i am planning my guys 2nd birthday, and thought i would share my process with you. its nothing special but when your organized it helps ease the stress of entertaining all your friends and family.
the one issue with party planning is, everything doesn't always go smoothly, and you have to be okay with that. our one hiccup so far was that we planned this party around having it at the beach by our house (lagoon with sand) and it did not open this year and will be undergoing renovations. so location change was difficult, especially with a bunch already planned. but you cant get too wrapped up in every little thing being perfect. as long as the kids enjoy themselves and the parents can relax, its a successful party.
inspiration
i always pick a "theme" sometimes random or i might start on pinterest. i see what others have already done, what works and doesn't work, i pull colors from my inspiration.. usually it will start with one image, or one idea, and build from there. this year i am inspired by [wes anderson's] movie [the life aquatic with steve zissou]
i chose two elements and three colors. the "theme" has morphed into submarines and sharks; red, yellow, light blue colors.
design
this is where i work on the invitation. if your comfortable with illustrator or photoshop, i highly suggest you design your own invite. i save tons by using [vista print] to print my final design and they include the envelope for free. for this theme, i decided to draw my own version of the submarine and jaguar shark, and put that on the invitation, as well as including the quote from the movie "this is an adventure." to make these images, i drew them with a thin marker, scanned them, and colored them in on photoshop. they are the party "logos"
party book
to keep my thoughts organized (they are always bouncing around or coming after me right before i go to bed), i keep this "party book" filled with things i think of. some ideas sound great in my head but maybe don't make sense financially, or its just too much.
i have different sections...
- food list thoughts and ideas about food / dessert etc.
- guest list get an idea of how many kids there will be and get addresses
- make/ to do list things i need to make before the party or the list of things i need to buy.
- check list i like to write down everything i need to bring with me when i head to the party destination. forgetting things is the worst feeling, but if i have a giant list, i can make sure i bring all the goods.
right now the party book lives in the party room aka guest bedroom. i like to lay everything out to get an idea of what we have / need. i subscribe to different party websites or companies i like and want to use, and wait for those coupons! you'd be amazed how much you can save if you space it out and shop smartly.
cant wait to see my 2 year old running around with his friends.
celebrate the good times, because we are all moving and growing too fast.
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