Entertaining

25 Movies To Watch With Your Kids This Halloween
Entertaining

25 Movies To Watch With Your Kids This Halloween

by Désirée
written by Désirée

Looking for a movie idea to watch after the trick-or-treaters have settled in to sort (and eat??) their candy tonight?

We asked our readers to share their favorite movies (and shows) that they love watching with their kids around Halloween, so we could put them altogether for you here.

A lot of these choices are available on Amazon Prime (woo!) so we’ve linked them up, but you will find some of these on Netflix and iTunes too! Also, some of these are for older kids- but we’ve tried to share as many that will work for the whole family. Save Beetlejuice for a bit later. 😉

25 Movies To Watch With Your Kids This Halloween

25 Movies To Watch With Your Kids This Halloween

  1. Hocus Pocus
  2. Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
  3. Halloweentown
  4. It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
  5. The Nightmare Before Christmas
  6. ZOMBIES
  7. Garfield’s Halloween Adventure
  8. Room on the Broom
  9. Hotel Transylvania (all of them!)
  10. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
  11. The Witches
  12. Beetlejuice
  13. Casper
  14. Spookley the Square Pumpkin
  15. Book of Life
  16. The Addams Family
  17. Alvin & The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein
  18. Shrek’s Thrilling Tales
  19. Ghostbusters
  20. Mickey’s House of Villains
  21. Frankenweenie
  22. Coco
  23. Pocoyo Halloween
  24. Ernest Scared Stupid
  25. Monster House

Do you have any more favorite Halloween-ish movies you love to watch each year? Comment below! Happy Halloween!

This post contains affiliate links.

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Puppy Themed 1st Birthday Party
BabiesCrafty!EntertainingReviews

Puppy Themed 1st Birthday Party

by Jill
written by Jill

PuppyThemed1stBirthday

A huge thanks to Minted for sponsoring Lowell’s birthday party and this post!

Lowell is always happy. His open mouth smiles, and eager greetings, his love for fetching balls, and his slobbery kisses have meant from nearly the moment he came into our lives he was our “little puppy.” That, in combination with his actual love (and I mean loooovvvvvee) for our chocolate lab, lead to an easy idea for his 1st birthday party.

Note: I will call this a “Puppy Party” but please know there were no actual puppies involved.

I began searching for and pinning ideas for his party earlier this year, but I wondered if, realistically, I’d pull any of it off. He’s my 3rd baby. Life is super chaotic these days. He’s. My. 3rd. Baby.

Enter Minted. I’ve worked with them before on holiday cards and Lowell’s birth announcements. When I learned they had customizable party decor in a puppy party theme, I felt like I actually could pull the whole thing off.

I ordered a few custom touches that made the whole event, from invitations to the favors that left with our guests, feel like it was custom in a this-took-a-lot-of-time way. Except it didn’t. And that was perfect because, again, 3rd baby.

Puppy Party Bunting

Let me pause here to say that 1st birthdays are, like, my favorite. Because they are not for the babies. They are for my husband and me. They are for US surviving another year with an infant. There are grownups and grownup drinks and grownup conversation. Kendall and Leyna both had awesome 1st birthdays, and I wasn’t about to miss out on that this time around.

I half-homemade the cake and “pup-cakes.” Starting with some box cake mix, and adding some homemade cream cheese frosting. I got the inspiration for the “kibble” on top from this blog, but went with Reeses cereal instead because I loved the mixed colors.

PuppyCakeByBabyRabies

Lowell’s smash cake was so stupid easy and just super lucky. I lucked out on the actual dog bowl (more on that in a bit), and that the small cake pan I already had made a cake that fit inside it perfectly. From there, all I had to do was frost and top with cereal and a candle.

Puppy Party Kibble Favors

I also filled paper lunch bags that we already had with Reeses Puffs cereal, and sealed them with some Minted puppy stickers. Then popped a label on the front that read “LoLo Kibble Co.” (We adopted the nickname LoLo for him from our 3 year old daughter.)

Puppy Party Favors

I feel like this party theme was destiny because one late night a month ago, I stumbled upon these chalkboard dog bowls from Williams Sonoma on super clearance with an additional 20% off and free shipping. I got 12 of them shipped for $75.

