celebration: home depot birthday party

my oldest just turned 6 last week. for his birthday party, he decided he wanted it at our local home depot store. slight problem: home depot doesn't do birthday parties. 

i wanted to make this birthday a happy one for my first born, so i set out to make it happen. after lots of begging and pleading and general niceness, i was able to make it happen! (rock star mom moment).

have you ever been to one of the kids workshops that home depot has? (if not, check out your local store---they are so much fun!) our home depot hosts one every saturday and the boys and i have so much fun building an awesome project together (last week was a bug catcher). as a single mama on a budget, the bonus is that they are also *free*. the amazing woman that runs the kids workshops at our local store went above and beyond to make my son's dreams of having a "kids workshop" home depot birthday party a reality.

we took over the training room, every child built and painted a tool box with their parent (all of the instructions, materials and paint was supplied). after the building was complete, the candles were blown out on the tray of homemade cupcakes, bellies were filled with birthday, sugary goodness, and each child went home with their finished project as well as some quality time with one of their parents.

the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae was that the party was *free*. home depot didn't charge us a dime. 

the only things i spent money on were:
plates, napkins, cupcake supplies, plastic construction hats and little favor bags that were filled with a few goodies.

it was a birthday party that he will never forget....and a happy mommy moment too. happy birthday, little man. your mama sure loves you.

cookie monster birthday party

my sister went to the most amazing 1st birthday party this past weekend and was nice enough to take pictures to share with us! first of all, this mom is amazing! how does she create all of this and still be a mommy?! she is my hero!

to-go treat bags! 

*love* the napkins. i want.

cutest cupcakes and adore the milk jugs!

what an adorable way to welcome guests!

the addition of the chocolate brown chevron fabric and the vintage crate are wonderful!

cutest gift bags ever! loving the hang tags!

these milk mustache straws are adorable!

yes. this is a letter created with all mini-cookies! fantastic!

second of all, i think i love/hate pinterest. it contains the most amazing and creative ideas, but is it possible anymore to just have a simple backyard birthday party? you know the ones i am talking about, right? with a costco sheet cake to top off the play date disguised as a "birthday party"? maybe some streamers or a couple of balloons on the mailbox so guests know where to go? are we demanding too much of ourselves as parents now? maybe we need a birthday without a glue stick?

......or maybe not. i mean, this party was amazing. maybe you all can just keep putting on these amazing parties, share the pictures with us and we can live vicariously through you. me? well, i learned my lesson last year with the train party. i am not cut out for an over the top party right now. i've learned my lesson. see you at costco----i'll be the one with the sheet cake. bring on simplicity!! 


*if you have a link on your blog that any of these ideas originally came from, please share with us. i would be happy to post a link back to your site. 

diy: fabric pennant flag banners

supplies needed:

cotton fabric: i used 1 yard of each color

extra wide double fold bias tape (each is 3 yards long)

thread

sewing machine

sissors or pinking sheers

directions:

i made a quick pattern by folding an 8.5 x 11 paper. making the pennant pattern 8.5" x 9.5"

use the pattern to cut as many triangles that you need. you can use regular sissors or pinking sheers if you want to add a more decorative effect. 8 triangle pennants fit comfortably onto each 3 ft. piece of bias tape.

simply slip each triangle into the fold in the bias tape and sew (one at a time) being sure to secure the triangle securely into the tape. be sure to leave enough bias at each end to use to hang.

ta-da!! the finished product. super cute and machine washable so you can have for many celebrations to come.

choo choo train themed birthday party

recently, my two sweet boys turned two and four. to celebrate their big days we threw them a joint train themed backyard birthday party. (wonder how much longer i can get away with a joint party?)  i made the number shirts (above) to commemorate the day and in the party colors using an applique process. (tutorial coming soon).

this balloon wreath was on the front door and greeted everyone as they arrived. it was something that i was asked several times, "how did you make it?!" it was a little time consuming, but really simple. i think it will be a treasured tradition in our family to hang on birthdays. fun, right? you can find the diy tutorial here.

i made and hung tissue paper pom-poms in the party colors from the trees for a festive look. you can find the tutorial here.

fabric flag pennants decorated the front and back on the house. they were bright and colorful and ensured that guests could find our home quickly and easily. (tutorial coming soon).

the bubble station was a fun and messy hit! the bubbles were wrapped in train themed wrappers, there was a "bubble station" sign and we used a plastic drink dispenser (picked up inexpensively from target). if you do this, be sure to have a plastic storage bin underneath the spicket as a catch-all. it was a last minute addition and proved to be *very* useful.

all printed material was by jenn at nickwilljack. you can have the entire collection emailed you in editable files for a inexpensive rate through etsy.  she was a pleasure to work with and as long as you are willing to put in a little elbow grease printing, cutting and gluing you too can have a fabulous train themed party.

*super* cute water bottle wraps were my all-time favorite. they said "chugga chugga". how cute is that?! again, all thanks to jenn at nickwilljack via her etsy shop.

silverware wraps that say "chew chew". too cute!

"goldfish crackers" pillow box. 

hanging circles from the dining room light fixture so no one would hit their heads.

cutest "happy birthday" banner that is totally customisable with whatever you want it to say. again, all thanks to jenn at nickwilljack via her etsy shop.

homemade cupcakes with butter cream frosting. anyone want the recipe? the frosting alone is to die for.

cupcake toppers using the printable files and coffee stir sticks (cut in half) from starbucks.

last minute cupcake stand made by wrapping a cardboard box with wrapping paper and gluing on printable circles. easy peasy.

time to sing and celebrate my birthday boys! 

i believe that one of the keys to a successful party at your home is having enough for the kids to do. since these munchkins were mostly between the ages of 2 and 4, a lot of organized games were not going to work. we were lucky to have some generous friends that let us borrow the jumpy and roller coaster and we also had a few play things already in the backyard arsenal. here are some of the things that kept the kiddos happy and busy the entire party:

fisher price: jr. sport & slide bouncer

little tikes adjust n jam basketball set

power wheels thomas & friends thomas the tank engine

step 2 up & down roller coaster

kidkraft outdoor playhouse

step2 naturally playful sand table


when it was time for the guests to go home, we had a basket with favors.  (a train whistle from oriental trading company and *super* cute thomas the train crayon rolls. we also included a pillow box with candy inside for the older siblings that came (or if the parents wanted a sweet treat to go). 

 the crayon rolls were from a fantastic little shop on etsy. (you can find them here). they were so amazing to work with. responsive, quick turn around and great prices. i highly recommend using them.

all in all the party was a huge success. the kids were happy and that is all that really matters, right? wonder what they will be into next year?