When fall starts to come around, the one thing on my kids’ minds is Halloween.  They love to pick out costumes and even help me to make their costumes.  We even like to make tasty Halloween themed treats to enjoy and decorate our yard as a scary graveyard  together too.  Halloween is just plain fun in our household.  This year since the kids are a bit older, they had asked if we could host a small kid’s Halloween party.  Since my husband and I are also big fans of the holiday, we thought that it would certainly be fun for the whole family and the neighborhood families as well.

I have been doing some preparations this week to ensure that I can get everything done that I would like, and I have been finding my inspiration for the party mostly through videos on YouTube.  There are just so many ideas out there to choose from.  I found one video from Kraft foods that is just too cute.  The ideas are simple and easy enough so that our little shindig will be fun without being too complicated.

Hopefully it can give you some inspiration if you are planning to host a Halloween bash for your kids!

In my world there is always a reason to party.  In fact, a lot of my family jokes that everyday is a celebration or holiday to me.  In a way they are right.  I do not want to take anything for granted and if that means celebrating everything in life, I am going to do just that.  Not only are there many holidays to get excited about in the course of the year, but there are also many life achievements, milestones, and decisions that need to be celebrated.  Think about it, if you only remember birthday parties in your past, then you might have missed out.  You should be able to recall your first purchase of your home, selling that home, a marriage, a promotion, and things like that.  As humans we are designed to get happy about things and commemorate momentous occasions.

I found an infographic to back me up here on this stance, and you know if there is an infographic about it, it must be true.  I love this one because it is titled “A Lifetime of Reasons to Party” and starts with a baby shower and ends with a celebration of life.  In the mix of all of the life reasons, there are holidays to be celebrated too.  So cute!  so find your reason to party today!

If you are in a rush trying to get your little one to pick a theme for his or her birthday, then I know how you feel.  I have been there time and time again with my kids and finally I learned exactly what I was doing wrong.  You see, the thing is that I was asking my kids what theme they wanted without giving them any help or direction.  So they would in turn pick a theme and then the next day change their mind.  That was so not working.  This year I took a whole new approach, and I must say, so far so good.  What we are now doing that makes my life a heck of a lot easier and still gives my kids the chance to choose for themselves is I pick three options for them and from those three choices, they choose the theme.  There are always those fool-proof options of party themes that any kid can agree to, so here is a list of the ones that I generally keep on the party idea list and maybe you should too.  Most of these party ideas are fun for boys and girls, except I would leave the princess theme for a girls only celebration.

Pirates – What kid doesn’t love a good pirate tale?  Pirates are fun.  They have great outfits, peg legs, and even eye patches.  Plus, the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean movies have stirred even more pirating interest, and I know my kids are big fans of pirates overall.  My son had a pirate theme for his past birthday and we did a sea monster cake.  All the kids loved it.

Dinosaurs – Big extinct creatures appeal to my kids, even my two girls, for some reason.  So the dinosaur themed party has stuck on the top party theme list for quite sometime.  All kids can really have fun with this for sure.

Princess – Having two girls, the princess theme seems to never get old.  Princess tea parties, princess craft time, princess everything.  This one is always a hit and it has become second nature for me to throw a princess themed party.

What are some of the themes that you and your kids love?  Let us know!

Having a party for your child may seem like a nervous breakdown waiting to happen, especially is he or she is under a certain age.  Think about it, you have to have over all the kids in his or her class as to not hurt anyone’s feelings.  Having twenty or so kids at about six years old is not really something that parents think about and feel relaxed.  But you do want your child to have a great party and enjoy themselves, so you march on and plan a party anyway.  There are ways that you can avoid potential disasters and added stresses on the day of your childs’ birthday.  With a little bit more planning and preparation, you could actually throw a party that runs incredibly smoothly.  What could be better than that?  Follow these tips to make the most out of your little one’s day and keep your own sanity.

Gather Volunteers – The more hands you have around to help out, the better.  That means you can focus on making sure that there is some type of structure in the schedule.  While kids will be kids and planning out a child’s birthday to the minute is impossible, you do only have a few hours to get through the activities, the cake, and the gifts.  So, ask for other parents to help out, or your family.  Surely there will be people who are more than willing to offer help and in turn, will keep you more relaxed throughout the party.

Keep the House Closed Off – If you have the option, an outdoor party is ideal.  Of course weather must permit that to happen.  Whether you do have the party inside of the home or on the outside, make sure that all the rooms in your house are not open and accessible to all the party goers.  Nothing is more stressful than finishing up a party and finding that a kid went into your playroom and broke out all of the crayons.  Make sure that everyone knows the location of the bathroom you wish for guests to use, and leave it at that.  If the party is not in the room, then no one should be in it.

Outsource the Cooking and Cake – You have too many things to worry about to have to take care of all of the refreshments, finger foods, and cake.  Now, most people may opt for sodas and chips as the finger foods, but you pride yourself on the fact that you keep your children healthy.  So, find a caterer than can make kid-friendly and healthy foods for the party, or enlist the help of very close family members.  Offer of course to buy the food, if they will prepare it.  Same with the cake, use a bakery or family member to make the cake.  This will take a huge burden off of you as you prepare to party it up.

These tips will help to ensure that you are calm and your kid has a spectacular party.  Let us know of your tips for staying prepared and sane during kid’s parties!kid

The next time your child asks for a Ninja themed party make sure you take them to Party Powders. Their attention to detail is hysterical. They even made sushi to go with the party that was made of candy. A rice crispy treat surrounding a filling of gummy worms and wrapped in fruit roll up has got to be the most adorable food art I have ever seen. The best part about it other than them tasting amazing; is that they are completely homemade and done with as little sugar and as much real fruit as possible. They also had traditional Japanese candy for the more daring kids to try but the homemade creations definitely stole the show. The kids said they were really good and seeing as how they disappeared as fast as they did I don’t doubt it for a second.