I am a sucker for fun favors, and I especially love when they are practical. These bowls are food safe, and make great cereal bowls! So each kid took home a bowl, a bag of LoLo Kibble Co. cereal and a tennis ball.

Puppy Party Bone Buffet

That fire hydrant was on sale from Land of Nod, and the cupcake holder was simply a cardboard Wilton cupcake stand decorated with a roll of mini Duck Tape.

Puppy Party Bone Buffet Sign

The table runner and signage were all by Minted. We decided a simple “bone buffet” would be a great way to feed everyone. The “bones” consisted of pretzel sticks, chicken strips, pb&j and cream cheese & honey sandwiches cut out with a bone cookie cutter, and Scooby-Doo graham crackers.

Puppy Party Bone Buffet

Most of it was served in inexpensive (new) stainless steel dog bowls that we can re-purpose or donate to the local animal shelter.

For drinks, we served beer, wine, sangria and soda for the adults….

Toilet Water for Puppy Party

And “toilet water” for the kids (h/t to a Facebook commenter who suggested that!). It was just blue fruit punch.

Puppy Party drinks for kids

I wasn’t about to give 12 kids blue fruit punch in cups with no lids, so we stocked up on some Take-n-Toss straw cups, and replaced the straws with paper straws, decorated with flags from Minted.

puppy party drinks for kids

Minted also sent me this gorgeous art print of one of my favorite pics I’ve taken of Lowell, loving on our dog. It made a beautiful, subtle decoration on the mantle of our fireplace, and will soon find a home on a wall.

IMG_5045

We rented a bounce house for the day. That was not a bad use of money.

1st birthday bounce house

We called it the “dog house.” Obviously.

Puppy party bounce house dog house

And despite being super sleepy because he was too excited to take a single nap that day…

sleepy baby at puppy party

the birthday boy had a great time.

puppy party 1st birthday

So suspicious of the fire.

puppy party 1st birthday

Oh look! Fire looks fun!

puppy party 1st birthday

I think he initially thought I failed as a mother and gave him a bowl of cereal. Puppy Party smash cake

But then he discovered the cake within, and all was well.

puppy party smash cake

1st Birthday Party, the 3rd time complete! And I only went a little bit crazy planning it. 

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EntertainingSchool Age DaysThe Story

Samurai Kid’s Birthday Party

by Jill
written by Jill

I had grand ideas of throwing Kendall a baseball 4th birthday since his obsession with the sport began last summer, but somewhere around January he was introduced to Power Rangers via the magical powers of Netflix.

Okay, first, I’m just going to answer the question you’re all asking. YES, Power Rangers are alive and well, and in their TWELFTH season, now acting as Samurais. I’m not sharing this to promote them, just as proof of their existence.

Being the fickle child he is, he quickly threw off his devotion to baseball and began karate chopping and spin kicking everything in the house, including his baby sister, which has made the last few months SUPER fun when it comes to discipline. But I tell myself this is better than swinging at things with a baseball bat?

“Momma, I’m going to have a Samurai birthday party!” he declared when I began to ask him how he’d like to celebrate. And so it was.

Mainly, because I knew my friend Mandy and her husband just bought and opened and Karate For Kids school nearby, and they so graciously allowed us to rent them out for a couple hours. It sounded like far less work than setting up something at the nearest baseball diamond. Nobody would be working that except me.

I hired my talented friend Charlotte from The Paper Cupcake to design the invites and printables for me. She did such a great job with Leyna’s party, I knew she’d come through again, and she certainly did!

From there, I ran with the colors that Charlotte used, and easily threw together the rest of the party. Seriously, my psychosis level for this one was at maybe a 2. Outsourcing FOR THE FREAKING WIN.

I wasn’t too terrible crafty. I printed and cut out a banner that Charlotte designed. I got inexpensive red, orange and yellow serving plates/bowls, napkins and paper plates at Walmart.

I took the liberty of going a little nuts with some fun Japanese snacks from the Asian Market, which made me long for my childhood, the 4.5 years I spent growing up in Hawaii. The spread included Hello Panda cookies, dried seaweed, Kaki pi crackers (rice crackers and peanuts). I also made “sushi” rolls with avocado&cream cheese and pb&J rolled in white bread and cut to sushi sized pieces.

I didn’t want to go overboard with the licensed character party ware, mainly because I like to use the leftovers for other parties throughout the year. But, I couldn’t pass up these Power Ranger juice boxes at Walmart that were actually on the lower end of the sugar scale.

