A recap of yet another birthday party that I swore I wasn't going to throw - Complete with a balloon garland, cakepops, a mini donut wall and custom cookies. All. The. Things.

 When does my normal mom-brain stop making decisions and the crazy party lady take over each year? This is the question I've been asking myself since September when we had Elli's birthday party...then Russell's birthday...then my birthday...then Kaye and Sawyer each have a birthday to round out October. Throw in a little Halloween and I'm certifiable. Not to mention - I think my credit card grew actual wings and flew out of my wallet sometime around October 5th. That and Jeff Bezos invited me to his annual Christmas party at Amazon headquarters because I was their most active purchaser in the past six weeks. Yay.

But this isn't about me and how I bought costumes instead of milk and eggs. This is about two of my best gals telling me that their party day was the best day of their lives and somehow that makes it all worth it. Granted...I'm sure had I taken them to a movie that would have been the best, too.

For this year I went with Classic Happy Birthday. That meant lots of balloons, all the bold colors, sugar sugar sugar, and some party games.
(invites by me!)
I sent invitations out two weeks late...but apparently October isn't a busy month for our friends because we ended up with about 40 people (including kids). 
Kaye and Sawyer stood by our front window for the better party of an hour anxiously awaiting the start of their friends arrival. Last year Elli had just been born so we didn't have a party. So to say the girls were anything but extremely excited would be an understatement. Kaye even invited her little boyfriend from school which she later told me made her super nervous and made her belly feel funny. So sweet!
After Elli's party and the beyond darling cookies One Haute Cookie made I knew I had to get some for Kaye and Sawyer (and guests). They were so delicious! I ordered extra again so I could tie little thank you tags to each individually wrapped balloon shaped cookie. 
I also asked if they could match the silhouette images I made of each girl and to my huge surprise...THEY COULD and did! Who would have thought that detail was possible?! I mean...can we talk about how much that looks like my best gal, Kaye?! In addition to the silhouette they also made gold trimmed Happy 4th and Happy 6th Birthday cookies for each girl. Friends...I'm telling you. Custom cookies make the party. At least they do for me because they are just so special! 

(And in case you're wondering, One Haute Cookie ships all over the country!)
Another super beyond delicious addition to the party - MINI DONUTS!!! I have seen donut peg boards all over Pinterest and I've always wanted to try one but I just didn't know how to execute. You see...when it comes to Pinterest projects I love the idea but prefer minimal effort. Because...does this mama have time for that? No. No I do not. So after a quick trip to Lowe's where they trimmed the peg board down for me, I bought a can of gold spray paint and in about five minutes...I had a donut peg board.

Boise, being the very up and coming location that it is, also has some new, super awesome businesses! And by super awesome - what I really mean is delicious, adorable...and delicious...and adorable. I worked with Mission Donut on our party donuts and they did not disappoint. Out of 40 mini donuts there were exactly zero left...and there were PLENTY of treats to choose from. Donuts...gone.

But here's the thing...If you want Mission Donut at your next party all you have to do is contact them and they can whip up your custom order! If you're not having a party anytime soon, follow them on Instagram so you know where to find their next drop-off! They are all over town all the time. You can find them at coffee shops in Hyde Park and downtown Boise. They do pop-ups at different events like running races...all the things. What I'm saying is you have lots of opportunity to find them...so follow them!

Okay...now to other important things like my two best gals and their party shenanigans. They are the type of girls (especially Kaye) that if I ask them what type of party they want they go to the ultimate extreme - Cupcake / Superwars / Airplanes / Trampoline / Frosting Explosion! I would never be surprised if this came out of her mouth. So...I just go ahead and do the choosing of events each year and promise to have lots of sugar and lots of fun. It hasn't failed me yet. 
I bought the gals special birthday outfits. I planned special birthday games. And I even let Kaye invite her school boyfriend...which she still hasn't stopped talking about. 

Oddly - Sawyer hasn't stopped talking about him either. (Even though his little brother is in her class and also came to the party...is this my future? Fighting over a boy?)

We played musical chairs. 

I blew up their silhouettes so we could play a very personalized game of Pin the Bow on the Girl.
And lastly - We provided a piñata so as to allow for the children to get out some of their sugar aggression. Never have I seen a piñata go down harder...or faster. There's nothing quite like sugar-rage.
Friends - I have yet to throw a party where I didn't think to myself, that was a sh*t-load of work. It just always is when you host at your home. First you clean. Then you set up. Then you break down. Then you clean again. 
But never have I said...that wasn't worth it. Because...can we talk about all these cute faces?! And this was only the group I could get to pose for the picture! There were six more children...I think. Possibly more. It seemed like they just kept coming. We can't thank our friends and family enough for traveling all the way to the farm to celebrate our gals. To say they felt the love (and the spoil) is an understatement. 

And friends...I can't stress enough how wonderful it was to incorporate some local businesses into the celebration. 

MISSION DONUT

ONE HAUTE COOKIE


 M O R E   P H O T O   F U N !