A FOURocious 4th Birthday Celebration

There’s no secret that my everyday life typically finds me just trying to keep my head above water. It’s something I’ve warmed to; that consistent overwhelming feeling. PTA meetings? I get there, but 15 minutes late. Play dates? Sure, if I can fumble around at awkward small talk for an hour! Homework? Yeah, me & the 3rd grader can trade evil eyes over basic arithmetic until bed time, sign me up! 

But somehow, when it comes to birthdays, my inner Awkward zooms right up to Adequate and I become the world’s most okay-est Pinterest mom! It’s truly a feat, this transition I make. And this past weekend was no different as we celebrated another Brown family birthday. My littlest slice of sunshine, picture of perkiness, and example of excitement turned from a tiresome toddler into a phenomenal preschooler (I figure if I say it often enough, it'll have to end up true).

I decided to honor the occasion with a prehistoric fete fit for our FOUR-ocious 4 year old. See what I did there? It’s clever, admit it.

Let's start at the beginning: About a month ago I attempted searching for the best party options for toddler girls. But none of my findings fit my Parker. Princess for a day? Yeah, my kid is cute, but not all that dainty. Tea party? Nah, fragile and prissy aren't really her thing. Arts & crafts? That was alright too but didn't really speak to her personality. 

Parker is feisty and funny. She's a take no prisoners dynamo in Elmo pajamas. She's got a roar like no other and is definitely set to make history...that's when it hit me, a dinosaur bash is what we needed!

Luckily, trusty Pinterest had me covered and I found everything from invitation designs to goodie bag ideas. We turned the whole soiree into an afternoon just right for my Parkersaurus Rex.

I needed invites in a flash because when I finally found a theme I could stick with it was almost too late to invite folks (I told you adulting was hard). So I went with my fail safe, Walgreens photo card options that can be printed and picked up the same day. They had some dinosaur pre-made designs (hint: you've got to look in the "boy" category) and I slapped PJ's smiling mug on the front and called it a day! I was able to get them to her new classmates right at the 2 week deadline that would've transformed me from doting mom to who-the-hell-invites-us-at-the-last-minute shrew. It was a relief.

Afterward, though now heavily inspired, my last minute budget left much to be desired. I set to work piecing together décor from what we already had around the house. Thankfully, I'm a hoarder, so there was ample streamers and card stock to choose from though my color options were limited. I chose fuschia, bubble gum & gold (the 3 we had in abundance) as a color palate and worked from there. I free-handed a bunch of dino shapes onto some gold paper and placed them on any free wall or cabinet space I saw. I then found the most amazing, divatastic dino cupcake toppers on Amazon and inspiration for mantel décor on Something Turqoise. 

 

I picked up napkins and plates that had metallic details and they complimented our back drop perfectly. I even drew up a menu so that our guests knew what they'd be dining on. I used old frames from elsewhere in the house and placed the menus in the dining area.

And what's a toddler party with activities? It's babysitting, that's what it is. And ain't nobody got time for that. Pinterest was most helpful when it came to this department. I usually keep poster board on hand (never know when I'll have to be first in the picket line - viva la revolucion!), so I painted a few prehistoric friends based on ideas I found on Mom Trends. We played Feed the Dinosaur (tossing a ball through the dinosaur's mouth), Dino Says (Simon Says), Lava Rock (Hot Potato) and rounded it out with Pin the Horn on the Triceratops. And before you get to thinking I'd gotten too cocky at this point, just know that my 1st grader walked in and found me painting the Pin the Horn game and asked what was up "with that weird purple cat." So that was just peachy for my self esteem...

By far though, my favorite part of the party was customizing so many components just for Parker. I added signage to all the games and even made candy wrappers as Thank You notes in our Etsy-inspired goodie bags (that also contained dinosaur masks, temporary tattoo sheets and mini dinosaurs).  The party far exceeded my expectations and most importantly Parker enjoyed being with her friends as she turned another year older. It was truly a blast...from the past. 

C'mon, that was witty!  Thanks for stopping by, guys.

Afterw