Yo Gabba Gabba!

I have to admit, I do not get the appeal of this show. BUT kids LOVE it and it makes for a cute and brightly colored birthday party! My friend gave this party and I loved the invitation! SO cute! She also made this cake! I love it when people make their own cakes. I am just not that talented! I listed the website at the bottom of the post.

She also did all the plates and balloon!

And these party favors!

And this cut-out was ordered from Etsy for the perfet photo-op! PRECIOUS PARTY! Details below...

Made the cake following these directions. http://www.gabbafriends.com/courtneys-brobee-cake-recipeI Decorated the balloons with construction paper, glue, and markers. Same with the plates. The party favors are 1. wrapped in streamer paper 2. then mod podge on top 3. then decorated with black marker and whiteout. Inside the tall ones were glow sticks; in the small ones there was a car, a sticker, candy, and a little rubber toy. I got the stand- up cut outs on etsy.

A Lovely Little Sip and See

This past weekend, I had the honor of hostessing a shower for these two lovely ladies {my beautiful SIL, Kendra and scrumptious niece, Alana}. I truly love sip and sees because the focus of the party is the baby! The whole event is centered around the guest of honor so all the other details are simple and always chic. The hostesses decided we would use all fine china and silver. We also had a coffee bar, so the tea cups were a visual focus.

I found this sweet little teapot at Marshalls and fell in love!

Here was the centerpiece for the table.

I love the idea of stacked teacups with flowers on the top. I saw it on Hostess Blog and they had their teacups stacked up very high! However, our little bone china would not allow that kind of height! I was still pleased with the way it turned out.

We served different types of coffee from a coffee bar. I made the arrangements out of a mason jar filled with coffee beans. I put a skinny vase in the center and stuck hydrangeas inside. I saw this idea on Head of the Table but used hydrangeas instead of carnations.

We displayed all of the cups and saucers and coffee fixin's on the kitchen table. I felt like it was beckoning all of the guests to drink the coffee!

I made the little covers for the water bottles! So easy! Cut strips of scrapbook paper, use an embosser and a stamp and voila! Instant cuteness!

These cupcakes were done by a local woman who owns, La Cupcake. Yum.

And gorgeous too.

And this was the little guest of honor. She made the whole thing extra beautiful!

May The Force Be With You

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... My friend, Angie, gave her son an incredible STAR WARS party!

I thought it would be great to see a post for older boys. There is soooo much out there for little girls and baby boys, but after a certain age...things sort of evolve into "themes" for boys. I think that is because boys fall in love with certain characters and want a Batman, CARS, or whatever sort of party. Well, Angie did what I LOVE to see moms do! She created a personal, creative, and unique take on a "theme" party! All the details were well thought out--it definitely was NOT a party-in-a-box!

Look at the details! Like glowsticks as favors!

And the signs {all done in Star Wars font!} made it just that much more creative and memorable.

And this is my fave...YODA SODA!

Well done, Angie! May the force be with you again for the next party!!!

NEED SOME HELP?!?!

Do you have a kid's party coming up? Do you need some real advice on where to start, where to look for invitations, creating a timeline or how to throw a fab party on a mini-budget? I am not a professional, but I am a mama who has planned and helped with a few parties! If you have a question, feel free to comment it in this post OR you can email me smalltownsoiree@yahoo.com. Don't be shy now, ask away!!!!

I will compile all of the questions and do a post on it! You can post anonymously too :)

If You Give a Pig a Pancake Party

This feature party was so cute! My friend, Elizabeth, needed something for both her son and daughter's birthday, so a book theme was perfect! I don't know about you, but I am in love with the 'IF YOU GIVE...'series of books! I think books are just a fun way to incorporate a theme. You can always use the book to read to the kids and she even gave each child attending their own copy! I encourage mamas out there to pick their kiddos favorite book and run with the theme! The sky is the limit with a book party {think Fancy Nancy, Olivia, Dr. Seuss, etc.}! The pancake theme was super fun for breakfast! Her son also has food allergies, so all of the food she served was non-dairy, egg-free and peanut-free. I was glad she brought this up, because it is ALWAYS nice to ask if the children you are inviting have food allergies. Elizabeth is a master at allergy friendly cooking and baking!

Love these cupcakes!

She also found their t-shirts at CafePress. They have just about anything you are looking for!

And little Clarey had a sweet little piggy bow from etsy {what mama doesn't love stuff from etsy?!?}

Thanks for sharing this precious party with us!!

Carnival Extraordinaire!

Ok, so I am a wee-bit biased about this party, but I don't think anyone could deny that it was top-notch style and fun! It was a joint 3rd birthday celebration for these two muffins {my nephew, Colton and my son's BFF, Creighton!} Their birthdays are about 6 weeks apart and they are best of friends, so their mommies decided to throw a double Carnival bash! Well, it paid off! Seriously, no detail went unnoticed! There was SO much color and every last thing was picture perfect. It was outside and I think the kids all had such a fun time playing the games and running around!

They rented a popcorn machine! I think big details like that are so fun! The popcorn machine alone sort of pulled the whole thought together! Most of the carnival supplies were purchased at Hobby Lobby! They will often have great themed party supplies that don't look cheesy and outdated. And look at the picture print-outs on the popcorn of the two buddies. To die for.

There was a mini rollercoaster that probably was the kids favorite part! Ok...it was the all of the dad's favorite part!

There were even little game stations set up for everyone to enjoy!!

The gift table was adorned with pictures of the two friends together. Of course, the pictures are always my favorite part of a good party. They are a must when it comes to making the whole thing personal!

This party truly was one of my favorites of all time. So well put together and even more importantly, it made you really feel like it WAS indeed a carnival! A crowd pleaser for sure! I TOLD YOU I had waaaay talented friends!

Flattered AGAIN!!

HOW COOL??? Tristan's Choo-Choo party was featured as a winner on the wonderful Kara's Party Ideas! Thank you, Kara, for the kind mention! Your blog is an inspiration!

FLATTERED!

Well, I am SO VERY flattered! Kacey's cupcake party was featured on a big-time blog, Simply Creative Insanity! Wow! Feels good to know that people are reading and taking notice! Make sure that if you are reading, you become a follower too!

Monster Mash!

A couple of weeks ago, when I was a guest on Momeez talk radio, a caller asked me for advice on doing a Monster-inspired party for her child's October birthday without being to Halloween-y, if that makes sense. Well, leave it to the ever so talented Kara at Kara's Party Ideas to do such a party as this! It is sooooooo cute! Makes me want to have an October birthday too! Check out her blog for more inspiration!

Lots of stuff from Target and {my fave} Oriental Trading Co.! Just click on this link and it will lead you to all things monsters!!! LOVE IT!