June is a big month in our house. School’s out, summer camps start, and of course, Ricki’s birthday. No, I’m not going to make this about the fact that I’m going to be the mom of an EIGHT YEAR OLD this June and am absolutely devastated, so don’t worry. This is about the fact that I have a love/hate relationship with birthday parties.
On one hand, I absolutely LOVE the planning part and coming up with the theme every year. On the flip side, I’m the world’s worst procrastinator and end up running around like a crazy lady the day of the party every year. Last year, for Ricki’s 7th birthday, I was blessed with two party planning angels! I found the cutest invitations to go with our “Camp Ricki” theme at AndersRuff.com, so I ordered them and soon after got an email from Maureen asking if I needed any extra help with the party. Umm… duh!
Maureen and Adria turned my living room into every little girl’s dream! Between the cake (that I devoured with a fork standing in my kitchen later that night), the personalized cookies, the trail mix, and every other adorable detail part of me wanted to cancel the party and just look at everything all night. But when Ricki came in and saw the magical transformation her smile made my heart do backflips. Ricki and her friends had the best time and looked so cute in their matching pajamas, I still can’t say thank you enough to all the girls at AndersRuff.com and everyone else that was so kind to help with the party!
The only problem is now I’m going to have to explain to Ricki why her party this year looks nothing like the last one. I can’t really be expected to match that every year, right??
Lea says
Hi Emily,
Last summer for my son’s birthday, my husband and I set up an outdoor movie in our backyard and watched The Lorax with a projector. It was an amazing night and everyone raved about it! You could watch any movie and have chairs set up or a huge pile of pillows, blankets and sleeping bags or tents! Plus, it gives the kids an excuse to stay up late and watch a movie under the stars! Don’t forget the bug repellent though! Good luck!
Kayla Dewberry says
Since you are from the south, you should do her a southern bday party this year. You could go to an old rustic barn and decorate and let the kids maybe ride horses or something. Just a thought! Good Luck!!!
Beth Meek says
Maybe hire them again? what an adorable party! As a mom we get so excited planning the party and making sure every detail is perfect, I know I plan for months for my little girl. Then the party day comes you spend the day decorating and the party is over in a blink of an eye. I wish I had the resources to sit back and relax and enjoy it all. Good luck in picking a theme!
Kaylie Barney says
That is perfect! I would hate to have that to compare all the other years to…good luck!
Lisa says
I did a Breakfast at Tiffany’s themed party for my daughter. Could be really fun and girlie for an 8 year old. Here is a link to the pics. I hosted it at 10am and did breakfast themed foods. Tiaras, pearls, diamonds galore. You could do something more mature like a real makeover station where the girls get the high buns and makeup, etc. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151100268591168.458208.620211167&type=1&l=4fc507e1e1
Kayla says
I remember seeing this pictures last year and thought it was the cutest birthday party ever! So adorable!! : )
Kayla
http://www.lovelucygirl.com
Lindsay, Xo Lindsay blog says
I remember these pictures from last year. I would’ve LOVED for that to be my party when I was young! Who am I kidding, I’ll take that party for my 28th next year!! 🙂 Can’t wait to see what you do for that sweet girl’s 8th birthday.
molly @ still being molly says
oh my gosh this is the CUTEST party theme ever! you are such a great momma!
Megan says
Emily-
I am obsessed with everything to do with children parties. It is stressful, but I always like to look on catchmyparty.com, and get my inspiration for a theme first. That site has so many themes with all different types of budgets. Once you have your theme, you can order everything from Etsy or something like TheTomKatStudio.com. The Tom Kat Studio has precious printables, themes and idea pictures on her blog. She throws awesome parties. You may have already looked at all of these things, sorry if you have. If you haven’t though check her out, and I’m sure they would be happy to help you with a theme for a party if she doesn’t already have it. She actually has a glamping party theme too on her site. I love a couple she has listed such as a sweet shoppe or icecream party. You could set up an ice cream parlor or a candy shoppe at your house. That would be fun and precious. Or even a glam party, and have a spa theme with a few of her really close friends. Her printables and party supplies are super cute, so you have to check them out. I really love to look at party pictures, get my inspiration, and then buy things for super great prices. I bought all of my apothecary jars for a candy bar at places like Michaels and Hobby Lobby, and got a great deal. I then ordered the labels from Etsy to match the rest of the theme, and bought some cute ribbon. People though I spent a fortune on the candy bar because it looked so high end. I bought scoops from Party City and the bags were personalized with a party theme sticker on them from Etsy, and the kids were able to fill their bags, and that was their favor to take home. I think that is a great idea, and you can use it as your main table to decorate. I could talk party planning all day, so I better stop, but I hope I have you some helpful information. Happy Party planning, and I have no doubt it will be perfect. Megan
Whitney says
Garden party. I’ve always wanted to do this for my lil girl bit she’s only 1. So some day. The kids cann all get their own pots, decorate them, plant a flower, and take it home. For dessert you do prep cookie crumbs as dirt, chocolate pudding as mud, gummy worms, green dyed coconut as grass and make lil flower pot desserts. Do goody bags full of lil kids gardening shovels and gloves, etc. this theme can be elaborated so much and so cute!
