Category Archives: birthday girl

Affordable Easter Themed Birthday Party

26th January 2016

Enjoy my Easter themed children’s double birthday party! It was for 36 guests and EVERYTHING cost under 150: snacks/drinks, cakes, cupcakes, printing of goods, invites, favors for 14, decor…you name it! Read the captions to see my ideas or tips at saving money. Pin and follow me on Pinterest and here on herpartypants! Thanks for lookin’, pals!

My invitations and party pack came from the wonderful Dee Dubs Designs on Etsy. She is fast, talented, creative, and affordable. I have used her before when she customized my Gender Reveal for me and I will use her again. I loved the vintage bunny and simple design. My little girls LOVE glasses so it was only fitting to have a bunny in some. Check out this gal’s Etsy shop to have her create something just for you or browse her other unique party invitations and packages.

Invites on the party plates from Target that I fell in love with!

I had a neat idea for party favors. Since it was an Easter theme party, an egg hunt seemed like a natural fun party activity but I decided to tweak it a little in a creative direction. Instead of packing a million eggs which required a lot of candy and each child to bring a basket, I bought 2 pack Hobby Lobby medium fillable eggs at 50 percent off and hid only one egg per child in the yard. Beats the same old gift bags. To do one better, since none of the little kids could read, I used my patterned scallop tags from Dee Dubs Designs and mounted a picture of each child on each egg so they didn’t have to look for their names, just their picture to know which favor was theirs. I downloaded pictures of the guests from Facebook and punched them out with paper punches and tied them on with string from Hobby Lobby. Boom: activity and favor all in one without a kid or parent having 50 plastic eggs to keep up with. Each favor broke down to a little over a dollar each. Notice I gave each girl attendant sunglasses to match the invite and to implement something my little girls love: some shades!

For the big kids, about 8 and up, I made Peep S’mores bags. Again, each favor bag broke down to about a dollar each and they gave the older kids something to take and make at home. They weren’t too childlike but still kept in the theme. They loved them and they look precious. I put them in a chicken wire basket from Target’s one spot that I spray painted. Cheap, cheap!

Helium balloons are so expensive these days. Especially mylar ones! Hang balloons instead of inflating them. I got two packs of latex balloons from Walmart/Hobby Lobby and draped them into a banner with one dollar gift wrap string from the dollar store. I scattered some extra balloons on the floor because hey, kids love some balloons!

The table set up was thrown together the night before and I didn’t know what I was going to do as I was going. I used one dollar plastic cloths from the dollar store and used a contrasting color as a runner. I used a pot I already had, bound it with the two toned baker’s twine from Hobby Lobby that I used on the favors and wrapped it around and tied it into a bow. I used a fake branch I have in my home decor from Z Gallerie and hung painted styrofoam eggs on them that were a dollar a pack at the dollar tree. Super simple and still a little chic. Did she say chic dollar tree items? Oh, I did.

The cups were from the Dollar Tree and plates from Target’s Easter aisle. I adore the bold and bright geometric plates. The pinwheel straws were from Target’s Easter aisle as well and they brought a little spring whimsy to the table.

Each of my girls had individual bunny cakes that were made by a local baker for only 8 dollars. Even though I made cakes for years, with this big ole’ pregnant belly and two toddlers, I’ll just pay someone else!

Instead of having someone scoop ice cream, just like we did at my daughter’s One Direction Birthday Party, we served individual ice cream sandwiches. It is way easier on everyone and the kids love it! I got 24 ice cream sandwiches for 5 dollars taking advantage of a deal at Kroger. Gotta love it!

2 dozen glitter dusted cupcakes for the kids. I failed to get the cupcake toppers on in time. You can let your imagination run wild! They were bunny heads with glasses like the invites =0) The colors were to bold too leave a picture out, toppers or not!

Due to the time of party, I didn’t have to feed the guests but I did these little snack cups filled with mini-appetizers, if you will. I was going with a bunny/garden food theme with carrots (and ranch) cups, fruit/berry cups, but then the rascally pretzel cups with cream cheese pineapple dip slipped in too. The snack cups can be found for 1-2 dollars a pack in all sorts of sizes, colors, and patterns at almost anywhere: dollar stores, Wilton aisles at Target/Walmart, party stores, Hobby Lobby, etc.

