He attended his first party in the early new year and it definitely left a lasting impression. Since then he has reminded me several times that when he turned 5 he was going to have a really "big party". My response was always "yes you are going to have a really great party", but the truth is I was little concerned about how "great" it would be if he didn't have the number of friends he expected. The problem was, I knew Hudson was starting at a new school in September which meant he would have to go through the whole "making new friends thing" again. Unfortunately his birthday falls very early in the school year so I was worried he wouldn't have the opportunity to really get to know anyone. However, I was determined to make his birthday a special one so through the summer I spoke with a few parents of some of the kids that were in his class last year and explained the situation to them. I was grateful at how accommodating they were. We exchanged numbers and agreed that when the time came for Hudson's party they would make sure their boys could attend. Fast forward a couple months and the guest list was finalized. Hudson got to celebrate his 5th birthday with 8 of his friends both old and new...and the party was a huge success!
Now for the fun stuff...
Theme
After weeks of narrowing it down to 3 themes (LEGO, Star Wars or Baseball), it was finally decided when the Toronto Blue Jays made it to the next round of Playoffs...a Baseball theme it was - of course it seemed most fitting! I used Pinterest (as always) to gather ideas and share those visions with Hudson. He definitely liked the baseball field birthday cake...I think that was the deciding factor.
Location and Time
We decided to use our own home for the celebration and tried our best to keep certain areas off limits! Saving money was the big factor involved in this decision - party rental locations can start anywhere in the $100-200 range and go up from there, depending where you go. Our home seemed to be the most affordable choice...although we knew we were going to have a big clean-up!
The party started at 2pm and finished at 4pm. This meant all of our guests showed up after lunch and weren't expecting a meal to be included. It also gave my hubby and I more time to do the final preparations that morning.
Guests
As mentioned above Hudson invited friends from his new school, his old school, neighbours and friends from baseball. He had girls and boys (one of his best friends is a girl!) and of course his little brother and sister. I didn't use formal invitations this year in order to save time and money. Instead I messaged parents through text and sent two letters to school in order to invite his new friends. At the school barbeque in September we asked his teacher which classmates Hudson enjoyed spending time with and she helped us to narrow it down to two friends.
Decorations
My hubby and I made all of them ourselves. We literally worked around the clock the week prior in order to make sure everything was ready in time. We managed to save a little money too by getting creative...but it helps that I have an office already full of craft supplies! Anything we didn't have, we found at work or the Dollar Store.
Schedule of Events
I chose three familiar games (a Ball Toss, Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Pass the Hot Potato), did a little creative thinking and turned them into 3 baseball themed games. Then I organized all the activities into 9 innings (I planned on running some more than once). The 7th inning stretch was snack/washroom break and the 9th inning was cupcakes and ice cream - then we sent them all home on a sugar high -ha!
Food
Rather then including a meal which can be expensive, we opted to order 3 food platters from our local grocery store. We offered fruit, vegetable and cheese platters. I also served popcorn, pretzels and candy at the concessions table...staying in theme with the party.
Cake
I decided to serve cupcakes and ice cream which meant everyone got the same size and there were no seconds. I did however make Hudson his baseball themed cake but that was served after dinner with our immediate family that evening. I baked and decorated all the sweets including the cupcakes, cake and sugar cookies. Although this was very time consuming I love seeing my children's faces light up when they see the finished product for the first time! For as long as I can remember my grandfather always made my birthday cakes and today it's a tradition I plan to carry on with my own family...3 kids later and lots of practice baking means I've learned to create almost any cake they can imagine!
Prizes and Goody Bags
I handmade the goody bags each with a large red letter and several smaller stickers. When lined up together they spelled the words "Baseball Star". I did try to individualize them a little, but for the most part I just filled them with a few random items from the Dollar Store. I did throw in a couple "healthier" snacks and each guest got to go home with a Baseball Shirt sugar cookie as well.
In addition I purchased 5 prizes at a cost of approximately $25 for all of them. These included 4 books and an official softball.
Lessons Learned
Seeing that I am a teacher I wasn't at all concerned about organizing and hosting a two hour party for 10 kids...boy was I wrong -ha! Thank goodness I had somewhat of a plan in place and a few friends who were willing, ready and eager to stay and help! My hubby and I couldn't have done it without them (you guys are the best - you know who you are).
Goody Bags - in the future I think I'll stick with just a sugar cookie wrapped in a fancy gift bag. These days, I feel as though kids expect a goody bag, but most of what gets tossed in them just gets thrown out or lost...so why spend the extra money? This past summer my girlfriend bought ice cream cone gift cards for all of her guests when she hosted her son's birthday party. I loved this idea but who wants to eat ice cream in the fall? Maybe something I'll consider for my daughter's birthday next spring.
Prizes - I only bought 5 prizes but there were 8 guests (not including my kids). At the last minute I found myself scrummaging through my office to find other prizes for the ones who didn't win. I have mixed emotions when it comes to prizes - I get it, you can't win everything...but I felt guilty not giving everyone something. In the future I think I'll forego the prizes or make sure I have enough smaller ones for everyone.
I was very excited when I came up with the idea of dividing all the activities into 9 innings...unfortunately I got a little caught up in the idea. Although we managed to get through all the games, a snack break and cupcakes - we only made it to the 6th inning -ha! Our 2 hour party didn't feel like two hours. We ended up almost running out of time.
Best Advice
- Do set boundries if you are hosting the party at your home - and don't bother vacuuming the house first!
- Do ask for some help from friends and family...especially if parents aren't staying. The more supervision the better.
- Do put certain toys and valuables out of site.
- Do host an afternoon party in order to avoid meal times
- Do plan several activities and leave very little time for free play.
- Do considering opting out of the goody bags and choosing either a small gift card or yummy homemade treat.
- Do hide the candy!
Hudson's special day ended with a barbeque at home celebrating with his extended family and a few clothes friends...and he finally got to eat his cake!
Have a wonderful week ahead!
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