How Sweet It Was: Throwback Candyland Party

No joke: my soon to be 8-year-old has requested an Oregon Trail Birthday Party! Whah?????? I can't help but think back to the time that she asked for a Candyland 5th birthday party in 2012. Since it is conveniently the photo album I need to work on next, I thought I would tell you about the time this happened:

Yep, I turned the yard into a gamebaord, complete with Gumdrop Mountains:

Lollipop Woods:

A Peppermint Forrest:

You had to be careful and not to get stuck digging for treasure in Gloppy's Chocolate Swamp:

If you got too sticky, you could rinse off by spraying the dastardly Lord Licorice:

Along the way you could rest at a candy-colored seating area:

The fabulous St Louis Snow Sled showed up:

They offered all their regulars along with a specialty candy menu and a separate table with St. Louis' best pretzels and popcorn. If you know me, you know I had to add a cotton candy machine:

I also offered lots of water bottles and adult beverages--it was a blazing hot July day!

Back in the game, the kids were cooling off at our favorite spot on the game board, the Rainbow Slide:

As players completed the game, they were given a prize: a toothbrush and reminder to brush their teeth!!!

And with that, Baby's Candyland 5th was in the books! Now does anyone know how to throw an Oregon Trail party???!!!

Throwback Science Soiree

I am chugging along with my family photo reorganization and have come to July 2011. Can I get an amen?! That month this little scientist turned 6 and celebrated it all Mad-Scientist-style! Guests were ushered into the house, past a few beakers of chemicals and down into the laboratory!

Our basement was then unfinished (one day I will catch up to 2012 and reveal it as a finished space). I thought the exposed beams and wire made it look tech-y and cool. Here it is all set-up and black-lit before the guests arrived:

I let the kids "sign into the lab" by writing on boards I attached to the wall. If you know my kid parties at all, you know that I also had an activity to entertain the guests until everyone else arrived. We went with a simply coloring activity:

Before the party, the birthday girl and I crafted chemical models that hung from the ceiling:

When enough guests arrived, we began the show from Mad Science. I cannot praise this company enough for the interactive and informative science show. The kids were enthralled for nearly two hours watching and doing science experiments:

After the show, we added the optional slime making as a favor and enjoyed the most delicious cake with a lab cart full of custom-labeled H2O:

Finally we sent each guest home with a favor bag of things they needed for simple science experiments. I got simple ideas from the internet and gave them each a pipette and beaker to conduct some experiments of their own. The tags match invitations I made using my beloved Mountain Cow and Silhouette:

I loved that my sweet girl wanted this party instead of a princess theme since I was all-Disneyed out from her little sisters Tiana party that year!

Throw back Princess Tiana-style

One upon a time this sweet three year old girl would gaze into the evening sky, find the first star, and say, "Dear G-d, make my skin brown like Tiana." If only she had Mama Ode as her actual Mamma, perhaps it would have come true. That not being the case, however, I did my best to give her the Tiana-treatment for her fourth birthday. I am throwing it back to 2011 to relive the details. The party was held at a party center that already offered a "Tiana" package, meaning they would wrap the walls in a scene-setter. Not my favorite, but of course I added a lot of details!

As I have mentioned mentioned before my preschool parties followed a strict formula. Guests were always greeted with a craft to keep them occupied while others arrived. This craft was to decorate aprons and decorate yourself with some Mardi Gras beads! In case you have forgotten Disney's take on the Princess and the Frog, it set in Jazz Age New Orleans and is about a regular girl who "sure can cook!" It is a girl-power movie with a prince, a frog, a little voodoo, and a lot of Disney Magic thrown in thrown in! Since my girl also loved to cook, it seemed a natural fit to make the party all about cooking.

When all the guests arrived, we began the cooking class. Each child had a station with a mason jar and instructions to make a dry beignet mix. The at-home instructions were printed on a cute tag for them to tie on the jar when they were finished. There were also instructions for the kids to make "Po' Boys and Girls" (assorted finger sandwiches) and "Dr. Faciliers' Canes" (fruit kebobs). We served salad and gumbo too, of course!

After cooking we went to the back of the room, which was set for the royal feast. I handcrafted the centerpieces, trying my hand a styro-foam sculpture for the first and last time on those fleur de lis!

True to my old standard party formula, I brought the group back together after lunch for a game. In this case it was a Pinata that big sister and I made for the occasion.

Next up was a good ole' bounce house and dance party followed by this awesome cake and "swamp water":

It was a great way to honor our sweet princess!

Throwback Passover Plague Tablescape

I am throwing it back to 2011 today (which is actually getting a little ahead of myself, as I am working in my 2010 album). I just had to share this throwback Passover post in honor of the holiday tonight!

The Seder, which literally means order but is also the term for our holiday meal, involves eating symbolic foods while reciting the story of the Jews exodus from Egypt. Central to the Passover narrative are the plagues that G-d brought upon Egypt in an effort to liberate the Jewish people from slavery. These plagues confound us and cause us to question on deep levels (like why could G-d simply not deliver the Jews without inflicting harm on many innocent Egyptians--or were they not innocent because the lived in a society that accepted slavery). The deep questioning is sort of the point, but for kids, they must first understand the story literally before they can "get there." When my minis were very young, I decided to make my table-scape surrounding the plagues and symbolic foods so that the would learn about them. Cue the bugs, frogs, and wild beasts! Don't forget the bitter herbs, and I wanted it to be a pretty Spring table! Here it was:

I did three tables to match each other in the kitchen, dinning room, and playroom tables (we conducted the service in the living room and split up for dinner). Above is the dinning room. I made these simple runner with fabric and stitch-witch iron on. They have been washed a lot over the ensuing 4 years and have held up beautifully. I also marched ants, and frogs across the tables to symbolize the palgues. In lieu of flowers, I used white buckets from the Target dollar spot and herbs (of course):

I set the buffet with little trees that I normally use for Tu B'Shevat and made adorable "plague pops" (kosher for Passover cake turned into wild beasts and frogs):

I also made simple Spring yarn wreaths (before I moved on to deco-mesh with a froggy theme). It was a good way to tech the kids; now they are a little older, we can move a bit beyond the basics.

Whatever you observe this weekend (Easter, Passover, both, or Nothing at all), I hope that it is a joyous and meaningful time with those you love!