The “cake” was a punch bowl full of mochi covered ice cream balls. Probably the best idea I’ve ever had. No cutting, no frosting, minimal mess, maximum yum and a bonus “unique” factor. I don’t think there was a single kid, young or old, who didn’t like them. I got these at the Asian market, too, but I’ve seen this exact brand at Trader Joes before.

The favors were boxes of candy “sushi” (inspired  by this blog post) made from rice krispie treats, fruit leathers, Twizzlers, gummy worms and Swedish Fish. I bought the sushi boxes from the Kroger sushi counter, ordered some sushi grass from Amazon, and I used pink and green marshmallows to represent the ginger and wasabi. The boxes were topped with labels from The Paper Cupcake.

The party itself was amazing. Kendall got a special outfit to wear, the kids participated in a mini-class, and everyone was exhausted by the end of it.

Master Hornbuckle from Murphy ATA was a pro. It’s crazy to me that someone who could probably kill another man with his bare hands (not that he ever would!) can be so amazing with kids.

Meanwhile, I never broke a sweat, Scott got to chat it up with his dad friends, and Leyna had the pleasure of running as fast as her feet could take her back and forth across the mats the whole time.

Easiest. Party. Ever.

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Wintery Rainbow 1st Birthday Party
Crafty!EntertainingPhotographyThe Story

Wintery Rainbow 1st Birthday Party

by Jill
written by Jill

I came up with the wintery rainbow theme for Leyna’s party after falling in love with all the beautiful rainbow parties I’ve seen online the last year. I loved the idea of brightening up a party in the middle of winter with lots of fun colors.

I hired Charlotte from The Paper Cupcake to design the invitations (which featured Leyna’s cake smash pictures that we took on her actual birthday, December 28th) and all the printables for the party. She really helped me set the tone from the beginning.

We had the party at our house, which made for some chaos the morning of and a huge mess to clean up after, but it actually wasn’t that bad having it here.

This front door sign was made with this wooden plaque I ordered from Etsy. I painted it with chalkboard paint and taped ribbon on to the back. Then my sister prettied it up with some chalk markers. Super easy, and now I can just take off the ribbon, wipe off the chalk and repurpose it.

The cupcake stand is one I’ve repurposed since I made it nearly 3 years ago for Kendall’s 1st birthday party. The wreath above the fireplace is our Christmas felt pomp wreath that I added rainbow ribbon to. The picture collage on the fireplace is made from a canvas that’s painted with chalkboard paint. The pictures are stuck on with adhesive photo corners, and we used chalk markers to draw snowflakes on it.

The giant Polaroid photo booth was a huge hit! The kids loved playing with all the funky accessories, and I think even the adults had a good time pretending to bundle up (even though it was nearly 60 outside and I had the AC blasting).

I got my inspiration for this after seeing a pin from this blog, but had no idea how they made the frame. With the help from some reader suggestions, I wound up getting a giant piece of foam insulation from Home Depot for $9, had Scott cut it with a box cutter, and we painted it white. The dimensions were 3.5 feet wide x 4.25 feet long. There is a .2 foot border on each side, a .25 foot border on top, and a .875 foot border on bottom.

Scott hung it from our ceiling with fishing line, a few feet away from the yellow chevron fabric backdrop I got at Hancock Fabrics.

For favors, the kids got Snow Day Survival Kits full of popcorn, hot chocolate, crayons, stickers and notepads. (The babies got packs of Boogie Wipes for those inevitable runny noses.)

We also handed out these beautiful and sooooo delicious rainbow snowflake sugar cookies, courtesy of Cookies By Becky . I don’t know how she got them to look so perfectly frosted and managed to ship them without a single one breaking, but I looked like a regular ol’ Martha Stewart handing them out… until I admitted I had nothing to do with their creation.

The party was 2 hours of total fun, and I’m so happy we had it here… even if it did take a whole day to clean up after it. OH! One more thing. I don’t have a picture of this, but we made the most kick-ass white hot chocolate and let the adults add rum to their cups. Magically delicious, y’all.

1.75 gallons milk
2 bags white chocolate chips
Melt in stock pot on the stove slowly, pour into coffee urn or keep on low on the stove to keep warm.
Optional- top with rum and/or whipped cream.
Serves- a shitton of people

(We have a ton left over, so we froze it in muffin tins and then put the cubes in freezer bags. Now we can pull a few out, pop them in the microwave and enjoy.)