They also do several versions of the homemade candies that will fit any party:

• Princess – They make rock candy scepters and homemade candy jewelry. Very cute and very tasty.
• Super Heroes – They make little superhero gadgets out of candy and if you get the batman themed party the birthday boy gets a utility belt to hold them.
• Weddings – They pass out rock candy diamonds and the bubbles you normally blow at wedding are replaced with a sweet and sour candy version. The flowers at the tables can be substituted for candy blossoms.
• Prom – Not only is the disco ball dropped down to eye height after the final dance and revealed to be a giant gum ball but inside is lots of candy flower shapes.

All in all the parties are amazing and the attention to detail makes them over the top masterpieces. I saw a great special on Direct TV about planning parties. Check your local listings to see!

Just a couple of weeks prior to my darling Sophia’s 6th birthday, her dad and I wanted to know what she wanted as a gift.  Before talking with Sophia, we just decided on doing what we do each year for Sophia’s birthday, have a small family get together.  However, Sophia had her own vision.  She wanted a princess party, but not a typical princess party, she wanted a castle, a carriage, the dress, and the whole nine yards.  We knew she had a big imagination, however, we just weren’t sure how to throw such an elaborate party in such short notice.  And, while we know a castle is out of the question, we really did want to give her a fun and exciting party to enjoy with not just the family, but with her friends from school also.  I was talking and laughing about Sophia’s ideas for a grand princess party with my good girlfriend who had just recently attended a nephews party at Party Powders.  She gave me the number, and after the receptionist spent about twenty minutes answering all of my silly questions, I knew that this place would be fantastic for the princess party, and even better, they would take care of everything!

I met with our fabulous personal event coordinator, Shariah, at Party Powders.  We both decided that we only needed one ballroom sized room for the party.  Shariah already had the princess accessories out that they provide, and even (GASP! Sound the home alarm!) a castle for the children to play in!  It was going to be perfect, and they were doing it all in just a few short weeks!

We kept our princess party a secret from Sophia because we wanted her to be super surprised and excited.  The day of her party, we drove and parked a couple blocks away from Party Powders, when the carriage that Shariah helped to set up was there waiting for the little princess Sophia with her gorgeous princess crown waiting for her on the seat.  Sophia was so tickled that we couldn’t even get a word in to let her know that there was more to the surprise!

We arrived at Party Powders, went up to the second floor ballroom, and wow.  I was just as shocked as Sophia because of how incredible everything looked.  It was a serious princess party, and my little Sophia squealed with glee.  Once she was off with her princess friends from school, I had a chance to get a good look at everything.  The time and effort that Party Powders put into Sophia’s party was impressive.  They took a birthday party for a 6 year old little girl and gave it all the attention that they would have a celebrity wedding.  That meant so much to me and my husband.  We are so glad that Sophia got the ultimate princess party that she wanted so badly, and we’re glad that we had Party Powders to make her dreams a reality!

Sophia’s Surprise!               Her Princess Cookies         The gorgeous table!

That had to have been the best party of all time! Nothing could have prepared me to see the kids having that much fun. They laughed and played so much that the moment I put them in the car after the party they both crashed and slept the entire night–not even stirring when I put them to bed after the ride home. The next morning they immediately asked when we were going back to Party Powders. It was so adorable. When you take your kids somewhere that they completely drain their batteries it is paramount that you go back on all special occasions.

We started off in the main lobby. We had been invited to a birthday party for one of the kids my son goes to school with. Ethan (the birthday boy) said that he should bring swimming trunks and a change of shoes so I am thinking, ” Ok. It’s a water park.”

Boy was I wrong.

This place was like combining an amusement park with Chucky Cheeses in the same complex. Yes, complex. There are three floors at the complex and two connecting buildings of there own. On one side is a bowling alley that does their own business but has a separate area for kids birthday parties that can only be accessed from Party Powders. On the other side is a YMCA with basketball, swimming, and the like and each area has a little place for the party only activities. I don’t know what kind of deals these places have made with Party Powders but it was spectacular. The three floors of the actual building are separate parties being held and each can be themed to whatever you like. The parties themselves are spectacular. The theme that Ethan went with was a Cars theme and had Cars themed tables, chairs, benches, and a decent sized Cars themed play area. Next to it was an arcade and ball pit usually the antithesis of all adults–this was very nicely done and could be accessed by the parents as well so that even the smaller kids could join. On the other side was a big kids only in floor trampoline that I saw half the adults playing on.

Best of all everything is catered! No bringing anything!

When you take into account that the staff had a “lifeguard/activity director” for each area and that the parents were invited to go sit down in the Grown up lounge that was fully loaded with big screen TVs with cable bundles and lay-z-boys that have built in massagers. They also have a bar and it is completely guilt free because there is a Party Powder bus if you don’t have a DD parent. Of course because it is a party they tell you that there is a four drink maximum. The camera system/photo ordering center in the Grown Up Lounge was a great plus too. You don’t have to take your eyes of the kids for a second while enjoying the comfort and you can order photos taken of your kids if you see them do something adorable.

All in all we had a blast. When my little man is ready for his party it is a must that I book them. I am so glad that they can do just about any event from Birthday parties to Weddings. I haven’t asked the particulars on price but Ethan’s mom said that for everything they got to do plus food and drinks for the adults they would have spent much more trying to plan it themselves.