Thursday, June 10, 2010

For The Relatives

I realize not everyone out there cares to see pictures of my daughter's birthday party. But I have to satisfy the family readers every so often. So here are the pics, in case you missed the festivities...

Daphne went back and forth on which kind of party she wanted. First she wanted a Chuck E Cheese party. Then a swim party. Then she wanted a fish party. I thought that sounded promising--I planned on giving away little bags of goldfish as party favors. But then she wanted a gerbil party. I couldn't really see giving away bags of gerbils as party favors, so that idea got nixed. Then she wanted a pirate party. But finally she decided the pool party would be the most fun. And I have to admit I tried to sway her in that direction since an outdoor party means way less work for Mommy.

When the kids arrived, I had them decorate their own treat bags with sparkley foam stickers and markers.



Then the water festivities began. The kids swam in the pool, slid down the waterslide into the pool, skidded along the Slip 'n' Slides, shot each other with water cannons and squirt guns, cried about being shot by water cannons and squirt guns, threw water balloons at each other, cried about being hit by water balloons, and rolled each other in the giant blow-up hamster wheel. (I should have taken more pictures of this part of the party, but I was too busy blasting kids in the face with silly string.)




Next they decorated their own cupcakes. There had been some discussion early on about the cake. At first Daphne's cake requests changed along with the party theme ideas. But eventually she decided on cupcakes, which each child would decorate herself. I was a big fan of this idea. So I made cherry chip cupcakes, dunked them in chocolate ganache (which makes a wonderful, smooth canvas for decorating on), and then made buttercream frosting of various colors. I put the frosting in ziplock baggies and cut the tips off to use as decorator bags. And then I passed out ten different kinds of sprinkles, red hots, colored sugar, and candy flowers. All of this took place outside on the picnic table, of course. So no mess to clean up. I seriously LOVE outdoor parties! I wonder if Beck would want a pool party too. Next December.

What I had invisioned for the cupcake decorating:



How they turned out:























Ah well, at least there were no sprinkles or frosting on my floor.


Next Daphne took a few minutes to ham it up with her presents....





And just as the kids were starting to get their full sugar buzz, it was time to to send them home.

Perfect.


I wonder if I can convince Daphne to do this again next year.

10 comments:

Jiles Pfamily said...

Susannah was asleep within minutes of getting in the car. Sorry she was so off. She had fun and keeps talking about playing with Daphne again. Let's do something soon. Great party btw. Loved the silly string.

Amy Hollins said...

The kids LOVED the party, you are so awesome to let Brandon come. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Heather said...

Keira had a blast. Thanks for the invite. Outside parties are brilliant. Too bad it's supposed to be windy and stormy for Keira's party.

Anonymous said...

Daphne looks like Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter movies...

Financial Aid for College said...

As a relative, I'm exceedingly glad to get pictures of the party. It looks WONDERFUL! Lots of great ideas. And I'm not at all surprised about the cupcakes. At age five the emphasis is less on design and more on how big a pile of frosting and sprinkles you can get on one cupcake (You should see Jennie's kid's gingerbread "men" at Christmas! Gingerbread-piles-of-frosting)

And the three birthday cupcakes I snatched and wolfed down were fabulously delicious!

Hildie said...

I'm still waiting for the right time to throw a party for Ada. I want to make it really great, but I don't actually want to do the work of making it really great.

Mia said...

Don't you just love how kids do everything with gusto! If a little icing is good a ton is even better :)

Anonymous said...

Brynn said she would love to have a party like Daphne's. Too bad her birthday is in February. She had so much fun, and keeps talking about it still. Thanks, Amy M.

Bjorge Queen said...

I left my comment on the wrong place.
Anyway, as I was saying, my son has a July 22 birthday and my daughter is Dec. 26. Guess which one I enjoy more.

I have to confess, though. I have never had a birthday party at home. I lack that kind of motivation. I've always taken the commotion and mess some place else.

Nicki said...

Happy Birthday Daphne!! That looked like the perfect party! I might steal the cupcake idea for Avery's party next week!