Birthday Theme: Safari Adventure!

Thrills, action and adventure!

Time flies when you’re having fun! And having a son surely made it go even faster. Paulo turned a year old this month, and to celebrate his first year, we had a little safari adventure. It wasn’t too difficult to pull together, just some coordinating. First of all, Paulo already had the perfect outfit to wear: Hip Hop Grasshopper from le•top’s 2010 Spring/Summer collection. All I had to do was to dress my family to match his attire. I bought pith helmets and bandanas to accessorize our khaki gear. We had a custom cake decorated with tiny snakes, handed out 3-ft. stuffed snakes as our party giveaways, and invited our dear friend, Jungle James, to bring his corn snake and other critters to entertain our guests. Oh, did the children have a wild time!

The party only lasted 3 hours, but at the end of the day my husband and I were exhausted. I realize now (after almost six years of party planning for my kids), it doesn’t matter how long the party is or how many guests are invited, the amount of work is still the same:

• planning
• writing out invitations
• shopping (food, drinks, party supplies, etc.)
• order the cake
• cleaning the house
• setting up the food
• mingling with the guests
• replenishing the empty food trays and drink cups
• serving the cake
• opening the presents
• cleaning up – BIGGEST JOB OF ALL!
• writing thank you cards

What I’ve learned is Children’s Birthday Parties = Work. THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTIES = EXTRA WORK!!! But it’s worth every moment when I see how much fun everyone* is having. So now that I’ve got one child’s birthday party under my belt, it’s off to plan my daughter’s birthday party. She’s going to be 6 years old, so I know it’s going to be a sassy one. I’ve get less than three months, so I better get to it.

(* That includes the parents!)

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le•top Takes: Out of the Mouths of Babes!

No, I did not say that!

It was my nephew’s birthday party and it was time for gifts. I watched him as he happily opened each present, then frowned upon discovering it wasn’t what he was hoping for. So I asked him, “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t get what I wanted.”

“What did you ask for?”

A time machine.”

– Noah, age 6

Editor’s Note:
Please spread the giggles by sharing your funny quotes with us!

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Get Sassy!

Rylee & Reece Store Front

Krista Hunt is a savvy and sassy mom!  After welcoming her first child, a daughter Rylee – and while expecting a second just 1 year later, her son Reece – she had a fabulous idea…to open a chic little boutique that would specialize in unique and trendy childrens’ fashion, au courant nursery décor and the coolest in baby gear!  Quite a year we would say!  Her mother Phyllis, obviously a grandmother with plenty of joi de vivé jumped right in with her fashion loving daughter and their store rylee & reece was born.

Pedicures all around!

Krista and Phyllis have a unique store – because it has something that no one else in Wichita, Kansas can boast – a Party Room!  Within rylee & reece is a special area that can host parties for up to 30 people – a really unique venue for birthday parties, baby showers and recently something even more special – their “Pamper Me Back to School” event!  Over one week’s time they had over 125 little girls between the ages of 3 to 12 years old arriving to be ‘pampered!’  The little ‘mini-spa’ treatment included a soak for their feet in a bin of bubbling water, light massage and having their toes painted. Next they received a facial with cucumbers for their eyes. In addition, they soaked their hands before their nails were polished – between Krista and her mom Phyllis, assisted by two teenage helpers Karly and Ashley they painted over a thousand fingers and toes!  The ‘pampered’ girls were served cheese, crackers and grapes along with pink lemonade.  Krista reports that smiles abounded and that everyone had tons of fun!  The moms and grandmothers enjoyed shopping the unique and extensive selection of fashions – all carefully chosen by Krista.

Getting pampered!

The comments about rylee & reese on the Grandparents.com website state:

“Sometimes you just want to indulge your grandchildren, particularly the young ones… Take your time, take your checkbook, and take your grandchildren for the coolest couture in town!”

Krista and Phyllis have some great events planned for the future, including a mother daughter tea, a fashion show and a holiday pampering event – complete with hot chocolate with peppermint sticks and a dress code of comfy P.J.’s!  Krista’s sister-in-law Heather does the marketing for the store – making this 2 year old business a real family affair. What a fun place to visit!  You can also visit them online at their cool website www.ryleeandreece.com.

rylee & reese
2939 North Rock Road
Suite 140
Wichita, Kansas 67226
316-260-1988
krista@ryleeandreece.com
phyllis@ryleeandreece.com

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Children’s Themed Birthday Parties

Last weekend we went to a birthday party for our friend’s 5-year old son. The invitation was cowboy-themed. The party was decked out in Western decor. The host gave away cowboy hats and bandanas, and there were even pony rides. YES, pony rides! It was the BEST party my daughter has ever been to (she exclaims this after every party she attends). It seems like children’s birthday parties are getting fancier each year, and it’s becoming a challenge to “top” the next party – not that these kids are competing. But as a parent, you don’t want to be outdone (recently, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were in the news, having hosted a $100,000.00 birthday party for their daughter, Suri, where the cake alone cost over $15 thousand!). The pressure is on if you’re only going to have a simple “cake and ice cream” birthday gathering.

We’ve been to quite a few themed events, such as:

• a Dinosaur party hosted at a children’s activity center (complete with dinosaur-related games)
• a Princess Ball, along with a dressing room filled with gowns, crowns, make-up, glitter, boas, etc. for all the girls (and the loot bag was more expensive than our present for the birthday celebrant!)
• a Pirate party with a scavenger hunt, and enough gold coins to fill Captain Jack Sparrow’s ship
• a Musical party where a music teacher came and brought boxes of different musical instruments for the children to participate in song-and-dance activities
• and the most outrageous one I’ve been to… a Super Model party. The dad even built a runway for the girls to parade down the catwalk in their fashionable attire!

My daughter has had her share of themed parties:

• Hawaiian pool party with beach toys as giveaways
• Gymnastics party where the instructors came and set up their equipment at a park, and had a “class” with all the kids
• County Fair-themed party with a cotton candy machine, an ice cone maker, face painting, and a friend who made balloon animals for all the guests.

The day after my daughter’s 4-year old party, she started discussing with me what her theme will be for next year’s party. (I’m not kidding!) She had a few in mind: a Power Ranger party, a Pokemon party, a Princess party to name a few. But the winning theme is a Pirate party – just like her cousin’s but not exactly the same. She wants it to be a PINK Pirate party and have a Pirate Princess come to entertain her guests. (Demanding for a 5-year old! And don’t even get me started on her wanting an iPhone as a present.) So, two months before her birthday, I’m already making a mad dash looking for a Pirate Princess to come to her party, and hunting down a bakery who can make custom-designed cupcakes with black and pink skull and bones. As the date gets closer and I’ve secured the entertainment and the cupcakes, I sit back and sigh, “What the heck am I doing? I’m trying to impress her 5-year old friends. Next year will be just cake and ice cream!” I say this every year, and I know I’ll be sucked into another theme party again next year.

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