Play Group Party

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A few months ago I signed up for my next turn to host play group and chose a date close to Raegan's birthday so we can celebrate with our friends. I'm going to have it at a local park because we all know how much I enjoyed having at my house last time. That's not my full reasoning, but it's a big part of it. It will be nice to be outdoors so the kids have plenty of room to play and run off the sugar high after eating cupcakes. I learned from our last hosting that they don't leave right after the sweets; they stay and go nuts, then get dramatic because it's close to nap time, linger a little longer, and then they leave. I have so much more to learn.

I'm incorporating a beach theme, but nothing over the top. Before Raegan was born, I promised myself I wouldn't go crazy with her birthday parties, spending too much money and stressing out over tiny details. I think it's a good idea to step back and ask "Who am I doing this for?" I don't see anything wrong with wanting a fun party for your child, but the focus shouldn't be on impressing the other kids and parents. When I taught middle school, there were times that I put so much effort into an activity and made the materials, only to see them being thrown on the floor and not appreciated the way I had hoped. (However, my U.S. cookie map activity scored me some major cool points). When you're doing something for kids, I think you have to be realistic about what they will notice and appreciate. A three year old is not going to appreciate the fact that you spent hours decorating the favor bags by hand with your original art work, and you shouldn't expect them to. It would be so easy to go overboard, though. I saw some ice trays at Target that make fish-shaped ice cubes. I thought they would be so cute floating in the lemonade, but I refrained. It's just ice; it melts. So, I'm trying to keep all of that in check, but I do enjoy being creative and bringing a theme together. I'm glad the plans are coming together, and there's not much for me to do until it's time to make the food.

So, here's the party plan. I put these photos together partly because I don't trust myself to remember to take pictures of the actual party.

1. I'm trying to keep the party utensil-free, so I'm making fruit kabobs and dip.

2. This is the cupcake inspiration. I'm combining the two designs and doing each cupcake with blue icing for water and a little sand, no shark fin. The sand is graham cracker crumbs.

3. Palm tree toppers for the cupcakes

4. I bought a beverage dispenser for $20 because I think it will be something I can use for a long time for future parties. I'm making lemonade and adding lemonade ice cubes so it doesn't get watered down when the ice melts.

5. I'm using a beach towel as a table cloth.

6. Sand pail and shovel for serving goldfish

We're also having peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches :)

7. Bubbles and more bubbles

8. A couple of kiddie pools

9. I haven't come to peace with party favors, so in the mean time I'm keeping it simple with sunglasses and gold fish crackers. I don't want to spend much on it, but I also don't want to buy chotskies. I decorated the bags one night while Ryan was working late and I had some time to myself after putting Raegan to bed. I cut out paper waves and attached them to the bottom of a snack size baggie. I already had the supplies in my craft stash, so I just cut the blue paper with patterned scissors to look like waves - very easy. The older kids will get a pair of sunglasses that were 50 cents each at Hobby Lobby or $1 at Target (love their dollar section).