Because of the heat, Elsa's rainbow 1st birthday party evolved into a rainbow water themed party.
I guess that's what happens when you have a summer birthday? I wouldn't know since the rest of our family has Fall/Winter birthdays.
This was our first attempt at keeping guests cool but outdoors where the kids could run and play games - most of which involved water balloons. The little ones liked to reach in the bin and make the balloons wiggle. I opted for full size balloons - none of those flimsy water balloons that hurt your fingers by the time you fill a dozen and pop if you look at them wrong. The ones the girls are standing by are the 'medium' ones from Walmart. The nice ones from Target cost $1.50 a bag for 15-20 balloons but were worth it for the games we played, but I'm getting ahead of myself...first I need to give credit for Elsa's shirt to Little Bit Funky. I changed it up a bit and made the purple a number 1. It was by far the easiest birthday shirt I've made because the majority of the sewing is done before attaching the layers to the t-shirt. I started and finished in less than one nap time which was really nice since I only had one week to make/shop for/& prep everything for her party.
Her crown was another nap time project using felt I already had on hand. No matter how many felt projects I do, I always seem to have enough felt for one more project from my Pinterest board dedicated to felt. I didn't take photos of the construction process for this one because it's the same sanity saver technique I used when I made these crowns. Like before I used a bobby pin to secure the back together.
Now back to the rainbow party games and activities...
1) fruit loop necklaces using rainbow colored yarn or string.
2) water balloons for water balloon toss, Splat (throw a water balloon up in the air and whoever makes the biggest splat of water is the winner), Squash (sit on a water balloon in a pool to make it pop), & water pinatas
3) wiffle ball for all ages using colored wiffle balls
4) Frozen T-shirt game - My cousin and father-in-law were the brave adults who raced to see who could thaw the frozen shirt enough to put it on first. (stack the folded shirts with a cookie sheet (with sides) in between to keep them from sticking to each other)
5) multiple kiddie pools
6) Rainbow colored toys on blankets in the shade
7) Elsa's vintage Garden Activity Center in rainbow colors on blankets in the shade (wow did I get that for a steal at $20! compared to those prices on Ebay!)
8) Elmo ball toss game
9) The little ones really really liked squishing the ballons
10) Slip-n-slides
Balloons were the only thing I had to buy for the games which made this a very affordable party!
The kids are so busy having fun I doubt they notice the decorations, but I enjoy planning and prepping that part and was pleasantly surprised at how much I could incorporate from what we already had at home. The fabric garland is from when I made the girls rainbow headbands for our St. Patrick's Day gathering. The photo display uses clothes pins with each of the 12 months written on them and strung along Julia's lemonade stand that Grandpa built using colored yarn I found at a garage sale for 50 cents. (We turned the lemonade sign around so it would be plain for the party.)
Since I knew I wanted to do a rainbow party months ago I purposely planted annuals to match the theme. I also watched the dollar section at Target for rainbow colored items over the past few months. A rainbow party is the perfect 1st birthday theme because it helps build up party supplies for future parties.
On a table near the porch I had a number of things for the guests to look at. I set out a jar of Mike & Ike's for guests to guess how many were in there based off of this pin. I had her baby book out and yes, the red colored cover was planned. Each year when I make her Alphabitty Moment book I will work my way through the rainbow so that she'll have a beautiful display of books when she's older. I also set out Elsa's journal with rainbow colored pens so they could write a note to her as well as some blocks and a Sharpie for more birthday messages.
I printed pictures at Walgreens for the photo banner. It was fun to look back through all the months of pictures and pick out ones that represented her at that time. (I noticed after I made this collage that months 1 and 2 are mixed up. oops!)
I found lots of inspiration online for treats and sweets for a rainbow themed party but we wanted to serve a meal, not 10 different kinds of rainbow candy. It was so hot out that we served snacks and drinks right away and then after while we brought out a meat and cheese platter so guests could make sandwiches.
Rainbow Snacks:
Rainbow Goldfish crackers
Chocolate covered pretzels with rainbow sprinkles
Orange, Blue, & Green Tortilla chips made by Nana Cocina served with our homemade salsa, green guacamole dip, and yummy Skotidakis Jalapeno Greek Yogurt Dip (from Cosco)
Drinks - Beer, juice boxes, and Gatorade in many colors of the rainbow.
Main Meal for Rainbow Party:
Sandwich platter with plates of tomatoes, lettuce, & onion.
Fruit Kabobs
Rainbow Veggie Tray (ours is missing the cauliflower cloud)
Treats:
Fun Pops
Oreo Pops*
Rainbow Cupcakes**
Fruit Cake - I didn't get this made in time but I wanted to include the link because I think it's a great idea!
*You don't have to take the Oreo's apart like the website says. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it. If there is even the slightest crack in the cookie they fall apart when you dip them in chocolate. We dunked the cracked ones in chocolate anyway and then stuck the sucker stick in after they hardened. If you can find them the cookies and cream Oreos were super tasty!
**These were the cutest and easiest cupcakes ever! Our gas station sells the candy - no need to run all over town looking for the Airheads Rainbow Candy after all! I bought a can of white frosting for easy clouds. The blue frosting even came that way, making the whole process a breeze! If you don't have a container to keep the cupcakes fresh check with your local grocery store bakery to see if they'll sell you a cake box. Ours sold me cupcake holders for $1 a piece!
The obligatory cake shot - she didn't disappoint! What isn't pictured is her falling face first off her chair while I held the cupcake and my camera. Where's the video camera when you need it! She had more fun making a mess than eating which was fine by me - remember, I was planning a FRUIT cake!
Elsa opened her gifts while guests ate dinner to keep things moving along. She was so funny about wanting to sit ON them.
