9.21.2009

It's Time to Party ... with Minnie Mouse

My daughter loves Minnie Mouse so when planning her 3rd birthday, it was easy to develop a theme and create a fun experience! I started with a custom 'clock' invitation that exclaimed 'It's Time to Party', then I found a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse moon bounce to rent.
For decor, I kept it minimal and inexpensive. Using ears, bows and flowers from my Disney Cricut cartridge; a Walt Disney font from myfonts.com, and Minnie Mouse ribbon, I made a 'Happy Birthday' banner, decorated take-out boxes for lunch containers, and created 'goodie bag' tags. For big impact, I bought pink with white polka dot fabric to use as a tablecloth and 10 yellow plastic chairs. I used a big plush Minnie Mouse as a centerpiece.
In addtion to the moon bounce, I kept the kids busy decorating sun visors with glitter letters and participating in a 'cheese' scavenger hunt. Mice like cheese so I cut a block of styrofoam into wedges and spray painted them yellow like cheese. I hid the cheese around the house and gave each child a clue:
I’m a little wedge of cheese
As yellow as can be
Find me before Minnie Mouse takes a bite out of me!

Hint: I can be found in a spot that rhymes with RIDE
(Answer - SLIDE)
Moms and dads helped out and the kids had a great time figuring out the clue and finding their cheese. When they turned in the cheese, they received their 'goodie bag' - a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse puzzle, which my daughter loves.
Before guests left, we sang Happy Birthday, blew out the candles and cut the cake, which was decorated with mouse ears and a bow to match the other decor items. The cake was delicious, event the children ate all of it - not just the frosting. It was a sponge cake with Chantilly frosting made by Lille Patisserie in Herndon.
It was a fun party, in part due to the spectacular weather, but also quite cute as is my adorable 'Minnie Mouse'

9.16.2009

How Fun Is Your Bar?

 




Who knew that I would find party inspiration at a networking luncheon?! The Pampered Chef had a table at the Great Falls Women's Business Luncheon last week and local rep, Amy Strong, had items from the new entertaining collection including the frosted dots plastic ice bucket and shaker and glass snowmen appetizer plates. So adorable! According to Amy, the bucket has a double wall to prevent condensation and slow down the ice melting. Practical yet fun ...

9.06.2009

Back-to-School Celebration ... for moms!



I generally celebrate everything and if I wasn't so anxious for solitude, I would celebrate my daughters' return to school, too. However, my quest for time alone didn't stop me from thinking about how I would plan such a party. Here's my plan in case you have the inclination to host a casual back-to-school breakfast. I made it 'posh' with mimosas and coffee smoothies; the rest of the menu is really effortless yet yummy!


The [Java-Inspired] Menu
Coffee Smoothies and Mimosas
Berry Granola Yogurt Parfaits
Use your everyday china, stemware and mugs; invite your mom-friends to get comfy on the couch; and swap stories about the morning's drop-off, end-of-summer adventures and fall to-do projects. Enjoy!

9.04.2009

Tunes for your Labor Day Celebration



Earlier this week, I had the most enjoyable evening getting my hair done. It wasn't the highlights, shampoo or Edward Scissorhands-like cut; it was the mix of [early] 80's music! My favorite songs from Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and Duran Duran blared from the speakers like my own private concert. Labor Day parties were on my mind, too, and suddenly I had a light bulb idea to research music for a Labor Day BBQ, pool party or end-of-summer celebration. Turns out, evite.com has already done the work for me (see list below) so I added a few more songs (inspired by the 80's, of course). Download these songs for your party, turn up the volume and have fun!

Working for the Weekend/Loverboy
Taking Care of Business/Bachman Turner Overdrive
Working in a Coal Mine/Devo
She Works Hard for the Money/Donna Summer
Supermodel (You Better Work)/RuPaul
Vacation/The Go-gos
School is In/Josie Cotton
W.O.R.K/Bow Wow Wow
Summer Nights/Grease Soundtrack
Finest Worksong/ REM
Working 9 to 5/Dolly Parton
Working For a Living/Huey Lewis & the News
Relax (Don't Do it)/Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Money, Money, Money/ABBA