We recently celebrated my daughter's seventh birthday (party photos coming soon!). But it was around that time that I realized that I had never posted photos of her sixth birthday. (D'oh.) But, really, the reason is simple (and stupid): The pictures were just not good. So every time I went to work on the post, I became annoyed. Unlike birthday parties past, we didn't hire a professional photographer--something I regretted immediately upon looking at the pictures--so I just kept putting the post off and putting it off. And then suddenly she was seven, and I hadn't documented my daughter's birthday simply because every photo wasn't Pinterest Perfect.
So, here I am. With my crappy iPhone pictures. And we're all just going to deal with it, okay? ;)
If you're confused what kind of party this is by looking at the photos, you'd be forgiven for that. My daughter went back and forth between two party ideas, and in the end, announced she wanted both. So we did a mash-up of the two: Behold our "Paris and Disney Descendants Party." I'd venture to say we may be the first and only ones to do this combo.
I went with the red, white, and blue version of Paris (versus the pink macarons-and-poodles thing that you see a lot), which seemed to fit in better with the Disney stuff. I ordered instant downloads of Paris and Descendants-themed art off Etsy, then printed them out for wall decor. (I'm still planning to re-use the Paris prints in a gallery wall for her room, but considering it took me a year to do this blog post, I'll probably be doing the gallery-wall blog post--and, okay, the actual gallery wall--around the time she leaves for college.). I scattered a few cheapie Eiffel towers all around, wrapped water bottles and juice boxes in Decendants printables from Etsy, added a few red, white, and blue balloons, and propped up Paris- and Descendants-themed books that we already owned as additional decor.
I covered the tables in French flag tablecloths and scattered Eiffel Tower confetti on top. The birthday girl's outfit was a replica of a Disney Descendants "Evie" costume (sewed by my mom!), and her American Girl doll was dressed in a matching version. A giant Eiffel Tower scene on the wall doubled as a photo backdrop.
And my mom made the cake! We topped it with a mini metal Eiffel tower and some super cheap plastic Descendants rings. Done and done.
For entertainment, the girls colored French-themed pictures when they first got there (I just ripped out pages from some French coloring books), and then settled in for a magician show. (The magic show certainly wasn't Disney-ish. Or French, but oh well. C'est la vie.)
The favors were my favorite part! I made little baggies with a macaron pen, a macaron lip balm, an Eiffel Tower crayon, Paris tattoos, a Descendants ring, and an Eiffel Tower sugar cookie (again, made by mom!). Tied each bag up with red, white, and blue ribbon, and voila!
(Did I mention that I was super busy around this time and ended up having to pull this all together in a week? Thank god for Amazon Prime, patron saint of slacker moms everywhere.)
All in all, despite the lazy planning, my daughter and all of her guests had a great time. And, really, what could be more magnifique than that?
So merci for allowing me to go back in time to share my seven year old's sixth birthday party. See you in a few years when I reveal pics of the bash we just threw for her seventh! (Kidding. I hope.)
Earlier this fall, I got the opportunity to go to some big holiday toy previews. They were worlds away from the beauty events I usually attend, but they were so much fun! I got a glimpse at tons of new toys, my daughter was ridiculously jealous, and the whole thing kind of made me feel like a kid again.
So, to kick off my 2015 gift guide posts for both adults and kids, I thought it would be fun to share nine of the hottest toys of the season. These are the ones guaranteed to nab you the title of Best Mom (or Aunt) Ever. They're also the ones that are sure to sell out, so grab 'em now.
1) Little Live Pets Cleverkeet Parakeet: Do your kids want a pet? Try to stave them off by giving them this interactive singing, talking, dancing toy bird. All the fun, none of the poop. (Also available in pink here.)
2) Disney Sing-A-Long Elsa Doll: This year's most-wanted Elsa blows last year's most-wanted Elsa (remember my saga trying to buy one??) out of the icy water. She says 15 phrases in English and Spanish and comes with a microphone so your little girl can duet with Elsa, singing the full-length movie version of "Let It Go." (Ear plugs sold separately.)
3) Furreal Friends StarLily My Magical Unicorn: She responds to your child's voice and touch, she has over 100 sounds and movements, she lights up, and she's sooooo pretty. (Those lashes tho!)
4) Crayola Crayon Carver: Unwrap a crayon, stick it in the slot, and the machine grinds any word or phrase (think anything from OMG to a name) directly into the wax. Think of it as insurance that no one's stealing your kid's crayons ever again.
5) Shopkins Shoppie Doll: Shopkins (those little rubber characters that kids collect, trade, and generally go batshit over) are still huge. And this season, they've launched dolls. Each set includes a doll, her purse, two exclusive Shopkins, and the undying love of your Shopkins-obsessed girl. (BTW, if you have a wee Shopkins fan, check out this cute Shopkins ice cream truck, too. It's also poised to be huge this season.)
6) Pie Face: This game is going to sound like the worst thing ever. But that's because you're not five. Kids are going nuts for this game, which is basically Russian Roulette only with whipped cream. Real whipped cream. Yes, you get whipped cream in your face. Make Daddy play it with them.
7) Stikbots: These are so cool. (Seriously. I kind of want them for myself.) They are little plastic, bendable stick figures that you can pose a zillion different ways. You use your phone to take photos of them, then the app creates a stop motion video. Such a cool little gift for your budding filmmaker.
8) Yummy Nummies: These shelf-stable boxes of fun contain all your kids need to make anything from pizza to gummy candy to cupcakes to chicken nuggets. (And yes, you can really eat it all!) Think part cooking class, part chemistry set, part lunch.
9) Disney Descendants Dolls: The made-for-TV movie about the high-schooled-aged kids of the Disney princesses is a phenomenon right now. (My daughter has already requested a Descendants party for her birthday next year.) So, naturally the dolls are super hot right now. You can't go wrong with Mal, Evie, or a two-pack set complete with Bieber-esque prince.
So, what's your favorite toy from the list? And which toys have your kids been asking for? (I'd love to hear!)
I'll be back over the next few weeks with more gift guide posts, but in the meantime, check out last year's guide--all stuff from my own personal holiday wish list.)
