The decorations were somewhere between an ‘ocean oasis’ & ‘underwater crackhouse’ but Sam was in birthday girl, fin-tastic heaven so I’m going to go ahead & stamp this party as a “SUCCESS”
The decorations were a mix of dollar bin finds at Michaels, fabric from JoAnn’s, wall decals from Sears & a hundred different little chachkies from Oriental Trading Company. For entertainment we had a few things going on…this Ariel slip n slide, a baby pool with this Folding Slide we already had in it, our wonderful sand & water table, the best bubble machine ever, this baby sprinkler pool as our “guppy pool” for the babies & the star of all water play…the inflatable little tykes water slide. We bought this at the beginning of the summer (with $100 off coupon at toys r us) knowing we’d use it not only for Sam’s party but also all summer long. It should last a few years & I justified the cost by rationing that we probably would’ve spent around the same amount of money on kid’s entertainment at some kid’s gym, romp, bounce house place. (I also ordered this splitter that let’s you hook 2 hoses up to one spigot so all the activities can run simultaneously)
For drinks I served blue gatorade to the kid’s & labeled it “Sea Water” & served ‘Ocean Ritas’ to the adults. (We used this margarita machine & substituted part of the tequila with blue curacao) The food was done by our local Chick-fil-a, I ordered the trays online & let me tell you, those little nuggets of happiness were a HUGE hit! And super affordable too. I would absolutely order trays from Chick-fil-a again. And then there were the cupcakes….sighhhh. It was almost a shame to eat them, they were so pretty. I went into Lilly Magilly’s & ordered them with just the description that they were for a little girl’s mermaid party. Perhaps she could do some fondant starfish or something…well, never did I ever expect her to make those GORGEOUS fondant cupcake toppers! They were seriously amazing, so much so that when people asked me if I made them (PuHAHAHAHAHAAHhahahHAahHAHhaha…whew, that was a good one) I couldn’t even pretend to lie. If you live in DC/MD area drop by the shop & try one. AH-MAZING.
I can’t believe my little munchkin is 3. UGhhh. Just kills me. On one hand, I’m absolutely loving the age. Yesterday I took her to Panera for lunch, just the two of us, & it was the first time I was ever able to just sit & talk with her. Like a real conversation. It was crazy. But on the other hand my memories of her as an infant are starting to get hazy, it all went by so fast. This new “girl” is wonderful but sadly for her to be in my life means my little “baby” is gone. Man, life’s a b#@ch sometimes ain’t it?
Robin
Your daughters are too cute !
Angela
That is so sweet! It looks like everyone had a great time. Happy birthday, Sam! (Those cupcakes are amazing.)
Sarah
Love it all! Another good bakery in the MD area is Touche Touchet in Columbia, they did the smash cake for Natalie’s frog b-day party.
marni
the party looks like a huge success! i totally agree – my own little pink monster is only 19 months, but i already miss my little baby!
mindy
lol, love your choice of words for the underwater crackhouse
Lisa Yeager
Very cute party for a cute little “big” girl. The cupcakes are amazing.
Nichole
the party looks fabulous! im hoping some of your great party planning skills rub off on me! 🙂
Leida
Wow! The party looked like it was soo much fun, and the decorations were amazing. Way to go (thumbs up!). Ok, why did I tear up when I saw your pic collage of your Sam? I know EXACTLY what it’s like to have them grow before your eyes – my daughter is 4!
Karin
What an awesome birthday party! I absolutely loved all of your mermaid/under the sea ideas. Im starting my pre planning for my daughter’s 3rd birthday in Sep and those cupcakes look amazing. Im doing a Gnomeo and Juliet theme since that is her fav movie of the moment and im trying to come up with all kinds of cute ideas since I have had trouble finding any party supplies for it. But now that i’ve seen how creative you were with Samantha’s party, I am definitely inspired. Samantha looked super cute and happy. Good job mama!!
Maria
what a great theme, looks like everyone had fun, loved all the decorations 🙂
Alaina
My son is about to turn three and what you said about having this big girl means giving up your baby made me cry! It’s so true! It’s depressing and exciting at the same time.
Jessica
ahh, Happy Birthday to your beautiful little girl. The party looks like it was great. You’re so talented!
Brittini
What a fun party! I can tell by your pictures that you love being a mom as much as I do. <3
sandra
what an amazing party! all of the details … wow! you have a future in event planning! happy birthday sam! elena can’t wait to meet you!!! 🙂
Jehna
I was wondering what you planned for favors. My son turns 3 in sept & im stumped on ideas.
sara
looks like such a fun party! and a margarita machine – get out! thanks for THAT link! 🙂 Your daughter is getting SO big … my oldest is about to turn 4, and I remember the day I realized we could sit & converse – it was awesome but definitely bittersweet!
Erica
Hi Natasha, Just reading this now, Your birthday party was so fun. That picture of Braden and Sam is adorable. I hope we can see you all soon. We miss you!