Each cup requires little food and each person can have a sampling of everything. It’s like the cute cheap version of passing h’orderves at a wedding. It was an unbelievably cheap way to serve food with a fun presentation. As you can see, I used a cupcake stand for my treat cups. Super.

Outside I used my antique Coca-Cola cart and filled it with bubbles and chalk for the kids to do while they played outside. Easy, affordable, and putting it in this fun crate gave it some flare, I think.

Sand treasure dig? Absolutely. The girls were surprised with a sandbox for their party and I filled it up with party favors for each guest to have fun digging up little treasures to keep. It was an activity plus another little take away for the kids that again only cost me a few dollars. For an outdoor party, utilize whatever toys/things you have to make it into something new or fun at a party. Outdoor parties at home have a million affordable play options and you save on a venue or inflatable, etc.

Every year my kids wear a number shirt on their birthdays from Old Navy. You can always find them on-line in most young ages and they cost around 8 dollars each when you catch them on sale. You never have to wonder when you look back in pictures how old they were or which party it was. Plus, they look really cute in them and get a kick out of wearing them.

I hope you enjoyed this simple and affordable party! Share, pin, & enjoy! Thanks to Shelly Griffin Photography for all of the great pictures. No party is great without being captured well so thank you , thank you, thank you!

Glow In The Dark Party

18th January 2016

Example invite from Etsy of the one we purchased. You can purchase and customized this invite here at this great shop!

This was done by activating and cutting open a light stick (not skinny glow stick) and flicking it on the floor. It is a clear non-filmy liquid and when it quits glowing, you can’t see it was ever there. Still, I wouldn’t do it on light carpet and definitely not on tile because I’m sure it would be slippery due to wetness. You need to do it a few times to sustain glow for a 2 hour party. SUCH a cool detail to even have the floor glowing!!!!

You can’t tell in this picture BUT, they were hanging in 2 circle pattern. There was one large shorter hanging circle of balloons with a smaller lower hanging circle from the center. See the balloons at the actual party below in my really short Blair Witch execution style video.

This lighted wire is sooo cool and could be used for so many things beyond this party! It also had different settings like strobe and slow blink as well. I think this added a wow factor and an unexpected personalization to the party. I simply curved each line and used clear packing tape to secure it as I went.

To make galaxy jars, we used Tulip’s Glow Puff Paint in the color of natural (the only color I learned will truly glow after research) to make these jars by making tons of little dots on the outside. It was a party activity for the kids plus one cool take home. The jars charge in the daylight and glow at night in the dark in their rooms. If you want to see them in action, check them out here.

Thank you Shelly Griffin Photography for these pictures!!

Party Breakdown

Time invested: 12 hours

6 hours of set up over 3 days (moving and setting up chairs/tables, opening all packaging, organizing, activating 450 glow sticks and turning them into bracelets, centerpieces, etc., blowing up balloons, hanging things from the ceiling, arranging table arrangements and cleaning up the mess that ensued
2 hours invested at actual party helping and leading
4 hours of shopping, returning, looking on the internet for invitations, glow products needed, researching what really works, running errands for cupcake pick-ups etc.

I could replicate this party much faster, as could you, versus doing it from scratch as I did this time. However, the set up will always be time consuming with this type of party.

Pros To A Glow Party

Glow gear serves double functions, decorates your party and each kid gets to go home covered in glow as a favor.

The party atmosphere itself is part of the fun and kids can largely entertain themselves.

Glow when done right is an easy wow factor.

Glow sticks are inexpensive (Cost of every glow item shown here was $141 on Amazon for a party with 15 kids, 35 total people including adults. )

Cons To A Glow Party

Set up is tedious

Set up can only be finished within 2 hours of the party which causes a bit of a mad dash, because glow sticks have a glow life and can’t be done hours or days in advance like other party details

Tips

Don’t skimp on glow or your party will be a flop because if ain’t glowin’, you just in the dark, y’all.

This party had about 35 people including adults, 15 of which were kids. This party was achieved with 450 glows stick and that is what you will need. That included all glow for the decor and for the kids to wear and create.

