B-Day Party Fun!

We've had a few B-Day Parties of late, and I thought I'd let you in on some of the fun!

I have the hardest time coming up with B-Day Party plans, but I was pretty happy with how Micah's came together. And the other two parties we attended had all sorts of fun elements! So if you're party planning challenged like me, read on. But I warn you, it's a long one! (Lots and lots of pics.)

Micah's Party was an African theme, and I think the kids had fun with it! For starters, the invites were clad with giraffes:

Man, was I tired of cutting out giraffes! But that is one of the benefits of being a homemaker--more time to do things yourself, which makes it extra special and saves money!! Plus, Kendra loves having the crafting time with me. I took the frugal effort all the way, and used my scrap paper from the invites to make coordinating thank-yous:

I tried to pass this off as a modern art centerpiece, but no one was buying it:

Can you guess what they are? They're branches from the tree that fell in our backyard a while ago. I left some unfinished, and partially painted some, to suit the varied artistic skill levels, and we made...

...African tambourines! Here's the one I "helped" Micah with:
I can't decorate a cake to save my life, so I opted for zebra cupcakes (white frosting with black "stripes") and leopard (yellow frosting with brown "spots") cupcakes. Thankfully, Super Nanny was on hand, so I didn't even have to decorate those!
I contemplated making a pin-the-tail on the elephant, but was already too tired from cutting out giraffes. So instead, we played a "balancing the basket on your head" game:

And here's the main event:
The poor little dude was sick, so this moment was short lived. ;0) We kept the party small so Micah wouldn't be overwhelmed, and it was such a fun day. The family came early and stayed late, and our hearts were full when it was all said and done!
Party #2 was for one of Kendra's church friends, Lilly. Her Mom teaches Sunday School, and always knows how to keep the kids busy and happy--room-sized parachutes, ginormous bubble wands, simple games... it's awe inspiring! Here are a few pics from Lilly's Party:

(Yes, Kendra likes to catch bubbles on her tongue--she has actually caught several, and the soapy taste has not deterred her...)

The girls all got to make a necklace. What a fun idea! Fast and clean, and they LOVED it!!

My best classic Birthday pic yet:

Last but not least, one of the kids' cousins had a B-Day Bash! Her Momma is my Creative Idol. You've seen her work here on my blog before: the B-Day Dress pics of Kendra, several of my blog headers, etc. Walking into this party was like walking into a creative fantasy world! I was sidelined from the photography game, because I was face painting--which I think is a great idea for a B-Day Party, and which I thoroughly enjoyed doing!! ...so while the responsible adults were helping with clean-up, I totally bailed and snapped what I could: