A Party Fit For a Princess

I started planning Sophia's 3rd birthday party back in March. And I put a lot of effort into making it a very special day for my little princess.

Starting with the invitation....

I made her a thrown.

A a scrapbook page to be put on display....

Floral centerpieces......

Tissue paper flowers to be hung from the ceiling....

An appliqued shirt....to be worn that day...

A treasure box filled with treasure bags for the guests.

Only to have the wind try to destroy it within minutes....literally. We were there for like 2 minutes and the wind blew over one of my centerpieces. Dang wind! Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the breezy winds to cool us off but we were having 28-35 mph gusts of wind. That's not breezy.

So I didn't bother taking good/detailed pics of the table tops because every time I turned around, something was blowing away. Some things blew away that I didn't even know about until nice park guests returned them to me. Some of them even offered to help (Russell had left to pick up the pizza and they probably heard me cursing...don't worry. Sophia was with my mom).

The banner fell down twice (breaking in half at one point). But a little duct tape fixed it.

I was so panicked. I didn't have everything set up and only had 10 minutes until it was go time.

So some things, I just scrapped due to the wind. I was literally on the verge of tears but then Sophia showed up with my mom and it put everything into perspective. It didn't matter if it was perfect. No one had seen the vision in my head. And Sophia couldn't have cared less if it was all set up correctly. She was just excited to go play at the park (and the promise of cake and presents).

And then guests started arriving.....yea!!!!!

And they headed off to the park to play for a bit.

Then Russell arrived with they pizza so we ate.

And then I showed them the castle.

And the swords, shields and crowns they could decorate and play with. I had markers and peel and stick jewels. I think the adults had just as much fun with the swords as the kids did.

They swords especially loved the swords. They were inflatable plastic ones from Oriental trading.

Then it was time for cake. Thanks Joanne and Tricia for helping me time the cake eating portion of the day. I got the cake from Hot Chocolates.

Right after that, Sophia was ready for presents. Everyone else was still working on their cake. So we gave them a few minutes to finish....

....before she dug right in. Apollo (Tricia's husband), volunteered to photograph the present opening. Thanks Apollo! At least this way, I got in a few pics! And yes, the dress does coordinate with the decor on purpose.

Sophia got so many great gifts and had so much fun!

And I think the kids did too!

And I couldn't have done it without the help of my family and friends who offered to help out in any way they could.

This experience taught me a lot. That it doesn't have to be perfect to still be a perfect party and that you just have to be flexible and go with the flow. And you can't fight the wind. Now that doesn't mean that next year, I won't go all out. Party planning is one of those things I don't do half-assed. There are plenty things I do half assed, like cleaning the house for example.....party planning is just something I love to do. But next year, maybe an indoor venue???