This year we had Lili's birthday party a couple of weeks early to avoid the 4th of July holiday. We figured more of her friends would be able to attend and it turned out to be a good plan! With almost 20 kids age 5 and younger, we had a great turnout...and luckily, we decided NOT to have the party at our house this time. Instead, we booked the party room at Gleason's Gymnastics in Maple Grove and had them provide the entertainment as well!
I thought letting someone else do the work was going to save me time and energy, but in reality did anyone REALLY think that I would be able to let it all go? Hell no! It all started with Lili's outfit and needing a cool party hat. For some reason the kid believes that if you have a birthday party, a party hat must be incorporated somehow. That's cool...party hat it is! Etsy is truly the BEST place to find the cutest, most unique handmade items, so that's where I did my shopping...and the munchkin looked adorable!
Normally Gleason's provides tablecloths, plates, napkins and balloons for all of their events, but I stepped in and told them not to worry about it. I couldn't have party decorations that didn't match my theme! I brought in pink/black zebra printed balloons, pink/black zebra plates and napkins, pink tablecloths and then my homemade pink/black zebra fairy wands placed in clear glass vases for centerpieces. My only issues with the place at that point were the blue walls and yellow chairs... Seriously?? If only I could have swapped those out too...maybe put on some chair covers with sashes?
The entertainment was lots of gymnastics-like activities led by Gleason's instructors!
The kids were so cute lining up and listening to what they were being told to do next.
...swinging like monkeys from rings on an obstacle course...
...bouncing on the trampolines...
Luckily when they fell their little bodies were greeted by nice, soft, thick mats!
Even Daredevil Will was safe and had a BLAST!
After everyone ran around and expended some energy, we went back to the party room for some good eats. We had fruit with fruit dip, veggies and veggie dip, Papa John's pizza (in many flavors!) and of course...CAKE!! I made a coordinating cakestand the week prior and made the cake and cupcakes the night before. It turned out cute, but was SO much work. I'm still trying to determine if this is due to my lack of cake decorating skills, or if this is just how it is?
Lili did great blowing out her candles, though I'm not sure she 'gets' the whole making-a-wish concept yet...
I think her wish would have been to eat one of these cupcakes though...and she DID!
Opening presents was absolute MADNESS and no pictures to prove it. Just take my word for it...a mass of 4 yr old girls + girlie presents = INSANITY. I don't even know who gave Lili what... I sucked as referree. By the end we were all exhausted, but our friend Heather grabbed this family pic. It's not perfect, but it perfectly suits US!
1 comment:
We have a place JUST like that here, we did Jack's 2nd birthday party there. I am ALL for parties NOT at my house...you pay a bit more but avoiding the chaos and mess at your house is worth any price to me! Your decs look so good and you look great in that photo, you rarely post pics of yourself but I can tell how much weight you have lost, you look amazing:)
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