1. 6-8 weeks before...book venue
2. 4-6 weeks before...make guest list, decide on theme, food, etc.
3. 2-4 weeks before...select invitations, address, & mail
4. 1 week before...shop for all supplies, equipment, party favors
well, i have a little prep list of my own. it starts out similar with the best of intentions then gets slightly altered from the above. far from perfect, but effective. the ash way, if you will…or, fly the seat of one’s pants & get hysterical at the last minute!
the first thing...venue, or location. marked off the list & booked several weeks in advance...check. this was actually a no brainer. in the past, we've done the "have i lost my damn mind?" birthday parties at places that are famously just a room full o' bouncys. (which actually wasn't that bad as we opted for the rent your own space package.) but this year, we wanted something different. the local park was ideal with a shelter/picnic table area & covered nice sized playground.
the second thing we did (monkey & myself) was decide on the friends to invite. i had most all of the addresses, 1 or 2 shy, already. fantastic! i suggested (since he likes to draw) that we might want to make our own invitations. & he was all over it. each friend was going to get a one of a kind 'sonic the hedgehog' picture. he was serious too. & poof, the theme was 'SONIC!' (there was never any doubt...it's all he talks about.) so a week & 2 days before party day, the invites were mailed.
the hubs, being the smarty that he is, had the right mind to order a few supplies online in advance; no sonic themed things around town. so hats, plates, & a table cloth came a week prior.
all we needed at this point was the rest of the supplies, snacks, cupcake ingredients, & we would be ready. wow, we were doing great…for us, anyways.
here's where my oober party planning comes in...because i'm so organized & what not…
3 pm friday (day before)...pick up monkey from school, run over to local party supply shop. get party favors for 11? 12? hell, who knows for sure (left list of kiddies coming at home) 15...yea, that sounds safe! additional plain blue plates/napkins. candles, cupcake holders & a few boxes to transport them in. (how i managed to even think of how i would make cupcakes mobile was a miracle in itself…that’s a last minute ash freakout sort of thing)
3:43...jump in car, head over to super store of walliness. we need ingredients, cotton candy floss, snacks, drinks.
5:02...finally get home (no cotton candy floss) only to get ready for monkey's school fall festival at 6.
now, as you may have noticed, i have mentioned cotton candy twice. why did we need it, you ask?! *monkey got a cotton candy machine last year for christmas, & i think we've used it once...with regular white sugar. & i had the cool idea to top chocolate frosted cupcakes with said cotton candy. blue. there is only one place that has the floss, that i could find. cromer's peanuts located downtown. which is cool, get it super quick on saturday morning.
10 am saturday (day of)…let the baking begin. both muffin pans are located & 24 bake at a time. hubs is out in search of blue cotton candy floss & ice for the cooler. oh, & ring pops! i forgot that i had not been able to locate those the day before…they were crucial to the party favor bags, as they resemble “chaos emeralds” from ‘sonic.’
11:43…all 48 cupcakes are done & cooling on the rack. time to make lunch. hubs called to say there was no blue. okay. purple is close enough. plus, monkey says grape is his favorite flavor this week!
1:38…what? where did the time go? my hair is in rollers. i am not dressed. my child is not dressed. oh crap, the favor bags…i have to put those together! the cupcakes aren’t iced! panic attack! i start icing…”hubs, i need youuuu!” & he swoops in for icing detail. i grab monkey’s clothes. i put together favor bags with one roller half way intact…it was being difficult. slap on some war paint…squeeze in to clothes. ahh, breathe.
2:14 (46 minutes until party at 3)…the cotton candy is buzzing, swirling, & sugar is flying everywhere. but we have a 2 man thing going & these cupcakes are looking incredible! these perfect fluffs of sweetness look so pretty & everything is coming together. (i knew all along…)
i mean, i cannot get over how awesome they are. as i gingerly place them in the boxes, i give myself a little ‘atta girl!’
2:42…loading up the cars. grabbing the camera. placing cupcake boxes neatly in the back seat of the one car (don't want them to get messed up!) while the hubs puts stuff in the other. we are off to monkey’s birthday party!
3:00…party time! the shelter is perfectly next to the playground. i am all smiles. my baby boy is excited. nothing could go wrong…not one eensy thing. how does everything always come together? & this by far has been the most perfect prep for a party ever! (okay, there was a hiccup here & there, but…)
so, you know how there’s always a lot of air in cotton candy bags? & once you open it, it goes kinda flat? & remember how stoked i was on our awesome creations for all to see?
*is that the most "perfect" cupcake you've ever seen? omg, i had to laugh. i just had to. as i apologize to every person & explain to them how beautiful they were. the once lovely, fluffy puff of light purple was now a sugar encrusted layer of goodness. oh well, they were eaten. they tasted good at least. sugar is sugar, right? & we had the best time with our family & friends.
monkey is still talking about his best birthday party ever! & that is all that matters.
ps...why, oh why did i NOT do my normal dorky thing & take a before picture? damn you, cotton candy! hahaha...
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