A Birthday for a Six Year Old

I had Madelyn's birthday party this week. Last year I had her party at the local art centre. It was great, and my first experience [with her] of having a party out of the house. The end result? LOVED IT. So this year, I was prepared to have an out of the house party once again. We had planned to have her birthday at the Gymnastic Club. Or should I say I planned on having her birthday at the gymnastic club. Apparently she wanted her birthday at home. So... after much deliberation, and lots of internet party surfing, we settled on a Pancakes and Pajama's Birthday theme. [The reasoning was simple she loves pancakes and pajama's!]

Here is the invite:

I love the color scheme. Since there was a few boys attending, I had to add a splash of 'boy color' So orange, pink and turquoise were the winners.

And yes, it was a lot of work. I worked on some of this stuff for at least a month before hand, but the end result... It looked amazing. I was very happy with the outcome. Did Madelyn notice? Of course not. But one day, in a galaxy far, far away.... Just kidding. One day she'll look back at these pictures and know just exactly how much she is loved. [Like maybe when she's 16, or is that wishful thinking?]

And thank goodness for the good ole dollar store, where oh-so many things were purchased. Tissue paper, table clothes, crepe paper, disposable plates, cutlery and napkins.

I set up a station where the kids could make their own fruit loop necklaces. It was a huge hit, and it kept the kids attention for longer than I expected. I made my own banners, which are all the rage right now. My sewing machine and I seem to be on friendly terms lately. As long as I'm doing the zig zag stitch, that is. Love the little mini banner on the cake!
The pancakes were a huge success. For toppings there were blueberries, strawberries and chocolate chips. And for ANYONE that knows my daughter, she was the last one to leave the table after several helpings. It was one of those, you have to see it, to believe it things...
We decorated sleep shirts with fabric paints. I think the kids all really enjoyed doing that, though it took a little longer than I'd anticipated. We played Pin the Butter on the Pancakes.

We had birthday cake and quickly busted open the pinata [I made it and forgot to get a proper picture of it, darn it] And tore through presents. We actually ran out of time! I had 2 more games to play and a book to read! Oh well, I'll save those ideas for next year.

I was thrilled to do nothing but sit on the couch last night, grateful that it was over. I had once thought party planning would be kind of neat business to get into. But after my own party is over [where I like the people I'm planning the party for] I can't imagine stressing myself out over other people's parties... The thought of having someone come in and set up... Wouldn't that be awesome? Oh... Who am I kidding. I could never give up control like that... ;-)