I'm No Martha Stewart...

But I do enjoy a party. 

One of the benefits of having an only child (and there are many) is the positively epic parties you get to throw. You only have one kid to budget for and nobody ever gets jealous that their party wasn't as good as the last party. Davis' first birthday party was at the Disneyland Hotel complete with Mickey Mouse. One year I threw a carnival in the backyard- complete with carnival sized rides including bumper boats. She's had twenty-five of her closest friends take a Hummer limo to San Diego where they all spent the night in the arctic aquarium with beluga whales. And her Halloween party rivals a professional haunted house. 

Like I said, I love a good party. That being said, I don't think I have any special skills that make me a good party planner. All you need is good organizational skills, the ability to see the "big picture" and now Pinterest. Back in the day, you had to come up with your own ideas. Not anymore. When I knew we were having a small reception for Davis' baptism, it was my go-to idea generator. So while the party may have looked great, the ideas were not my own. If you haven't ever checked out Pinterest, I encourage you to do so. You can find the answers to almost anything there- recipes, crafts, fitness, the list goes on and on. But don't say I didn't warn you about the time suckage. Once you start you won't be able to stop. 

 

I have learned many things planning parties over the last twelve years:

1. Plan ahead. As far out as possible start working on projects that you can get done ahead of time. I made the ribbon chandeliers and garlands a week before th party. While time consuming, those things go fast if you just do it while you are watching t.v. It's a good idea to get them done as soon as you can.

2. Make lists. Lots of list. I had decor lists, food lists, guest lists, food to order, etc, etc. and keep them all in a binder or on a notepad so you can check the status of everything as you go. Get as much done as far ahead as possible.

3. Overplan. Now this is my personal tip. I always have a huge list of food I want to make or decor I want to get done. I call it my 125% plan. Then if I run tight on time the day of the party, I can drop things off the list. Nobody will ever know, because I was already at 125%, by dropping a few things I'm now at 100%- a complete party and nobody will ever know there is anything missing. Nobody asked me at Davis' baptism where the lavender popcorn balls were or why the vegetables were on a tray instead of individual baquettes for ever guest. They had no idea I dropped those off the list because I ran out of time. I was still at 100% because I had overplanned.


4. Pre-test. For anything I am doing for the first time I do a run through the day before. I was worried about the balloons staying up so we tested one a day before the party and sure enough with the picture it fell right to the ground. Easy to fix the day before the party- we simply glue dotted them to the ceiling. But it would have been really stressful the day of the party if I had balloons falling down everywhere. I also did a test run on the cupcakes the day before. I had never cooked cupcakes in ketchup cups so I tried one and sure enough they stuck in the cup even though it was lined. Good to know ahead of time before I baked seventy-two of them. Pre-testing ensures you won't have any surprises the day of.

5. Buy what you can. I didn't make the lemonade from scratch or the brownies. I bought them already done. It saved me time to focus on other things that were more important. there's no point in wasting time cutting up lettuce for a salad when you can buy a catered one from Panera. And nobody will notice.

6. Get help. I have a wonderful husband who contributes to all of the party planning. He helps cook, hangs decor, and runs to the store for anything I might have forgotten. And now that Davis is older, she helped a lot too. Grab a friend. It will make it easier.

7. Realize no matter how much you plan for that perfect day- it won't be perfect. I've had caterers show up late after the party has started, a party planner that insisted on dressing up like a clown even though I said no face paint, and even Mickey Mouse presented the cake to one of Davis' firends in stead of the birthday girl. You will be the only person who notices these things. After throwing parties for years and being in tears afterwards because after all of that work- they weren't perfect, I realized- I had to let it go. I was the only one who noticed- Davis didn't. The guests didn't. Let it go.

So enough of my ramblings- how about some photos.

We had the food on the island of our kicthen. Do you think anyone noticed the entire end of the cabinet was supposed to be covered in tissue paper poms. Nope. 

I just ran out of time and had to let it go.

I polished all the silver two days before. I had all the trays set up where I wanted them. I just needed to get the food out of the fridge and I would be ready.

The centerpiece was easy. Just branches spray painted lavender and put into a glass vase.

   I added photos from the last thirteen years of Davis' life to the balloons. The guests really enjoyed looking at the photos from when she was little. This would be cute for an anniversary party too!

For the lemonade glasses I used ball jars wrapped in fabric with the lids spray painted lavender. I will save everything and just repaint them for the next party. The custom water bottle labels with her monogram on them were just printed off our office printer. Easy.

 I glued rhinestones on o all of the forks for a little extra bling and displayed them in ball jars with her monogram charm.

 

     I liked this idea for the fruit tray. It was easy for guests to just grab a cone and go. I also baked several different mini cupcakes in ketchup cups- no muffin tins required and I liked that the guests could have different flavors of cake without having to take a big cupcake.

 This cake was my nemesis. It took me forever to bake as you had to make all of the cake pops first then you bake them in the cake batter. It was lopsided from all the balls so I kept trying to smash it flat. Once you cut it, it looked super cute but I don't know if I would make it again.

My fabric garland and chandeliers hung outside on our patio.

I think they came out really pretty. Thee centerpiece was easy. Take any glass jar and fill it with silk flowers, add distilled water and you are done. I will be doing this for a lot of different holidays- especially Christmas.

 

 And of course you always have to have a "take-away" for your guests. Ours were candy cups filled with Hershey kisses with her monogram on front.

 Were the weeks of planning worth it? For something that was over in an hour? I look at this face and I say, yes. Yes, because this is her one and only baptism day. Yes, because we make moments with our kids that they will remember forever. Just one look at this face and I know, no matter what it is, she will always be worth it. 

Have an awesome Monday!

-Tricia