three going on thirteen

Here’s a little write-up on India’s party from my other blog. If this reads like I am dropping product names in exchange for promotional consideration, that’s because I AM. It’s amazing what companies will hook you up with for some linkage love. Who says blogging doesn’t pay? When I consider all of the blogging I’ve done in the past few months, and then think of the free food and drinks I earned for this party, why, I’ve made at least 12 cents an hour in juice boxes alone. I can totally justify this time-sucking hobby now!

The theme for India’s party was High School Musical. Now, some of you may be reading this and thinking that High School Musical does not seem appropriate for a three-year-old. And to you, I would say: you are correct. However, my darling daughter has had her mind set on a “High School Musical Birthday” since she turned two. Truly, she has been talking for a year about her desires for this party. No amount of talking or reframing was going to sway her into choosing something preschool-appropriate like Dora or Backyardigans. She is three going on thirteen, and she loves Troy Bolton in a big way.

For invitations, we sent an evite. The days of cute, homemade invitations on colorful cardstock are over for this tired mama. If that kind of thing floats your boat, you go on with your bad self and your glue stick. Not for me. Besides, it is so much easier to keep track of the guest list on evite.
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I love when I can incorporate the party favors into the décor and activities. We decorated the tables with pom-poms, microphones, basketballs, and stickers, which were all used at the party, which the kids then got to take home. I ordered them bulk from Oriental Trading Company. I also set up some of India’s other HSM paraphernalia on the other tables. The only decorations I had to purchase were the tablecloths and paper plates.

We had the party right at lunchtime. Choosing the time for a party is always a challenge, and typically I like to try to avoid having a party during a meal (because I am cheap). However, some of her friends are older and had sports in the morning, and some of her friends still nap in the afternoon. So we were pressed into the lunch window, which meant providing lunch for all the kids, and the parents. It’s also always interesting trying to provide healthy food that kids will actually eat. We decided to keep it simple, and offered a large chicken nugget tray from Chik-fil-A along with big bowls of grapes, carrots, salad, and whole-grain goldfish. Previously I have spent a lot of money on fruit and veggie trays, but for younger kids keeping it basic worked to my favor.

I went for some fun beverages for the grown-ups, since the food was geared for the kids.

For dessert, my sister-in-law made cupcakes. Let me share this tip: find a friend or family member who is willing to swap this responsibility with you. Sarah had the idea that we make the cupcakes for each other’s birthday events, and it has been such a lifesaver, since it is one less thing to think about when you are planning a party. It’s fun for me to get creative for my niece and nephew on their birthdays, and I love the stuff Sarah comes up with for my kids. I think I’ve gotten the better end of the bargain with her cupcake skills, though. Look at what she made!

When hosting a party, it’s always a delicate balance between letting the kids freely play and offering some structured activities. Too much free play means they get bored, but too much structure means I become the shrill, controlling mom ordering kids to follow rules when they just came to have fun. I wanted to keep the activities simple and allow for things that would be fun for both genders and all ages. We had just three activities during the party:

1) Banner Project – as the kids arrived, I invited them to choose a letter or two on the banner to decorate. I put out crayons, markers, and stickers. The banner was just several sheets of white paper with a letter on each page to spell out “High School Muscial”. I downloaded the HSM font and typed it onto a word doc, and then printed it from my printer and strung it on a piece of ribbon. Uber-cheap and easy, and it kept the kids occupied for a while. Once it was complete we hung it up on the “stage”.

2) Sing-A-Long – after eating, we invited kids “backstage” and then played scenes from the movie on a tv set up near the stage. We passed out the microphones and pom-poms and the kids were invited to sing and dance while the parents watched. The stage was basically an area in front of some chairs where I hung two king-sized red curtains from IKEA for $7 each. They covered a large area and cost much less than if I had purchased fabric by the yard. Some of the kids took the performance very seriously (i.e Howerton children). Some of them just stood and watched the movie scenes. It engaged them for a good chunk of time.

3) Cupcakes & Tattoos – we set up the cupcakes at the table while the kids were dancing. After singing happy birthday, a couple parents went around and helped give the kids some HSM tattoos we found at Target.

We’re all in this together!