We had asked guests to wear their favorite color of the rainbow but I neglected to have them line up in color order. Oh well...I'm just glad we have a picture with lots of the people we love!
Speaking of love....I just love watching these three girls interact. There is never a dull moment with them around!
And that folks, is the end of the rainbow!
I guess that's what happens when you have a summer birthday? I wouldn't know since the rest of our family has Fall/Winter birthdays.
This was our first attempt at keeping guests cool but outdoors where the kids could run and play games - most of which involved water balloons. The little ones liked to reach in the bin and make the balloons wiggle. I opted for full size balloons - none of those flimsy water balloons that hurt your fingers by the time you fill a dozen and pop if you look at them wrong. The ones the girls are standing by are the 'medium' ones from Walmart. The nice ones from Target cost $1.50 a bag for 15-20 balloons but were worth it for the games we played, but I'm getting ahead of myself...first I need to give credit for Elsa's shirt to Little Bit Funky. I changed it up a bit and made the purple a number 1. It was by far the easiest birthday shirt I've made because the majority of the sewing is done before attaching the layers to the t-shirt. I started and finished in less than one nap time which was really nice since I only had one week to make/shop for/& prep everything for her party.
Her crown was another nap time project using felt I already had on hand. No matter how many felt projects I do, I always seem to have enough felt for one more project from my Pinterest board dedicated to felt. I didn't take photos of the construction process for this one because it's the same sanity saver technique I used when I made these crowns. Like before I used a bobby pin to secure the back together.
Now back to the rainbow party games and activities...
2) water balloons for water balloon toss, Splat (throw a water balloon up in the air and whoever makes the biggest splat of water is the winner), Squash (sit on a water balloon in a pool to make it pop), & water pinatas
3) wiffle ball for all ages using colored wiffle balls
4) Frozen T-shirt game - My cousin and father-in-law were the brave adults who raced to see who could thaw the frozen shirt enough to put it on first. (stack the folded shirts with a cookie sheet (with sides) in between to keep them from sticking to each other)
5) multiple kiddie pools
6) Rainbow colored toys on blankets in the shade
7) Elsa's vintage Garden Activity Center in rainbow colors on blankets in the shade (wow did I get that for a steal at $20! compared to those prices on Ebay!)
8) Elmo ball toss game
9) The little ones really really liked squishing the ballons
10) Slip-n-slides
Balloons were the only thing I had to buy for the games which made this a very affordable party!
The kids are so busy having fun I doubt they notice the decorations, but I enjoy planning and prepping that part and was pleasantly surprised at how much I could incorporate from what we already had at home. The fabric garland is from when I made the girls rainbow headbands for our St. Patrick's Day gathering. The photo display uses clothes pins with each of the 12 months written on them and strung along Julia's lemonade stand that Grandpa built using colored yarn I found at a garage sale for 50 cents. (We turned the lemonade sign around so it would be plain for the party.)
Since I knew I wanted to do a rainbow party months ago I purposely planted annuals to match the theme. I also watched the dollar section at Target for rainbow colored items over the past few months. A rainbow party is the perfect 1st birthday theme because it helps build up party supplies for future parties.
I printed pictures at Walgreens for the photo banner. It was fun to look back through all the months of pictures and pick out ones that represented her at that time. (I noticed after I made this collage that months 1 and 2 are mixed up. oops!)
I found lots of inspiration online for treats and sweets for a rainbow themed party but we wanted to serve a meal, not 10 different kinds of rainbow candy. It was so hot out that we served snacks and drinks right away and then after while we brought out a meat and cheese platter so guests could make sandwiches.
Rainbow Snacks:
Rainbow Goldfish crackers
Chocolate covered pretzels with rainbow sprinkles
Orange, Blue, & Green Tortilla chips made by Nana Cocina served with our homemade salsa, green guacamole dip, and yummy Skotidakis Jalapeno Greek Yogurt Dip (from Cosco)
Drinks - Beer, juice boxes, and Gatorade in many colors of the rainbow.
Main Meal for Rainbow Party:
Sandwich platter with plates of tomatoes, lettuce, & onion.
Fruit Kabobs
Rainbow Veggie Tray (ours is missing the cauliflower cloud)
Treats:
Fun Pops
Oreo Pops*
Rainbow Cupcakes**
Fruit Cake - I didn't get this made in time but I wanted to include the link because I think it's a great idea!
*You don't have to take the Oreo's apart like the website says. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it. If there is even the slightest crack in the cookie they fall apart when you dip them in chocolate. We dunked the cracked ones in chocolate anyway and then stuck the sucker stick in after they hardened. If you can find them the cookies and cream Oreos were super tasty!
**These were the cutest and easiest cupcakes ever! Our gas station sells the candy - no need to run all over town looking for the Airheads Rainbow Candy after all! I bought a can of white frosting for easy clouds. The blue frosting even came that way, making the whole process a breeze! If you don't have a container to keep the cupcakes fresh check with your local grocery store bakery to see if they'll sell you a cake box. Ours sold me cupcake holders for $1 a piece!
Elsa opened her gifts while guests ate dinner to keep things moving along. She was so funny about wanting to sit ON them.
We had asked guests to wear their favorite color of the rainbow but I neglected to have them line up in color order. Oh well...I'm just glad we have a picture with lots of the people we love!
Speaking of love....I just love watching these three girls interact. There is never a dull moment with them around!
And that folks, is the end of the rainbow!
Such a perfect day! So glad it was warm instead of raining! Lesser of two I guess :)
ReplyDeleteI love that Elsa looks like she is trying to eat her cousin, instead of just give her a smooch. She is absolutely adorable.
I LOVE this party! I've seen it SO many times online, but they always do like 100% candy...and I'm so against that. You did this up right! Love it. Thanks for sharing and Happy Birthday Elsa!!!!
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