Halfway???

So, next up.. A pokemon party for Christopher's 9th bday! I can't believe my baby is turning nine. Where do the years go? He's halfway out of my house. The first nine have flown and I know the second nine will prove even faster. So, back to the party....

First up, I refuse to make myself crazy over this one! He's having a sleepover. I am thinking pizza, a picachu cake topped with yellow frosting and some easy accents, a late night "grossest desert" contest (because, you know, they are boys!), a new pokemon wii game for them to play, a few pokemon themed games, and maybe a movie to pass out to! Anyone else have thoughts on this????

"Paws"-itively Perfect Puppy Party

So Jenna decided she wanted a "puppy party" for her 4th birthday. At first I thought we could just have a couple of her little friends over to celebrate, but it turned into something so much bigger. I was on a mission: Puppy party on a budget. Hummmmm, so here is what I came up with!

When the girls arrived, they were greeted with adorable puppy headbands! I have to admit these were a pain, but sooooo worth the effort. A little felt, a little thread, some dollar store headbands and VOILA!! The girls loved them and they made for some adorable pics!
Cost: $7

Next, it was on to the tables to color their personalized puppy placemats! Free clip art paired with a really cute font, printed on white cardstock and mounted on pink cardstock (I would have preferred hot pink, but I just pulled from my stash). Daddy was waiting in the wings with cut contact paper to complete the placemat projects once the artists were finished! Love daddy! I had the pink cardstock and contact paper on hand and the images were free.
Cost: $2 (not counting the ink for printing)

While they created their masterpiece, one by one they visited the "Puppy Palace" to adopt their own puppy! Each puppy came complete with an adoption certificate and a carry case! Once they chose their puppy it was off to decorate their carry case and make a collar for their new pup! For this craft I purchased fifteen stuffed puppies from the dollar store, hot pink chinese take out boxes from Five Below, beads on clearance from Micheals, letter beads and elastic thread from Joannes, and a sticker book of dog and cat stickers.
Cost: $28

No party is complete without some games! After the puppies all had new homes and a little bling, the girls went on a dog bone hunt. Prior to the party, we drew paw prints on four dog biscuits and hid the rest of the biscuits (from the Dollar Store) all over the party area (main floor of the house). The girls used their ziploc bags from their collar project to collect as many bones as they could find. Once all the bones were found, each girl returned to their seats and emptied their bags. The girls who found the paw print bones won a prize! The other option to this game was to give the prize to the girl who found the most, but since we had such a wide variety of ages, I thought the paw prints were a better alternative!

Next, another game - "Pass the Paw." I found an inflatable paw at the party store (I really could have used anything "puppy" to pass, but Jenna saw this one!) We had all sorts of puppy songs recorded and when the music stopped the person holding the paw won a prize! (I opted not play the original way where the person stuck with the paw was "out" because we had sooo many little ones! I did not want the tears!) I just purchased some stickers and other small items for prizes!Cost: $8

Finally, it was on to cake and presents! The cake was so much fun to make and one of the most expensive parts of the party! I had to call in some reinforcements and it was well worth it! Jenna loved it!!!!! I had cupcakes, too, but I could have done without! The kids only wanted the cake!Cost: $25

For simplicity and timing of the party, I served puppy chow (muddy buddy chex mix), "puppies" in a blanket (pigs in a blanket), dog chow (ranch chex mix), Scooby snacks (scooby doo graham crackers), and Caprisuns. I purchased adorable black n white dog bowls (dollar store), placed them on the tables filled with the scooby snacks. They served two purposes - food and decor!
Cost: $30(This is an estimate as I had so much on hand already and, of course, my coupons!)

As for decoration, I used all the stuffed animals we had on hand! I purchased white table clothes and stamped black paw prints up and down each side. For the main table I used a hot pink sheet and for the backdrop I used a hot pink and white polka dot sheet. My amazing husband fashioned a fire hydrant from pvc piping and a drain, then spray painted it hot pink! I found paw print balloons and mixed them with black and hot pink balloons. My only regret was I did not have enough time to decorate the mantel/backdrop the way I wanted. The sign was a quick fix because I just ran out of time... poor planning on my part!
Cost: $28.50


So the Grand Total for the smiles and happiness of a puppy-crazed 4 yr. old.....
$128.50

Truly Priceless!!!!!!!!!