So you booked your kid’s party weeks ago, handed out all the invites and got a guestlist going. Then before you know it, it’s 24 hours before the party! That’s what I got myself into and I panicked. I usually plan and do all the things throughout the week so not to stress myself out. This year, the weeks leading up to Liv’s 8th birthday party was a gong show. We had soccer wrap up, I was opening up for a Steve Nash Fitness Fempower Event, one media event, my nephew’s first birthday, and a chiro appt. Plus we celebrated on Liv’s actual birthday and also celebrated with my family. Phew. The party was the last thing on my mind, literally. I didn’t even have a cake ordered. It wasn’t until 48 hours prior that I had asked Liv if she wanted a theme! Lol. Good thing she was low maintenance this year. I managed to pull it altogether with a few helping hands, ie. Kaitlyn.
Here’s what I did:
CAKE + TOPPER
Cakes usually need at least 48 hours to in advance and we didn’t have this much time. I don’t know how it came to me but donuts popped into my head. The girls have been getting donuts after soccer games for a few Sundays in a row. DONUT CAKE. I don’t need to cut and the kids can just grab them! Ran the idea past Liv – she loved it. Done.
My plan was to do all sprinkles but that day they only had St. Patrick’s Day themed sprinkles. It didn’t go with the pink decor so I X’d that and just did assorted. One downside of doing a quick cake.
Then I had to make it cute somehow otherwise it’ll just look like a pile of donuts on a platter. Hmmm. I created this fun DIY cake topper for my brother and sis-in-law’s baby shower and made a version of it for Liv – ‘then and now’.
DECOR + TABLEWARE
I went through our party closet to see what we could use. We have tons of decor saved from previous parties and things we have never used. I picked out all the items that coordinated well – pink and white plates, plastic forks and knives and a translucent tablecover with pink florals that I have been saving. We were still short on a few things so we visited the nearest dollar store to pick them up. There we found a cute donut banner that just had to come home with us!
I also brought along my felt letterboard that read: “Livie’s 8” and placed it on the food table.
FOOD TABLE
Since the party was midday (2-4), we didn’t need to make a meal. We did a quick shop (about an hour) stocked up on two kinds of chips, fruit, veggies, crackers, cheese, Easter Oreos, juice boxes and assorted candy (it’s a party after all :)). I got Kaitlyn to place the candy in a few jars and spread them along the table. They were a HUGE hit with the kiddos.
PARTY FAVOURS
J had given me some small kraft bags awhile ago but I never got around to using them. The favours I had were always too big. This year, since I hadn’t planned any themed favours, I decided to buy things that would fit into those bags. I stopped into the store and picked up:
- pocky (a Japanese chocolate covered pretzel stick)
- food themed erasers (fitting for a donut loving girl)
- pencils
- slime (I was hesitant about this one but Liv insisted)
- Kinder Egg
- Cadbury’s creme egg (because her birthday is so close to Easter)
All of them fit into the bag and the kids were excited about their little goodies. I always attach a ‘thank you’ on the party favours so I dig through my stash of DIY/craft materials (I used to be to be a DIY materials hoarder – and still am). I had some cute decorated clothespins on hand and I stamped a few ‘thank you’ tags and attached them onto the baggies with the clothespins. I lined them up on the food table on the day of the party.
Have you pulled together a party in 24 hours? Share your tips!
Nourish Through Movement 