My cute little 4 year-old has a mind of her own.  She chooses… um… interesting things to become obsessed with.  Her current obsession?  Ghosts, or ghosts-es as she calls them.  NICE ghosts-es, she is sure to clarify.

So when I asked what kind of birthday party she wanted to have, she immediately chose a ghost party.  Last year, it was a monster party. Do you know how difficult it is to find ghost and monster ideas and decorations for a party in December?

Am I indulgent to let her choose her own random themes for parties?  I don’t care.  It’s fun to come up with these parties.  We definitely don’t go over-the-top — we choose similar games and decorations as the simple birthday parties we used to go to as kids, but we add a tiny twist to pull in her theme.

Almost all my ideas were found for me by my amazing party planning sister-in-law, Vanessa.

The decorations

{found the milk carton idea here}

{found the balloon idea here}

{Lydia drew her own ghosts-es faces on the cups}

The party favors

{found the marshmallow idea here}

The Games

{Pin the Birthday Crown on the Ghost.  My own idea, thankyouverymuch.}

We also played ghost bowling, decorated paper ghost chains and played “Ghost, Ghost Boo.” (“Duck, Duck, Goose.” I came up with that one on my own too, thankyouverymuchagain.)

When we ran out of things to do with ten minutes left, Vanessa came to the rescue by turning each kid into a ghost in picture form.

I think you just have the kids wiggle around while you take the picture, but I’m not sure.  Go ask Vanessa how to do it.  She also told the kids the “Chocolate Chip Ghost Story.”  Too cute.  Go read it here. What would I do without Vanessa?  Really.

We served Nutter Butter ghost cookies.  I took a picture, but it’s really embarrassing how sloppy of a job I did.  So you can see a better picture here.

And the cake, guys.  The cake.

{Made by my talented husband.  Idea found here.}

All in all, it was a really fun day, and the birthday girl felt extra special for getting the party she wanted.  We’ll see what morbid idea she comes up with next year.

]]> http://www.thrilledbythethought.com/2011/12/09/ghost-birthday-party/feed/ 4 http://www.thrilledbythethought.com/2011/02/02/celebrate-groundhog-day/ http://www.thrilledbythethought.com/2011/02/02/celebrate-groundhog-day/#comments Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:01:00 +0000 Rebecca http://www.thrilledbythethought.com/?p=1415

Oh no!  I forgot today is Groundhog Day!  While I scramble to make the necessary preparations for celebrating Groundhog Day, here is a re-run post from last year.  You still have time to plan your own wacky celebration!

This little girl turned 3 this weekend!

We incorporated a German tradition into our celebration, thanks to our lovely foreign exchange student.  In Germany, they set a special place at the table for the birthday girl or boy the night before.  The birthday person can’t see it until the day of the birthday.  They decorate it with candles to blow out, special dishes, flowers, streamers, balloons, whatever.  The presents are in place, ready to be opened.  Since Lydia was having a monster party that day, we used Halloween tableware for her special place.  She was thrilled.

And then, the party began.  She had requested a monster party, so we did our best to oblige.  But have you ever tried to plan a monster party in any month outside of October?  It’s not easy, my friends.  We had to stretch the imagination a bit.

The monster cake, made by my dashing and talented husband.

The monster drink: lime sherbet and 7 Up, an idea from Marie’s Monster Mania eBook

The monster party favors, a HUGE stretch.  The whoppers are “monster eyeballs,” the m&m’s are “monster polka-dots” (cuz, ya know, some monsters have polka dots on their bodies) and the twizzlers are “monster tongues.”  We also found some little monster toys and figurines at a party store and they were a huge hit.

The monster party craft: monster feet, an idea also taken from Marie’s Monster Mania ebook.

The monster activity: reading monster books.  See those smiles on the kiddos’ faces?  My hubby is a real crowd pleaser.

The monster game: “Don’t Eat Pete” with Halloween faces in the boxes.  Printable game cards and instructions are here.

All the little monsters behaved themselves and the Birthday Girl had a good time!  Happy birthday to my big, grown up girl (who informed me today that she is now big enough to drive).

This is a story all about how my perception of Noodles & Company got flipped, turned upside down.

Once, I ate there, and was less than impressed.  Then I was invited to a fun noodle party put on by Tim Burton, the manager of Noodles & Company in Murray, UT with Camille from www.makeitworkmom and Vanessa from www.inevergrewup.net, darling girls in tow.

