i was in party planning mode all last week! for those of you that don’t know me, let me explain. or ask derek. party planning mode means complete insanity. it lasts a full week. it means run around at warp speed at all times because every second and every minute are precious. there is no time to be wasteful. it is all about details. it means spring clean and deep clean the house. it means redecorate the house – not buy new stuff but move stuff around and replace photos so that it feels new. it means window washing, trips to lowes for flowers and major yard work. this year, it even meant clean out the garage and bleach down all the outside yard toys since we found a tarantula on the patio. it means everybody gets their hair cut. it means run 1,003 errands, make 10+ trips to the store, make a few returns, decorate until the wee hours of the morning and live off 2 hours of sleep each night. i do not lie.
for those of you thinking i am completely nutso or thinking that i should get off the soapbox and go to chuck-e-cheese for my kids parties, it’s not my style. nor is it mr. d’s. plus i love the whole process. i thrive on details and themes and i look forward to these times of year so much. there is no better feeling than kicking back on sunday when party has come and gone and knowing you can truly relax because everything has been addressed. i am slowly converting derek to this way of thinking:)
all this said, we simplified our life this year and planned a joint birthday party for the kids. my mr. d turned 3 in april and miss m turns 2 in july. the kids are both waaaay into bounce houses and even more waaaay into dora (and diego, but mostly dora), so there we had it. this is not necessarily the party theme i would choose, but how could i not give my kids what they want? so my mom and i did our best to add a little flair:) we raided the toy box for table decor and the front yard for flowers and greenery. we served a breakfast taco and salsa bar along with some dora goodies, and then finished it off with a giant dora bounce house.
the cake was made by romano’s bakery in dallas. we splurged for this since it was a joint cake, but let me tell you the pricetag was totally worth it because mr.d is still talking about this cake. it was lemon twist with raspberry filling. he is a bit picky and this was the first time he ever ate a piece of cake! he says lemon cake was the best part of the party. then the bounce house:)
my little dora and diego:) the kids got these dora and diego costumes for christmas! we had a “great” time (i say that sarcastically) trying to get these pictures taken for the party decor. hilarious! equally hilarious were everyone’s reactions as they walked up to the front door where the middle bottom photo stood on an easel!!
the kids were sad to wake up from their naps and have no more dora bounce house. it broke my heart. but thank goodness for photos! they are more than entertained and satisfied to look through all these.
and lastly, for all of you with big dora lovers out there, you must make this for your child. there is a diego version too. our kids love it!
shalonda - hahahah melissa you have offically shown mom sout there that you can do a cartoon themed party by doing so much more than buying character plates and boring premade store stuff….standing o for you my friend…i knew better than our conversation last week!!!! amazing job!
kate rash - I feel like a broken record when I say, “Wow, Melissa!”. Moms that are invited your parties must love and hate you at the same time. Thanks for sharing your creative memories! (P.S. – Love Miss M’s hairdo!)
Shawna - Very cute party!! I am working on a Dora and Diego party for my nephew, I love your food labels, did you make those yourself? I cannot find ANY that I like and was wondering if you could give me any tips! Thank you!