That’s it! Thanks for stopping by to have a look. As much fun as I had doing this party for Leyna, I’m really thinking we might do a birthday outing over a party for Kendall’s 4th in May (OMG MY BABY IS GOING TO BE FOUR).

Becky is going to give a lucky one of you 2 dozen cookies, too! All you have to do is comment telling me your favorite design she has listed in her Etsy shop right now (though you’re not limited to those if you order from her since she does custom designs, too). U.S. shipping addresses only, please. I’ll draw the winner with Random.org in about a week.

The cookie giveaway is closed. Congrats to Emily, commenter #91, as chosen by Random.org!

 

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EntertainingThe Story

Kendall’s 3rd Birthday Party or Why I’d Never Make it as a Wedding Planner

by Jill
written by Jill

Party Planning Psychosis was in full effect last weekend for Kendall’s 3rd birthday party. I’m only now getting to blog about it because I had to spend quality time with family following the episode to make up for my insanity and ensure that they will attend future celebrations under my rule.

The thing is, I have this website, Party Like A Kid, where my team and I spend all this time researching and featuring cool kid’s parties. I was actually inspired to start the site after planning Kendall’s 2nd birthday party. I see all these amazing ideas, fantastical parties, all seemingly pulled off effortlessly. The proud moms pose with perfect makeup, baby on their hip, in front of lush buffets and beautifully homemade cakes. The details are flawless. One may think that I, someone so passionate about sharing such events, would be able to pull one off on her own without morphing into Evil Mommy-wife-sista-child of Doom, but, as has already been established, I can’t.

Oh, I do still try, though.

So on Saturday, after many hours the days before and that morning of crafting and, well, not really cooking (cupcake pull-away cake from Super Target FOR THE WIN!), I arrived at In-Sync Exotics in Wylie, Texas (a seriously kick ass wild cat refuge in the Dallas area) for Kendall’s Animal Rescuer party. Of course, I also brought my trusty slave sidekick, my sister Kelly, who I don’t even want to know how many favors I owe when she gets around to having kids.

 

I made Kelly stay up until the wee hours putting these trail mix bags together with toppers designed for me by Charlotte from The Paper Cupcake.

Look how close you get to the cats there! The zoo is so boring after visiting this place. We've been going since Kendall was a year old.

 

I'll admit I was ticked these sack lunches would not stand in straight lines. They performed perfectly on my counter at home. Tiger bags had PB&J whole wheat tortilla roll-ups and leopard bags had cream cheese, honey and mashed banana tortilla roll-ups.

My desires to keep the party as eco-friendly as possible lost out to the convenience of Oriental Trading Company and the enthusiastic pleas of a nearly 3 year old set free in Party City. Also? Time and the bank account ganged up on me and made me give up my vision of reusable bamboo party ware and homemade cupcakes topped with fondant lion faces.

 

Rescue Pack favor bags full of cool stuff like headlamps, and crap like binoculars and bandaids.

To put it another way, I was SMART ENOUGH to recognize that I could spend all week making those adorable little lion faces to set atop cupcakes made from sugar-free hippy hair and fair trade organic nuts gathered by local squirels, but nothing would make my kid as happy as the high fructose corn syrup puddle of frosting poured over a pile of not so freshly baked cupcakes made to look like a jungle and savanna with freaking DIEGO on it. I would say I’ve successfully completed step one in the Party Planning Psychosis recovery program.

 

Possibly a gallon of frosting on this bad boy.

In my defense, my Party Planning Psychosis tends to flare up when other people *cough* my husband *cough* don’t do what I tell them. Like bring the juice. I simply wanted the man to pack the damn car with everything I so thoughtfully purchased and made, everything part of  my master party plan. I just wanted him to GET IT TO THE PARTY.

Sigh.

Don’t worry, I forgave him. I will not, however, forget. Next year there will be procedures in place to prevent such a slip up.

At the end of the day, all was well. The party went great, the guests were only slightly parched and a touch sunburnt by the end of it. I, on the other hand, was completely drenched in sweat and dehydrated because I refused to drink any of the precious few water bottles we managed to bring with us so none of our guests would die of heat stroke. Naturally, that would be the perfect time for a family photo. Notice the healthy red glow I’m sporting from my brief exposure to the sun. There is vampire in my lineage, I’m sure of it.

