Parties Archives - Enjoying the Small Things

Dash Five Years: A Handyman Tool Party

February 19, 2018 By Kelle

We celebrated Dash’s fifth birthday this past weekend with a Home Depot Handyman party that might go down in the history of Hampton kid parties as one of my top five favorites, but that’s a tough call. It’s just that little boys in hard hats and tool aprons slay me.

Also, my dad and Gary played a huge part in making this party memorable as they designed a building activity for the kids where they got to use tools to create a playhouse together. The sight of my dad teaching the kids how to hammer nails and letting them work the power saw will forever keep this party extra special in my memory.

We did a breakfast party again which I’m loving because it’s easy to plan the food, the moms huddle over brunch treats in my kitchen (which I love–it’s like two parties in one), and we still have the entire day when the party is over. Plus, the kids are happy and well rested in the morning, so there’s way less chance of a party meltdown.

We served egg cups (basically my egg casserole mix poured into cupcake tins), fresh fruit cups and donuts (cupcakes later), and I set up a bagel station where guests could toast and prepare their own bagel concoctions. I’ll totally repeat this menu for breakfast parties to come because it’s easy, and everyone finds something they like.

Dash wanted “tool cupcakes,” so I found these tool candy molds as well as a nuts and bolts one and used colored candy melts to make chocolate cupcake toppers. We found the chocolate rocks at Hobby Lobby (I’ll add a list of all the party goods with links and sources at the end of this post). I’m so happy with how they turned out.

Tool Sticker Activity Book

The Dollar Tree had the best selection of handyman supplies, so each of our party guests got a toolbox filled with safety goggles and a tape measure.

And Home Depot had the little tool aprons for only $.97 a piece. We slipped in two screwdrivers–a flat head and a Phillips, for all their handyman needs.

Free party decor = raid the garage.

Dash began counting down for this party two weeks ago, announcing the amount of days left until his party first thing every morning after he woke up.

My favorite part was watching the handymen go off to work…

My dad and Gary had everything planned perfectly. The first station was a hammer lesson. They set up a 2 x 4 with rows of roofing nails already started, so the kids got to take their turn with the hammer, seeing how many “bang-bangs” it took to drive the nail all the way in.

On the other end of the board were pre-drilled holes and screws ready to be tightened. The boys used their screwdrivers to secure the screws.

Next up was measuring. Using their tape measures and pencils, they took turns marking off assigned measurements…

…then carried the boards over to the saw station to be cut for the playhouse beams.

Once the beams were cut, the kids worked together to add the walls (pre-measured and cut by my dad before the party) and secure them all in place with screws, taking turns with the power drill.

You could certainly use weather-proof wood to build a real playhouse, but since we just wanted a fun party activity, we went with the cheapest building supplies–external siding. It will be repurposed for some signs my dad needs, so it’s not a total waste.

My face hurt from smiling when it was all built. Cutest thing ever, and the kids were so happy and in their element, proud to be given the opportunity to do some good hard work with grown-up tools.

Then there was the crew too little to get their contractor’s licenses, so they stayed in the house and played.

Nella could have assisted building, but there was a baby in sight, so…game over.

Dash was thrilled with all of it and so ridiculously happy to have his friends celebrate his day with him. I told Brett later, “This is the year. This is the one where his birthday means more to him than it probably ever will again.”

Also…no injuries! No flying hammers! Now if I could just put these little handymen to work on my bathroom that needs help. Here, let’s see how you work a sledgehammer.

Loving so much where we are at five years old…his little voice and daily inquiries and creative mind that does not stop. So thankful for this boy and everything he is.

Party Sources:

Tool Candy Mold: Amazon
Nuts and Bolts Candy Mold: Amazon
Chocolate Rocks: Hobby Lobby
Tool Sticker Albums: Amazon
Toolboxes and Tools: Dollar Tree
Plastic Hard Hats: Amazon
Orange Construction Vests (set of 3): Amazon
Tool Aprons: Home Depot
Dash’s Overalls: Target (no longer available, but these Dickies ones are and are handyman worthy)

A Kitty Cat Party: 8 Years Old

January 22, 2018 By Kelle

Nella turns eight today which is hard to comprehend considering when she was born, I couldn’t imagine even one year ahead. Looking ahead felt so heavy then, and here we are at eight, celebrating what has been nothing but joy, joy, joy with a theme so far from heavy–kitty cats. The cat theme was actually born out of an attempt to tie in the beloved wand she carries around, so a cat toy ribbon wand activity was planned and a kitty party developed around it…Breakfast at Kitteny’s to be exact.

I’ve never done a kids’ party at breakfast hours before, but I’ll totally do it again as it made menu planning so simple (pancakes, scrambled eggs and fruit–that’s it) and kept the day after the party completely open.

Girls were welcomed with cat ears (hot glued felt ears on black plastic headbands), face paint whiskers and kitty noses and cat collars at the door. Cat collars were just black ribbon with paper key tags where we wrote their chosen cat name.

Our cats, up for adoption (Aurora plush cats from Amazon).

Kitty Cat Garland

Since the party was in the morning, we skipped the cake and served sugar cookies for birthday treats.

Reused tuna cans worked great as “cat food” dishes for the scrambled eggs and held the perfect individualized servings.

