Easy & Inexpensive Ways to Make Your Child's Birthday Special - A Recap of Kali's 2nd Birthday!! Part I

Hello friends!! 

I am SO excited to finally have everything that I need together, so I can share all the fun details of my little girls 2nd birthday party!! 

It was a blast!!  And we had SO much fun putting together all the details for the party!!  So.....without further delay.....here are my thoughts on......easy and inexpensive ways to make your child's birthday special.....  

I think that I will have to break these thoughts into two posts, since one might get to be a bit too long (like War and Peace long).....so let's call this Part I.....

So....the back story.....birthdays are a BIG deal around our house....and it all goes back to my Mom and Dad.....they made a BIG deal about birthdays!!  And when I say that I don't mean big lavish birthday parties or gifts.....actually there was very little of that......

We had very simple birthday parties and got a couple gifts.....but my parents made us feel so incredibly special on our birthday and they always got us gifts that we really wanted and had waited to get.....sometimes for a very long time......so it was a SUPER special day!!

So....I'm a little crazy about birthdays.....mine included....I still start a countdown with reminders to family members about a month out....LOL.....but seriously.....I do.....

So.....when we had our little girl.....oh boy.....was I ever excited about her birthday!!  So......I wanted so much to make here feel as special as I did as a kid on her birthday!!

So.....here are my thoughts.....

1. Start with an Adorable Invitation

Ok.....so your child may or may not be into invitations....some children love picking these out....some could care less....but either way....the invitation sets the tone for your party....so be sure to spend some time picking out something that will give your party goers something that will make them excited about coming to your party :)

Also....I am old school....so I love sending invitations in the mail!  I think there isn't much more special than getting something (besides junk mail or bills) in the mail.....and children get really excited when there is something just for them!!

So.....I use Shutterfly to make my cards......and I've already shown you the cutie patootie invitation that we sent for Kali's birthday HERE......but what they heck.....just for fun (and because I love it)....here it is again.....

 

Source:  www.shutterfly.com

2. The Party Theme Should be Something that They LOVE

Ummmmm.....Duh!!  This one seems like a no brainer....but I have to admit that I almost messed up on this one.....

I guess it's the fact that people kept asking me....what is the theme for Kali's party....and I started feeling pressure to come up with a theme....to conform.....and you know it would have been so easy just to pick something.....Strawberry Shortcake or Elmo or Princesses or whatever.....and don't get me wrong....those are all great themes for a party!  BUT....Kali isn't really into any of those things.....

So....instead....the Hubs and I sat down and talked about the party.....and what the theme should be.....and we ended up talking about things that Kali loves.....dancing, music, and balloons......yep.....that's my girl :)

I'll talk more on the balloons later.....but concerning the dancing and the music.....well....we decided to do something a little fun and a little crazy for a two year olds party!!  We decided to turn our formal living area into Club Kali!!  LOL!!  And....it turned out to be SO MUCH FUN!!  And the kids ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!

Here are some pics.....

We supplied some fun party favors to use in Club Kali....mainly glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets....and bubbles....lot's of bubbles!!  We had little containers of bubbles for the kids to use and a bubble machine for the room.....did I mention that Kali also loves bubbles.....oh yeah....she does!!

Here's our Club Kali sign and party supplies with the room before our party goers arrived.....

Oh yeah.....I forgot to mention....we got the lava lamp and the "disco" ball going too!!

And here's a pic once our party was getting started.....

My awesome sister-in-law took this picture...no idea how she did it....but I love it SO much because it truly captures the moment!  The kids were having a blast with all the glow sticks and the bubbles and the disco ball!!  We played Kid Jams....which my sister supplied.....which was really cool.....it is today's music, but with kid friendly lyrics.....

And here's one more....with the birthday girl joining the fun.....

The room isn't full here....but trust me....it was for most of the party!!  Kali had an absolute blast.....And she danced the whole time!!

And the best part.....this little set up cost us very little.....we did buy the bubble machine $10 and the glow bracelets / glow necklaces, which you can get at the dollar store and I think I spent $10 on those too.....so for $20 Club Kali came to life!!  :)

3. Serve Food that Your Child Loves Even if it's a Little Odd

Ok....first....we did serve a good dinner for everyone.....we had Fajita's and all the fixins (as we say down south)....AND we had chicken strips and french fries from Raising Canes for all the kiddos.....YUM....I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.....