Note to self- take family picture BEFORE the party next time. Ha! That's implying you actually get to the party early. Riiiighhht.

Kendall is 3 and Leyna is 4.5 months. Time to start planning her 1st birthday!

 

 

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EntertainingStuff

The Breakdown Of Party Planning Psychosis

by Jill
written by Jill

6 weeks out

I think I’ll have a Halloween party. I think I’ll have a toddler Halloween party. That’s a fabulous idea! A cute little party, nothing big, just something for all the kiddos, something for Kendall. It will be nice to do this for him before the baby comes. Can’t be that hard… I’ll keep it really small.

4 weeks out

Time to send invites… let’s make it an Evite, keep it paperless and eco-friendly.  Super easy to just upload everyone’s email addresses…. Wow. So, hmmm… that’s a lot of email addresses. That’s a lot of people. Oh well, surely a lot of them won’t show up. It’s Halloween weekend. They probably all have other plans.

3 weeks out

Soooo… lots of yes’ RSVPs… not so many no’s. Where are we going to put 35 people in this house? Holy crap. Scott’s going to kill me.

2 weeks out

This won’t be so bad. Lots of people will be great! Lots of kids, lots of fun. We’ll have snacks and crafts. I’ll put in an order with Oriental Trading company. We’ll keep it cheap.

I’ll make some delicious pumpkin muffins that I saw on the Pioneer Woman, and I’ll make banana bread. I can even make some dulce de leche in a can to dip apple slices in.

I’ll use the Party Like a Kid Halloween printables for decorations, and we’ll set up a mini pumpkin patch in the back yard. We can even set up a photo opp spot with a hay bale and a giant scarecrow and some potted mums. The kids can all get their picture taken there and I’ll print them all out and mail them out after the party. Maybe they can even color their own magnetic picture frame at the party? Yeah.. that would be awesome! This is going to be so easy. Piece of cake. Nothing to worry about.

1 week out

Shit. I missed the shipping deadline for Oriental Trading Company. I’m exhausted and I need to go shopping for party crafts. I guess I’ll hit up Hobby Lobby tomorrow.

6 days out

Craft stores are where stress goes to get it’s freak on and procreate. Way too many choices, yet nothing I had in mind. No fuzzy magnetic Halloween picture frames? No foam stick-on pumpkin faces? No time to think this through. Kendall has about 5 minutes before he self destructs. Why did I ever decide to bring a 2 year old with me? Oh right… because I DON’T HAVE A CHOICE. Distractions? Tell him about the party! Include him! I know you’ve kept it hush hush up to now so he won’t bother you about it, but this will keep him quiet. Tell him we’re having a Halloween party with all our friends. Brilliant. I am a freaking toddler whisperer.

Not.

He thinks he gets a say in things.

Although, he’s adorable. Now telling everyone who passes, “Hewwo. I Kendall. I have Halloleen party at mah house wit mah fwiends. I get stickers.”

Yeah, okay. We’ll get stickers.

“At my Halloleen party, we dance to Katy Perry, okay momma?”

Here come the demands of the 12 year old girl trapped in my 2 year old son’s body.

4 days out

Get stomach flu. Puke brains out. Spend the next 24 hours not preparing for the party or cleaning the house AT. ALL. Instead, make giant messes everywhere.

2 days out

Begin cleaning flu germs out of the house. Nag Scott a little more about how important it is that the guest bath be back to fully functional in time for the party.

Begin to make mental list of all the things to buy tomorrow-
pumpkins for pumpkin patch
pot of mums
giant scarecrow
food
decorations
napkins and plates

and all the things to clean
the bathrooms
the windows!
the kitchen floor

and all the things to cook
the Pioneer Woman pumpkin muffins
the homemade cream cheese frosting
the dulce de leche

Start to wonder if I’ll get it all done. Foolishness! I’ll be fine. It’s just a simple little party with 35 guests. Check Weather.com and pray there’s no rain in the forecast. We’ll definitely need to let people spill outside.

1 day out

Begin metamorphosis into PSYCHOTIC WIFE OF DOOM. Breathe fire on husband every 30 seconds, nothing he does is right. Realize time is flying at warp speed.

