Emma's Farm Market & Birthday

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Hello, hello! It’s been a while since I’ve had time to post anything here- life has been crazy and full- but you know I couldn’t let Miss Emma’s birthday go by without sharing it!

Months ago, when Emma first chose a farm market theme for her this year’s celebration, I was envisioning an outdoor market, with pretty fall trees, a fire in our fire pit, and straw bales topped with flannel blankets for seating in the yard…. BUT, even though we had gorgeous weather the day of, 5-ish days of heavy rain leading up to her big day meant that our back yard was one gigantic, muddy swamp, and there was no way we were going to be able to head outside with 20 plus kids. So, we moved the party inside, which was kind of nice, because all of my fall/farmhouse decor could just play right in. Now I have 4 giant straw bales hanging out in my garage, just waiting to be used for… something. Best-laid plans, amiright?!

I used the kids’ IKEA easel chalkboard to create an “open”sign so that guests wouldn’t have to play that awkward guessing game about whether to knock or just open up the door and come on in. And of course I left all of our pumpkins, gourds, and Halloween jack o’ lanterns out on the porch.

The market itself wound up in our living room. I used some of the furniture we currently have in the room, plus brought the kids’ market stand up from our basement play room to display all of our wares (read: lunch). I didn’t get a great picture of the whole thing once it was fully set up, but that crate on the floor eventually became a stand for a bushel basket full of popcorn.

We can’t have a party at our house without food, so we served a late lunch of sub sandwiches, fresh fruits and veggies, hard boiled eggs, salads, popcorn, and some fun mini apple and pumpkin pies. And of course, it wouldn't be a fall market without some apple cider.

I made these laying chickens for the kids a couple of years ago out of a pattern I purchased from Ikat Bag, and of course they had to appear in Emma’s farm market. Also, you can just see the bottom of the giant basket of popcorn here.

All of the food, including these cute 4-inch individual pies, was homemade.

Emma wasn’t really concerned about having cake, so I make a simple naked cake with a cute topper, mostly so we could put her birthday candles in something that wasn’t icecream.

This simple market stand usually lives in our basement play room, where the kids have a little make-shift market/cafe, but I brought it up to help me display our selection of fresh fruits and veggies.

Each of the guests got to paint their own canvas tote to take home with them. I found these 12.75” x 10.65” natural canvas bags on Amazon, and they were the perfect size for kids to carry.

Each family got to take home an additional favor: a DIY Caramel Apple kit that I put together. Packaged in white cardstock milk cartons that I got at Michael’s, each kit contained 4 bamboo dowels, 4 giant muffin papers, enough caramels to cover 4 small apples, and sprinkles.

And that’s it! The kids had a great time eating, painting and playing in our playroom, and Emma was so excited to host her cousins and friends!

Theo Turns Five: A DINO-mite Dinosaur Party

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For the last year or so, Theodore has been really into dinosaurs, so when it came time to start planning his 5th birthday, of course he wanted a dino party. Most of the time we have the kids' birthday parties here in our house, but when we discovered a new dino-themed park nearby, we decided we DEFINITELY needed to have the party there this year, instead.

I chose to use natural elements and shades of orange, green and blue for this party, and created the invitation, decorations, table centerpieces, party hats, cupcake toppers, and cakes to reflect that. And, of course, there were LOTS of dinosaurs.

We kept the food simple with premade subs, fruits & veggies, chips & salsa, and some yummy sweet treats.

Along with vanilla cake and chocolate cupcakes, we had white-chocolate covered pretzel "dinosaur bones" and peanut M&Ms "dinosaur eggs".

I made two 3-layer 6-inch vanilla cakes and frosted them simply in blue and green, and Theo chose a couple of his favorite dinosaurs for toppers. I also made chocolate cupcakes, and topped them with dinosaur-shaped sprinkles and simple cupcake picks that I made.

Target had the perfect paper goods for this party!

I alternated the table centerpieces between dinosaur terrariums made with mason jars, dollar-store florals and miniature dinosaurs and simple glass vases filled with sand and tropical leaves.

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I made this T-Rex skeleton birthday banner from cardstock and baker's twin, but I couldn't get a good picture of it because the wind wouldn't stop blowing it around.

These dinosaur party hats were one of my very favorite elements of the party!

After lunch, cake and presents, the kids got to play in the dinosaur-skeleton splash pad and the dinosaur play equipment.

How cool is this slide?!

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The kids had tons of fun and a bunch of us hung out together at the park until several hours after the party ended. At the end of the day, each little left with a goodie bag of their own that included a dinosaur "field guide", a magnifying glass for studying dino specimens & fossils, a pencil & eraser for recording their discoveries, and a miniature dinosaur of their own.

Supply Links:

Tween Spa Birthday Party

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I participate in the Amazon & Target affiliate programs. Amazon & Target links in this post are affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. All other product links are included solely for your convenience.

