My son’s birthdays are 5 days apart. This year is especially hectic in our household because we’re also celebrating JT’s first birthday (MAJOR milestone). After all that he’s been through, it was crucial that we poured energy and creative juices into this celebration to make it GRAND to signify his wonderful, amazing life. After hosting the 175 people party that included our support team–friends, family, co-workers–we headed out for our summer vacation the following day.

After a few days in Disneyland and a few more in San Diego, we returned home exhausted and with NT sick.

A weekend was lost in party planning with me tending to the sick child, and trying to prevent him from contaminating the other with his cold (attempt unsuccessful). By Monday nightfall, he seemed much improved (thank goodness!), which allowed us a pow wow session with the key members of the party planning team: my younger sister, her boyfriend, myself, and Mr. PWP.

My three year old was old enough to decide the theme of his party, which was going to be Disney Pixar CARS. So, we brainstormed every aspect of CARS and came up with this:

INVITATIONS:

• Evite: There’s no better way to reach all your guests than by e-mail. I sent an Evite out with a custom designed invitation, adorned with CARS characters I found on Disneyclips.com.

ARTS and CRAFTS Station:

• Build it yourself wooden cars (purchased at Michaels for $1 each);

• Create your own license plate: foam rectangular sheets (Michaels, $6.99), foam stickers (Michaels, $2.99 for a pack of 40, included road signs, checkered flags, flames, cars), letters and numbers for their names (Michaels, $7.99 for a 5oz tub), CARS stickers (Target, $9.99 for a box of 1000 stickers).

• Create your own key chains: key chains ($.99 for each 3×5 plastic photo key chain), 3×5 cardstock squares for children to decorate with markers and stickers, then to be inserted into photo holder

• Pixar CARS coloring sheets printed from online: there are plenty if you search Pixar Cars coloring sheets on Google.

ACTIVITIES

• CARS decorated Jump house: a classic favorite for kids, where they can get they’re energy out while having fun. Ours included some boxing gloves for added entertainment. Mostly, the kids just enjoyed jumping up and down.

• Snow cone machine: we ordered this with the CARS jump house to get a discounted rate.

• Remote control cars: Mr. PWP built a race track as a “Radiator Springs Race Way” for the children to race remote control cars on to win points for prizes. The cheap $10 cars he ended up buying did not allow for great handling. The kids ended up removing these from the track, and drove it around the floor instead. They all had a blast. The key is improvising.

• Face painting and body art: you can never go wrong with face painting and temporary tattoos. The face painting designs included lightning bolts, cars, checkered flags, and some princess crowns for the girls. I pick up the CARS tattoos from a party specialty store in my area called Party City

• Wii: We set up the Nintendo Wii up to a screen allowing the kids to play Mario Cart. There are also CARS video games, but we chose against purchasing those as we did not want to encourage NT to play it at home.

PRIZES/PARTY FAVORS

• Each child received a brown gift bag (Michaels, $5.99 for 13) that were decorated with the license plate.

• Drivers license: Mr. PWP designed a “driver’s license” template on Adobe Photoshop, using his own skills. On the day of, we had volunteers (i.e.; my sister and nephew) approach each child with a camera to take their picture. The pictures were uploaded into the computer and inserted into the space on the template designated for that. He printed it out on 4×6 glossy photo paper, and gave each child one. Some adults requested that their picture be taken, also.

• The cars they built and painted.
• Playdough with instructions attached to it on how to mold it into a car
• CARS jigsaw puzzles (Target, $3.49)
• CARS lego sets (Toys R Us, $13-$21)
• Generic race car lego set (Target, $3.99)

CAKE

• A simple sheet cake ordered from a local bakery. The top was decorated by the baker with a road and grass. I topped the cake with Lightning McQueens and Maters purchased from Party City.

The key to creating a successful party in a short time frame is to keep an open mind, and be willing to be flexible. Also, bear in mind your guest list, who will be attending, and tailor your party towards the majority. In this case, I knew I’d be entertaining kids, as the adults would mingle among themselves. Though we had planned for games and the race track, the children had their own idea of fun (jumping in the jump house and running around with the remote control cars), and that was fine! What matters is that they have a good time. As the jumping died down, we transitioned them to quieter activities at the “craft station.” They ran around some more, then we cut cake, and called it a day.