But where we had some fun was setting up our dessert table....ok....our girl LOVES cake....but she also has a few other favorites.....she also LOVES chocolate and marshmallows.....

Anyway....we had so much fun setting up our party table....here's a look at our "Chocolate Bar".....

And here's a look at our "Candy Bar"....complete with LOTS of marshmallows.....

In case any of you missed it....you can find out how to make the little chalkboard signs HERE....

And here's a look at our whole party table....

Ohhh....so happy with how this cute birthday party table turned out!!  And.....again....it wasn't expensive....I used glass containers that I already had around the house.....so really the only cost was associated with the cost for the chocolate and the candy.....the little DIY chalkboards.....and I did buy a few paper plates and napkins too :)

4. Outsource the Things that You Aren't Good At....

Ok....so maybe outsourcing isnt' cheap....I'll admit that....BUT....if you outsource things (especially those you aren't good at), then it will GREATLY reduce your stress level and even better give you more time to spend with your child on their birthday and during their party.....which is sure to make your birthday girl or boy feel SO special!!

So....I outsource the cake and cupcakes for our party EVERY year....and of course....every year I think....we'll maybe I could make it this year....and then I think....are you crazy!!  LOL!!  Don't get me wrong....if you are skilled at cake making, then by all means do it yourself!!  I would too!!  I however have no skills in this area....so outsource it is....

And this is what we got this year......

Soooo cute!!  We got the cake at a bakery called Cakelicious.....and it was SUPER delicious!!  So many people raved about how delicious this cake was.....it was chocolate and SO good....YUM!!

And we also got some of these delicious birthday cupcakes....

They were really good too!!  AND a huge hit with the birthday girl!!  I think she ate three of them....and by ate I mean she licked all the icing off and then gave the cake back to me....LOL!!

Here's the birthday girl enjoying on of her cupcakes...

That girl!!  She is such a hot mess!  LOL!!

5. Set the Tone for the Party with Your Front Door Decor

Decorating your front door should be fun!!  So....don't stress!!  You can use almost anything!!  The key here is to set the tone for your guests and of course to let everybody know....woo hooo.....we're having a PAARTAAY in here!! 

A super easy way to decorate is with balloons and streamers....a banner....something that ties in with the theme of your pary (think picture of Elmo, etc)....

Or if you are feeling a little creative, then you can make something!!  Since we were having a little girl's birthday party....I decided to make a super girly wreath for our door......and here it is.....a deco mesh happy birthday wreath :)

I added the "K" in the middle to give it a more personal touch.....and the cool thing....this baby can be recycled for say.....an Easter wreath.....oh yeah.....I love things that can do double duty!!

Of course....you guys know I've been on a deco mesh wreath kick for a while.....but if anyone is just tuning in for the first time.....then you can see the other ones I've made (and how to make them)  HERE , HERE, and HERE.

I made this one a little differently than all the others.....and here's how.....

First I made a wreath form.....using two crafting circles and some pipe cleaners.....then I covered the crafting circles with some tulle to make it look a bit prettier....

And then....just like all the others....you just fold and bunch the deco mesh.....and attach it to the form by tieing the pipe cleaners around the mesh....

Here's a close up of the the mesh tied onto the form....

And here's a look after adding the purple layer and then the pink....

And soon......TA-DA!!  You've got yourself a cutie patootie little wreath for your front door!!

Sooo....whew......with that we've covered my first five easy and inexpensive ways to make your child's birthday special..... 

So....I've got five more to go.....but since it took me like a week to get these first five ready....well....it might be a while.....

I'm curious though.....what do you all do to make your child's birthday special?  Do you have family traditions or are you making it up as you go?  Do you follow a similar pattern each year or is every birthday completely different?  Ah....please do share :)

I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas!!

Until next time.....

XOXO-

Kristal

Happy Birthday Kali Part I - Making Miniature Chalkboard Signs

Well.....it's been two weeks now....and I still haven't posted about my little girls birthday party.....it was SO fun.....so I'm really excited to share the details :)

But the truth is that I am waiting to get pictures from my brother and sister-in-law's camera....they always take most of the pictures (and I am SO thankful) b/c I never have time to take any.....I'm always running around like a crazy person trying to make sure everything is going ok and everyone is having fun!! 

BUT....I do have a few pictures that I took before the party.....so I thought I would share one of the fun little things that I put together to decorate the birthday girls table of goodies :)

SO......what am I talking about.....well....here's a hint.....

