birthday parties

what a day!  selah's 4th birthday party!  

so much fun - for me... and for her too i think!  

i love planning a party for my kids.  

i wonder how many more of these themed style parties i'll get to plan?  

so far we've had 

backyardigans (e-3), 

purple (s-2), 

flowers (e-4), 

little einsteins (s-3), 

rainbows (e-5), 

and today was dinosaurs (s-4)! 

i was tempted to ask emery today after the party was done, 

what she wanted for her next party, 

but i thought it would be best to hold off on that.

i'm a little crazy when it comes to birthday parties.  

truth is, i put a lot into them.  

about 2 months before the date, my brain starts whirling.  

first task is having the girls choose the theme they want.  

then i design an invitation with theme and colours in mind.

after that, it's on to dollarama and michael's for ideas for crafts and goodie bags...

there's also a great liquidation place near hear that 

usually has something surprising that fits my theme perfectly!  

and what did parents do before the internet - so easy to get great ideas for cakes and games online.  

purple sparkly dinosaur cake

when planning a party i think the main things to focus on are: 

games, crafts, cake, goodie bags and decorations 

(having a colour scheme makes all of those even more fun!).  

yes, it takes a lot of time, but for me the planning is energizing and fun. 

the key to success is lists...lots of them!  

to buy list.  to do list.  to plan list.  you get the idea.

and my favourite thing to do with a party is throwing in a few unexpected decorations 

(eg. origami dinosaurs).

a glimpse of some pre-party setup

oh, and something that i've had at every party so far 

(thanks to judah) 

is peanut butter chocolate chip sandwiches 

(cut into a fun shape: stars, flowers, hearts, dinos...).  

they seem to go over well!

i couldn't pull off these parties without judah.

on party day, he gets the girls out of the house for a couple hours so i can set up,

and he willingly does any job i ask during the party.

thanks hon!

more pics of the actual party will come another time.

hard to play mom and photographer on a day like today...

thank goodness for my friend catherine!