Tell me your CARS party experiences, what worked or didn’t work, and some of your entertaining ideas.

One of my favorite things to do when planning a party is to conjure up unique ways to create multiple functionality out of a single aspect of the party. In this case, I came up with an idea beyond the typical scrapbook that most parties use to record their guests’ well wishes to the honored child–a quilt where each square is memo’d and signed.

Here was the big problem: I do not sew. Not only that, but I don’t have time to sew. So, I headed to my local Michaels, a craft store, for inspiration on how to create this quilt.

After some browsing, this is how I planned my quilt to be:

1. Choose a decorative blanket from Babies R’ Us, Target, Bergstroms, or your favorite baby store.

**TIPS**

• Be mindful that one side of the blanket should be plain because this is where the signed fabric squares will go.
• You want a sturdier, stiffer fabric for the blanket as it will hold the squares better.

2. Buy fabric for the squares.

**TIPS**

• You may purchase it at any craft or fabric store such as Michaels, Tall Mouse, Joann’s Fabrics.
• Cut it into even squares
• I bought the Half Yard Craft Fabric at Michaels

3. Buy fabric markers.

**TIPS**

• Choose colors that compliment your blanket and theme

4. Have each guest (or family) fill out a square with a memo and design it as they wish.

**TIPS**

• To ensure that all your guests leave a little something for your child, set a table toward the entrance of your party with a sign or person designating what they’re to do. Or, you may also pass out the squares during the party and have them fill it out in front of you.

5. After the party, sew the squares to another piece of fabric that is the same size as your blanket. If you do not have enough squares to fill the space, add designs from your theme, or print out clip art onto transfer paper.

6. Sew the entire big fabric to the blanket, sewing only around the edges of the blanket so as not to damage the front of the decorative blanket. Remember to keep the blanket taut to minimize the amount of air between the blanket and fabric, which would cause sagging of the fabric.

In the first stages of planning JT’s first birthday, I decided I wanted to create a quilt as a keepsake for him, so that he’ll have something to remember the party by, and so that he can use it to keep him warm. I really loved the idea, but eventually had to nix it from being carried out because of the overload of activities and people already available at the time.

In the future, I hope to use this idea. But, for now, I’ll live vicariously through you if you decide to use this idea for your children’s birthday parties.

Let me know how it worked for you, and what techniques worked or didn’t work. Did you come up with some new techniques?

Personalized birthday sign

My niece designed the birthday banner for my son, JT’s first birthday party, that I thought was very creative and resourceful. Not only did it look better than anything I could have bought at Party City or Target, it was very personalized and “couture,” and it also saved me a few dollars.

Here is what she did:

1. Search for a favorable font (Google: free fonts).

2. Print each letter of the sign to fill the entire 8.5×11 sheet of heavy card stock.

**Tips**

• I recommend using ivory or yellow colored card stock as it will show the letters better. White is too stark, and I don’t prefer it.
• Letters should be in the color of your theme to make it look more “couture.”
• Standard black lettering on white paper will not look good. You might as well go out and buy a pre-made banner
• You may purchase card stock at your local office supply store (OfficeMax, Office Depot, Staples),  paper specialty store (Paper Source), or craft store (Micheals, Tall Mouse). If you do multiple parties, you may want to visit a Kelly or Xpedex near you, as you can buy in bulk prices.

3. Using a paper hole puncher, punch one hole at the top corners of each sheet of paper to string ribbon through.

4. String ribbon through. You could either weave the ribbon through the holes front, back, front, back style (wasting a lot of ribbon, but quicker to achieve finished product), or cut ribbons to desired length and connect the letters tying knots at each corner of the paper.

