Cupcake
Nora’s 3rd birthday

July Challenge, Day 5: Something that made my day special.

Saturday was Nora’s third birthday. She requested a pink, sparkle, rainbow, Kai Lan birthday party … with chocolate cupcakes and pink frosting. I think the cupcakes were her main request, actually. Anything else was just fun.  We turned that request into a dress-up party for Nora, Seth, and five of Nora’s friends. That was the perfect party size!

For reference, I have a Pinterest board and a Flickr set (below) of how the party decor turned out. I want to be completely honest: I had so many “pinspirations” that never made it to production. She wanted cupcakes instead of the pink swirl cake I was going to make – guess who wins since it’s her birthday? I was going to do butterfly sugar cookies, I was going to do tutus as party favors  … I even bought the materials for all of that! Never happened. As a matter of fact, I attempted the tutus at midnight on her birthday (same day as her 10:30 a.m. party!), made a mess of it, and gave up. I felt good about it, though, because I’d decided ahead of time that there were things she really wanted (cupcakes!) and things I wanted (marshmallow lollipops!) and that was good enough.

Nora's 3rd birthday - Seth has a cupcake
Nora’s 3rd birthday – Seth has a cupcake

I loved all the little Hobby Lobby decor items I found on clearance (sparkly napkin rings as chandelier decorations!) or not (plastic tablecloths as window treatments!). I especially loved covering the French doors to our dining room with a plastic tablecloth so I could lead all the little girls (and Seth!) in for a birthday surprise. I also dug the dollar store treat boxes with dollar store or Hobby Lobby dress-up jewelry inside for all the girls (and Seth!).

Mostly, though, I loved making it a special day for Nora. She had a great time, and that’s all that counts. I probably could have just made cupcakes and it would have been fine! Oh, and to keep it real (humble) – I totally forgot about feeding the adults. I was so fixated on a dress-up party for little girls (and Seth!) that was egg and dairy-free for our friends’  allergies that I did not even think about food for adults. Tortilla chips, salsa, and a smoked pork loin to the rescue!

Last little tip: we had a church group gathering at our house the previous weekend … we did the big clean for that and then maintained during the week. Made life a LOT easier for a Saturday morning party!

Nora's 3rd birthday - Jude was ready for a nap!
Nora’s 3rd birthday – This guy just wanted a nap.
Marshmallow lollipopsNora's 3rd BirthdayBeaded Napkin Rings - Chandelier decorations!Nora's 3rd BirthdayNora's 3rd BirthdayNora's 3rd Birthday
Nora's 3rd BirthdayVinyl tablecloths as window dressing!Nora's 3rd BirthdayNora's 3rd BirthdayNora's 3rd BirthdayBowl full of tiaras
Pink Dairy-free Frosted Marshmallow "Lollipops"Nora's 3rd BirthdayNora's 3rd BirthdayNora's 3rd Birthday

Nora’s 3rd Birthday, a set on Flickr.