DO YOUR RESEARCH! There is a difference between glow in the dark and other products that are black light reactive! If you don’t read, you can end up with things that are neon and for black light only. People easily get the 2 glows mixed up. ALSO, READ REVIEWS! Just because a product says it will glow, doesn’t mean it will glow long or well. You need bright, long lasting items to really create a good glow party. Glow is especially difficult to find in paint when quality is concerned. The most effective glow paint I found was Tulip’s Glow Puff Paint in Natural color only. They sell many colors but really, only this one glows. The glow is very short though and it is good for a take home craft or as a favor but will not give you a glow adequate for decor for a party by any means.

Use LED balloons and LED accessories and fiber optics. Using few flashing/color changing and constantly lit accessories will give you a big bang for a little buck and help to “light” the party a tad more. My LED accessories all had at least a 15 hour light life, too! Can’t beat that!

When you figure how many glow sticks you need (I’d use my reference above) BUT, overshoot. There are always plenty of duds in a pack no matter where you buy them. Also, acitivate and assemble glow decor in a dim room so you can see which are really glowing and how well!

I had always wanted to do a glow party and I highly recommend them! They are unique, which I love and are an easy pleaser for everyone because it is such a cool effect! I could shave off time my next round and do this party much faster and using my images and sources, you can too!

Here is all the glow I got on Amazon for 141 for the whole party! Enjoy, pin the poop out of this ,and share a lotta bit too! Thank you so much and thank you Courtney for letting me plan your daughter’s party!

Source List

Led flashing jelly rings

50 Glow Avaitor Glasses Kit

100 count Lumistick Bracelets

300 8 inch Lumistick Wholesale Bracelet pack

Electroluminescent Wire

Fiber Optic multicolored flashing Led hair strands/barrette clip

LED flashing multicolored balloons

Glow stick party cups 24 pack

4 packs of neon colored ping pong balls

Invitations

Simple Rainbow Theme 1st Birthday

9th October 2015

*Watermark says the1sthundred.com which is still me! Different site

Hey, homies! This is my second child’s 1st birthday party. It was a rainbow theme and was simple, modern, and swag-tastic. And, no, I didn’t see these ideas on Pinterest but you can sure follow me on Pinterest via the link in the right hand column and feel free to pin away! Thanks to Shelly Griffin Photography for the excellent pictures!

I bought the swaggiest rainbow felt garland from Etsy from Sweet and Cozy Children’s Gifts. I hung one from this light and hung another on the drink table on the island in our kitchen. The “s” was a cheap last minute touch using a chipboard letter and some scrapbook paper. Chevron is way overdone but it’s still really cute.

I decorated this cake to sort of play off of the invite. It’s a modern take on a child’s cake and childish theme. The cake is iced in buttercream and all other accents are made in fondant. I love the big tall candles I found too. If my child doesn’t like modern, she came from the wrong uterus!

I like making cakes where images spill over and I loved this big sun and it’s rays.

At this party I had an age range of guests from under 1 year to 12 years old so I had to do two different party favors. Each child under 3 got one of these over-sized bright, rainbow colored patterned balls and a balloon as they left. The balls were perfect for spring and the patterns and colors were great for the theme. Best part? They were only 2.50 each at Walmart. Work it, Wally. Even better? The kids looked really cute with them.

For the older kids, I tried to think of something simple, colorful, and different than just candy. SOOOoooooo, I bought Izze drinks which come in these glass bottles with cool logos. These drinks are a different treat to most kids, organic, non-caffienated but carbonated so it gives the feeling of a soda. I paired them with wide mouthed paper colorful straws that I found in a 20 pack on clearance at Target. I ran across these large favor bags at Walmart that covered the whole bottle and straw and I filled the bottom of the bags with large bright gum balls and Skittles (taste the rainbow), of course. I bought these neat plain white tags and stamped them with orange ink and “thank you” stamp and tied them with orange ribbon to bind it all together. 28 dollars for all 9 completed bags.

Here’s a better view of the tags I made. These tags can be purchased at Hobby Lobby and they had other shapes as well. They were 2.99 a pack and I used my 40% off coupon so they were next to nothing. The stamps were all 50% off and an ink pad was only 1.99 so this was very affordable to do. I’m saving the left over tags for gift wrapping in the future.

Lastly, you need a sweet baby dressed in a rainbow colored outfit. I grew this one myself. Not available on Etsy =0) The outfit, however, can be bought at Old Navy.

I loved how this party turned out. It was simple, colorful, fun, and crisp! She really loved it.

True story.