**Tips**

• I recommend using a wider ribbon, like 1″-1.5″ as the color will show up better against your backdrop (wherever you decide to hang it).
• Use a softer type fabric ribbon such as satin or organza as it will allow the banner to hang better.
• Try to refrain from using the skinny gift ribbon because it tends to make the sign look homemade. Remember, when making your own products, the key is to make it look “personalized” and “couture”, not “homemade.” Something as simple as choosing the right ribbon can make a big difference.

5. Attach the banner to the backdrop. Depending on the material of the backdrop, you will either use tape (for a wall), or white head pins (for fabric). Another option is to leave the ribbons at the ends of the banner longer so that you can tie it to a wall sconce or a tree.

6. In order to maintain the continuity of our King of the Jungle safari theme, she added some store bought ceiling decorations in the shape of a lion, monkey, and zebra to the edges and center of the banner.

**Tips**

• You could print pictures relating to your theme from online.

I had my sister copy this technique for my first son, NT’s CARS birthday party, 2 weeks after JT’s birthday. She did it in a rush, used white paper with black ink, so it did not look as nice. However, adding a few CARS ceiling decorations I bought from Party City made it look a bit more festive.

What would you recommend to tweak this project? If you’ve done it, how did it work for you?

Passport required!

The passport idea was the hit of the party!

Each guest was greeted at the door by a 4ft tall cut-out of a lion (designed and painted by Auntie D), where they were required to place their head through the hole for a picture taking for their passport before proceeding on the King of the Jungle Safari.

Mr. PeeWeeParties had set up a photo station to immediately print the picture taken to be inserted into the Passport. The total process from picture taking to print out and insert took about 45 seconds.

This idea was originally intended for the children explorers only, but the adults were not able to resist the silliness of it, either. This ultimately gave everyone a nice keepsake to take home.

Another way to use this idea is with a Carnival theme, but create “tickets” instead of “passports”. Also, if you’re doing a Cars theme for your child, you can create “drivers licenses.”

With the lion cut-out being so cute, I did not want to throw it out after the party. I am considering renting it out for other birthday parties. But, for the immediate future, I am re-using it at my older son’s birthday party as a lion’s mouth for the kids to throw balls or beanbags through as a “carnival” game. Mr. PWP wants to repaint it into a car and use it as either a carnival game (to match the Cars theme), or drivers license picture taking. We’ll see. The nice thing is, we have options.

Here’s a breakdown of materials and cost:

• Lion cut-out: Millstead pre-cut birch plywood, paint, table saw= $16

Auntie D was able to purchase unwanted paint colors at the local Home Depot by the gallon full at only $1 each. There are less expensive types of plywood, but they happened to choose the most expensive because it was sturdier. She then found the design of the lion by searching on Google, and replicated it by hand onto the board with a pen. She then proceeded to paint, and had a friend cut the hole where the face would be with his own table saw.

• Picture station set-up: digital camera, MacBook laptop, color printer, 4×6 photo paper, 5×7 fold over cards for picture insert

I created a passport using the same paper and color I used for the invitations, purchased at my local Paper Source. I followed the theme of the lion from his invitation over to the passport as well. The camera/printer station was hooked up to the laptop, allowing immediate review and printing.

Be sure to let us know how you use this idea, and how it worked out.

I was out of my mind when I happened upon the back-to-school section in the back of my local Target store. Why, you ask? Because a 24-pack box of Crayola crayons was only $.22. Yes, twenty-two CENTS! Needless to say, I piled the cart with 35 boxes of these colorful sticks of wonder into my red cart, and announced to fellow shoppers in disbelief that the crayons were only twenty-two CENTS! What a deal!

My original idea was to buy each child a box of crayons at a local $.99 store. But, this was way better!

I asked the cashier how long the sale would go on until. She told me until the beginning of September. If the store were to run out before that date, then I would get a rain check. Nice!

The other bargain I was going gaga over was in their dollar section where everything was only a dollar! I found a pack of 4 4oz bottles of blowing bubbles for only a dollar, making each bottle only $.25 each. The cheapest I had found was $.50 each at the local Party City and Michaels. I stocked up on these for my second son’s birthday party. This section also had stickers, stamp pads, socks, bibs, toys, notepads, etc, that would have been great party bag stuffers–but, none went with the King of the Jungle Safari theme I was going for. May work for you, though.