WHY CAN’T I STOP TIME TO CLEAN THE HOUSE?? WHY DOES THIS HOUSE EVEN NEED TO BE CLEANED? WHY CAN’T WE EVER KEEP ANYTHING CLEAN? WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF? CLEAN, HUSBAND, CLEAN!!! FASTER!

Pick up printables from Kinkos because piece of shit printer doesn’t have enough ink.

Head to evil empire Walmart. Throw last 12 pumpkins in cart while shooting laser beams of death out of eyes at little old lady headed toward me for one.

F*ck Pioneer Woman’s fancy pants recipe. Am now making box mix cupcakes.

F*ck homemade cream cheese frosting. Betty Crocker for the win!

F*ck dulce de leche in a can. That shiz takes 4 hours to cook! And it very possibly could, literally, blow up in my face. Grab two tubs of caramel sauce.

Argue with husband, who thinks his opinion matters, about decorations and plates and napkins. Psychotic Wife of Doom amasses super powers while in evil empire, becomes even more psychotic, even more full of doom. Am now breathing fire AND spitting napalm.

Come home, clean more, bake my ass off, yell at husband, ignore child, QUESTION SANITY x 1,000.

Bed at 12:30

Day of party

Wake at 7:30, QUESTION SANITY, realize Psychotic Wife of Doom is still amongst us.

CLEAN. Half ass the windows. These are parents of toddlers we’re having over. Surely they will understand smudgy windows.

Contemplate dog murder after learning (via my nose) that the Labrador contracted some sort of foul case of flatulence mixed with deadly butt juice over night. Nix idea upon realizing dog murder would just make more of a mess to clean. Grab bottle of Febreze and light 50 candles.

Am pretty sure husband is drawing up divorce papers. NO TIME, NO TIME FOR DIVORCE! MUST SET UP PUMPKIN PATCH! NO, YOU ARE NOT PUTTING THOSE PUMPKINS IN STRAIGHT LINES! HOW HARD IS IT TO LINE UP PUMPKINS?!

Realize we forgot potted mums and giant scarecrow. F*ck photo opp spot. Am over it. Am over everything.

30 minutes until party

Everything is done, house looks great, Psychotic Wife of Doom is gone. Apologize profusely to husband and child. Put on makeup. Put on smile.

Ding Dong

Cue smoke and mirrors.

The party was actually a great success. We had over 30 other people here, including 14 kids under the age of 3. We had hot apple cider and coffee for the adults, cold apple cider for the kids. The pumpkin spice cupcakes I wound up making were DELICIOUS and so easy. Several people on Twitter suggested I try this recipe:

1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin puree
Mix together (will be really dense), bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Seriously, YUM. I topped them with canned cream cheese frosting.

We also had banana bread and apple slices, all of which about 90% was left over. I guess it’s hard for people to eat when they’re chasing their toddlers through someone else’s house.

Kendall had a blast, the weather was perfect, and I *think* I did a good job hiding Psychotic Wife of Doom’s presence once people got there. I have, however, promised my husband I will never do anything like that ever again… at least not while 8 months pregnant. He is a saint for putting up with my moods sometimes, and there should seriously be an official, medical term for the level of psychosis that takes over me 24 hours before I host an event. It’s a freaking miracle our relationship even survived the days leading up to our wedding.

I wish I could share pictures of the party with you, but uh, I don’t have any that aren’t blurry or too dark or just plain terrible.

I do, however, have a few Halloween pics to share.

And a 32.5 week belly picture

Hope your Halloween festivities were fun! Please tell me I’m not the only one who loses her mind party planning.

Kendall is officially 2.5 today and I’m nearly 33 weeks pregnant. Holy. Shit.

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EntertainingThe StoryToddlers

Jump Around, Jump Around!

by Jill
written by Jill

I began planning Kendall’s 2nd birthday party a couple months ago when he learned the word “house.” Not as in the “house” we live in, but like BOUNCE “house.” He begs me to go to the “house” every day. I’ve been taking him to a local Pump It Up Jr. almost every week since last summer, and it’s the perfect, nearly 100% toddler proofed play escape. He doesn’t so much bounce in the bounce house as he does run around, try to play with the blowers, and fight with other kids for the lone Cozy Coupe, but he still loves it. And lately he’s been doing a lot of bouncing and hopping and, ultimately, falling at home, so the bounce house seemed like a logical place to confine  him and a multitude of toddlers and exhausted parents for his party (and you can see why the huge ass trampoline seemed like a good idea at the time, too). Screw the park this year. The park is too much freaking work. I don’t have the energy to host a party and hover below my child as he peers precariously over the side of a metal slide.

