Last week I shared Elizabeth’s My Little Pony cake, and after many emails I’m finally getting the rest of the party posted!
We make a big deal of birthdays here. Probably a bigger deal than we do for Christmas (at least in the way of surprises and presents). Every birthday morning begins with surprise balloons filling her bedroom. This year we had to think ahead a little since she’s getting bigger and goes potty in the middle of the night by herself. So, we let her sleep with us the night before. We put her to bed and then went up and blew up the balloons (about 250 this year). About 4:00am, I got her up to go potty and then took her to her bed (she was still very much asleep). Because she had such a big night the night before (her first date, with her Daddy), we actually had to wake her up around 8:00am so that we could get to church on time. She was clearly VERY excited!!
Then she got to open presents from Mommy & Daddy. The first stop was her playroom. A close friend of ours offered us her 1970s Barbie Dreamhouse and a lot of Barbie stuff, and Elizabeth was elated!!! She loves it, as I knew she would! After a bit of playtime, she got to open up her other box of random things we’d collected for her.
Then it was breakfast and church before PARTY TIME!!!
This was probably the first year that I didn’t make everything. And, in turn it was one of the easiest, most enjoyable parties we’ve had. I didn’t plan a whole lot, in-fact I wasn’t even real sure we were having a pony party until about 2-3 weeks before. For the past 6 months Elizabeth had been saying she wanted a pony, princess, dinosaur, Barbie party… I could’ve done a “favorite things” party, but she finally decided on ponies! Whew!
Decorations were simple, but semi-hard to find things that weren’t in bright primary colors. We wanted to incorporate El’s favorite blue and pink to the mix. I bought most everything from Amazon, Walmart, and Target. And I used her own ponies for staging here and there. Food was simple and “rainbowish” to go along with the theme. I’ll have a complete resource list at the bottom.
White paper plates, clear cups, polka dot napkins, whirly gigs (on mantel) and some balloons from Dollar General. Paper straws, paper poofs, polka dot wrapping paper (as table cloth), and more balloons from Target. MLP table cloth, small banner (on mantel), party hats, party favor cups from Walmart. Big banner, MLP balloons, and hanging decorations (on back door) from Amazon.
For entertainment we had pony rides (outside obviously), and inside we had Pin the Cutie Mark on Pinkie Pie (from Amazon – forgot pictures), and I let them decorate their own party hats with glitter pins, stick-on jewels, etc.
Food was simple, too. The only thing I made this year was her cake and wafers dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles. I bought the little cupcakes (because the sprinkle colors were perfect) and princess cookies at Target. And that was it for sweets. I put together a fruit and veggie tray, sliced a huge watermelon, bought butterfly shaped pretzels, cheese puffs, and popped kettle corn (El’s favorite). I was debating whether or not to put sandwich stuff out since the party was at 2:00, between lunch and dinner, but it was all eaten! I put out 2 bags of bread (pre-sliced the bread in half for little people), mayo, mustard, turkey, and cheese. Easy peasy.
And that is pretty much it. It was easy. And fun.
And here was the aftermath. Tanner, Grandpa, and daddy crashed out, and Elizabeth and I talking about her day. New gifts everywhere! I’d call that success 
And I have to share these, just because
