I am not a party person. This is my first year organizing the boys’ party on my own (OK, it wasn’t completely on my own. My sister made most of the Pinterest board and my sister-in-law made the cake part of the cupcakes. But close enough).
I started off doing what I do best, which is ordering invitations off Etsy. They were adorable (sorry about the tiny pic, but I’m just not motivated enough to change it). The invitations were shipped from Australia, so they took awhile longer than I had planned for, but that’s alright. First step, done.
(Oh, and I also purchased them matching t-shirts off Etsy that my sister pinned on my Pinterest board. I am the best at buying stuff).
Then, I booked the bouncy castle. I knew I wanted more than just a square, but one with a slide. So I got the Groupon deal and booked the big one. Check, check.
Then I prepared the giveaways. Instead of party bags, I made party eggs. I bought those giant plastic Easter eggs from Michael’s and spray painted them: first white, then with this textured speckle spray. Then I filled them with little dinosaurs, candy and play-doh.
Then, for the food. We had baby carrots “for herbivores,” and what were supposed to be lil’ smokies “for carnivores.” However, the night before the party Steve discovered the lil’ smokies were expired so I made the same recipe with cut up hot dogs. Oops. Oh well, we all must learn to work with what we’ve got.
I also made deviled eggs (“dinosaur eggs”). There were bugels (“dinosaur toenails”) and I also made some “unidentified fossils” (mini marshmallows on the ends of pretzel sticks dipped in candy).
And then, the cupcakes. I had visited the cake store I usually purchase birthday cakes from, but there was nothing that looked special enough (not to mention, the dinosaur cakes they had were $80-$100). I’m weirdly anti-sheet cake, so I decided it would be cupcakes.
I checked out the website of my favorite local cupcakery, but they didn’t have what I wanted either. So I used a Pinterest idea. It was just box cake mix, then I took a whip bag from the coffee shop I work at for the frosting. Then I used the points of candy stars I melted to make stegosaurus spikes. Wah-lah!
The boys enjoyed opening their presents and playing with their friends. We bounced in the castle until they came to haul it away. Last night, we all fell into bed exhausted (did I mention I worked the opening shift at the coffee shop yesterday, too?) It is good to be done for a full year with the party planning. It is not my forte, but I like to think that yesterday I faked it pretty well.
holly pelesky 
Yay, I've been waiting for these pics! Color me impressed, it turned out great! Looks like a lot of work, I can't believe you got all that done and went to work the same day. Clever cupcake decor too. I must say, your party planning has come a long way these past few years (I feel like you used to do a cheese and cracker tray and booze… for adult parties that is). I love how you kept up your theme!