Celebrate Lavishly: Unicorn Birthday Bash

Our two oldest girls have birthdays only 5 days apart, and they are only 2 years apart in age.  Because of this, we have always had one combined birthday party for them (except for their first birthdays).  For the last several years it has worked out really well for us, and the girls have always been really agreeable as to the theme of their party.  Past themes have included Ariel, Merida/Brave, and Spirit (Riding Free).

Then this year arrived.  The girls could NOT agree on a theme.  One wanted Big Hero 6, and the other wanted The Incredibles.  Then my 4-turning-5-year-old decided she wanted a Michael Jackson birthday!  I was pretty sure none of her friends would appreciate this theme. (This is all thanks to my husband who introduced my children to some Michael Jackson music after they heard the song “Bad” in one of the Despicable Me movies.)  Anyway, after much go-around for several days I whipped out my phone and pulled up Pinterest and had them look at birthday party themes.  As soon as they saw a beautifully decorated unicorn party they both shouted in agreement.  Unicorns it was.  Whew!

Next up, the guest list.  I’ve always been about including all the people – all the family, school friends, church friends, neighborhood friends.  Friends are friends, and I don’t want to make my kids sit down and choose who to include or exclude.  Plus I love a good party, and the more the merrier.  But this year with both girls in two different schools my guest list quickly grew close to 100!  What’s a mom on a budget to do?

1. Location. Playground. It’s FREE!!! no matter how many people come!  There’s no $200 fee for 8 people and then $20 per person after that.  Nope.  I ain’t doin’ it.

2. Time. 3:00pm. After lunch and before dinner means we don’t have to cater a full lunch buffet for 100 people.  This leads me to…

3. Food. Snacks and cake. Keep it simple but fun. Check out all of these cute unicorn-inspired foods.  With the help of my mom and sister-in-law we were able to get all of the food taken care of. I used cupcake wrappers to label the food.

Thanks to a good friend, our girls had a killer Unicorn Cake complete with rainbow layers.

 

4. Decorations.  Minimal at the playground – especially when wind and rain are involved (more about that later…).

Our pinata doubled as a great centerpiece,

as did some of our leftover DIY unicorn invitations that we taped to the tables.

Dollar store tablecloths, cups, and unicorn napkins and plates spiced up the decor.

We also set out the treat bags on the tables.

Lastly, I painted two unicorn canvases to set up on the cake table and gift table.

 

5. Activities.  Not really necessary at the playground, but we thought it would be a good idea to have some organized games and activities so that all the kids could play and do something together instead of being scattered all over the playground only playing with a few people.  We wanted our girls to interact with all of their friends as much as possible and make sure that everyone felt included. Our first “activity” was a unicorn photo booth that I created using an old wooden frame I had laying around the house.  I spray painted it white and then cut out ears and a horn from a foam poster board recycled from our last birthday party.  I used some dollar store place mat flowers which were also recycled from my youngest daughter’s 1st birthday party.   Some paint, glitter, and hot glue finished it up nicely.

We also made some really cute unicorn masks.  I found a template on Pinterest, printed out 6 copies and let the girls color them.  They were a little flimsy so I glued them to some card stock.  Then we glued them on a stick and voila! photo props.  We thought this would be a fun way to have our girls greet each guest, and the photos also served as a great little personalized “thank you” card after the party.

Activity #2 was a unicorn egg hunt.  We filled the eggs with cute little themed erasers.

Next was a pinata;

and finally, we did  “pin the horn on the unicorn.”

After that, it was a free for all, followed by cake and presents.

6. Treat bags.  FIY.  “Fill It Yourself.”  We bought the bags on Amazon, but then it was a “fill your own treat bag” kind of thing.  The girls helped me put some cute unicorn key chains in each bag before the party.  Then at the party the kids got to fill the rest of their goody bag with the Easter eggs/erasers and candy from the pinata. (As you may notice, there is a recurring theme of “multipurpose.”)

The party was definitely a big undertaking.  There were over 85 people in attendance.  AND 5 minutes after the party started a monsoon occurred.  The wind was blowing over food and decorations, rain was pouring in, and parents were scrambling to help move things away from the wind and rain – even though we were in a covered pavilion.  The kids were screaming and hiding under tables, but they were having a blast!  Thankfully, I had brought a fun unicorn toss game and was able to organize the kids in the pavilion to play for a few minutes until the storm passed.  It left as quickly as it came, and the party resumed – just now we had a mote.  But what’s a party without a little puddle jumping?

At the end of the day I was exhausted and sweaty and tired, but it was so much fun.  My birthday girls had a BLAST, and my heart was literally so full as I looked around not just at the number of people but at the faces of the people who love my family so well. We are so blessed to be surrounded by the community of friends we have.  And our family.  Grandparents traveled from out of the state.  My sister did our photography.  My mom and sister-in-law made food.  My dad built my kids a barn for their barbie horses.  I ended the day feeling so thankful.

But I’m not going to lie, after all was said and done I did think to myself at one point: “So much work, and my kids probably won’t even remember all of this.” and  “Are we spoiling them?”

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However, while it’s probably true that they won’t remember all the decorations, themed food, or games we played, I know they will remember that their birthdays were special and fun and that they were always surrounded by people who love them and care about them and want to celebrate them.

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I want their birthdays to be a big deal.  First of all, because every year that we get to have with them is a big deal, and we want them to know that.  In addition to their combined party we also make sure to make their actual birthday special for them individually.  My husband and I both try to spend some one-on-one time with them, and we also try to do something fun as a family.  Usually it’s something small and simple like going to breakfast or browsing the pet store, but it’s enough for them to feel special and loved and important.  Secondly, we want our girls to recognize that just like their birthdays are a big deal, Jesus’ birthday is a big deal.  While their birthdays can be mostly about them, Jesus’ birthday is all about Him.  His birthday is NOT all about them getting presents.  We want the primary focus to be on Jesus and giving to others rather than receiving.

So this year, it’s a unicorn birthday bash.  Next year, who knows what, where, or how we will celebrate; but celebrate we shall! And when we do we will celebrate lavishly (but not expensively;)!