Birthdays are always so much fun in our family. We have a pretty big family so even close gatherings mean hosting at least 30 people. That many people, plus food, and drinks in my home is a bit of a challenge but one I happily to accept. Vera turned three this weekend and she wanted a purple meow {cat} party. So, of course I got my crafty mama hat on and got to work. We're trying really hard to stay on budget {I have another post about money coming up in a few weeks when I'll hopefully feel like sharing} and I knew I needed to keep things as close to free as possible, so here's what I did...
I {along with some help} made these paper cat cut outs from the printer at my office,. We were testing out a new machine and thanks to Koncia Minolta we got a free demo week. I got the paper for free using my Office Max recycling credit {which I've talked about here} and the sticks were from a previous project I reused.
I also made this pinata from scratch {full tutorial here}. I had spare change to purchase the purple tissue paper but everything else I already had at home and just upcycled a cardboard box. My sister in law brought all the candy to fill it up and some twizzlers to make these mice strawberries {trader joes had crates of strawberries for like $6 so, win!}.
We always like to potluck because we don't like material gifts for ourselves or the kids and asking people to bring food always alleviates that {societal} guilt of showing up empty handed. We decided to BBQ and Husband stocked up on food and supplies from costco.
Backyard BBQ vibes.
My friend Stephanie wanted to practice her fondant skills and whipped up this adorable cake.
My friend Macey ordered these cat ear headbands from Amazon as her gift to the girls.
My mom bought the girls these adorable dresses from amazon and had a little left over to get me those crazy cat pants you can see in the other photos.
And I had all the photo-booth supplies left over from previous parties. Husband got the balloons and some flowers for Vera.
We had such a great time with all our kiddo friends and family, I'm so happy we have so many loving people in our lives and grateful most of them were able to make it.
Even though I said, no gifts, a few people showed up with small highly functional adorable presents, one of which necessitated an impromptu wardrobe change.
Do you celebrate birthdays in a big way? What was your favorite party from your childhood? I still remember my Little Mermaid party from when I was like 5. How do you save money when hosting large gatherings? I'm always looking for more tips on entertaining, Leave me some links in the comments!
*Special thank you to Sam for taking so many photos I would have otherwise missed!*
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