Oh, Emily! It was so much fun to work with you…. and anything that Ricki receives, I know she will be thankful! Let us know if you need help this year! XO Maureen
Jessi Pierson says
Wow that’s pretty incredible! I’d say your best bet would be to order the invites from there again and say a prayer that they volunteer their help again! LOL
Nicole Eberhard says
Emily,
I too have a child who just turned 8 so I understand your feelings! How about an art studio party? Here in Michigan we have art studios where the party learns to paint a picture on canvas step by step! They turn out great. mergeartsyudio.com. The kids have a blast and love it! Something different to consider!
Jacy says
We do huge birthday party’s at my house from Olympic races to circus party with jump castle and cotton candy all the works! A couple years ago we did a spy party we we had all re kids dress like spy’s and we made them a secert mission passport book with there photo in it that we sent out with the invites. And decorated like our house was the secret meetin place where they had to show there passport to get in. We did things like decoding, finger printing, sketching the person we were capturing. We did a lazier fight with silly string ( it was a mess but they LOVED it!!) my daughter was a little bit I a Tom boy. So we had everyone were black but you could do a glam spy party and have them wear her favorite color. They could be girl spy’s like Charlie’s Angels. A glam spy party!
Jamie says
I just went to a wedding and they had a photo booth!!! Let me tell u it was freakn awesome!!! Def should have one at her bday party!!! The crazy hats and sunglasses they had would be so much fun for the kids!!!! A must ! Hope u like my idea!!!!
Tiffany says
Em!
You should do an Alice & Wonderland theme. it’s so whimsical and has so many elements that you can pull out that little girls will just love. Maybe as part of the event they can watch the movie.
You could suggest the girls to dress up in costume, have Ricki be Alice, have a mini cake table featuring cakes made to look like cars and things like that.
Of course have a ‘mad’ tea party with lots of snacks and sweets!
It’s a super fun theme!
Good Luck
Tiffany
Joseph says
Disneyland.
Mandie Miller says
Hey Emily!
It was a pleasure to do Ricki’s cake last year, and you know I’d be happy to do one for her this year too! Just let me know…I have a spot on my calendar just for her 😉 xoxo
McKenna says
For my wedding we had a carnival theme! It was so much fun and three years later people are still talking about how much fun they had. It would be so easy to make a small party!
We served Popcorn, Snow Cones, and Cotton Candy. Which if you can just find a place to rent the machine it is actually really cheap! or you could just buy the popcorn and cotton candy premade and put them into cute bags.
As our thank you gifts we gave away gold fish in bags, and we also had a ticket booth, face painter and someone making balloon animals.
our cake was fun fetti and lop sided. and on our tables we had paper and crayons for people to write us notes or just draw! (:
Good luck with your party planning! I am sure what ever you choose to do she will love it!
Here is a link to my blog with pictures from my wedding in case anyone wants to check out my ideas (:
http://jeffandmckenna.blogspot.com/2010/08/carnival-time.html
Hannah T. says
What an awesome 7th birthday! Maybe for her 8th birthday you can have a sweet mommy-daughter trip somewhere fun. Or with her friends, have a pool party! Always an easy fallback for summer birthdays. Party favors could be cute towels, sunscreen, sunglasses, pool toys in a bucket or bag to say “Thanks for making my party a splash”. Food can be cookout favorites. Dessert can be an ice cream bar. I’m sure no matter how you end up celebrating her 8th birthday, it will be just as special as last year.
Kara M says
Birthday parties are one of the things I dread most about parenthood! I heard a great idea of doing a big party every other year. Then in the off year they get to invite one friend to go out to dinner with the family for their birthday. I like that idea, because who can put something this cool together every year! Who am I kidding…ever! 😀
I do think art themed parties are cute! My niece did that last year.
Cindy says
Hi, Emily!!! Love it!! Such a cute party idea. Awesome job!!
SwedeV says
Oh my word, that’s the CUTEST birthday party EVER!!!!
I am sure you will come up with something just as fabulous! Maybe an old Hollywood theme?
This is SO SO adorable!
