Eeeps! Rissa’s first birthday party is in one week! I need to get crackin’… No, don’t worry, I didn’t forget to put it together I just have a lot to do yet to get the house looking how I want. I’ve had so many ideas for making this a memorable first birthday party, but some just aren’t realistic. Plus, I think this party is more for me than her in a way. I mean, who’s going to have a blast no matter what? Her. Who’s going to obsess over every detail? Me.
Months ago I ordered birthday invitations which we mailed out at the beginning of October. That might seem late but it’s mostly family coming and they already knew the date. I thought I had it set up perfect: party on Saturday, Trick or Treating on Sunday, and home to relax on Halloween. Our city always had trick or treating on the Sunday closest to the 31st. This was a change for me since where I grew up, it was always on Halloween night no matter what day it fell on! (Personally, I liked that better.)
Well, this year our city’s trick or treating is on Saturday. And it will overlap with our get together. Arg! Not the end of the world, but we can’t ignore the neighborhood kids coming by for candy. And no, I can’t swap her party over to Sunday now. I found out about the change after I mailed out her invitations!
So now we have a week left to finalize the menu, grocery shop, make food, put up the rest of the Halloween decorations, carve the birthday pumpkin, and clean the house and figure out how everyone is going to fit…
Decorations and Party Supplies
How to decorate for the party was overall pretty easy: Halloween! But when it came to deciding on actual party supplies (plates, napkins, etc) I had to decide between Halloween OR first birthday stuff. Shindigz has an awesome selection so it was tough to choose but I decided to stick with straight Halloweeniness. After getting lost in their website (I found so much inspiration for future parties!) I finally narrowed down what I wanted and went about ordering it.
Ordering was easy! I picked out some Halloween lawn decorations, a party supply pack, some items for baking and displaying mini cakes, some personalized favors, and a banner. They did their best to consolidate it all into one shipment. Unfortunately, one item I picked out for decorating outside ended up not being available. I received an email notification, so I contacted Shindigz to see if I could get a replacement item. There was something similar so that was added to my order. Yay!
Hubby was a little surprised by the large packages that came from them since it ended up being three different shipments!
Party Food and Snacks
As I developed my party food idea list, I noticed something… it was full of sweet snacks. While they all looked and sounded oh so good, I knew the party would be running over dinner so I have to provide more than just desserts.
Here’s what I’ve narrowed it down to…
- Mummy Dogs
- Sloppy Joe Brains
- Eyes of Newts (deviled eggs)
- Dracula’s Drink
- Cemetery Swamp Cake
- Pumpkin cakes
- Ghost cookies
- Fruit/veggies
Sound good or am I missing something crucial?
I’m feeling conflicted in my planning process. On the one hand I feel like I know what I want, need, and what needs to be done, but I also feel disorganized at the same time. It’s weird…
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Darcy is the founder of “Life With Darcy and Brian,” where she combines her love for education, board games, and crafting to create engaging learning experiences for kids. Her creative projects and writing have been featured in outlets like The Toy Insider, CafeMom, Mom.com, Parents.com, Country Living, and The Pioneer Woman.
Janet W.
Monday 24th of October 2011
Sounds like fun!! Good luck with the preparations!! Take lots of pics, too, because it will all go so quickly!
Darcy
Monday 24th of October 2011
I am going to take too many pics! ;) I'll have my phone, our camera, and video too just to be sure haha
LaVonne
Sunday 23rd of October 2011
A very fun party! My birthday is coming up. I wish my parents had done a party like this one when I was little :)
Good job! Can't wait to see the photos!
Happy week!
Have Kids Will Coupon
Sunday 23rd of October 2011
OK..I LOVE the idea of a Halloween themed first birthday party...that is awesome! Try not to drive yourself crazy with the details. Every year I have a huge themed pool party for my boys (luau, construction, firefighter and one year I just did it a gymboree when I was soooo preggo) and I obsess over every detail. Each year, something does not go as planned and I get upset but in spite of that, I get complements on the party no matter what I do. As long as the kids have fun it is good and let's face it, you can put out an empty box for 1yr olds to play in and you would be golden! LOL Good luck! Can't wait t see pictures.
Christina Gould
Sunday 23rd of October 2011
Good luck with the party!