The cat toy wands turned out so cute–Nella played with hers all day yesterday. I bought a pack of dowel rods (you can get 12 in a pack from Michaels, pre-cut to this wand size) and screwed small eye hooks on the end. The girls chose a few pieces of ribbon to be threaded through as well as a jingle bell and cat toy mouse.

The cat tails we made out of wired fur that Hobby Lobby sold in 9 ft. rolls for only $3.99. I can’t find it online, but it worked great because the wire could be manipulated to make a little hook so we could tie a clothes pin on. We played Capture the Tail outside–last one standing with their tail still attached wins.

…and Cat Cornhole with Sardine beanbags.

After games, the girls picked out their cats to adopt and decorated these cat boxes with markers and stickers (this sticker book is loaded with amazing cat photo stickers).

My favorite were these cat necklaces–only $5.99 for a pack of 12–and the kids added wooden beads to jazz them up.

How did Nella do? Last year, she was ALL IN, and we were amazed at how engaged she was with her friends and how well she did with sitting at the table and being the center of attention. We keep the guest list small for her but even so, this year she retreated a little more at different times. We go with the flow…that’s how we do this.

Because how she socializes isn’t at all consistent, it’s not always easy to plan things for her, but it was amazing to see her friends respond. Several of them held her hand and asked if she wanted to go play alone. One sweet little girl said, “I think maybe we should let her open her gifts because I think she’d like that.” So we did, and she was right. We also invite a teenager or two that Nella loves. They are great to go play with Nella or help her with an activity so the other kids can still have fun without even realizing Nella needed some extra attention.

Whether or not she’s completely engaged, the theme of friendship rings true. After her party, she talked all about her friends who came–named every one of them and asked to see pictures of her party. I write a thank you card to each little girl from Nella (she signs it) and write personal messages I want those friends to know–“Even though I’m shy sometimes and don’t always play with you, I love that you are at my party. When I’m not ready to play, I still love to watch you play, and I am so happy you are my friend. I told my mom all about how much I loved having you here after you left.”

Nella opened Pop the Pig for one of her gifts and didn’t want to do anything else but play that game right then and there. So that’s what we did, and everyone was happy.

And besides, when Nella wanted to sit out and watch, her brother had no problem stepping in for her. The amount of times I heard little girls yelling, “Dash, STOP!”–Lord have mercy.

We are so thankful for these eight years, for the beautiful friendships our girl has developed, and for the opportunity once again to celebrate our girl and everything she is.

Happy Birthday, Nella, the coolest cat in town.

Make Your Own Spooktacular Halloween Centerpiece

October 18, 2017 By Kelle

It’s no secret my favorite time of year is the three month stretch beginning with October. I love the reflection that comes with the end of the year, the way we huddle with our families and gather with our friends a little more and, as a lover of all things holiday, I love the fact that there are three holidays–all of them grand–that inspire our decor, celebrations and family memories. I get a little more into Halloween every year–perhaps because my kids are growing and I want to drink up all these wonder-filled years as best I can. But also simply because I love it, and I’d like to think if I had no children, I’d still be pouring soup into cauldrons for Tuesday night dinner and hanging spider webs across the trees in our front yard because it brings me joy. That said, I’m having fun this year adding celebratory touches and going all out for my own family rather than reserving the special things for a party with more people.

Evidence A: Our Halloween Tablescape.

I love creating festive tablescapes, and this one was not only so much fun to create but super inexpensive ($20), inspired by some bouquets of black and purple artificial flowers I picked up from The Dollar Tree. The kids think it’s the coolest thing ever, especially with the dry ice potion fog, but it still looks perfectly spooktacular without it.

Here’s what you need:

We picked up two spooky trees from The Dollar Spot at Target ($3 each), but I imagine you could bundle some foraged sticks together for free. We used about 7 bouquets of flowers. We found the chemistry Erlenmeyer flasks and beakers at Michaels in the Halloween section (currently 50% off–$2.50 for a flask!) and filled them with some water dyed with food coloring. You can find floral foam at any craft store, and the creepy crawlies anywhere they sell Halloween decor (I think these are also from Dollar Tree).

1. Hot glue your creepy crawlies on flasks and votives.

2. Slice Floral foam into 3-4 blocks (square or rectangular) depending on how long you want your centerpiece. Ours are about 5-6 in long, and we made four of them. Using wire cutters, cut bouquets down into individual stems and poke into floral foam blocks leaving one side clean (to set on table) but covering foam completely on all other sides.

3. Arrange flasks and spooky trees (one on each end) across middle of table and tuck floral blocks and votives in between.

If using dry ice, drop a small piece (about the size of an ice cube) into each flask and beaker using tongs.

Our flasks bubbled and fogged for about 5 minutes, but if you put a bigger block of dry ice in them, they’ll go longer. Last year, our punch bubbled and fogged for about twenty minutes with a large chunk of dry ice, and then we added more when effects started fizzling out.

Add some creepy crawlies to your dinner plates…

And Voila! Dinner is served.

Need some inspiration for spooky Halloween-inspired recipes? Check out these ones from Delish.com or our spooky party last year (might I suggest Witch Guts & Vampire Hearts…aka black spaghetti and meatballs).

We are looking forward to our Halloween party next weekend!