AV says
Rockstar parties are always great. I set one up for my much younger sister and it was really fun and hilarious. Each kid comes dressed up as his or her favorite popstar or rockstar (Ricki could be Taylor Swift for example). Then you could play games such karoake or guess that song (a game where each child, or small teams have a piece of paper to write on then you play the first 5-10 seconds of a bunch of popular songs you put in an itunes playlist and the kids have to try to guess the song. Winner with the most correct song guesses gets a prize). You could help the kids do a Harlem shake video and show it to them at the end of the party. The whole thing could even be award show themed if you wanted – like the “Ricki’s Choice Awards” or something and the prizes for the various games are awards? Have fun Emily!xx
I helped my friend throw a spa party for her 7 year old daughter just a couple weeks ago! It turned out great. It was inexpensive, something ANYONE can do & her daughter LOVED it. You can see all the ideas here: http://partiesforpennies.com/2013/04/girls-birthday-party-idea-spa-party/
Hailey says
Some friends of ours had a “Photo Shoot Scavenger Hunt” for their daughter’s 10th birthday. The girls divided into two teams and were given envelopes with instructions for each picture that had to be taken. For one of the pictures all of the members on the team had to take a picture on the slide at the neighborhood park. In another, they had to pretend to be a popstar, using cucumbers as microphones at a local grocery store. They even spelled out the number 10 using their bodies. The girls had a blast getting their picture taken and the photos made a great keepsake. Good luck!:)
Hi there! LOVE planning little girl birthday parties! We are doing my daughters 7th birthday this weekend, with a theme from the movie Brave from Disney. We are doing our own version of the Highland games in the backyard along with arts and crafts inside. I did an amazing theme last year with theme of rainbows. We had a 7 layer rainbow cake, and the kids got to decorate the cake. I makes cakes so I covered the cake with fondant and had the kids decorate it with edible pens. We had a whole bunch of other sweets all rainbow theme and some really neat rainbow arts and crafts too. You can see pictures below, but planning parties should be fun! Enjoy it while you can…
Angela Barton
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150909525190528.389258.579255527&type=1&l=31f7a7a202
Kenner Carmody says
EMILY!!!! I am sure all the girls that attended her party last year are still talking about it. Since it is during the summer you could do a pool party. Kids love the pool. another idea is to do a fair/carnival party. Have a pony come to your house, get jump castles, and have cotton candy. Anything that suits the fair will be perfect. I also like the idea of the outdoor movie idea…it would be easy on you since all the girls would be seated and mesmerized in the movie playing. good luck and let me know what you decide!!! hope all is well
Kristen says
Aww really cute post! Made me smile 🙂
I think a cute ‘tea party’ would be soo adorable, little tables set up, with vintage lace & pearls as table settings, little sandwiches, cakes, and iced tea/ water/ juice, maybe every little girls lets some little lace gloves to take home!! you could have it inside or out, and have it very ‘posh’!!! I love TomKat studio too. she has great printables for cupcakes, banners etc!!!
I loved Ricki’s birthday party last year, every girls dream!!!!
Heidi
Cecelia says
You should do a tea party! Let the girls get dolled up in dresses and big fancy hats. And sip on “tea” and mini sandwiches! Soo cute
Shannon says
Hi Emily! Our daughters share the exact same birthday! Hard to believe my baby will be 8!
How about a boardwalk themed party! Could have funnel cakes, chocolate covered bananas, popcorn, ect. Games could be skee ball and duck shooting!
Good luck,
Shannon
ps… Emily, just looking out for you here, but I think the pic of Rickis invitation has your address on it!!
Heidix
pps, now I am super embarrassed I looked again I think it said glamping lake ahahhahah
Ok, least you know there are people that have your back! LOL
Oh my goodness! I would have loved that and I’m almost 21, ha! So fabulous. She’s a lucky little girl that’s for sure 😉
xx
http://thepocketbookblogg.blogspot.com/
Joseph says
Treasure.
Tiersha says
Great job! I am in the works of planning my daughter’s FIRST birthday. I have a lot of birthdays in the future and I’m sure I will use this idea at some point!
Aimee says
Hi Emily,
I was wondering where you bought that beautiful white dress you are wearing in the pictures with your daughter? Aimee
Cams says
Oh goodness. Gorgeous! I am a procrastinator as well. So bad.
The dress with chord belt is lovely too, btw. 🙂
Cheers.
How about etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/78585988/big-9-little-nine-bold-graphic-modern?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=8
Or a luau party?
Or take them to the bowling alley and buy shirts like this:http://www.etsy.com/listing/99891515/bowling-birthday-girl-shirt-personalized?ref=sr_gallery_8&ga_search_query=8+years+old+shirt&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all
Tara Berger says
I just adored every last detail of the Camp Ricki party last year. I’m not sure that I’ve seen a little girl’s party before or after that I loved as much as hers! I’m a stay-at-home momma and owner of an etsy shop that offers specialty handmade party decorations and would be OVER THE MOON excited to contribute something to Ricki’s party this year if you are interested! A glitter number “8” and a jumbo confetti filled balloon with a coordinating tassel garland are just a few of the things I offer! http://onestylishparty.com/
nicole says
what did you do for her third birthday theme? I’m looking for ideas for my daughter!
Talisa says
Love your dress; who is the designer?
lizzy says
shes getting prettier like her mom everyday=)
Julia says
I had a jewelry making party at her age and it was great! Also had a sprinkler “water park” in the back yard which was so fun. June bdays are the best!
Zac says
Hi Emily,
Looks like you created a Birthday Party Ricki will never forget. Glad to see everything is working out for you and your daughter,
Zac
Julia says
My best memories of my mother are the birthday parties she created for us, each barring a theme.
Her love of event creation rubbed off on me, as my current traveling has brought me to Afghanistan, where I put together a Mock Survivor Event during July 2013. It took me 5 months of planning and creating challenges out of nothing (with little means) for the guys/gals where I am at. We had a great holiday and almost forgot about missing home.
I know now how much love and preparation goes into planning anything - I appreciate my mother even more today than yesterday. I am certain your daughter will remember you the same way. Great job! Love the theme!