Before we began eating, I learned a great fact- if you are less than impressed with a meal at Noodles & Company, they will let you try another!  They’re a great customer service oriented restaurant, and are willing to help you find the perfect dish!  I love when a company will do what it takes to make sure the customer has a great experience.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to hunt for the perfect dish.  The meal I chose, pesto pasta and chicken, was delicious.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  (And also starting to salivate a little)

The afternoon started out with noodle necklaces.  Tim was so accomodating to our 5 girls (3 under the age of 2!).  He brought out different colored noodles to string onto yarn.  He even gave the girls tips on how to string the noodles!

My Lydia found herself somewhat perplexed at the activity.

Vanessa and Camille helped the other under-twos.

Once the girls had sufficiently scattered noodles across the table, chairs, and floor, Tim brought out bowls to decorate!

Lydia, again looking perplexed at the activities.  I can’t get that girl to smile for the camera.

Once our bowls were ready, we were brought yummy macaroni and cheese for the girls.  Noodles & Company added broccoli, meatballs (so yummy), and tofu (Vanessa’s strange request) to the mix.  Noodles & Company allows you to mix toppings in order to create your perfect meal.

The girls devoured their noodles, or “noooonles” as Lydia says.

Us moms got to pick what we wanted.  I chose the pesto, which became my new favorite.  We were also given yummy tomato soup (satisfying all by itself!), salad, and bread.

To top it all off, we each walked away with the gigantic-est (it’s a word, trust me) Rice Krispy Treat ever.  Needless to say (why am I going to say it then?), I was stuffed. 

The prices at Noodles & Company are manageable.  A small noodle, soup, or salad is $4.25, a large $5.25.  (Extra for meat).  Or you can create your own trio, (1. small noodle, soup, or salad 2. plus meat (or tofu) 3. plus side salad or side soup) for $7.25.  What’s more- you can call ahead and they’ll have your order ready for pickup!  Wonderful!

I am also impressed with Noodles & Company’s interest in the community.  On September 2, between 5:00 and 9:00 pm, you can bring a new sleeping pillow to the Noodles & Company at 5207 S. State Street in Murray and receive a free entree.  The pillows are going to children in low income and poverty areas who lack the basic needs in life.  If you’re in the area September 2, make sure to stop by with a new sleeping pillow!

A gigantic WELCOME to visitors from A Fanciful Twist’s Mad Tea Party!  Feel free to stay for the after party and scroll through previous posts.  You can stay as long as you want- I’m in no hurry to clean up!

Here is what happens when little girl cousins get together for a Mad Tea Party.  Magic always shows up too!

The room transforms into a magical nature/fairy land.

While the mommies prep the food, the babies prep by donning their magic fairy wings.

Mini fairy paninis and tiny fruit kabobs for little fairy hands are set out to be devoured by the fairies.

And for dessert?  Chocolate frogs and dirt cupcakes served on a ginormous leaf!

Don’t be surprised if some nature-y visitors come by to see what all the ruckus is about.

When everything is finally set up, the fairies magically arrive, dressed in their best fairy attire.

Then, the fairy eating begins!

Check out Camille’s and Vanessa’s posts of the same party!

Like I said yesterday, I adore traditions.

We started some fun traditions with our daughter’s first birthday, so I thought I would share them here.

My husband decided he would come home every birthday with a flower for each year of Lydia’s life.  *SIGH*  I fall in love with him more all the time.

Then, we decided we would take a picture of her with the flowers and her favorite stuffed animal.  We think it will be fun to watch her grow while the stuffed monkey stays the same size (even if it will most likely be missing eyes and covered in grime after a few years).

As you can see, we had a hard time getting Lydia to hold still.  Daddy had to help.

At her birthday party, we borrowed a Japanese tradition.  We set out different items that represent life paths.

A book for academics, a ball for sports, a conductor’s wand for music, a paint brush for the arts, a spatula for the culinary arts, a pencil for…(I don’t remember- I think we meant it for academics.  Whoops!  Two academic representations), and money for wealth.

Lydia chose the ball.  Watch for her name at the olympics in about 18 years!

We also bought a pretty (and sturdy) notebook for guests at her party to sign and write why they love Lydia.  Out of town grandparents emailed us so we could paste their words in the book.  We will keep using this book each year.  I think it will be fun for her as a teenager to look back through her book.  Even her cousins who can’t write made little drawings in her notebook.

What fun birthday traditions do you have?