Ah, gotta love target.

TIP: If you’re ever in need of some cheap, functional party favors, look in the most unexpected places. In this case, the back-to-school section of Target. Recall that the safari backpacks were also found at Target–in the clearance toy section.

Safari backpack

I am known for throwing parties that are way too extravagant–in size, detail, food–you name it. At the same time, I am big on staying on budget. In order to stay on budget as you create a unique party, it is important to decide the features most important to your party, and spend money on those.

In this case, for JT’s birthday, I decided the invitation and party favors would be where I’d spend a good chunk of my money. Since the invitations turned out to be such a bargain, I had more than I had anticipated left over from the budget for a functional party favor–a backpack.

My favorite way to achieve maximum bang for my buck is to create double duties for my party favors and activities. I came to this epiphany upon waking up from a deep night’s slumber: If I was going to have a party favor, I wanted it to correlate with the King of the Jungle theme that I was planning for JT, and it would be functional enough for them to carry their passports and materials around. I also wanted something that they could re-use. The backpack idea was perfect.

However, the search for the darn things were a pain in the neck. Luckily for me, I spread my idea, and Auntie T was able to find it at Target for me on sale at $9 a piece, complete with binoculars, water bottle, compass/whistle.

Although this is an extravagant party favor, I had budgeted to spend a good chunk for the party favors in addition to the invitations, anyway.

There was also the option of purchasing the backpacks from the $.99 store. However, the inventory is different from store to store, and there were only 10 in my local store–I have 35 kids. I figured the driving to search in other stores would have burned gas, which equals $$$ anyway.

The rest of the party details–games/activities, food, entertainment, decor–are either free or of very little cost.

Stay tuned!

At one too many parties, the kids in my neck of the woods have gotten high, literally, from the copious amounts of sugar offered to them–from the pinata, party favor bags, and cake.

This time around, I am limiting the traditional forms of sweets (i.e.; candy and cookies) served, and turning towards nature’s simple sugars to satisfy any sweet fiends attending the party. I am serving bananas.

How perfect is this treat for the King of the Jungle Safari theme I am going for for JT’s first birthday party? Jungle, monkeys, bananas…get it? To entice the children, however, I am:

1) Calling it a snack that the natives of the jungle eat

2) Freezing them on lollipop sticks, and

3) Allowing them to adorn and create their frozen bananas as they please with a dipping station.

Here is a list of what I’m providing as dipping items for the children’s bananas:

-whipped cream

-marshmallow creme

-sprinkles

-fruity pebbles

-caramel

I am choosing these particular dipping items because I am hoping that it will encourage the children to
eat whatever they can while sitting at the station, and not sneak any off with them. The marshmallow creme and whipped cream also work as an adhesive for the other dipping items.

Here is how I created the frozen bananas:

1. Cut each large banana in half.

2. Push a skinny, short lollipop stick through the flat edge of the banana half.

3. Wrap in foil.

4. Freeze overnight.

In theory, the children should have fun creating an item they’ll be eating, and satisfy their sweet tooth at the same time. I’ll let you all know how it all works out this Sunday!

UPDATE: The children thoroughly enjoyed the frozen banana treat. On the day of the party, we had a little snafu where the bananas were not put in the freezer at the facility we had the party at, but in the refrigerator…for 3 hours. So, the bananas ended up with a soft, creamy texture, instead of a hard, icy texture. Surprisingly, when I tasted it, it was much better than I’d expect it to be–it felt and tasted like banana ice cream. My sisters and some other adults commented on how good it tasted. Let this be an example of how glitches in our party can actually be beneficial!

What unique treats have you done at your parties? Anything cool happen by accident?

The finished product!

My son’s first birthday is one week away! It really is amazing that he’s come so far in this past year. It’s been a loooong year for our family, that’s for sure, from the disheartening diagnosis to the hospital stays. JT has really fought hard and we want this celebration to signify all that he’s been through.