The invitations I found at TinyPrints.com were PERFECT! The colors matched the decor already provided by PIU Jr. and I loved how playful they are.

I honestly didn’t put too much effort into this party, but I still think it turned out great. I owe a lot to the excellent staff at Pump It Up Jr. Everything went very smoothly. They helped set up and we didn’t even have to clean up. I tell you, I was crazy to do it all on our own at the park last year. I also loved the peace of mind that came from knowing it didn’t matter if it rained. Last year I thought we’d have to abandon the party altogether to start building an ark, and the day of the party we ended up with a puddle the size of a small lake in the middle of the park pavilion.

Kendall was dying to get inside the entire 15 minutes before the party started. It was everything we could do to keep him from breaking in. Oh, and how amazing is that shirt?! CafePress.com totally hooked us up with that, and you’ll want to stay tuned because I’m going to announce a sweet little giveaway at the bottom of this post.

I wish I had more pictures to document the fun, but trying to capture toddlers on film is about as challenging as photographing the Loch Ness Monster.  All I’ve got are blurs and shadows of what may or may not be a kid running by.

I did manage to snag this beauty at the end of the bouncing portion, though. I will love it and cherish it and use it’s powers possibly for evil when Kendall is a teenager.

He is always digging around in there these days. I don’t know what to do to make him stop. He thinks it hilarious, no matter how I react. And, “You’re going to get made fun of for that!” just doesn’t seem to make sense to him yet.

After the bouncing came to an end, we headed to the party room, which was just fantastic. I didn’t have to spend any money on table cloths or fancy plates and cups. The room was cute as-is, and I had leftover plates from last year. They provided cutlery and napkins. I did bring the banner I made for Kendall’s birthday last year. I hope to hang it every year until he voices his disgust for it.

I also reused the homemade cupcake stand from last year. (I hope to get a tutorial up for that soon. It’s super easy and inexpensive.)  And, running with the ball theme from the invites, I made Oreo Truffle Balls, dipped in Wilton colored candy melts to make red, green and yellow balls to sit on top of the cupcakes, which were a Cake Mix Doctor recipe for red-velvet with Bakerella cream cheese frosting. Not entirely homemade, and not entirely aesthetically pleasing, but they were a huge hit, especially with the birthday boy.

Pure cupcake bliss!

The favors were one of the best parts of the party. BornFree hooked me up with enough of their newly released, BPA free Twist n Pop straw cups for all the kids! I had them waiting, full of ice water, next to their pizza when they filed in. A HUGE thanks to BornFree. They were such a hit.

So after all of that, when the herd of toddlers cleared the room and the last Oreo ball was demolished, we were left with nothing but a 2 year old. Yay us for 2 whole years as parents!

I know you stuck around to the end of the post because you really loved seeing all my terribly grainy and blurry pictures (I keep telling my husband that grown up bloggers have MUCH nicer cameras), not at all to hear about the kick ass giveaway CafePress.com is hosting, right? But hey, you’re here anyway, so I might as well tell you about it.  So, if you don’t know already, you can get TONS of cool personalized gifts at CafePress. They hooked me up with an organic cotton t-shirt for myself and Kendall, and I got to peruse through all the fantastic designs to find the two that suited us the best.

Kendall’s “Danger, 2 year old” shirt could not be more appropriate since he’s quite the running wrecking ball these days, and I think “Keep Calm And Carry On” should be every toddler mom’s mantra. The quality of the shirts is excellent (American Apparel), but I will say they run super small. Kendall’s rocking a 4T and I’m in a large. That’s a size up from what we both normally wear.

Cafe Press is giving away an organic kid’s shirt and organic adult shirt (total value approx. $52) to one lucky commenter. You can choose from any of the designs they have. Nothing special you have to do here, just comment below. I’ll draw a random winner next Monday, May 10th.

Thanks for sticking around for all the birthday fun!

Contest is closed! Winner is comment #34, as chose by Random.org. Congrats, Jill!

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