This year for her birthday, Sophia wanted to get her sister, cousins & some friends together for a spa day. We tossed around the idea of heading to one of those kids' salons that do birthday parties, but we really wanted something a little more grown-up and a little less princess-ey. So instead, I put together a day at the spa for her and her guests. We had to celebrate a little early, as our scheduled vacation was going to put us out of town on her actual birthday, and since it's been over and done for more than a month now, it's definitely time to share all the details!

Because our house doesn't have a lot of space, we opted to transform the studio where I work into a spa for the evening. Since we were taking everyone back to our house afterward for dinner and a sleepover afterward, we invited everyone to come in their pajamas and robes if they wanted.

The girls enjoyed some light refreshments including fruit, cheese cubes and pretzels. We also had sparkling pink lemonade with raspberries to garnish, and fruit-infused water (raspberry-lemon and strawberry-watermelon).

We started the evening with pedicures. Each girl got a pair of slippers to wear inside the "spa". They soaked their feet in a warm bath with bubbles while they relaxed and enjoyed some refreshments. Then we did a quick scrub/exfoliation and massage, then painted toenails.

Pedicure Supplies: White Dish Tubs // Bubble Bath // Hand Towels // Pedicure Paddles // Sugar Scrub // Slippers (Dollar Tree- Sold Out) // Polish Organizers // Assorted polishes from our collection at home

After their pedicures were finished, we did some mini-facials. For the facials, each girl was given:

  • mirror
  • hair clip and head band to keep hair out of the way
  • witch hazel & cotton balls to clean her face
  • exfoliating facial brush
  • rose mud mask
  • cucumber slices
  • towel for behind the neck/drying her face
  • water for rinsing the mud mask
  • moisturizer

We talked about each item and its purpose, and then I invited the girls to do their own facials.

Facial Supplies: White Bowls // Glass Plates // Microfiber Cloths // Glass Jars // Small Bottles // Facial Exfoliating Brushes // Mirrors // Head Bands // Hair Clips // Mud Masks

Once the girls finished up with their facials, they had some time to make their own bath bombs and nail polish.

We used a very simple recipe for the bath bombs:

In a bowl, stir together the cornstarch, citric acid and baking soda. Add coconut oil and a few drops of your chosen essential for scent. Drop in water slowly until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand (if it bubbles, you are adding water too quickly). Pack into your mold and allow to dry for several hours.

The  DIY Nail Polish Bar was inspired by this post. I bought nail polish base, scoops for the mica powders, and extra shaker balls from Brambleberry, and the nail polish bottles, mica powders, and glitter from Amazon.

At the end of the party, the girls got to take home all of their facial and foot tools, as well as their nail polishes and bath bombs. All told, I think the girls really had a good time, and would definitely do this again!

4th of July Party & Portable S'mores Bar

Every year on July 4th, we meet up with my mom, my sister's family and my brother's family to watch the fireworks in a park. We bring lots of food and set up a picnic dinner; the kids eat and run around on the playground. We bring balls and gloves and frisbees to play catch, pop-its and sparklers for the kids, and everything we need to make s'mores on the go. It's one of my favorite summer time traditions!

Stacked pallets make for a quick table where we can set everything up and keep creepy-crawlies out. Every year I pick up a couple of toasting forks from the dollar spot at Target. That way I can replace any that get broken and there are always enough for the kids to have their own.

I line tera cotta pots with foil, fill them 1/2 to 2/3 of the way full of sand, and then top them with charcoal or wood chips (I prefer the wood chips, because they actually burn whereas the charcoal tends to flare up and then smoulder giving the marshmallows a smokier flavor). When we're ready to make s'mores, we light them nd let the kis toast their marshmallows over the mini-campfires.

Pre-portioning the s'mores makes them easier for the kids to handle (and ensures that everyone gets some). These paper treat sacks are the perfect size to hold the chocolate and graham crackers for two s'mores. Bonus: if you get the square marshmallows, they fit perfectly as well!

Every year, I add to our collection of toasting forks from Target's dollar spot. That way we have enough for everyone to use. Glow bracelets, sparklers, and confetti poppers, also from Target, are fun for the kids.

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I picked up some burlap sacks from Tractor Supply Co. so the kids can have old-fashioned sack races!

Lemonade Party!

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You guys. Lemonade makes me happy. It's just so bright and cheery and quintessentially SUMMER that it just makes me feel... good. And when I saw all the lemonade items in the Target dollar section, I loved them immediately. And now I have a slight obsession. First, end-of-year teachers' gifts. Then a lemonade party. And my kids' lemonade stand....it's going to be a whole thing this summer.

Scroll down to check out all the cute details of this Lemonade Party... my personal favorites are the pretty paper straws & pinwheels and the vanilla cake trimmed with old-fashioned lemon drops!