Yep.....that's right....I made some cute little chalkboard signs to decorate our party table :)

I was so happy with how they turned out.....and they were SUPER easy to make!!

I started out with some very cheap picture frames from Wal-Mart.....I think the bigger one (black frame) was $2 and the little plastic one was less than $1....

And then I got some Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint......Ohhhh....yeah.....ya'll know about my love for spray paint :)

This was my first time to use chalkboard paint.....and I've wanted to try it for a while.....so I was pretty excited to finally have a reason to try it out!!

SO.....I just took the glass out of the frame and gave it a good spray paint job.....if you've forgotten my tips for a good spray paint job.....then go HERE to get a refresher......but of course....no need to sand the glass :)

And soon.....I had these.....

TOO CUTE!!  BUT I can't take any credit for the cute chalk work.....my sister did all of the "writing" on the chalkboards.....and I thought she did a great job.....chalk can be a little difficult to work with.......

And....then I decided to add a little ribbon with some double sided tape, so that the chalkboards would have some coordinating color......

Here is one after the ribbon was put on......

AND....just for fun.....here's a little sneak peak at our birthday table with our chalkboards in place.....

The Candy Bar......those little SweetTart Gummies were delicious.....people just kept talking about those.....I think they might be addictive....LOL......

And my favorite.....The Chocolate Bar......

YUMMMM.....Lot's of Hershey's Kisses :)

And the really cool thing....since they are chalkboards.....you can just erase them and use them again....so I used them for the Hubs birthday too......after I removed the ribbon of course :)

Super cool....I'm thinking you'll see them show up again in the future....perhaps in my holiday mantle decor....or something.....

SO.....I can't wait to show you the rest of the party details!!  As soon as I get the pics....I promise I'll share :)

SO.....anyone else out there experimented with chalkboard paint?  PLEASE DO TELL!!  I have to say....I'm diggin it!! 

Well....it's getting late.....so I guess I better run....

Until next time.....

XOXO-
Kristal

Sharing With....

Thrifty Decor Chick Before and After Party
Thrifty Decor Chick Spring Fling Spray Paint Party

Kali's Turning Two!! A Sneak Peak at Our Birthday Party Prep....

Hello friends!  I hope you've had a good week and are coasting into the weekend....yahoo....tomorrow is Friday!! :)

Have you ever had one of those days where you had a million things on your "to do" list and yet somehow you find yourself doing EVERYTHING BUT what's on your list?  Yep....that's me today.....Ugh.....why do I do this to myself? 

Oh well....everything will get done.....or it won't.....either way it will be ok.

I am getting pretty excited though....our house has turned into Party Planning Central!!  We are now at T-50 hours to go until the BIG birthday blow out at our house....LOL!!  My baby girl is turning TWO YEARS OLD!!  I seriously cannot believe it!!

Today they celebrated her birthday at her "school"....her teachers made her a little cake with candles and everything....it was truly precious.....and her teachers are an absolute God send!!  We LOVE them :)

SO....now we've just got to get everything together for the party at our house.....

SO....we are definitely not ready yet, but I thought I might share a sneak peak of a few of the details coming together......

First....here is the adorable invitation for the party....this was designed and ordered through Shutterfly.com.  They have SUCH awesome stuff!!

Source:  www.shutterfly.com

I thought they turned out SO cute :)

And last night I pulled together this....

Ahhh.....super cute!  And super cheap and easy to make.....I promise to give the details of how this was put together in a future post :)

Here's a couple more pics just for fun....

And around midnight last night I finished up these guys....

A little "bling" for the millions of juice boxes that will inevitably be consumed during the party :)  Again....I promise to give the skinny on how to make these juice box personalized labels in a future post....they were also very easy to make....but I did cheat a little and started with a kit.....

Here's another look.....

I sent one of those in baby girl's lunch today, so she would have a special juice for her lunch.....

And one other little project that I finished up yesterday was these tiny chalkboards that we'll use to label all the goodies on our party table....

They aren't perfect, but I was happy with how they turned out....more to come on how to make these little guys too....

SO....we are getting there....so much more to do.....but it is coming together!!  I probably won't get a chance to show anything else until after the party, but I'm looking forward to showing you guys all the finished details :)  I think this party is going to be FUN!!

Better run....I need to get on that "to do" list.....

Until next time....

XOXO-
Kristal

Sharing With....

Thrifty Decor Chick