Elmo Birthday Party....When it Rains It Pours!

What a fun party my Little Chunkies had for his first birthday! Granted, he was sleeping through half of the party and wasn't in the greatest mood, his mom and I got through all the drama of the day (which included losing the power twice in two days - preventing us from getting some of the food made ahead of time - a generator that wouldn't power up, unexpected rain, and a VERY cranky birthday boy).  In planning parties - anything and everything is bound to happen.  The key is to be prepared and have a backup plan.  However, being the perfectionist and control freak I am, I was dying inside (I even think at one point I went into a corner and silently wept for five seconds). Seriously, no one else except us (or maybe me) really paid much notice to all of that. At the end of the day, the party looked fantastic, EVERYONE had a great time and the cupcakes and smash cake were a hit - and when he finally awoke from his slumber, Little Chunkies enjoyed opening gifts.

Here are some pictures of the decorations I custom made for the Elmo party along with items that Little Chunkies' (aka Tyrese) mom picked up from the party store. Enjoy!

I got a lot of my inspiration for the party from Martha Stewart (of course) & Polkadots & Pirates - I also threw in some of my own touches!

Welcome door sign for the birthday boy!

This is the shed at our house - I love that it looks like a barn - it's an instant prop!  This is the banner I created - a la Polkadots & Pirates.

My stepdaughter picked up another banner from the party store - it looked cute up against the moon bounce as a backdrop (note to self, kids should not play in the moon bounce after eating).

I tried to dress up the mailbox a bit with two of the balloons that survived the rapid fire balloon popping explosion (another catastrophic moment in the 'what else could happen' theme that ran concurrent with the party; I swear my ears rang for at least 5 minutes after that)  & an Elmo cut out that came in a party kit

Here is one of the pinwheels I made for the kids.  I got the print for them from theangelcompany.com.  My stepdaughter found cute Sesame Street cups at the Dollar Store and some Elmo Party Blowers from the party store.

I created these same style party hats for another party I did back in June, this time, I personalized them with the birthday boy's name.

At this point in the party, Little Chunkies was still half asleep from his disturbed nap.  I finally got him to wear the felt Elmo Birthday Boy Hat I made for him long enough to snap this picture - I swear, if I didn't know any better, I would think he's giving me the finger...look very closely.

Buttercream frosting is much easier to prepare when you have an electric stand mixer to use.  When the power went out, I had to go old school and use some muscle.  I whipped the frosting by hand and I must say - I got snaps for them!  HOLLA!  

Look at Elmo wearring one of the party hats - he's so cute!

I found an easy template online and made custom water bottle labels.

Here is the keepsake shirt that we put out for Little Chunkies.  I made a sign with a message on it asking people to sign in and framed it.  The shirt made a nice keepsake and is a take on having a guest book.

We have a lot more pictures that we took which I will post a link to as soon as I collect and organize them.  In the meantime, I'll be updating you on the next few parties coming up....if you remember the race car party - that's been nixed and is now a choo-choo train party.  That will keep me very busy in the next few weeks.  I also have a more elegant affair that I'll be doing in October for a dear friend to help her launch her jewelry consulting business for Bubbles & Baubles.  I'm creating a dessert buffet for her which I'm very amped about.  I'll share the inspiration board with you in my next post!