Little Kids Birthday Parties

Dear Diary,
Please do not make me throw or attend one more little kid birthday party.  While I love my children dearly, I detest kids birthday parties.

 I know I seem like the biggest "Debbie Downer" mom, but I am just not a huge fan of them. They are usually scheduled at the worst times, often weekend ruiners.  Even my kids are, on occasion, not too thrilled about going to kids birthday parties.

However, when it comes to my own kids' birthdays I am never off the hook. So, I've had to get a bit creative on throwing a fun, yet simplified birthday fete.
My daughter turned 5 in February. We hosted her birthday party at Denver's chic floral boutique, Bloom Denver.   This year my daughter invited 5 of her pals to Bloom to participate in a floral arranging class. Each of the girls made their very on floral arrangement and then brought the finished arrangement home.  The class was taught by Bloom's very talented, incredibly patient and very beautiful, Kristin Hatgi. Kristin prepared the flowers and the materials in advance and the girls were able to get to work on arranging right away.

The birthday girl, and company

You can see how proud they all are of the finished product.  In fact, the girls all talked about the importance of "turning" the container  as you arrange the flowers. It was such a fun birthday and the best part was that it was a small group of young ladies. We adjourned across the street for dinner at Noodles and Co. and feasted on mac and cheese and cupcakes from Big Fat Cupcake. Delish!

I'm not sure when or where my dislike for kid birthday parties arrived because I do love to entertain. In fact, I entertain adults often. I do not mind hosting a dinner party for 30 in my home. However, when it comes to entertaining 30+ kids, I become paralyzed. One year, during our son's birthday party, my husband found me upstairs in our bedroom hiding from the chaos that was ensuing in our front yard.  Pathetic on my part, yes, I realize that I probably could toughen up a bit. And this year, I think I found my answer.

We pulled together a lovely little board on Pinterest, complete with party favors, goodie bags, decorations, and more! Follow the link for more hassle-free and fun birthday inspiration.