My nephew Jack celebrated his 3rd birthday with a Truck Party.  For anyone who knows Jack, you know that it really could not have been any other theme for his birthday. He LOOOOVES trucks.  He can seriously name EVERY SINGLE type of truck made.  I have on several occasions asked him (yes, my 2-year-old nephew) “What type of truck is that again?”   He squeals with excitement in the car every time he sees a truck on the road..”Look a flat bed…a dump truck…a cement mixer…” It really is so stinkin’ cute!!!  Anyhow, it was a lot of fun developing this party for him as I knew that he would get super excited over every little  truck detail. 

The table design started with inspiration from Bruder Trucks.  Jack has several of these toy trucks and plays with them all of the time. They are probably the best made kids trucks out there.  They have all of the detail of the real truck with working parts.  I even used their logo as   inspiration for the color scheme of the party!  Of course with the high quality comes the high price tag….they run about $75-80 each.  So you can imagine my excitement when my mother called from Florida to say that her local Marshall’s had them for $20 each!!   I love a deal!! I used the cement mixer and crane as the centerpiece for each table and topped them with paper mache letters from Michael’s.  The napkins were made from fabric found at a local fabric store as was the tablecloth.  I bought keys and key chains and put them on the  table for decoration.  The kids loved them and it took about 30 minutes of searching to get them all back!

I think my favorite element of the table were the chairs. I really wanted to have the kids sitting on tires of some sort…we tried several different designs and finally came across these lawn mower tires at Lowe’s.  Hubby drilled them to upside down trash cans from IKEA and voila..perfect truck party seating!  After sitting on them for a few minutes, we quickly realized that they were not very comfortable. So we made seat cushions to pad the seats! Much, much better….

The games of the party consisted of activities that the kids did to become a truck driver.  They had to stack their spare tires, fill up their truck with fuel,  know how to pay the tolls, and find the missing truck keys.  I was amazed at how all of the party guests really got into these games…we had a pretty wide age range (18 months to 10) and all of the kids got involved.  This party was such a success I am going to add a few more elements and create a party package for my business.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jack!  We Love You!!

The inspiration for this party came from several things: my daughter’s wish to have a sleepover party, an adorable stuffed pillow I saw at Target, and the fabulous “bed” tables from Jenn at HWTM and Donna at Party Wishes.

This party was hosted in the evening from 7-9pm and the girls came dressed in their favorite PJs.  The activities of the party centered around the girls becoming members of the “Night Owl Pajama Club:”  Night Owls love to stay up late, dance in the dark, hang out with their friends at the Night Owl Clubhouse and dine on their favorite snacks: cupcakes and ice cream sundaes!

The “bed” was designed from two twin comforters that were sewn together to act as a tablecloth.  I used a coordinating sheet set for the pillow cover and bed sheets that were visible at the head of the bed.  The plates and mugs were from Rosanna, Inc  and I found the brown chargers on the fall closeout aisle at Target.  They really were a perfect match and made the plates pop!  The napkins were sewn by my Mother using material we found at a local fabric store.  And, last but not least, my hubby made me the headboard and footboard that completed the bed table!

My favorite element of the party was the Night Owl Clubhouse. I mean really, how cool is this!  A girly retreat with pretty fabrics, plush comfy pillows, and your best girl friends to chat with!  This was the clubhouse that I always tried to build myself as a child but was never really able to pull it off with the dining room chairs and various knitted afghans from around the house!

I had so much fun designing the sundae bar trying to channel the “Amazing Amys”: Amy Atlas and Amy at Eat.Drink.Chic. I used a shower curtain from Target for the backdrop, various containers from HomeGoods to hold the toppings, and the Soda Fountain Cups from Rosanna, Inc.   Not bad for a first try! 

More importantly, the girls loved it and really enjoyed making their own sundaes! 

I knew the party was a success when I overheard several girls saying that “this was the best party EVER!”

Happy 8th Birthday Mackenzie! We love you!

I plan on posting more details and photos in the next several days but here is a sneak peek…

Can you feel the blog love from across the pond?  I can!                                                                                                                                                                                 The Creative Hostess featured our Pink Princess Tea Party on her weekly Real Parties series.  See the post here.

I was introduced to this fabulous blog several weeks ago. Jenin hails from England and provides a great inspiration blog for kids parties and baby showers.  If you don’t already follow her blog, I would suggest taking a peek!   Lots of eye candy!

I was so excited to learn that I was featured on The Creative Party Place Blog as one of their featured events.  I read this Blog every day to get inspired by other party enthusiasts around the country!

Sheena and her team share my passion for a great table setting!

Check it out….here.

The guests enjoyed getting in their pirate gear, going on a treasure hunt, learing pirate jargon, shooting cannons and boarding a pirate ship!

It was so much fun to develop this party…. My inspiration was a set of adorable ice cream spoons with a cow handle that I saw at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  The concept then grew to cow print table runners, white milk cans, red barns and denim overalls.   My husband made the red barn for me and we mounted a rake on the side to hang the overalls for all of the farmers.  We were so excited to find a white windmill to complete the dress-up area.  It is such a great feeling to walk into a store and find EXACTLY what you need – especially when it is a unique item!

The table has large milk cans in the center and red wagons that hold the napkins, cups and cutlery.  The placecard holders are mini farmer hats and each place setting has their own cow bell to ring for grub. I couldn’t resist throwing in a photo of my daughter Riley all dressed up in her best farmer gear! She will be having a Barnyard Bash to celebrate her 2nd Birthday in February.  I can’t wait!

Giggledust Parties had the pleasure of hosting a Pink Princess Tea Party recently for an adorable little girl named Abby. Abby was turning four and invited all of her princess and knight friends to join her in the royal celebration. The guests enoyed an afternoon of primping at the royal salon, dancing  at the ball and ,of course , sipping tea!