As promised here is a recap of my baby’s 2nd birthday party. I added up all the costs and the total costs was only $525!!!! Thanks to my early planning that ends up being only $87 per month. This includes, food, gifts, outfit, decor and the enormous moonbounce that was enjoyed by all (adults included). We ended up with approximately 26 kids and 55 adults.
Ok so the theme was Abby and Elmo. I went with a Carnival type theme. The kids received tickets for each game they played and turned them in at the end for a prize (their party favor bag). The activities were:
Crayon Moonbounce with double slide
Cookie Monster Bowling
Abby’s Fairy Knockout
Ernie’s Rubber Duckie Pond
Piñata
I was surprised the kids actually played all of the games and seemed to genuinely enjoy them. I tried to make them age appropriate but was worried they wouldn’t want to play. They also enjoyed Celina’s baby slide from last year’s party and a Sesame Street train I purchased for decor lol. After open play from 1-3, we served lunch. The menu was:
Nathan’s Hotdogs
Meatballs
Warm turkey and ham sandwiches
Tuna macaroni salad
Regular macaroni salad
Corn
An Elmo face fruit plate (strawberries, blue berries, mandarin oranges and yogurt) Goldfish
Kool aid jammers
Pink lemonade
Water
After the meal we gathered the kids to sing happy birthday and then passed out the Cookie Monster Rice Krispie treats while the cake was being cut. I planned to have a little 15 minute dance session with the kids but changed my mind since it was getting cold and parents were ready to leave.
The next activity was the Piñata. Although the majority of the kids were young, I decided to go with a traditional piñata instead of a string one. I’m so glad my friends and family talked me out of holding it. Those kids were swinging hard at that thing. No one was able to crack it open, so hubby eventually just shook the candy out for the kids to gather.
After the piñata we put out the bubble blower and had kids go inside to take pictures with the photo props and turn in their tickets to receive their favor bags. During that time they were invited to get a slice of cake and candy from the dessert table.
The final component was the presentation of her ride on car. It’s a white Bentley and her brother used the remote to drive it out with Elmo, Abby and Cookie Monster in the driver’s seat. Although she was excited about her new toys, she was scared to actually get in the car (and still is 😕).
Lessons learned:
Although the party was a huge success, I learned a few things for next year and looking back would have a done a few things differently:
1) I should have stuck to my original idea and had hot chocolate and mini funnel cakes during playtime to keep the guests warm (the weather man lied and said 67 and sunny; so I figured it wasn’t necessary )
2) I should have suggested that kids take photo prop pics throughout the party in order to get full participation and give them a chance to warm up
3) I should have asked someone to strictly be in charge of photos. There were a lot of detailed elements and even guests that I have no photos of because I was too busy hosting, setting up and enjoying the party. I don’t even have a picture of my family together in our Sesame Place gear.
4) Have food available at the beginning of party and let people eat at their leisure. We did this last year and I decided against it because we had so much food leftover, but I think it’s the best option, especially with young impulsive kids.
To see all the pictures from the party, you can head over to my Facebook Album