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Monday, April 2, 2012

Birthday Party

I am participating in the Blogging From A-Z Challenge. Each day in April (except the last 4 Sundays), I will post topic themes that begin with the letters of the alphabet, from A-Z. Today's letter is B.


I have a hang-up. I think all kids need to have birthday parties. Now, before I offend parents who don't throw their kids parties, I will reiterate: this is MY personal hang-up. I grew up w/ my birthday being mostly just another day. Occasionally I had some sort of celebration, but more often than not my birthday wasn't made to be anything noteworthy. I'm 31 & it still bothers me.

I think the day of your birth should be a HUGE deal. Especially when you're a kid or really, really old. That being said, I try to throw my kiddo some cool themed parties & although I refuse to spend exorbitant amounts of money on it (except this year b/c we're going to Disneyland), I make damn sure it's a memorable day.

Planning & throwing birthday parties for my kiddo & hubby are the highlights of my year. Last year my nephew's mom couldn't afford to throw him a party so I offered to do it. This year, I just flat-out asked if I could throw his party again. I absolutely LOVE throwing themed birthday parties & she is always grateful to let me do it. I give her the invites & get her opinion on certain things, then I do the rest.

My nephew loves a lot of things, but one night we were watching Scooby Doo & he absolutely lost it. He was chuckling so hard, the rest of us couldn't help but laugh w/ him. So it was a no-brainer that the theme for his birthday celebration would be Scooby Doo. I referred to my trusty friend, Google, for ideas. My new best friend, Pinterest, also helped a lot. After a month of jotting down ideas & 4 days of buying & putting it all together, the day finally came for my nephew to see it all.

The colors were lime green, orange, and a crazy shade of blue. There was literally NOTHING pre-made available locally for me to buy, so I had to put together the decorations myself. This was also my first time making buttercream frosting, which is ridiculously easy & delicious, by the way. Since I'm so proud of my ghetto party-planning, I'll share some of the pictures w/ all of you.

**There were mummy dogs, revolting root beer, spooky sprite, Scooby snacks, monster jaws, pupcakes, albino bat wings, bbq brain chips, dastardly dip, and I scream. Yeah, I'm a dork. :)

**Buttercream frosting made by yours truly!

**After I printed these, I realized it should have been d-o-g-g-y rather than i-e, but I didn't want to have to reprint them. This misspelling will forever drive me crazy!

**I made each of the kids their own Scooby dog tag w/ ribbon collar.

Last but not least: the birthday boy blowing out his candle!!






16 comments:

  1. I DID actually grow up with birthday parties, and ones my own mother put a lot of personal effort into -- by personal, I mean exactly what you're doing, to make them memorable; not catered, at these horrific commercial places. I just refuse to pay that kind of $$ on a kid's party that isn't finally special. Our home parties are small with just their close friends, and they actually open their presents in frontt of the givvers; at all these other parties, it's as if the presents are shameful and my kids never get to see them opened. Whatever happened to the lesson that giving is as rewarding as receiving?

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    1. I definitely think the point of the whole thing is for it to make the birthday boy/girl feel special & loved. If I couldn't put my own personal touch into it, it wouldn't mean as much. If it were just a boxed/canned/pre-packaged party situation, it wouldn't feel as personal.

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  2. Not ghetto at all, it looks great. Coming from a single mom who worked and wasn't crafty, I always LOVED when kids' mom's would make home made stuff or do something really creative. I love the bone treats on the cupcakes! Great job Trish. Oh, and I completely agree that everyone should be spoiled by those they love on their birthday. :)

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  3. Looks like it was a fab birthday party! Birthday parties meant a lot when I was a child but now I'm older they're just another day.

    This is me, Duncan D. Horne, visiting you from the A-Z challenge, wishing you all the best throughout April and beyond.

    Duncan In Kuantan

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  4. Replies
    1. It was a little chaotic, but it was a lot of fun. My nephew's mom called me today & said he's still talking about the party.

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  5. Great party! My birthday always fell in the middle of the summer school-break when half my friends were away, so I always had to had my party early. When it got to my actual birthday day, it was a bit of an anti-climax!

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    1. Our kiddo almost never has her bday party on her actual bday, so her birthday is pretty anti-climactic, as well. We still try to do a little something to celebrate the actual day, but there's not nearly as much hoopla as her party. :)

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  6. I have the same thing... I'm crawling slowly towards 27, and it I still remember my folks just reading or watching TV... no fireworks to mark this day.
    But since I'm on my own I try to put away some money for a city-SPA treat or something.
    I can really relate to this post, because I love giving, the art of choosing, thinking about the receiver, the anticipation, and their surprise...


    Nice to meet you through the A-Z Challenge!

    English Speaking Zone

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by!

      It's good you take the time to treat yourself. Everyone deserves to be celebrated on their birthday.

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  7. How fun for him! I bet he loved it! I love all the decorations.

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    1. He had a sneak peek at the goody bags 2 days before the party, so he was already running around saying "Scooby Doo birthday". He was very excited, which of course made the mad dash to frost cupcakes & slice apples & cook mummy dogs all worth it! *lol*

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  8. I know how you feel. I only had one party with three friends when I was growing up. I know I probably go overboard with my own kids parties, but hey, it's our money and time. There are worse things we could do with it.

    New follower here. I’m enjoying reading my fellow “A to Z”ers. I look forward to visiting again.

    Sylvia
    http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I'm loving all the A-Z blogs & the different topics!!

      By some standards, I go overboard on the birthday parties for my kiddo, but it is something I love to do & something that makes her very happy. That makes it well worth the time & the money!! :)

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