big. yellow. lion. birthday party.
Let’s hope this marks the beginning of my return to regular blogging…thanks for sticking with me.
For months now, my son has requested a ‘big yellow lion’ birthday party. Yellow- his favorite color. Lions- his favorite animal. Unlike many 3-year olds, his fixations have remained constant for most of his 2nd year (though ‘triceratops’ was at the top of the list at one point). So after I heard this request for the third month in a row, I decided to go with it.
If you’re a friend of mine and wondering why the heck you weren’t invited, let me tell you this. Parents were not invited. Let me repeat that again: parents were not invited. Which meant Charlie and I were holding down the fort (plus a babysitter) for six little ones that were 3 and under. There were at least a dozen more kids we would have liked to invite, but we had to create a short list based on who Gram requested most frequently. The good news was we didn’t have to think about entertaining and feeding any adults. The bad news was that we had to think about feeding and entertaining six kids for two hours. I’m here to say- we made it and actually had a good time! I can’t imagine having any more than six, though- so for those of you thinking of having a kids-only party for the 3 year-old set, keep that in mind.
The party commenced with a reading of one of Gram’s favorite books, ‘ Since we were oddly blessed with a beautiful 65-degree day here in Nashville, we headed outside for our own lion hunt. Based on the age group, we kept things simple. They were instructed to look for a certain-colored balloon. At each balloon, there was a treat for everyone (examples: lion stickers, lion tattoos, yellow glow-in-the-dark sticks, etc). They did this 6 or so times. The last clue told them to find the yellow balloon, which was tied to our shed. My husband, dressed as a lion- jumped out from behind the shed when they got there. Afterwards, we headed inside for dinner (pb+j’s and bananas) and cupcakes. What I hadn’t counted on was that all of that activity lasted for about an hour. Which meant we had another hour to fill. At that moment, I was thankful for 1) flashlights; 2) glow-in-the-dark bracelets leftover from Adah’s party; and 3) our babysitter. The rest of the party was full of jumping on the bed, potty breaks and lots of sugar-high screaming. We sent them home with some mostly sugar-free favors and called it a day. The birthday boy was as happy as could be.
{sources}
safari hats…
plastic lion(s) + water balloons…target
candy dots…michaels
cupcakes…the cupcake collection
Such a fun idea!
Where did you get the sippy cups?
oops, forgot- picked them up on a last minute run to Party City (a national chain party store).
As one with a recently-turned 3 year old with her own, unfading obsessions, I find this just the most charming birthday party story! And yay to you for taking on a kids-only party. And yay to you for sticking to a small guest list (hard!). And a final yay for somehow finding time to take great pics. It’s amazing how quickly they pack what you plan into a tiny bit of time, too.
Oh Sara I loved these images. Looks like it was so much fun. You are game looking after all those toddlers!
Sharnel
this party is so lovely…it’s funny before i even got to the text i knew it was one of yours…it’s 100% your aesthetic!
Gram is three?? I’ve been following your blog since his first birthday. Time flies… Such a cute theme!