Posts
.jpg)
The kids didn't actually see the party room or favor bar until half way through the party because I had it tucked away inside. We did end up having beautiful fall weather though, so we spent an hour having "recess" outside. We provided plenty of hula hoops, skip ball, ribbon wands, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and ladder ball and the kids really enjoyed free play and socializing.
As soon as they came inside for cake, the squeals began! It was the ultimate confirmation that I did a good job ; ) The party featured a cake table and favor bar with tons of specially chosen goodies and a good lesson to learn for each.
The favor bar included puzzle erasers, crayons, lollipops, sticker books, gummy worms, composition books, and personalized bottle cap backpack clips... but the items that caused the biggest "scent"sation were the Smencils! I hit the jackpot and found the cutest little red metal trash can to put the Smencils in, and each had a little tag that said "Being dull STINKS!" (I thought it was hilarious hehehe!)
Big thanks to my local Publix of course, they always bake the most delicious cakes for our parties! I specifically asked them to make it look homemade (I remember taking homemade treats to school to celebrate... back when kids were ALLOWED to do such preposterous things!) I added a quick DIY chalkboard banner and a last minute custom fondant topper from Cakes and Kids. I am so grateful to Julie for helping me out at the last minute!! It was the perfect touch for our party and she even made it just like the heart shaped apple I designed for the invitations!
I used a giant polka dot hat box that I found at Hobby Lobby for a cake riser. Actually most of the party supplies are from Hobby Lobby, from the lanterns and tissue for the poms, to the chalkboard, metal pails, and locker box. Yes, I have a reserved parking space there. Well I should... anyways.
I made circle garland for the first time for this party, and I was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy the project was! I also added leaves and stems to the paper lanterns to turn them into apples too.
Neenie was beside herself when she saw the Knock Knock that Natalie made for her party! I couldn't bear to leave it at the front door where it would only be admired on the way in, and I just happened to have a door IN the eat in kitchen that wasn't feeling very festive... so of course we had to give it a feature in the party room! It is seriously too cute for words!
The vintage desk made a great side table for drinks. In case you missed it on facebook, this little desk was actually rescued from a recycling truck - it was once in my very own Kindergarten when I was a little girl! My mom saved it and sent it all the way to Georgia for my girls, and I added a coat of chalkboard spray to spruce it up for the party. The kids were fascinated by the desk, but even more so by the hinged juice bottles and "crayon" straws! Both the straws AND the awesome display idea are from Hey Yoyo!
They were equally fascinated by the individual ice cream cups too. I never serve ice cream at a party... c'mon, it takes FOREVER to scoop out and makes a huge mess right?! When I saw these little cups at The Party Fairy I had to give them a try. Each cup came with an inside and outside lid, a little wooden spoon to tuck in between, and it was the perfect size for a custom sticker too. I labelled the flavors on the stickers (the benefit of older children - they could read and choose for themselves!) Go forth and spread the good news, ice cream is making a party comeback!!
A last peek at the invitations I made especially for our party. They resembled two pocket folders and came complete with a bookmark, "official" school letter, and schedule (with fun revisions!)
Of course, no school year is complete without a horrible school portrait right? The boys were definitely not interested (the Mario Kart tournament on the Wii and our table of Playmobil made them more than happy though) while the girls had an awesome time getting their photos taken. It was the perfect time of year to stock up on photo booth props and we got some hilarious pictures to send in our thank you notes!
