When: April 15th
Where: Pump It Up
Guest: Who was not invited to this party?!?! No, about 15 of P's dearest friends.
Love, love, love PIU. We are going back for Logan's party- at his request. All our party guest appeared to have a wonderful time. Two of my friends told me their kids wanted their parties there. They even had a Cozy Coupe and infant toys for our wee guest. We had three hosts and all three were very attentive. When P injured her hand- two ran over to her to make sure she was ok. They even did a fantastic job decorating our party room. The party room was even equipped with a speaker adaptor so we could jam to our favorite Clubhouse songs. Last but not least- the price. For up to 24 kids- you get pretty much a two hour party for a little over $300. A few of my friends think its pricey BUT keep in mind we usually have 20-24 kids at our parties. Most places only do 10-15 kids with $12 per guest up to 20 after that. Last year's Gymboree party was about $250 for 18 guest (max). After hosting parties at Gymboree, Little Bears and Monkey Joe's- Pump It Up is the best option.
Party theme: I had visions of a Marie Antoinette theme but P had her own- Hot Pink Zebra Print Minnie. I know...shocking. So after scouting Pinterest and Etsy- I was able to pull some decorating ideas, snacks, and wardrobe inspiration.
http://pinterest.com/ottopants/paige-s-birthday-celebration-inspiration/- the link to my Pinterest site if you want to check out some of my inspirations. Decorations- easy. I recruited my Mom's groups for any left over goods. Scored most of our paper goods and a cool banner that I tweaked to say two (as opposed to one- I RULE). When I bought- I went to Michael's, AC Moore, and iParty.
Outfit: My very good and oldest friend Tim has the most gifted seamstress mom. Again- pulling ideas from Etsy, Sue came up with the hippest, sassiest, hot pink, zebra print, Minnie outfit. Pair up with some accessories. CUTIE PIE!
Snacks: It isn't a Messina party without food. I purposely plan the party in between lunch and dinner (so I can get away with snack foods). Fruit snacks, salty assortments, and zebra print Oreos (I dipped Double Stuffed Oreos with white chocolate and decorate with black chocolate drizzle). I also had a mini candy "bar" for the kiddies- I got a couple of large mason jars and filled one with white and black candy beads and one with hot pink gum balls. Note- we came back with a lot of candy, I think most of the guest thought it was for decoration. The main attraction- the cake. One of my Mom's group friends makes cakes. Again- getting ideas from Pinterest- Kelly designed a cake fitted for my Minnie Diva. Local friends- you want a fancy cake and want to "shop" local- go with Kelly Moody (she is one of my Facebook friends- she is a doll).
Favors: Goody Bags are out. We went with a Minnie Mouse cookie from Cakes For Occasions. I had stickers left over from P's first birthday that I used to stick on the back. Add a Minnie bow to tie the top- too much!
P's big day ended with an after party at Otto's house with some present opening and superheroes.
