Thursday, March 22, 2012

Everyone loves a good party - Our St. Patricks Day Bday Bash

The old adage, "Everyone loves a good party," certainly applies to us!  Throwing a party involves a lot of work (both pre- and post-), but once it's been deemed a success, it's all worth it!
Today I celebrated my baby girl's 7th (!!!) birthday.  So naturally, we had to have a party.  Having only broken into the realm of "friend" parties over the last several years, the locale was a decision that Libby had to mull over for months in advance.  There is the skating rink, the cupcake shop, the gymnastics facility, the indoor pool...or our house!  And that was exactly what she had in mind! 

We chose to have the party on St. Patrick's Day...mostly so that Libby's best friend from out-of-town could be there...but coincidentally it worked out that she was turning the "lucky number 7." 

Our fabulously cute invitations were designed by a local church friend with a flair for party
decor, who just happens to have her own blog (www.mirabellecreations.blogspot.com) AND
an Etsy shop where you can order your own personalized party printables! 
Thank you, Deanna, for your amazing work!

I found this cute welcome sign at our local Big Lots and couldn't pass it up! 
What a great way to greet guests as they approached our home!

Our party spread: I bought a fun, patterned tablecloth on clearance to use as a backdrop (so my own green walls wouldn't clash with the fun kelly and lime greens used in the party decor!) and had my friend over at Mirabelle Creations create a personalized, printable banner.  I made special requests for the colors and design on our cake, which was made at a great cupcake shop in town.  The plates, napkins, and cutlery came from Target.  Via Pinterest, I found a super fun (and super easy) idea to use an empty can covered in wrapping paper, ribbon, stickers, etc to display the utensils...I had the best intentions to make it a little more elaborate (and to make more than one!) but when it came down to crunch time, with a mere 15 minutes til party time, I just threw a shamrock sticker on the pink-wrapped can and decided it would have to do!  More on the candy jars/party favors below...

 
At the suggestion of my friend, Michelle, we decided on a candy buffet as a party activity AND party favors!  We found some candy and treats to coordinate with our pink/green and St. Patricks Day theme - striped marshmallow "sticks" from the Dollar Tree, Mike and Ike candies, Jelly Belly jelly beans, M&Ms, mint (green wrapper) and caramel (gold wrapper) Hershey Kisses, Lucky Charms cereal, Gummy-Os, and lollipops (which we adorned with little St. Patricks themed animal stickers since Libby had requested donations to a local animal shelter in lieu of gifts at her party).  Each of the candies was displayed in a jar (some borrowed, some purchased - found at WalMart), which was labeled using a free template I found online, and the children were each given a green bag (from Hobby Lobby) to fill.  To keep the parents at bay after already having fed their children cake and ice cream, we sealed the bags with party-themed tags as soon as they were filled. 
The bag tags (also from Mirabelle Creations) read, 
"Thank you for making my day so lucky.  Love, Libby"


 In the aftermath of the party, you would have thought a tornado had torn through our house.  I suppose all the screams of joy and running rampant was worth it to the 12 children that came because everyone seemed to have a good time!  (Surely the mess they've left behind is proof of that!)


My birthday girl, holding up her 7 fingers,
just before enjoying some birthday cinnamon rolls this morning! 
(Because at our house, when it's your birthday, we celebrate ALL day long!!!)

Thanks to Pinterest, my new love of the blogging world, and Mirabelle Creations, our party turned out great!  I hope you enjoyed the pictures (albeit, they are not the best quality) and maybe you can come away with a few good ideas to use at your next party.  Because everyone loves a good party...and every child deserves a good party!  How do you celebrate birthdays with your kiddos?

4 comments:

  1. What a cute idea! I love the "Lucky 7th" concept, and everything looks so fun and pretty!

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    1. Thanks, Anne! I had a lot of fun with the whole theme and all the fun decor!

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  2. Happy birthday, Libby! Love the cake. Yup, kiddie birthdays are always special. The 7th birthday is always a huge thing, isn't it?

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    1. Thank you! And why is it that 7 seems so big? I feel like my baby is so grown up now! No more baby teeth, no more baby talk, very opinionated...

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