In order to set the tone for the magnitude of this event, I felt it necessary to focus a portion of my budget on couture, handcrafted invitations. After researching online from several different sites specializing in children’s party invitations and announcements, I found none to my liking as they were not personalized enough. None of the invitations portrayed my son’s uniqueness. So, I set out to create my own.

Because my child was born in the month of the Leo, I wanted the main logo to be a lion. From that, I conjured up the theme of King of the Jungle Safari.

I did further research online to decide what I wanted the general design to be including the size of the card, colors, and possible layers. I visited some wedding invitation sites for ideas as well. Then, I headed to a local specialty paper shop, Paper Source, for the purchase of my materials.

It was crucial that I researched ahead of time to gain a better understanding of how I wanted my invitation to look like before entering the shop. I knew that once I got there, I would easily be distracted by the infinite options.

However, my plan to get in and get out was delayed, nonetheless. I couldn’t help it! There was a myriad of colored papers, textures, stamps, inspirations…I couldn’t turn away!

After about 2 hours in the store, I ended up purchasing the materials necessary to create the invitation I had originally come in for. However, I also found inspiration for the lion that would don the card in one of their stamps. I found this on their online website, copied it, and cleaned it up in Adobe Photoshop.

By chance we ended up with a chartreuse green to compliment the poppy orange cardstock that I had originally come in for. Originally, I was interested in pairing the orange with a pool blue. The combination was beautiful, but there was just not enough cardstock in that color. The green worked out much better as it resonated with the jungle, safari theme better. I love last minute improvising!

To keep the invitation formal, but still kid party-like, I purchased sheets of polka dot paper to line the half of the 5×7 card. Then, the ivory cardstock (that matched the ivory polka dots) that would contain all the text would overlay in the center.

The wording of the invitation was also very important to me. I made sure that it would reflect Justin and his journey and the fact that we wanted everyone in our lives to join in the celebration. I also wanted to make it clear that this was a BIG party. As words are one of my favorite things in this world, I played around of a few of them to produce the following:

“My little dear, it’s been a year/A year we never knew could be./You have given us the gift of YOU/Now, this celebration is for thee.
Family and friends, we would be honored to have you and yours join us in celebrating JT’s first year of life with a party fit for a king!

I am quite proud of my creation as it is not only ultra-personalized, but it was also handmade by me, his Mama, and his aunties. Even more special!

One of the best perks of making your own invitations? Keeping things within budget. I ended up spending only $.80 per invitation plus an additional $.42 for stamp. Online companies were selling me invitations for at least $1.30 each without postage.

Stay tuned for the party details!

I am a wedding consultant and designer turned stay-at-home mom, party planner extraordinaire! Circumstances in my life changed when my second son was diagnosed with severe congenital heart defects; there were moments when the certainty of his life hung by a thread. Now, at almost 1 year old, there is much to celebrate about.

To me, parties are the ultimate way to celebrate a person’s life. My taste calls for extravagance with food, games, entertainment, and decor fit for all ages, no matter the occasion or location. Being a stay-at-home mom, with only my husband’s income to sustain our household of four, I find creative ways to create unique parties on a budget. Extravagance does not mean breaking the bank.

Of course, having been in the wedding industry for eight years does have its perks. My connections are plentiful. But, I’ve gained some tricks up my sleeve I would love to share with you.

I love parties and will muster up the energy to plan one even after a full day of whining, fighting, feeding, chasing, cooking, paying bills, cleaning…you get the picture. If there is one thing I’ve learned from my second son, it is how precious life is, and how worthy it is of celebrating.

Here, I’ll be focusing on children’s parties from newborn to grade school. I invite you to dive into PeeWeeParties for unique tips and ideas for planning your next event for your little ones!

Life is a process. With that being said, I also welcome your ideas on how you plan your parties. My extended family is rather large. There seems to be at least 2-3 birthdays every month of the year. I’d love to get some fresh and unique ideas on how to throw parties together in a cinch to make everyone feel special.

Can’t wait to party!