges all the way around, but as I was cutting, I just saw gloves. I can't really explain it.

 

Balloons and pinata came from Party City. 

 This was probably one of my favorite decoration areas at the party: the concession table. Granted not many partook in the eating of yummy concession stand junk food, but I just love how it turned out. And Carson has a precious keepsake ball signed by most. And those baseballs were on sale at Academy...thankfully it's baseball season. :)

The ballpark style food was so yummy!

I made Marc's and my shirts from this tutorial* from my crafty college friend, Jill. She's pretty much amazing. I've been planning to use this technique for a while on something for Carson, but was excited for this to be my first project. They turned out really cute! Carson's shirt came from this shop on Etsy.

*My only tip to deviate from Jill's blogpost: I tried the Heat 'n' Bond LITE that her friend suggested, and although it worked great, it doesn't fuse to the shirt like the Wonder Under that Jill uses. I may have bought the wrong thing, but it was the only Heat n Bond Lite available at JoAnn's Fabrics. Looks to me like Wonder Under might be better since I had to pin my design to the shirt to sew as opposed to it being ironed in place already, and just stitching for decoration. Make sense?

Remember those kid friendly activities I was telling you about in yesterday's post? Well, here they are. We got bats with balls and bubbles and wands from the dollar store. Seriously. Worth. It. The kids really enjoyed themselves...see the pictures below if you need proof. ;)

Can you see the joy on their faces? Carson (the birthday boy in the first pic) enjoying bubble wands, Maddox and Jax (second pic) having fun playing ball with their mom, and Laura Katherine (third pic) toting bat sets all over the place. So important to have immediate and fun activities for all the kids to do, and that don't have to be organized.

The most important thing for us is that my baby boy had such a fun day. And THAT makes this mama a happy girl. So, share your party ideas with me!! I want to hear what you've done so I can steal your ideas for next year! ;)

The birthday party

Well, my little boy turned ONE on Saturday, February 26th. It was not really an emotional day, probably because I was so busy with the party, but I did tear up singing "happy birthday" to our little man. In this post, I'll tell you about decorations, inspirations, and any tips I gathered along the way. This is by no means an absolute party-planning guide - cause I am by no means a party planner. This post is NOT about Carson turning 1 and who came and how much fun we had at the party. Although it was mostly family and we did have loads of fun! :)

Okay, so some tips for those of you planning a party, take 'em or leave 'em:

• Hire a photographer for the big day. This is my #1 tip because I am a picture fanatic. I was so worried that I would have to tote my camera on my shoulder all day and would miss sweet little shots of Carson's face or have to view the party through a lens. So I hired a friend of mine who's starting a business and she was fabulous! I never took out my camera and didn't miss a memory. You can check out my pics on facebook (we have to be friends though), where you can also find her business, Michelle Taulbee Photography.
• Start planning early. I am a procrastinator at heart, so I can't stress to you enough how much starting early and having a plan will really help you. I gave myself little deadlines along the way, that way if I procrastinated to that deadline, it still got done in plenty of time and I wasn't stressing the day, or even the week, of the party. I knew that the Wednesday before the party, ALL of my decorations and shopping had to be completely done, because Thursday and Friday were cake days, and Saturday I didn't want to have to do anything but set-up. It was a breeze. 
• Plan activities for the children (or whomever your audience may be.) For us, I knew there would be 10 children ranging in ages from 1-9. We had to have games and activities that they all could participate in. I went to the dollar store and got lots of bubbles, some bases for a baseball game, bats with balls for each child (it was supposed to be their take-home gift, but they played with it at the party and most left it behind), and we also picked up a pinata from Party City. There was never a dull moment!
• Keep your birthday babe on their own schedule. Since we fed everyone burgers and dogs, my hubby asked me later why I didn't plan the party closer to lunch time instead of from 3-5. The answer is simple: Carson still takes 2 naps, and they are spaced 2 hours after waking for each one. After his second nap, from which he wakes up around 2:30, he is awake for the longest and happiest time of the day. I did it for his sake, because I wanted a happy party baby.
• Try not to stress and just enjoy your day! Words of wisdom from Carson's doctor - "Do whatever you want to do and tell everyone else to shove it. This day is really for YOU, not the baby." Yes, C's doctor really said those words to me. And while I didn't tell anyone to "shove it", I appreciate the thought behind it. It was definitely a "Because I said so" kind of day. Careful planning will help you to truly relax and enjoy your party day. After Carson's party, I was thinking of how much I'd love to do that every weekend. Exhausted, yes, but oh so much fun! And that makes me smile. :)

Okay this post has gotten kind of long, so I'll cut it short here and give you party decorations and inspirations tomorrow. Sound good? What about you? What are your party tips for everyone??