party time!

Make A Wish, birthday matches

Graycen’s birthday celebration was a blast! It was so fun to watch as he explored EVERYTHING. Not a single thing went untouched or unlicked – he literally licked every type of candy we laid out. Yet he actually refused to eat any of it which is funny since I feared he might eat too much candy. He also refused to eat his birthday cake but the rest of us chowed down while he played with his balloons. He never opened his gift, it seemed he just had no interest. In fact the gift ended up sitting around the house for a few days before I finally did the honors of unwrapping it myself. But despite my sons silliness it was clear he loved everything.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I got a great deal of my inspiration from the Dr. Seuss book – Happy Birthday To You! I don’t recall my mother ever reading Dr. Seuss to me as a child so through my son I am discovering his great works for the first time. This book gave me a lot of great material. Here go some party details (though I have to apologize for never getting a photo of the completed table)…

“Today,” laughs the Bird, “eat whatever you want.

Today no one tells you you cawnt or you shawnt.

And, today, you don’t have to be tidy or neat.

If you wish, you may eat with both hands and both feet.

So get in there and munch. Have a big munch-er-oo!

Today is your birthday! Today you are you!”

golden nugget gum, my childhood favorite

festive straws

the birthday boy playing with his goodies

And here comes your cake! Cooked by Snookers and Snookers,

The Official Katroo Happy Birthday Cake Cookers.

And Snookers and Snookers, I’m happy to say,

Are the only cake cookers who cook cakes today

Made of guaranteed, certified strictly Grad A

Peppermint cucumber sausage-paste butter!

Graycen's birthday spread. A few more goodies were added but I never got another picture. We added some additional goodies, his gift and ten balloons.

happy birthday graycen

After a few hours of chatting and munching the celebration ended with some good old fashion balloon playing. Who knew the cheap balloons would be such a hit with both my son and his guests.

birthday balloons

the end

party plans

My sons second birthday is this Thursday and I had every intention to write about the planning process but time escaped me. The big day is just a few days away now but here are a few details in brief.

Budget: I first figured out a budget – $50. I didn’t even know if that’s was reasonable but I definitely wanted to keep things in perspective. For those of you who have done this before, feel free to let me know if that was too much.

Decor: I love simplicity so I decided that there would be no real theme but rather a collaboration of thoughts and ideas that came to me. I still needed a starting point so I looked towards the gift that I wanted to give Graycen, a book. With my son still being so young  he’s happy for a laugh and some silliness so I’m trying to enjoy it while I can. After much thought I went with a Dr. Seuss book – Happy Birthday To You. It’s a wonderful book that talks about the greatness of being yourself. One of the two main characters, the Birthday Bird, is yellow and wears a red jumper so I used that as my primary color scheme. I then added bits of turquoise which I pulled from the cover of the book. See -

 

Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday To You!

Set-up: On Thursday the plan is to set a display out of his favorite yummies as well as things he’s never had. Basically candy and sweets galore. Everything will be laid on our cocktail table which sits low to the ground and will allow Graycen to grab and explore at his pleasure. I really wanted this to be something he could experience on his own. I figure we will sit around – laughing and nibbling until we’re stuffed silly. Anything left after that will be packed up and given away. That makes me feel better about all the candy I purchased.

image via Martha Stewart

There will of course be a cake but we can only pray that cupcakes make an appearance as well. I decided a square cake would be perfect for the occasion and pulled out a three piece Martha Stewart pan collection. When I went to make the smallest tier I learned that it requires three cups of cake batter. For the look I want I would need to make two layers and wIth some quick math I realized I needed 6 cups of cake batter. Umm, that’s a lot of damn batter. Not to mention it’s more then you get from one box of cake mix. Thus I’ve spent the last two weekends baking cakes and thanking my luck starts that I started this process early. That means I still need to bake cupcakes – assuming I find the time between now and Thursday. Not that a family of two can eat that much cake but it does mean we’ll be able to feed our neighbors.

MS cake set

birthday plans

I haven’t become obsessed (yet!) but Graycen’s birthday is definitly on my mind. I’m so excited, for me… of course. Yeah, yeah.. it’s HIS birthday but at two I don’t think he really gets that. Me on the other hand, I get it.. we I get to plan a party.

party prep, image via country living

cake stands in sweet pastels

image via daisy chain, cake stand by miette

stumbled upon

Speaking of birthday parties (or in our case the “non-party” birthday) check out this beautiful image. It’s from the birthday party of Anna Spiro’s son. Anna has a great eye for décor and you can find her blogging at Absolutely Beautiful Things.

swoon, polka dot lanterns

 

celebrate

I use to be co-owner of un belle fete, a boutique event planning business that focused on personalized weddings. My own wedding was pretty spectacular but I’m not sure you’re suppose to toot your own horn in such a way that screams “I think my wedding was fabulous.” I mean, it was (!!) but that’s not the point. I mention this to say that I l-o-v-e parties with pretty eye candy!! My focus is always on the details, those little things that often go over looked. I haven’t hosted anything since my wedding but one day I will and I’m certain I’ll be going all out.

My son recently celebrated his first birthday and we did nothing in terms of a big bash. It was a little sad but the smart thing to do. For the record, I am not a frugal person but my husband and I did make the choice to skip the party.* You know, to save our money while we can. Here’s the thing, it seems a bit unfair to me that one of the biggest birthdays in a child’s life occurs before they are able to comprehend all the hoopla surrounding them. I assure you that we’ll get to it in a few years. The big party that is. I can’t say which birthday it will be but it will surly be when my son can comprehend mommy’s craziness a bit more. When he can look at me with wide eyes and get a bit loopy over all the things that will go into this production – his first party.

This year, all was not lost on my Mr. G’s first birthday. We did purchase the most adorable birthday hat. Mommy loved it, daddy thought it was pretty nifty and Graycen… well he’s one and hates anything we put on his head. He refused to cooperate for photos but with two dedicated adults tag teaming him (and 50 some photos snapped) we got a few usable images. And that’s what it’s all about – the photo. Who cares if mommy was barking orders and if daddy was annoyed and ready to give up. And heck, who cares if Graycen cried. Somehow we I’ve decided it was fun and a big success. See for yourself.

birthday boy

 

birthday boy take two

I found the hat on Etsy. The seller is Golden and I highly recommend checking her out. Her prices are affordable, I paid $16 for this hat. Everything about it is perfect. From the zig-zag stitching to the fluffy pom-pom on top. Hats can be customized with an initial or number. We went with an initial making Graycen’s hat into a keepsake that he can wear for years to come.

*Footnote: As I have assured you, I’m not frugal. My husband, now he IS frugal. Not that there is anything wrong with frugal people. I married one.