Sunday, August 03, 2008

Party Notes + Giveaway

I survived our first ever kids-only party, thanks to the help of my uber wonderful hubby & my dear neighbor, the mom of one of our guests. She helped me hold down the fort for about half the time. I think that was about as much girly-energy as this house has ever seen. There was screaming, there was dancing, there was water-fun, there was one really happy birthday girl.

My personal pizza idea didn't go over as well as I expected. The girls *loved* making them, but they didn't get gobbled up like I thought they would. Maybe other girls don't love pizza {or homemade ones?} as much as my kids do. Or maybe the pizzas were just so big that they were scary. I don't know. The cupcakes on the other hand, I think are just beeeaauutiful. They look {at least to me} like they came from some NYC bakery. I think I will be making these often. I think they're pretty enough to bring to a gathering. Maybe with different pastel shades of frosting. The delicate sprinkles are just the right touch, yes?


They tasted as good as they looked, although one girl was just a frosting-eater & one girl told me that her & her other little friend "didn't really like them". {My ego was only slightly bruised.} The low-cost goodie bags came together nicely, thanks to my little creation, the Target dollar spot {pencils}, as well as a great CVS deal I happened to come upon right before the party. {I spent 1 penny on seven gargantuan Hershey's bars, a package of eight mini-Reese's and a 3-pack of Trident gum. Willy Wonka would be proud.} Total cost per goodie bag: about 50 cents, including the bag!


:: all dressed up & waiting to go ::

And in honor of all this party fun & frugal creativity, and since I'm sure you are tired of reading about the hair clips I thought I'd share some of the goodness here. I am giving away this pretty little thing:


Simply leave a comment with your favorite low cost party tip by midnight on Wednesday, August 6th & a random winner will be drawn and announced on Thursday.

Good luck, ya'll.

P.S. I've been playing with Photoshop to enhance the photos. Likey?

7 comments:

Henry said...

love the hair clips! my best cheap party idea: have a build-your-own sundae bar with store brand ice creams and toppers. no need for cakes or games with one of those around!

Erin said...

Ohhh...that is a great idea!!! The ice cream would go over really well in my home!

Honestly...one of the best birthday's we ever had was at Chuck E.Cheese! I think the fact that I didn't have to clean up was kinda...fairy tale like!

I think that a "movie night" would be a good "cheap" birthday party! Especially with shows like the Hannah Montana concert and High School Musical!

And...although we don't have any birthday's coming up we are planning on doing a "olympic" celebration because this will be the first olympics that K1,K2 and K3 will remember.

I am EXCITED!!! Gotta love the Tivo too!!! If we start a bit late we can fast forward through the commercials! :)

Beth said...

We just had a birthday party over the weekend and I have to say, pool party at Grandma's house was wonderful! Instead of making a cake for the big crew we had or buying one (it would have been $40 or more) we opted for a cupcake cake from Walmart for $13.88. It was adorable and they gave us a little smasher cake for free!

I love the cupcakes, Becki! They look beautiful. The little clips are also very cute! We are clip-aholics here.

Peaceful Chaoz said...

"I just loved her party, can i go back tomorrow to tell T thank you!"
Quote from a party guest ;0)

I have started planning our little ones 3rd and we're having a big bash because it seems the past couple years shes kind of gotten jipped. I saved a lot by getting all the plates, invites, and a few decor things from ebay. I probably paid half the price I would have, maybe even more!! We also did the icecream sundae thing with my oldest dd, and it was a hit, plus soooo cheap!!
LOVE the cupcakes, I may need some help with ours! :0)

Peaceful Chaoz said...

OH And I would totally second Beths Pool Party idea, we do those OFTEN and its so nice because they kids just play in the pool, I don't even have to come up with games and stuff to pass the time!! ;0)

Stephanie said...

So glad I peeked in tonight!

We have our parties at home instead of renting a place.

And I always make the birthday cakes/cupcakes. I bought Jaedon's first birthday cake and realized what a MISTAKE that was! Seriously pricey compared to making my own!

Beth said...

I have another...

Thank you notes. Use a picture of your child at his/her party and upload it on Walmart.com (.33 cents a piece). It's more personal and way more cute than sending a plain thank you.

Okay, I am done.