Maysoona has always been my baby monster. By “monster” I mean the sweetest, most precious baby girl that gives me baby fever every single day. Without a seconds notice though, she can be found throwing a very loud tantrum on the floor. At the tender age of one. Someone save me.
As the months drew nearer to her birthday, I wanted to come up with a theme that I could work off of. Obviously, I considered a monsters theme but was disappointed by the selection. Too scary or too boy-ish. So I did what any one desperate for a cute and unique product would do; I turned to etsy. I truly wish I invented etsy. It is quite possibly one of the greatest websites out there.
I found a whole lot of Sesame St. items and again a lot of things geared toward boys. Am I the only mother of a baby girl monster? Notify the press! While there were quite a few great listings, none of them felt right. That is until I found etsy seller a million ideas. The monster party pack was exactly what I was looking for. The monsters were fun and simple. Not scary and not too cutesy. I was able to customize the colors and order just the files I needed. True to the seller’s name, once I downloaded my files I began to have a million ideas of what to do with the monsters images.
First things first: colors. Hot pink, light pink, plum, dusty blue, and apple green. This dress started out the whole color scheme. As I began to shop for items though, it was difficult to find exact colors but I didn’t stress out too much.
Now a party is not a party without decorations. Before I even read the entire post about the
tissue paper bunting by Jordan of
Oh Happy Day, I bookmarked it under “ideas to try”. It’s perfect, cheap, and easy. I made it even cheaper and easier. Instead of cutting out pieces from tissue paper, I bought crepe paper (streamers, whatever) and just cut strips from that. Sorry to butcher your idea Jordan! This bunting was so easy (how many times can I say easy in a paragraph) that I would make it over and over again because it made sure a colorful impact. All the kids, especially Maysoon, loved it.
(The above picture was taken the following day. I was too busy the day of the party to get a good picture of everything set up. The purple crepe paper had already faded from the sun.)
A last minute decision was to include photos of Maysoon through out her first year. I had seen quite a few of these on party blogs. I went with the simple route and just taped them to lengths of ribbon and hung them behind the food/dessert table. It added a sweet and personal touch. A total hit with the adults.
I brought a few of the paper lanterns from
their room and hung them in the corner.
Picked up some fresh flowers from the farmers’ market that morning. (Doesn’t that sound so cute?) My intentions were to go to the flower wholesaler but they turned out to be closed so I continued on the extra 2 blocks to the market. Mind you, that was my first time ever going to the farmers’ market in my city. Sad, I know. I’m going to make it a weekly habit from now on. The flowers were only $3 a bunch. So beautiful.
Outside I also made windsocks out of embroidery hoops and left over crepe paper. I saw the idea in a Better Home and Gardens issue. I also had three smaller ones hanging at the points where the crepe paper bunting was attached to the house. Unfortunately, no picture. Can you tell it was windy?
(My sister took this picture. I wouldn’t have included the tire. It’s okay Affnan, you’re still learning.)
The kids attacked this little candy/snack set up. While it’s a super cute idea, it’s also a horrible one when you give the kids free reign over it. Just being honest. There were cups filled with uneaten snacks and candy all over the place once the party was over. If I ever decide to do this again, I will include little bags to make their own take home favors at the end of the party.
They were filled with all sorts of goodies. Mini gumball machine/bank (on clearance for 50 cents each after Christmas), mini Play-Doh pack (on clearance for $2 for a 20 pack after Christmas), sidewalk chalk (you guessed it… on clearance for $4 for 50), suckers (purchased a huge bag from a restaurant supply store), a single pack of M&Ms, and a
mini monster beach ball.
With the left over fabric from the gift bags I made some beanbags to use for the games.
I had a
ton of felt sitting around so I figured I’d put it to good use and make some little monsters for a knock out game. I originally had some cans saved to use but saw a much
safer option to use the puff snacks containers.
Then there was this little guy. Quite possibly one of my favorite parts. I didn’t think I could pull it off but after seeing how simple the one
Jessica of Juicy Bits had created for her
monster party, I figured I’d give it a go. Cheap and easy to make (if you have a dad/husband/neighbor/brother/or anyone with a jigsaw and the patience for your ideas). I drew him on, my dad cut out his mouth, and then I painted the whole thing. The kids really got a kick out of this and played with it all day long.
Stay tuned for part 2.
Wow! What a blessed little girl!
Aw Mashallah! Your little girl seems like she really enjoyed it and you've got fantastic memories for years to come!
Wow. That is quite the party. Looks like fun! Great ideas.
I love this party and I love your tissue paper bunting!
I would love for you to link up with my What are litte boys made of? and/or Sugar & Spice Parties!
Your party is amazing! What wonderful ideas and memories. I looooooved the monster theme for a girl. Amazing – you should be so proud!
Amnah, you are so unbelievably creative, you knocked my socks off! Can you please start a website with all of your ideas? You know, for us loser Moms with no motivation. LOL. I love your ideas and I will be stealing all of them!
This is absolutely beautiful! To see someone get a million ideas out of one of my millions of ideas is so inspiring and exactly what I would want. What a lucky little girl to have such a creative mom who would go to such lengths to create a beautiful, fun filled party…just absolutely inspiring. Thank you for sharing this with me. I can't wait to see what you do in the future!
OK, I just saw this on ohdeedoh, and I'm glad I came over to see more details. Not only is everything super cute, but you had so many fun things planned for everyone! Well done!!
Cutest party ever! Where did you find the gumball machines? I can't find it anywhere!
Adorable party! Where did you get the mini gumball machines? I've been looking everywhere for them!
The garlands are so creative and add such a fun touch to the party!
Very creative! I love it!